Learning a trade

The Diaries of Russell James Sparrow 1908 to 1991

Freehold Road and Stowmarket Road, he was the first person in Needham to have a valve set. He was a radio ‘ham’ and he fixed a loud speaker to one of the trees in his garden and at certain times we would gather in his garden and listen to the programmes. After a year as a solicitor I was looking for pastures new and joined the L.N.E.R. as junior clerk which sometimes included a spot of ticket collecting and according to Mum, I used to flaunt my authority by insisting that the Stow Secondary school pupils produced their season tickets.

After about a year I became surplus at Needham and was asked to go to Birdbrooke near Sudbury. I decided against this and decided to join Dad in the business. Dad insisted that I learn a trade and having tasted carpentry while I was at school in Ipswich, and having made such a horrible job of a dovetailed joint that I ‘lost’ it rather than take it home to show what I’m sure would have been a far from sympathetic parent. I went for bricklaying and again to make sure no favours were being shown I had to do my time as a labourer in all sorts of jobs. I enrolled for evening classes at Ipswich to study bookkeeping, maths, geometry, drawing, etc attending three times a week. I often think of a typical day’s work for me at that time which was something like this; rise and shine and go to the yard to get the pony and tumbrel ready to take the men to say Mockbeggars Hall, Claydon at 6.30 a.m., return home, have breakfast and go off to work for the day, sometimes returning in time to go and collect the men or more often this was done by Billy Gooding who was the transport man (later to become a lorry driver.) After a quick change a dash to the station for the train to Ipswich for night school eating a packed tea en route. Evening classes from 7 – 9.30 p.m., catch the last train which left at 10 arriving in Needham at 10.30, walk home, have supper and go to bed ready for the next day. That lot 3 times a week

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The Diaries of Russell James Sparrow 1908 to 1991

plus homework, making out timesheets, choir practice, Boys Brigade etc. kept me out of mischief. When evening classes were finished I was sometimes asked to work all night helping the carpenters to make a coffin. This didn’t mean I had the next day off, no sir, it was a 32 hr. stint.

At the time we were working at Claydon the council were repairing the road near Barking Lion and Tommy the pony couldn’t bear the sight or sound of a steam engine and every time we came to that bit of the road and he saw the roller he would stop dead, prick up his ears for a few minutes and then just as suddenly would lay his ears back and go like the proverbial bat out of hell until he was well past the offending steam roller – I used to dread that bit! Business was picking up by now and there was great excitement amongst the business fraternity in Needham when tenders were invited for a new Mission Hall and a new Fire Station. Dad got the Mission Hall and Theobalds the Fire Station. About this time Dad had advanced from a belt driven Triumph motor cycle to a new New Imperial and the pony and tumbrel had given way to a second hand T model Ford truck. The men had to get themselves to the various jobs away from home (work was scarce then) and 6 or 8 men in a bunch would cycle to the jobs and there were some high jinks both ways. I was labourer to Harry Pooley and we did some work on

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The Diaries of Russell James Sparrow 1908 to 1991

a shop near St. Peters Church, Ipswich and of course we travelled by bike, one day the roads were snowbound and so we walked!

I would spend as much time as I could at Breams Buildings, Chancery Lane, London with Auntie Bertha, Uncle Fred and Muriel and Stella. Uncle Fred, who was a happy go lucky old stick and very fond of his pipe of baccy, was caretaker to a block of offices and they lived in a flat on top of a 6 story block and kept chickens on the roof. While Muriel and Stella were at work (in offices in the City) I would explore the City, Fleet Street, The Strand, Holborn, Grays Inn Road, Leather Lane, Australia House, etc. etc. in the evenings go to theatre and cinema and on Sundays to the City Temple where Muriel sang in the choir. On a recent family visit to London I went to Chancery Lane and to my great surprise the buildings had escaped the bombs and were just as I remembered them nearly 50 years ago, even to the lift which I used to help Uncle to operate.

I was still attending evening classes in Ipswich, which by the way were held at my old school the ‘Muni’, and my subjects now included architecture in Tower Ramparts. A feature of this school was part of the furnishings of the Hall, a German fighter ‘plane which had been shot down during the war by one of the old boys and he had presented it to the school and there it hung for all to see suspended from the ceiling. Things were still progressing and my interest had shifted from racing cycles quite naturally to motor bikes and eventually when Dad bought his first car, a twin cylinder air-cooled Rover, I talked my way into becoming the proud owner of a 2 3/4 h.p. o.h.c. New Imperial and things began to hum. I had helmet, goggles, leather coat and knee high heavy ex-cavalry boots and really thought I was heading for the Isle of Man T.T. races.

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