Scope and Content
(00 mins)
Born – Church Street, Leighton Buzzard to his father (from Billington) and his mother, Freda Kathleen Parrott. Mother died (1946)when Trevor was eight years old. Father worked for Marley Tiles – in drying tunnel. – then as lorry driver for Parrott and James serving the sand industry, at Beds Silica Sand, Heath and Reach. Trevor sometimes rode out with father, when young. Another driver was Fred Turney, a Foreman. Deliveries of 5-ton loads to Stevenage, Nottingham, Manchester and Liverpool (mainly dry sand for the Pilkington Glass industry). Father served in army in Germany during and after Second World War. Left and drove for J.F.Wells from St. Andrews Street, Leighton Buzzard (coal merchants but also delivered roofing tiles for Anchor Roofing Tiles Ltd, Broomhills Road). Trevor’s sister, (Rosemary) three years younger, also rode out in lorries. Trevor attended Pulford Church School, Leighton Buzzard. His mother worked for Cotsmore’s as a young girl, then, at home in Church Street, did sewing in the front window of their house, including her children’s coats, made out of blankets because bought clothes were too dear. Altered clothes for neighbours.
(10 mins)
Mother – generous – asked visiting gipsy children to their house for tea – her father (William Parrott) had been a rag and bone merchant, she sorted silks from cottons and woollens. On death of mother – Trevor went to live with father’s brother in Doggett Street for a year but was ‘naughty’ and was moved to live with his mother’s brother. There he failed to get on with his cousin so he ended up with his father’s brother at Billington, where he attended the local school. His sister was living with his maternal Gran and Grandpa in Stanbridge Road. After his mother died, father married a German lady - a Red Cross nurse – he had met in Germany, in 1948. Trevor and Rosemary did not get on too well with her – she wanted Trevor to wear leather trousers (lederhosen) for school but he refused and his father agreed that he should not wear them.
(15 mins)
His stepmother could not speak, much English at first and had difficulty in understanding what they said. Although she did her best at bringing the children up, Trevor never accepted her as their mother. Rosemary, being younger, got on better. A brother, Peter, was born in 1950. When he grew up he owned a transport company in Stanbridge Road.
Trevor left secondary school aged fifteen and started work at Leighton Buzzard Tile Factory as a trainee machine fitter but got the sack after ten months. He started work on the light railway in 1953, earning one pound, eight shillings a week. He gave his mother ten shillings and used to save some. He ended up with five shillings to spend. Attended Oriel Cinema in Lakes Street (now site of the Litten Tree public house) – one shilling and sixpence in stalls and two shillings upstairs in the circle; only sixpence on Saturday mornings for children. Used to go as a child with Billy Gibbins and Vernon Collins. The Grand Cinema in Linslade and the Arcadian Hall, Corn Exchange, in Lake Street, Leighton Buzzard also showed films locally. First girlfriend, Jean, when he was sixteen – she worked at John Dickinson’s, making envelopes.
(25 mins)
Manager (Arnold’s), Charles Gaskin (a Salvation Army man in his spare time), interviewed and appointed Trevor as an engine boy. Work – flagging road traffic to stop, when the train crossed roads (between Leighton Buzzard and the sand quarries near Double Arches). He travelled in the back wagon of the train. On at least on occasion, the driver failed to stop to let him get back on and he had to follow the train by foot. Drivers were strict. One young man, called Sailor, was killed when he went to change some points and fell under the engine. It was a potentially dangerous job. One day a sand lorry failed to stop when a train was crossing. All the trucks were brought off the rails. The driver was sacked.
(30 mins)
Trevor worked for Arnold’s; other trains ran for Garside’s quarries. Sand was washed – then into railway wagons, or tipped into road lorries. The trains pulled twenty four wagons, each of one ton. Old locomotives, made by Simplex in Bedford, had previously been used in the desert during the First World War – armour plated, with driver sitting in middle, with large handle to the brake. Trains sometimes parked in loops off the line (to allow trains to pass each other) – a ‘sprag’ was placed on the line behind a wheel to prevent the train running away. Garside trains had names; Arnold trains had only numbers. Trevor worked on number 43. 7 o’clock start – start engine, drive out of shed, hook up empty wagons, travel to sandpits to collect sand. Crossed Stanbridge Road, then Hockliffe Road and so on.
(35 mins)
Wagons loaded with unwashed sand at Double Arches, Heath and Reach by a crane called a ‘navvy’. Returning, first road crossed – Eastern Way –down Billington Road – Stonehenge Brickwork (now Redland’s) – Shenley Hill – Vandyke Road – Stanbridge Road – Billington Road. Pulled into loop – queue waiting for crossing of road to tip into trucks. Wagons shunted into washer – tipped by hand – catch released and pushed over – sand from there fed in ‘cups’ into the large washer. After washing – taken away by lorries. Garside’s trains were further down Billington Road to their washers. Ten engines, ten drivers, ten engine boys. Great job – all friends together. All men. Trevor earned four pounds a week at fifteen; six pounds a week when seventeen. Dry sand was for water filtration or glass manufacturing. In earlier years – dry sand in plywood casks – sent to London docks by lorry for export. Fry up at work for breakfast at 10 am – tiny stove in small hut – enamel billy-can, plates & cups. One hour for lunch – stay at work or go to café in town – Kembers or Corona Café - two shillings for dinner and cup of tea –homemade cooking – fresh vegetables.
(45 mins)
Finished work – five pm – no night shifts – occasional 6am starts. No electricity at his home in Church Street (only gas lamps) – only had bathroom when they moved to Stanbridge Road and then Albany Road houses. When real mother washed clothes – coal fire under copper heated water – cooking done on a stove – ovens each side – hobs on top – solid fuel. Stepmother had a modern gas stove and gas lamps in rooms but coal fireplace for heating. Boyhood chore – collect coal from cellar of house in buckets. Kitchen, living room and front room (for use on Sundays only, for guests). Gas lights with mantels – lit by ‘spills’ – passing flame from fire to set mantel alight.. Matches used upstairs to light gas lamps. Middle room (living room) – father would sit and read newspaper and listen to radio – years later, to television with fifteen inch screen, made of Bakelite – accumulator batteries used to supply electricity – filled with acid – carried to shop for recharging and collected replacement one. Favourite radio programmes – Arthur Askey comedy – Bill Cotton Band show – “Dick Barton Special Agent” drama thriller. Albany Road house –early sixties - quite large – front room, breakfast room, dining room, kitchen -downstairs; four bedrooms and bathroom - upstairs. Toilets both inside and outside. Hot water from fire - Rayburn stove. Neighbours in Church Street Mr & Mrs Chandler – horse and cart milk delivery.
(55 mins)
When at Church Street – mum and dad had to share bath water (to save on heating water); Trevor and sister shared bathwater. Albany Road – luxury of hot water just turning on tap. Worked on light railway until eighteen –
(1 hr 00 min)
Called up for National Service in army – stationed with Royal Engineers at Malvern,, Worcestershire –lied bout his eye problem and having hay fever and was passed A1 at medical – after four weeks’ basic training – stationed in Cyprus as peacekeeping force with Middle East Land Forces – used to try to hunt down EOKA terrorists in the hills –a friend of his he joined up with was killed – the only one in their regiment.
Drove through Limassol in army lorry – sten gun ‘paddy seat’ on top – children threw stones and bottles at them – frightening – sometimes ran them down – ordered not to stop –danger of bombs being thrown at British soldiers
(1 hr 05 mins)
Twenty –one months spent on National Service in Cyprus – left army in September 1958. Suffered collapsed lung just before end- rushed to hospital – medically discharged.
Skin was really dark after being in sun for fourteen days in Mediterranean on boat - stops at Malta, Gibraltar, Algiers – father called him the “sun worshipper”. Returned to light railway – shunting trains – not allowed to drive on main line – left and drove a lorry – company in same road – A.E.H. Dawson –cream and red lorries- hauling cement and bricks – lorry registration JNM647 – collecting from Fletton Bricks, Water Eaton, Bletchley – delivered all around country- Eastbourne, Brighton, Birmingham, Coventry, Wales.
(1 hr 10 mins)
Earned eighteen pounds a week – extra pay for overnight stays (seven shillings and sixpence) – no sleeper cabs like today. R.K. Browning offered him more money so he moved there – driving a Leyland Comet. Lorries speed – thirty-eight miles per hour in early days – police motorcyclists stopped him for speeding in Dunstable, doing thirty-two miles per hour. Then moved to G.T. Transport – hauled cement and bricks – changed job about every five years – to make more money, when married – until made redundant in 1995. Asked job centre for different type of job – offered cleaner post at Boss Trucks – stayed there and became manager of cleaners until made redundant in 2004, aged sixty-five.
(1 hr 15 mins)
Got job as car park attendant for Waitrose supermarket at Leighton Buzzard – three days a week – lovely – meet people – not very strict with fines – should be £40 fine if staying over one and a half hours – always friendly and polite. Married twice – once in 1960, when driving for Frederick Ray Ltd – always away from home – driving to Wales and Scotland – wife went off with another man – left daughter with a neighbour. Divorced – he was granted custody of daughter but he couldn’t look after her – stepmother couldn’t have her – daughter now in Australia – returns every three years. Trevor planning to visit Australia for first time.
(1 hr 20 mins)
Had never seen any of his four grandchildren in Australia. Two boys from second marriage – one in Aylesbury, one in West Midlands. Sees their children. Some of life has been sad but a lot of it happy. Sometimes revisits sites of former workplace – light railway near Stonehenge Works – buys photos of old trains he used to be on. Helped Rod Dingwall with information when he wrote a book on the railway in 1997. Always enjoyed work – always worked hard. Doctors at Stoke Mandeville Hospital had said he would never work hard again after collapsed lung but he proved them wrong. Used to carry one-hundredweight bags of flour on his back and 15-ton bags of cement – delivered cattle food to BOCM in Silvertown in hessian sacks. Still quite fit for his age of 70 –but diagnosed borderline diabetic – controlled by dieting – has to drink less alcohol – wants to live and see his grandchildren grow up. His boys are proud of him.
(1hr 25 mins) End of interview
Summarised by Stuart Antrobus (17 February 2009)