Story of my father

My father & mother were both born in 1906; my sister in 1936; myself in 1943. My parents were married in 1935

Both parents came from non-conformists church background in the Manchester area; I think they both had left wing political leanings in their early 20 s; they had both become acquainted with Quakers.  They were married at a Quaker Meeting House, but had no longer term connection with Quakers until about 1952.

1936: Dad was teaching commerce at a Lancashire Technical College

He decided he was going to have nothing to do with the war, or preparations for it

1938: Mother + sister briefly went to Northern Ireland (to escape from possible consequences of the Munich crisis?)

1939: Dad recognized that some of his students (Mechanical Engineers) would be heading for jobs in war preparations; he was not comfortable with this, resigned his job, and made plans to emigrate to Canada; plans later abandoned  The family moved to a small rented cottage in  the Lake District, to be well away from the war, but with primitive living conditions.

1941: Dad had his CO tribunal at Carlisle; my mother spoke as a witness; he was granted unconditional exemption (the only outcome he would have accepted; I suspect he would have gone to prison rather than accept anything else.)   Local Quakers provided overnight accommodation, but Dad had deliberately not joined Quakers; he did not want their help or to be treated any more favorably; he wanted to “stand on his own two feet.”

Meanwhile he was looking for a new teaching job; we later established that he had been given (false) poor references by his previous employers who resented him leaving or did not approve of his stance as a CO; potential employers were probably also discriminating against a CO; eventually he found the Welsh to be more sympathetic.

1940: after a year of unemployment he got a job in a school in North Wales, and lived much of the time in a caravan on a farm

1942: he moved to a technical college in South Wales, but still lived in a caravan, through a cold winter; at weekends he often traveled “home” to the Lake District on Friday overnight, and back again on Sunday overnight, going straight to work on Monday mornings.

As a baby I traveled by train to South Wales with my Mum and sister to visit Dad

I suspect he could not face another winter away from family, so resigned and had a short term job in the Manchester area, lived with his parents, and could travel “home” at weekends more easily

1945 He got a job at a school in north Lakeland, stayed up there Mon to Fri; but the journey home at weekends was much shorter.  In the summer we all lived in the caravan near the job.

1946 He moved to a job within daily bus traveling distance

1950 We all moved to a newly built house (probably the first my parents owned) within walking distance of Dad’s job

1951: Christmas, we had a German boy to stay – a gesture to rebuilding relations

1952: we all joined Quakers

1958 – 62: both parents very involved in CND locally

1964: Dad had a serious heart attack; perhaps a consequence of some rough times he had endured, but he recovered slowly, and lived until 1977

1998: Mum died