George Bernard Shaw.

George Bernard Shaw…

George Bernard Shaw was a man of many talents – poet, playwright, novelist and many, many more. He was of course an Irishman having been born in Dublin on 26th July 1856. He went to England at the age of twenty and lived there for the remainder of his life. He was highly intelligent and many of his famous quotations show a rare look into the future. He had his flaws in my opinion, the main one being that he was one of those who got themselves involved in the principal of ‘Eugenics’ – (see my tag list). He was also a staunch communist/socialist at heart, which has always been easy for those with money. He fought for Womens’ Suffrage and was heavily involved in the Votes for Women campaign, which was successful within his lifetime.

He was educated to quite a high standard in Dublin, but when he was sixteen, his mother left home to follow her ‘voice’ teacher to London. He remained with his father and commenced work as a clerk in an estate office. He was reported to be a ‘good’ worker but was quite discontent with his lot. In 1876 he left Ireland and joined his mother and sisters. They provided him with £1 per week, which he used to travel to various public libraries and the British Museum. He began to study with great earnest and dedication. He began to ghost-write a music column for his mother’s ‘friend’.

He had begun to write several novels but all were rejected by publishers. However, he became financially independent when he became a critic of the arts. He became influential in ‘The Fabian Society’, an organisation dedicated to Socialism through peaceful means. He married a female from the society in 1898, bought a house in a small village outside London where they lived until his death on 2nd November 1950.

He wrote constantly, not only stage plays, novels and such, but is known to have written over 250,000 letters in his lifetime. Perhaps his most lasting and famous work known to present day people as ‘My Fair Lady’, but entitled ‘Pygmalion’ was completed in 1912. The vast majority of his works dealt with the social aspect of Victorian life but were always tinged with a sense of humour whilst using his wit like a cutting sword about the morals, politics and economic issues of the then era.

His ultra-sharp wit shamed many of the rich Victorians and he did not spare the rod where politicians were concerned.
He said: "It is said that every people has the Government it deserves. It is more
to the point that every Government has the electorate it deserves; for
the orators of the front bench can edify or debauch an ignorant
electorate at will. Thus our democracy moves in a vicious
circle of reciprocal worthiness and unworthiness".

During the early years of the Second World War, Shaw wrote numerous critical articles about Winston Churchill. Adolph Hitler read them with great amusement and Goebbel’s made use of such writings in German propaganda.

It was around 1880 that he began to join in and elaborate on Eugenics. He preferred to call it ‘selective breeding’ as he believed that something called ‘Life Force’ led women subconsciously to select the males most likely to give them superior children.

He also joined in the views of other prominent people of his group on land nationalisation. He held personal views that private ownership of land and its exploitation for personal profit was a form of theft. He advocated the distribution of land and natural resources and their control by governments intent on promoting such ideals. The works of Karl Marx were influencing him. He applied for membership of the Social Democratic Federation but never in fact joined.

As he entered his old age, he became more famous for his wit and his advocating a ‘shavian alphabet’, as he was concerned with the vagaries of English spelling. He did in fact leave a large sum of money in his will (over £300,000) to set up such an alphabet. His wit became sharper with age and a sample of it is: "My way of joking is to tell the truth. It’s the funniest joke in the world".

Some more examples of his wit follow:

"The liar’s punishment is, not in the least that he is not believed, but that he cannot believe any one else".

"We have no more right to consume happiness without producing it than to consume wealth without producing it".

"My speciality is being right when other people are wrong".

"There is only one religion, though there are a hundred versions of it".

"Political necessities sometimes turn out to be political mistakes".

"People are always blaming circumstances for what they are. I don’t believe in circumstances. The people who get on in this world are the people who get up and look for the circumstances they want, and, if they can’t find them, make them".

"All very fine, Mary; but my old-fashioned common sense is better than your clever modern nonsense".

"There are two tragedies in life. One is to lose your heart’s desire. The other is to get it".

"It is more dangerous to be a great prophet or poet than to promote twenty companies for swindling simple folk out of their savings".

"Revolutionary movements attract those who are not good enough for established institutions as well as those who are too good for them".

"Irish history is something no Englishman should forget and no Irishman should remember".

"Islam is the best religion, with the worst followers".

"As long as I have a want, I have a reason for living. Satisfaction is death".

And Finally:

"Death is for many of us the gate of hell; but we are inside on the way out, not outside on the way in".

A great man was old George, (if you pardon him for the Eugenics affair); after all he is the only one who has ever won The Nobel Prize for Literature (1925) and an Oscar (1938). Oh yes, and by the way, he was Irish.

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Shaw introduces Einstein at a Dinner in London.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=ocSgz_AeSNE
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In Bondage....

Irish Slaves in the Americas….

Since the demands from the descendants of black slaves in America for an apology and recompense from all those involved in the disgusting Slave Trade of the 1600’s, 1700’s and 1800’s, a veil has begun to be lifted from an equally dark period of Irish history.

I have in the past posted on Irish White Slaves to the Middle East (see ‘Baltimore’ in my tags), but they were taken by Turkish slavers and sold in North Africa.

A more sinister aspect on slavery is slowly coming to light. Provided that slaves, slavers and slave ships did not arrive in or leave from an ‘English’ port no records were kept and the information available is very scarce. However, such information can be gleaned from other sources.

The Cromwellian period in Irish history is very dark indeed and most Irishmen, including ‘yours truly’ curse and spit at the mention of his name. It was he who was responsible for the decapitation of Charles First but earlier as a General he was sent to Ireland to quell any form of rebellion. It was he, who upon seizing all the quality land, ordered the Irish people to go to ‘Hell or to Connaught’. This was forcing them to go to the West of Ireland where the land was generally poor and unable to provide sufficient food for the inhabitants. Those who refused or fought against the ‘Crown’ were literally transported.

In most cases they were sentenced to death for treason but the colonies and especially the Caribbean islands were being opened to those in favour for a pittance and the Irish prisoners soon became a means of ‘cheap labour’. As a result, tens of thousands of Irishmen were sent to the sugar cane industry.

Those soldiers who were ordered into exile indentured themselves (to pay for their travel) into a form of slavery for terms of five to seven years. They were unable to take their wives with them so naturally they began to take other slaves as their wives. Any children born of these couples became slaves without any hope of freedom.

Just now I was looking for a reference and hit on a report on ‘England’s Irish Slaves *’ which can be seen on the following link:

http://www.ewtn.com/library/HUMANITY/SLAVES.TXT

I strongly suggest that anyone interested in this subject immediately hit the link and read from the very authoritative document.

I shall just give one paragraph, which sums up the entire matter:

‘In 1641, Ireland's population was 1,466,000 and in 1652, 616,000. According to Sir William Petty, 850,000 were wasted by the sword, plague, famine, hardship and banishment during the Confederation War 1641-1652. At the end of the war, vast numbers of Irish men, women and children were forcibly transported to the American colonies by the English government.(7) These people were rounded up like cattle, and, as Prendergast reports on Thurloe's State Papers(8) (Pub. London, 1742), "In clearing the ground for the adventurers and soldiers (the English capitalists of that day)... To be transported to Barbados and the English plantations in America. It was a measure beneficial to Ireland, which was thus relieved of a population that might trouble the planters; it was a benefit to the people removed, which might thus be made English and Christians ... a great benefit to the West India sugar planters, who desired men and boys for their bondsmen, and the women and Irish girls... To solace them."(9)’

I strongly recommend that you read the entire document – it is not very long. I found it heartbreaking in the extreme and no wonder how certain people, including my mother, hated the ‘English’ so much.

I know it was a different time, a different world but how man can be so inhumane to man, I shall never understand. I do however, now strongly understand the black mans’ feelings on slavery.

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(* Copyright The CATHOLIC Weekly 1995 Use with acknowledgement permitted. anthony.o.mascia@crnet.org ).

Irishmen and the Victoria Cross..

Irishmen and the Victoria Cross:

The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest military decoration awarded for valour "in the face of the enemy" to members of the British Army, soldiers of the Commonwealth countries and previous British Empire territories.

It was introduced in January 1856 by Queen Victoria to reward such acts of bravery during the Crimean War and has continued ever since. It has been awarded to 1,353 people. One in seven of those who received it were Irishmen (188).

Traditionally it is claimed for some unknown reason that the medals are minted from gunmetal from Russian cannon captured at Sevastopol in the Crimea but recent discoveries tend to throw doubt on this story.

There are many avid collectors of these medals due to their rarity and it is highly prized by the same collectors. The price of one at auction can reach over £400,000 ($750,000).

Irishmen have always been a source of ‘cannon-fodder’ for the British Army and hundreds of thousands of Irish men and boys have died over the centuries. There must be something in the ‘Irish Fighting Blood’ that gives them the edge on other nationalities.

One in particular comes to the fore: Michael O’Leary was born on 29th September 1890 in Macroom, County Cork. During the First World War he joined the First Battalion of the Irish Guards of the British Army. He became a Lance-Corporal and was fighting in France.

On 1st February 1915, at Cuinchy, France he was one of a storming party, which moved against the enemy’s barricaded position. He rushed ahead of his troops and killed five Germans who were the first line of defence. He continued across open ground for about sixty yards and attacked the second line of defence. After killing three more of the enemy, he then took two more as prisoners. In fact, O’Leary for all intents and purposes, took the position by himself and saved the remainder of his comrades from being fired upon. For his actions, he was awarded the VC.

The British Army in the hope that his actions would result in many more fellow Corkmen (and Irishmen) joining-up published the above recruiting poster. His father, after making a speech in his hometown, in which he praised his son for his heroic bravery was asked to make further speeches on recruiting platforms. His employment did not last long.

The following is the gist of his first and only speech from an official recruiting platform: "Mr. O’Leary senior, father of the famous VC, speaking in the Inchigeela district, urged the young men to join the British army. "If you don’t", he told them "the Germans will come over here and will do to you what the English have been doing for the last seven hundred years".

Needless to say his speech never made the papers once the censors got their blue pens on the article.

After the war he and his family emigrated to Canada where he became an Inspector in the Ontario Provincial Police. He returned to England in 1925.

He enlisted in the Middlesex Regiment during World War Two and retired as a major in 1945.

He died on 21 August 1961 aged 70.

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Another Irish Songster...

Another Irish Songster….

In the previous posting about ‘Maggie from Mayo’, I wrote about my astonishment at discovering her story. To day’s offering is different as I grew up listening to this Tenor on old 78 records and on Irish radio. I give you Count John McCormack.

The ‘Count’ is a little false but he insisted on using it having been awarded the title from Pope Pius X1 for his services to Charity. His favourite being ‘The Red Cross’.

John Francis McCormack was born in the town of Athlone, County Westmeath on 14th June 1884. He was number four of eleven children. His parents worked in the local woollen mills. It was during his secondary education that his talent for singing began to show. In 1903 he entered the National Feis Ceoil in Dublin and won the prestigious Gold Medal.

Fearing parental objections, he quietly married Lily Foley in 1906. Notwithstanding his future fame and fortune he was totally faithful to her all his life. They had two children.

Having won the Gold Medal in Dublin, fundraising in his native hometown and indeed all over Ireland enabled him to continue his training in Italy. He became a student of Sabbatini. In 1906, he made his operatic debut in Savona. The following year he made his English debut in Convent Garden London in Cavalleria Rusticana. He was its youngest ever principal tenor.

America beckoned and in 1909 he went there and won over the crowds. He was an instant success. In the early stages of his career he was classed as an ‘Italian Tenor’ but he soon realised that his could use his Irishness to his advantage. He also carried on singing Irish traditional ballads. One season he performed 95 concerts across the country. He was earning as much a five-million dollars a season and when Enrico Caruso heard this, he good-humouredly warned him never to let it happen again.

Two years later he signed a contract with the great Nellie Melba and toured Australia to great success. He was aged 27 and at his height. He returned for concert tours for many years after.

He began to spend more and more time on the concert stage where his singing along with his Irish charm ensured that all his performances were fully sold out. He was the greatest lyric tenor of his day. He continued to sing less and less operatic rolls and retired from that branch of music in 1923.

Voice recordings were becoming the rage and he made numerous. He also regularly broadcast on radio. Soon sound films beckoned. His recording of ‘It’s a Long Way to Tipperary’ in 1914 became a massive hit and became the signature tune of most soldiers of all nationalities during the First World War. However, he had strong Irish Nationalistic feelings and many of his recordings endorsed his view.

In 1917 he became a naturalised United States citizen but held dual Irish/US nationality. This caused problems with the British for several years.

During the 1920’s McCormack was still riding the crest of the wave of fame. He could do nothing wrong and was treated as a star wherever he went. In 1927, he moved into Moor Abbey, Monasterevan, County Kildare where he lived a life according to his means. He loved fine wines and Champagne and everything else to do with the high life. He bought several Rolls Royce’s and began to buy and gamble on horses. He lost an absolute fortune trying to win the English Derby. He never managed it.

In 1930 when in Hollywood making and starring in the film, ‘Song O’ My Heart’ he saw the Carman Runyon estate. He fell madly in love with it and used his earning from the film, believed to have been in the region of $300,000 to purchase it. He built a mansion which he called ‘San Patrizio’ – Saint Patrick. He and his wife lived there for the next eight years. Whenever he was away from the estate, he would rent it out to one of the current stars of films. Janet Gaynor and Charles Boyer were always first choices. Will Rogers, John Barrymore, Basil Rathbone and many other stars of the day were their friends and guests at the estate.

He left America in 1937 and never returned due to the Second World War.

In 1938, McCormack ended his career at the Royal Albert Hall in London. He was ill with, of all things, emphysema, a serious lung complaint. For someone who had been famous for his breath control and being able to sing 64 notes on a single breath this must have been heartbreaking.

He purchased a seaside home outside Dublin but died on 16th September 1945.

Just like ‘Maggie from Mayo’, the bold John also carved himself a niche in singing history and an all-time favourite to this day back home in Ireland.

There are many recordings of him on Youtube but I chose the following for
it’s old pictorial views of Kerry and the song – ‘Killarney’..
http://youtube.com/watch?v=dCZkcXMeM3k
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'Maggie from Mayo'...

‘Maggie from Mayo’……

When you get to my age, there are few surprises that can shock you let alone stir up a national pride. Margaret Burke-Sheridan was one such person and my discovery of her pleased me no end. As you know, I have a soft spot for the West of Ireland and to find such a character as ‘Maggie from Mayo’ greatly surprised me.

Margaret Burke-Sheridan was born in Castlebar, County Mayo in 1889, the daughter of the local postmaster. He was a fine singer and encouraged and taught his daughter to sing. However, when she was left an orphan in 1900 she was sent to Dublin where she became a boarder in a Convent. Her singing greatly impressed one of the nuns who gave her more tuition. She won a Gold Medal at a Dublin Feis Ceoil as well as a bursary to continue her studies in London. There she was seen and heard by none less than Marconi the inventor. He was so impressed with the Soprano that he arranged for her to go to Italy to further her operatic career.

She played many minor roles but became beloved by the Italians. She liked them immensely and they took her to their hearts. In 1918, with only a few days’ notice she made her debut in Rome as Mimi in ‘La Boheme’. She was a brilliant success. She then moved on to La Scale in Milan where she was again taken under the wings of more famous people. She was conducted by Toscanini, trained by Puccini who adored her and partnered with the great Gigli. She was then invited to replace the Australian Dame Nellie Melba at Convent Garden in London. She was top of the world and her career as Soprano was beginning to peak.

She was invited to America and offered fabulous contracts but she declined all offers to go there. It was said that she later regretted not doing so.

She was a great wit but still a lonely woman notwithstanding all her outstanding famous friends. It was said that once she made up her mind to do something, she always stuck to her guns. In 1932 she disappeared from the operatic scene and retired having spent twelve years at the pinnacle. She returned to Ireland and took up residence in Dublin. She was regularly visited by her famous friends but never sang in public again.

She died on 16th April 1958 in a nursing home on the outskirts of Dublin. However, a wit to the end, she discovered that a famous Irish Nationalist had also spent time in the same nursing home prior to his death. She used to boast that everytime she used the toilet, she felt an immense national pride.........

‘Maggie from Mayo’ captured the hearts of many famous operatic personalities of her time. Puccini was said to be spellbound by her moving interpretation of his Madame Butterfly. Gigli chose her as his leading lady when he was making his debut in Convent Garden, London. She played many great soprano roles – Mimi in La Boheme, Desdemona in Otello and the title role in Manon Lescaut.

There is a beautiful recording of her singing on the following link:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=LNeQT5B-O5I

Addendum: A few more details of ‘Maggie from Mayo’ have since come to light which may help in understanding a couple of things about her life.

Firstly, when Marconi took her to Italy and brought her to a singing teacher, she was told that she was too old (she was then in her late 20’s). He also accused her of being too fond of her luxury living standards. He suggested that if she wanted to become a true Opera singer, she must give up the high life and become totally engrossed in her studies.

She left the luxury hotel and moved to common lodgings where she studied with all her heart. At this time she was a mezzo-soprano and she learned to widen her range and sing pure Soprano. There was a shortage of top quality sopranos throughout the world at the time. Every morning she would practice her scales on the balcony of her apartment, which overlooked the Rome Opera House.

Fate again stepped in when four days before La Boheme was to open at the Opera House, the soprano singing Mimi was taken ill. The search was on for someone to take her place. As luck would have it, the Opera House manager was to hear Maggie practising from her balcony. He made contact and said "I’ll make you into Mimi in four days". She began to practice for the role every moment of every day but her teacher insisted that she was not up to scratch. Maggie ignored him and continued with her rehearsals now that her chance for fame had come.

She excelled brilliantly and succeeded beyond all expectations. A star was born.

On her return to London to sing at Convent Garden, although her career was soaring, her personal life had reached its lowest ebb. She fell madly in love with the manager of the theatre. He was married but he too fell head over heels in love with Maggie. However, she had a strong moral conscience, notwithstanding her Catholic upbringing and would not allow their relationship to be consummated.
There are numerous letters preserved of their correspondence between each other including many that she wrote but never sent. In one she asks the question of herself "How could I, Peggy Sheridan from Ireland, become the lover of a married man?"

She signed a recording contract with HMV and made many recordings. She preferred Irish songs particularly those of Thomas Moore. It was whilst singing on BBC that her voice cracked on a high note. This was the beginning of the end. Her technique was simply not good enough to bring her through such a problem. She quietly retired and returned to Dublin.

For twelve glorious years a beautiful star from the West of Ireland shone brightly on the Opera stages of Europe.

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A Sad but True Prophecy….

A Sad but True Prophecy….

In the 1600’s Brian Rua Ui Cearabhain, from Achill Island, north-west Mayo, in the West of Ireland, foretold that in the county there would one day be seen "Carriages on iron wheels, blowing smoke and fire, which on their first and last journeys would carry corpses". This was well before the age of steam or trains. Unfortunately, nearly 300 years would pass before both parts of his prophecy would come true.

Achill Island is a beautiful island on the West Coast of County Mayo, which sticks out into the Atlantic. It is joined to the mainland by a bridge known as Achill Sound. I have written many times of some of the most wonderful holidays I had there in my youth. It is one of the most beautiful places I have ever visited.

It was a very poor community and the land was poor quality being very stony and boggy. In order to earn a living many of the island’s young men and women emigrated. Most of the young men joined the British Army. The young women entered service as housemaids throughout Ireland and Britain. Those who did not do so would, during the months of June to October, sail to Scotland where they would gain work as potato pickers. The work was known as ‘tattie-hoking’.

On 4th June 1894, thirty-two young men were making their way in a sailing hooker from Achill to Westport where they were to board a steamer for onward journey to Scotland to take part in the annual potato picking. As they neared the quay in Westport too many of them leaned over the starboard side of the hooker to get a closer look at the waiting ship causing the hooker to capsize. Thirty-two were drowned.

Their bodies were taken home to Achill on the first train to travel on the new Westport to Achill line thereby fulfilling Brian Rua’s first part of his prophecy.

Forty-three years later, on 16th September 1937 at Kirkintilloch, just north of Glasgow in Scotland the second tragedy occurred.

A group of Achill Islanders, men women and boys were almost finished the potato-picking season having travelled all over Scotland following the harvest. It was not uncommon for the single men to be locked in barns or sheds to ‘keep them away from the local girls’.
The ‘gang’ was under the leadership of a foreman named Patrick (Pat) Duggan and by coincidence, the previous year a similar gang’s foreman was a Thomas (Tom) Duggan who also led an Achill Island gang. That year they had played a football match against a local team, which resulted in large-scale fight. It was later suggested, but never proven, that the fire was a case of arson that went beyond that which was intended.

The foreman Pat Duggan, his son and the female members were sleeping in a cottage whilst the other men slept in a cowshed, known as a ‘bothy’, which was padlocked. At about 1am Duggan heard the crackling of flames and raised the alarm. The females made their escape from the cottage. All attempts to gain entry to the bothy failed. The Scottish Overseer who held the keys to the padlock was awoken at 1.15am but by the time he got to the shed it was fully ablaze with the roof collapsed.

Some of the females were relatives of the trapped men and they became hysterical. Later that night the dead bodies were recovered. The average age of the young men was 16, the youngest being 13. News of the tragedy was relayed to Achill by telephone and grief engulfed the island.

Arrangements were made for a funeral in Scotland until a telegram was received there which read ‘Beir Abhaile ar marbh’ – (Bring home our dead). Over 10,000 people lined the Quay at Glasgow as the coffins were put aboard a Dublin bound ship. Again at the Dublin port there were over 6,000 people lining the quay.

A Relief Fund was set up which resulted in the sum of £18,233 being collected. This was divided between the survivors and the victims’ families. (In modern terms this would be equivalent to almost one million Euro).

They were taken by train to Westport where they were transferred to the Achill Island train and taken home. The line had in fact been closed for some time but was reopened to convey the bodies of the victims to the island where they were laid to rest close to the victims of the previous tragedy. That was the last train on that line thereby fulfilling Brian Rua’s prophecy to the full…………..

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The 'London Gold Rush' 1903: 6 (and Final)..

The ‘London Gold Rush’ 1903: Part 6 (and Final).

Davy was invited back to his employers in September to examine and discuss his proposal in relation to the steamroller. At the meeting he laid out his business plan in detail. He had been working on it for the previous two weeks and was happy that every argument was soundly based and could not be faulted. Mrs. Manners surprisingly showed that she had a rare talent for such things. The gist of his proposals were that Davy’s new company ‘DavWil’ would supply one steamroller and driver as and when required by the company at a fee of twenty-five pounds per day. In order to justify the cost, four men from the gang would be released as no longer required. Davy did not like the item about the men but already had an idea in his mind. He agreed the terms and signed the contract.

In December they received the brand new steamroller from the manufacturers and to Davy’s utmost surprise, once Willie had read the instruction manual and had a few phrases explained to him, he managed to handle it like a veteran.

As Christmas approached, Davy decided to pay a short visit home. He wrote to his mother telling her that he would be bringing with him Mrs. Manners. Davy’s mother did not know what he really meant by such a thing and was on tenterhooks until the day of his arrival. Mrs. Manners loved the town and area and formed a friendship with Mrs. Williams that would remain for the rest of their lives. They were more like sisters than business partners were.

Davy called a meeting of the contracted weavers in his mother’s house. He introduced Mrs. Manners as the person who would be taking over the day to day running of the project as he envisaged that he was going to be too busy in the near future. The members were hesitant at first until she stood up and spoke with authority and what she already knew of Irish Linen. Her argument for acceptance was so sound that no one could dissent. With that, Davy made arrangements to return to London whilst Mrs. Manners would remain for a couple of weeks.

Davy later discovered that the first thing that Mrs. Manners did was to form a second Co-Operative of Weavers this time adding the word ‘The Star’ before the title. This would allow the company to sell to whomever they liked and thereby get rid of the only source in London of its monopoly. She also suggested that their company DavWil include the word ‘Textiles’ for future reference in relation to the Linen and that the other include the word 'Engineering'. It was strange, but he, Davy had never thought of that point. Both he and Willie agreed the proposed changes. The second thing she did was to arrange the dispatch of a quantity of their finest linen to the King in London. It was no surprise when the Palace accepted the gift and awarded them ‘The Royal Warrant’. As a result another one hundred unemployed weavers were recruited.

As soon as the Warrant was received, Mrs. Manners sent a similar gift to the American Ambassador in London. She received a most congratulatory letter of thanks and an offer of help in establishing an outlet for their products in the United States, beginning with one of the largest stores in New York. In anticipation, and correctly so, Mrs. Manners recruited a further two hundred weavers. In fact, all the weavers in the town of Banbridge were now producing all types of wares under her management and specifications. Within six months, their exports amounted to almost fifty thousand pounds. There would be a delay in receiving payment but Mrs. Manners who originally had intended staying merely for weeks had now extended her stay to six months. She paid the weavers what funds they required. The once dying town was now one of the most industrious in the whole of Ireland.

Their greatest achievement as far as Davy was concerned, which even outdid that of the Royal Warrant, was an order from the President’s Secretary in the White House in America. They ordered fifty sets of bed linen including all the accessories. This would keep several of the weavers busy for at least six months. As soon as this information was leaked to the press, he anticipated that orders from the United States would more than quadruple.

Back in London, the steamroller was working most days of the week. When not required by the company, which was rare, Willie would negotiate a couple of day’s work for other navigators. The steamroller was in fact earning their company almost one hundred pounds per week.

Davy’s hunch had been correct for literally within months, the company was accepting contracts from all types of sources for roads, pavements, the levelling of factory sites, access roads and a hundred and one other uses. Davy was already beginning to plan the purchase of at least one more steamroller.

He had not officially ‘laid-off’ four men from the team. He had decided, and this was agreed by the other members of the team, that he would pay their wages from the ‘bonus’ payments. It was in fact logical, as with those extra men the work would be completed well ahead of schedule. Not only that, but when not too busy they could be hired out to do other types of similar work. Everyone was happy with the arrangements.

Willie truly missed Mrs. Manners and longed for her return. They had ‘hired’ a part time maid to keep the house clean and tidy but Willie could not get along with her. He actually prayed for the day when Mrs. Manners would return.

In fact she did return briefly in May and informed Willie and Davy that she had in fact fallen madly in love with Banbridge and its surrounds. She intended to ‘sell up’, return as quickly as possible and settle down on the outskirts of the town in the shade of the Mourne Mountains. Willie was devastated whilst Davy sensed a business opportunity. He came straight out with it. "How much will you be looking for the house Mrs. M.?" he asked. "In the region of three hundred pounds Davy, but if you were interested, I would leave everything that’s here, excepting a few personal items". "You have a deal, Mrs.M." Davy replied not having the faintest idea from where the money was coming.

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Mrs. Manners packed two large trunks with her clothes and personal photographs and such and had them shipped to Ireland. She signed over the house to Davy without payment having been made. He did in fact pay her one hundred pounds from his savings as a deposit. She insisted that this would suffice until money began arriving from the American sales of the linen. He was in fact to receive news that would very shortly resolve all his problems.

It came completely out of the blue and had obviously been kept a closely guarded secret among those concerned. A group of wealthy philanthropists had formed a company with the intention of building a ‘new town’ on the northern extremities of London to which they intended to rehouse many of the poor from especially the East End of London. It would be affordable accommodation and there would be a rapid train service direct to the centre of London. It was expected that it would take a minimum of five years to complete. The plans having been prepared, Davy was invited to attend a meeting with the consortium. Davy’s name had been put forward as one of the best employers in the engineering field and at least three of the six members of the group had asked that all efforts be made to recruit him for the project.

Their offer was quite simple. He was asked if he considered it possible for him to form an engineering company to prepare the site, build all the necessary access roads, lay water, gas and electrical supplies and all other such work that would lay the foundation for the new town.

Davy was shocked at the proposal and asked for time to consider the proposal. He was given four weeks in which to do so. Without hesitation, he went to his company’s office and spoke to Mr. Jones, the head engineer he had dealt with in the past. Much to his surprise, a little information regarding the project had preceded him and Mr. Jones was only too willing to join the project. He was asked to sound out any others members of staff who might be also interested. Davy had unknowingly become one of the original ‘head-hunters’.

Once again Lady Luck laid her hand on Davy, not to mention Willie. Willie had become one of the most competitant self-taught civil engineers in the country. He found that he had the ability to look at a site and visualise the completed project. A couple of examinations of soil and rock from the vicinity and he could price a job both competitively and financially sound.

Davy discovered from Jones the engineer that there was severe unrest among the white-collar staff at the company and that the aged family members who owned it would be only too happy to ‘get rid of it’. Notwitstanding all the new contracts they had taken on, they were losing money at an ever increasing rate. Again without hesitation, he asked for an appointment to meet with the senior management to discuss the purchase of the company.

He attended the meeting with Willie. Jones the engineer was present on the company’s side and no mention of his future intentions was given to the company. He was in fact playing the role of a double agent. Davy had not liked the idea for as he said to Willie "If he does it once, he might also do it later on us". However, it was Willie who came out with "Davy, all is fair in love and war – and especially business".

To their surprise from the first moment it became obvious that the management wanted at all costs to ‘get out’ as quickly and as cheaply as possible. On the other hand, it was Davy’s intent to ‘get in’ on precisely the same terms.

Davy hit them with a further major surprise when he stood up and announced that he had been offered the engineering contract for the ‘new town’ project, which incidentally was to be the first of many. He could see that the senior management were absolutely shocked at the news. Davy sensed that they would be only too willing to become part of such a project. He therefore stood up and announced: "I and my colleague, Mr. McLaughlin on behalf of our holding company, DavWil Engineering, are willing to offer your company directors one third share option in exchange for your company. I anticipate that such an offer will be worth one third of a million pounds over three years and far more over the next ten to fifteen years. Gentlemen, we shall withdraw and await your decision". With that, both he and Willie left the room.

Outside, Willie began to stutter badly. "Wha, wha, what in the name of Go,Go,God Almighty have you done Davy. Where are we going to get all that mon, mon, money?"

"What money is that" Davy asked with a broad grin on his face.

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The interval stretched on and on with tea and biscuits being served at stages. After more than one and a half hours, they were asked to rejoin the meeting. The ‘opposition’ began to haggle about the share of the new company, which in fact weakened their position. Davy stood firm on his offer. When he actually became tired of the repetitious statements being made by the various members, Davy, feeling tired stood up and announced. "Gentlemen, I shall leave you with my offer and if we have not heard from you within seven days to our satisfaction, we shall take our offer elsewhere. Good afternoon gentlemen". Without listening to the ‘but, buts’, they turned and left not only the room, but also the building without another word.

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Willie was a nervous wreck since the meeting but Davy was cool, calm and collected. After all, he started with nothing but had everything to win if his plan came to fruition. He had every confidence that it would.

Seven days later before breakfast he received a registered letter. He opened it carefully and read it to himself. Willie strolled up and down the kitchen but kept his eyes on Davy at all times. Davy threw down the letter on the table and said not a word. "It’s bad news, isn’t it Davy? – I knew we should have gone to forty percent" Willie was almost in tears. "Maybe you are right Willie, maybe you are right" Davy replied, stood up and walked around the kitchen. "Then again Willie, you could be wrong" he added and allowed the frown on his face to disintegrate followed by the broadest smile Willie had ever seen. "We got it you so-and-so, and all for thirty percent. They have formally accepted our offer and the legal papers will be completed within two days", Davy looked as happy as Punch whilst Willie ran to the outside lavatory.

Davy made his way to the Post Office on the way to work and sent an acceptance telegram to the consortium formally accepting their offer.

Within days, several important meetings took place. One of the younger members of the working ‘team’ was promoted to overseer in the absence of Willie but work was at this stage way down their list of priorities.

They had staff meetings to arrange, sites to visit and estimates to be made. The company accountant accompanied Davy to a Merchant Bank where overdraft facilities were arranged. When the Consortium learned of this, they immediately made available to the company sufficient funds to enable them to avoid borrowing any money whatsoever.

As each current contract was completed the relevant team was moved to the new town site. Temporary accommodation had been erected which was far superior to that which they were accustomed at Mrs. O’Brien’s. A local public house that had no more than ten regular customers soon found that they were packed out to the rafters every evening with Irishmen from the site. Davy had insisted that a proper cook be employed and that the men be given the best of food. After all, he had arranged delivery from his market costermonger friend back in London.

They had purchased a further ten steam rollers and Willie had undertaken the training of the drivers. Work was well ahead of schedule in the first month. Within three months all the access roads had been completed and the actual builders were arriving in droves. Further accommodation was erected for them. Electricity mains and a gas supply had been installed and everything was proceeding to the delight of not only Davy and Willie, but also the consortium. Already they had begun to make plans for a further four satellite towns similar in all respects. DavWil Engineering had been provisionally granted the contracts. The entire scheme was now a multi-million pound project with no end in sight.

The Chief Engineer, Mr. Jones proved to be a loyal friend and an excellent civil engineer. He too lived on the site from Monday to Friday when he left early to return to his family home on the other side of London. The atmosphere was always happy even if the drinkers found the only public house overcrowded at times.

Every three weeks, Davy had designated there would be a ‘long-weekend’ with pay and all his men would be taken by train on Friday lunchtime up to London where they would create havoc among the Irish ghettos of Kilburn and Cricklewood until their return at lunchtime Monday. Willie and Davy made sure that they were at the station when they left with some unwanted advice. The men knew what they wanted and all the advice in the world would not stop them from getting it.

The two year estimated time for the contract was completed four months early earning the company almost twenty-five thousand pounds bonus. Once again, Davy shared most of it among his workers. However, as Directors, Davy and Willie took the lion’s share. They were now very wealthy young men – just coming up to their twenty-first birthdays.

To their surprise, on their return to their home on one long weekend in April, they were surprised to find Mrs. Manners telling off the maid for the state in which she found ‘her’ house. She was just about to sack her when Davy intervened. After all it had taken a long time to get someone in the first place.

Mrs. Manners then proceeded to sit down at the sitting room table and took out some very official papers. She handed a set to each of them. She then stood up and declared "This meeting of the directors of DavWil Textiles will now come to order, Mr. David Williams is in the Chair. Also present is Mr. William McLaughlin and Mrs. Davina Manners". Willie began to snigger at the first mention of her first name. However, the look on her face shamed him into silence.

She then proceeded to read the Financial Report. There were so many figures shown on it that it was making Willie’s eyes cross. Davy on the other hand merely went down to the final line where he saw the entry: Net Profit: £175,246.7s.6p. Davy then stood up and produced another bundle of papers.

"I have here preliminary papers announcing the profits from the DavWil Civil Engineering side of the business" Davy announced. "I will not bore you with the various figures other than the net profit. I can tell you that it will not be too far short of £426,750. As far as my crude estimation goes, it means that after everything is said and done, the three of us have to share the best part of £425,000 pounds. Not bad for our first real year". Much to their surprise Willie stood up and collapsed to the floor. When they managed to bring him back to the land of the living, he merely said "Am I right or wrong, but is that over £140,000 each?" "More or less Willie," answered Davy " that’s not a bad guess".

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Financial news, as with all aspects of money, reached the City of London Bankers and speculators. From basically a nil investment, these two Irishmen and widow had accumulated a fortune with much more to follow. The Green Eyes of the God of Envy were beginning to look in their direction from some unscrupulous men.

There were many offers to purchase the company but the directors on the advice of Davy declined them all. He had his ideas on what he intended to do in the not too distant future.

Three years later they had just completed their last but one major new town project. Davy, Willie and Mrs. Manners were now millionaires with money coming in from all directions. Davy called a meeting.

"Lady and gentleman" he began "or should I say friends. We now have more money than we will ever be able to spend in our lifetimes. I feel that it is decision time. I would like to open for discussion as to what we intend to do with the company. I for one do not wish to put it in the hands of those city slickers so I ask for your suggestions". He then sat down. Willie stood up and spoke quietly. "I am tired Davy and Mrs. Manners. I would like to go home and leave London forever". Mrs. Manners then stood up and added "I have already done so and can see the strain in both your faces. I think you should both follow Willie’s suggestion". "Yes, I agree" Davy said "but what about the company?" "Give it away, don’t sell it" came in united chorus from both Mrs. Manners and Willie.

"You realise what you are both saying?" Davy asked. "Of course Davy" Willie answered "as you said, we have enough. Lets give the linen company to the people in Banbridge and the engineering company to the workers. I think that Mr. Jones would make a good and fair boss". Mrs. Manners said nothing but had a beautiful smile on her face. "Why are you smiling Mrs. Manners?" Willie asked.

She continued to smile for a few moments then quietly spoke: "I can remember the first time that my old husband brought two young Paddy boys to our home for Saturday tea. You were two of the nicest lads I had ever come across and we secretly called you ‘our two sons’. Well I can tell you that poor old Mr. Manners would be so proud of you both and not only for what you have done, but what you are intending to do. I agree with the proposal – give everything to the workers – they earned it".

Arrangements were made to legally transfer both companies in the coming weeks. In the meantime, the two boys or should I say the two men were making their own plans.

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Six months later, at three thirty in the afternoon, on a beautiful July day, a small boy stood on the bridge overlooking the River Bann. He stood silently and watched as two men lay on the riverbank with two fishing rods pointing out into the river.

One turned to the other and said, "You know Davy. I think we should go back to London and try and get a job – this fishing is not really for me – there’s no blinking fish. I fancy getting on a Steamroller and doing some damage". "Willie" Davy replied "now if we could stock this river with plenty of brown trout, sure we would have the tourists coming in their droves. And if they did they would need somewhere to stay. How about building a hotel or a row of cottages for them to stay in or………………………."

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The 'London Gold Rush' 1903: Part 5.

The ‘London Gold Rush’ 1903: Part 5.

The day after Mr. Manner’s funeral, work resumed and before starting, Davy called a meeting of the ‘gang’ as they drank their early morning tea and sandwiches prepared by Mrs. Manners. She had offered to do it on a regular basis for free, but Davy insisted on paying her.

He introduced Willie as being in charge of the actual navigation but that he was to be in overall charge. Although only seventeen, they were now big in stature and capable of taking care of themselves if necessary. However, Davy insisted that anyone who did not wish to work under such conditions was free to leave with no hard feeling. As bait, he proudly told them that he was starting a small ‘bonus’ scheme and that the quicker they got a job done, the more they would be paid. In fact he was not sure from where the extra money was coming. He stressed that it would not be a lot in the early stages but that they would all share in anything that was coming as a result of their hard work.

The weather held and the gang pulled together. The contract that they were working on was finished three days early and on a fourteen day job that meant not only more money for the employers but also for Davy. He was in fact paid five pounds per day making an extra bonus of fifteen pounds. He decided to pay the men an extra ten shillings each and as it was the first time in their lives that they had been so well treated, they all cheered before making their way to the nearest public house to spend it.

Davy and Willie did not join them but made their way back to Mrs. Manners and changed into their best clothes. They had arranged that Mrs. Manners would join them and she too was asked to leave off her mourning clothing and wear her wealthiest looking clothes. When Davy was happy with how they looked, all three caught the bus up town.

He had only told them briefly what he intended to do. He would stay well out of the way while Willie, who was ordered to keep his mouth closed at all times, and Mrs. Manners would enter the Drapery Shop selling the Irish Linen that Davy had left there. Mrs. Manners, surprisingly since she had just buried her husband, joined in with gusto and when she again spoke, she was able to speak like a lady with what Willie called ‘a very posh voice’.

When they arrived and without any hesitation, Willie and Mrs. Manners entered the store and asked to be shown some Irish Linen. The assistant produced some of their ordinary stock, which did not impress Mrs. Manners. "No, no, no my dear" she exclaimed "I was looking for something more original". The assistant called the manager who was only too willing to produce that which Davy had given him. As soon as Mrs. Manners saw it she exclaimed "Absolutely fabulous, yes exactly what I want". She then proceeded to choose four handkerchiefs and asked the price. She paid with a five-pound note, which Davy had given her for the purchase. They then left the shop with Mrs. Manners promising to return in a week or two for a more substantial purchase.

When they met up with Davy, he was careful to make a note of the prices charged by the shop manager. They then strolled around for an hour or two and returned home. Within an hour of returning, a telegram arrived requesting Davy to attend the shop with any further linen he had with him. In fact, there had been no need for all the charade with Mrs. Manners as the manager had already made contact with some of his best customers who on seeing the quality had placed orders which Davy was now going to have to fill.

Davy ‘returned’ to the shop and spoke with the manager. The linen had been selling like ‘hot-cakes’, a term which surprised Davy, it coming from the manager of a very prestigious shop. The manager had prepared a long list of the items required as soon as possible. He paid Davy seventeen pounds, together with a list of the retail prices, for the items already sold. Davy left the shop and as soon as he was out of sight, he checked that the price of the handkerchiefs were the same as Mrs. Manners had in fact paid. He was happy to find that they were so.

He went straight to the main post office and wrote down a telegram to his mother. Because of the fear she had of such things, he had told her that he would, if it were good news, always use a first name of ‘Happy’. He made a rough list of what was required and handed the draft to the counter-clerk. As he began to check it, he said to Davy "Is this name right, ‘Happy Williams’ – it’s a strange one?" When Davy told him it was, the clerk counted up the number of words and asked for three shillings and two pence. Davy made a note of the expense and took the money from the payment from the shop.

He made his way back to his lodgings where Mrs. Manners and Willie were having a singsong. "My God Almighty" he thought to himself "If that is how she behaves the day after her husband’s funeral, it boggles the imagination of what they did on their wedding". It was as if she had read his mind "Come on Davy, join in, sure you only live once and anyway, this is what Mr. Manners would have wanted".

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Three months later something was to happen that would change Davy’s and Willie’s life forever. It would put all their moneymaking schemes into the shade. Davy knew that as soon as he saw the machine, it would revolutionise all forms of navigation from canal building, road building and all other aspects of the type of work in which they were involved.

It was the day he saw his first ‘steam-roller’. In the hands of any competent person, a days work by twenty men could be completed in less than an hour by one man and machine. It could rip up a road with ease. It could level out uneven road effortlessly. It could pull like ten horses. In fact, Davy thought, there is precious little it cannot do.

He attended his employer’s offices and spoke to one of the senior engineers. He too was aware of what such a machine was capable of doing but with labour being so plentiful and cheap, the company doubted that such a purchase was economically viable. Davy had done his homework and discovered that the price of such a machine was two hundred and forty pounds. To someone else this would have been astronomically high and out of reach of most ordinary people. He immediately proposed to the company Engineer that if Davy himself was to procure such a machine and ‘hire’ it out to the company, would they agree to pay a fair rental charge. The chief engineer liked the idea but thought that Davy was either drunk or on drugs. Maybe even both.

Davy returned to Mrs. Manners and got out his account books. He was sitting at the dining room table with receipts and notes all over the place. Mrs. Manners watched in silence from her fireside armchair. Apart from making an occasional cup of tea, she did not say or do anything to break Davy’s line of thought.

Davy was confident that with the advent of the motor car and the necessity of travel that road building was the thing of the future. For those who got in on the ‘ground floor’ there were vast sums of money to be made. He had no doubt whatsoever that he was right in his predictions.

Having counted up both his and Willie’s savings and leaving aside money for the linen trade back home, Davy discovered that he was close to one hundred pounds short of the purchase price. He fully realised that no bank manager would finance any such project with a loan. No matter how he massaged the figures, he was unable to come to any other conclusion. He eventually sat back and heaved a long sad sigh.

"Whenever Mr. Manners had a problem Davy" Mrs. Manners spoke softly "he used to put the details to me to see if I could come up with any alternative suggestion. Now tell me, what is your problem?" Davy smiled at her and merely said "Nothing that a hundred pounds wouldn’t cure Mrs. M." "O.k." she continued "so you now have the hundred pounds, what is your next problem?" "None" he replied "but an imaginary hundred pounds will not help solve the problem". "I am not talking imagination young man – and I am not a philanthropist. Tell me your plan and I will see if I am willing to invest some of Mr. Manners ill-gotten gains". Davy looked at her and suddenly realised that she was serious. With that he called her over and produced his paperwork.

Without any further ado, Davy wrote up a contract forming a simple company with Mrs. Manners holding one third of the shares, Willie doing likewise and he, Davy, holding the remaining third. He was to be the executive with full authority.

Mrs. Manners scrutinised the simple document for a good ten minutes before she signed it. "I trust you implicitly Davy, but I want to make sure that you have made it watertight, you never know in the future what might happen".

Davy knew that he was halfway up the ladder of success already but quietly thought to himself "The fall gets bigger, the higher up I get".

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The 'London Gold Rush' 1903: Part 4.

The ‘London Gold Rush’ 1903: Part 4.

Davy awoke on the second week of August 1904, sat up and began to drink the cup of tea left by Mrs. Manners. He looked across the room at the only other bed there and saw that Willie was beginning to stir. "Willie" he called out "what my old mother used to say has a rare knack of coming true – when one door closes another one opens". Willie began to drink his tea which was left on the bedside table and added "God rest his soul Davy, it came as a bit of a shock but sure the news is great about the work".

They had as arranged travelled home to Banbridge on the 15th August to be welcomed with open arms by both sets of parents. They were wearing new suits, new shoes and looked like a pair of city gentlemen in all their finery. They had plenty of money and had learned to hold on to it. Davy’s mother had, with the regular money he sent her, bought almost forty pounds of the most intricate designs in Irish linen that he had ever seen. It ranged from small ladies handkerchiefs, to scarves, table linen and absolutely beautiful bed linen. There were well over two hundred items. Half of his plan in that respect had been completed – at least for the time being in any case.

They had fished the river and caught some beautiful brown trout. They had roamed the hills and revisited places they had not seen for many years. They helped neighbours to pick their potatoes and other crops. All in all they were having a wonderful time.

Mrs. Williams, Davy’s mother had almost fainted when the Telegram Boy arrived on his bicycle and handed her a very official looking telegram. She stood in the hallway without moving or opening it for a good hour until Willie’s mother came to the door. She too was afraid of what news it might contain so instead of reading it, they sat in the kitchen until Davy returned with Willie. The telegram was addressed to him. He had opened it and read it aloud. "It is with regret that I must inform you that Richard Manners died of a heart attack today at work. Return post-haste and report to me at Head Office". Manners was the gang overseer and the message had been sent from the Engineers Head Office in London.

They had said their farewells and left that night. They crossed to Scotland but this time they took a train south to London. Forty-eight hours later Davy reported as directed. The office manager informed him of the circumstances and without hesitation he there and then offered Davy the job of ‘ganger’ that Manners had held. Mr. Manners had on every available occasion sung the praises of Davy to his employers and had recommended him for the position in case of such an incident ever taking place. "You have full control of the gang" he was informed. "You can hire and sack whoever you want and at the end of each contract, the usual bonus will be paid to you". "Bonus" thought Davy "the old bugger kept that one a secret". He then added aloud "There is only one thing sir that I will change if you agree and that is that Willie McLaughlin becomes my deputy and looks after the actual navigation side of the business while I look after the paperwork". The matter was agreed and a new salary was offered. Five pounds per week plus a bonus, not to mention the little fiddle meant that Davy was now earning more per week than his father could earn in a month.

They had visited Mrs. Manners whom they had known for months when her husband had brought them home for tea especially on Sundays. They had no children of their own and she had taken a shine to both of them but especially Willie. She called him her "cheeky little rascal" and he in turn had her wrapped around his little finger.

They attended the funeral, as did the whole gang all immaculately turned out in their dark suits and white shirts as a mark of respect. Willie looked after Mrs. Manners as if she was his own mother and his feelings were genuine. She had insisted that they come back to their little house and spend the afternoon with her.

It was then that she had offered them accommodation and upon inspecting it and hearing the charge, the lads immediately went to Mrs. O’Brien’s and collected their bits and pieces. That night they slept the sleep of the just with no fear that an eighteen stone drunken man would fall on top of them whilst they slept. Mrs. O’Brien was truly sad to see them go but her pain was lessened by the ten shillings that Davy slipped into her hand at the door.

The Irish Linen had been made up into two large parcels so later that morning, Davy opened them up and laid the contents on the two beds. He chose twenty of the highest quality items and made them up into a separate parcel. He then told Willie that he had something to do and that he was to keep Mrs. Manners company for the afternoon. Davy then caught a bus into the City.

He went without hesitation straight to the shop where he had seen the Irish Linen for sale. He walked up to the counter and asked to see the manager. Having introduced himself, adding that he represented a Co-operative Weavers Group from Banbridge County Down and had an offer to make that would not be beaten by any other supplier. He then opened the parcel and began to hand the items one by one to the manager. As he did so, Davy watched the man’s eyes carefully. He immediately saw that he was impressed, truly impressed at the quality of the designs and workmanship.

"And what is your offer?" the manager quietly asked. "Our offer sir, is that if you agree to pay us fifty percent of your retail price, we can keep you supplied with your favourite designs within an agreed time scale". "Fifty percent?" the manager drew in his breath. "That is the deal sir" Davy was confident that he had him. He began to parcel the items up again and added "You will have to excuse me sir, but I have two more high class retailers to visit this afternoon". "Take your time sir" the manager spoke softly "Fifty percent with payment within thirty days, with sole agency for your co-operative, do you agree". "Indeed sir" Davy nodded "if you have a concise agreement drawn up I shall return when I hear from you, here is my address". He wrote down his name and the ‘new’ address at Mrs. Manners. The area was a well-known middle class district of North East London. "Finally sir" said Davy, "as a matter of good faith, I shall leave these items with you for ‘sale or return’". He had not really fancied carrying them back to his address.

As he left the store, Davy had a smile on his face bigger than he had ever seen on Willies face, even when he was eating his favourite Irish stew.

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That night, Davy wrote a long letter to his mother about his good fortune with his new address. He told her precisely about the agreement on the linen and instructed her to call a meeting of the local weavers and explain the details. She was to organise the workload in the town whilst he would deal with the retailer in London. Each item was to be priced by his mother and a thorough record kept of each transaction. Each item would be paid for thirty days after delivery and any further profit made would be divided between the members provided they produced their quota of finished articles to the required standard. Davy did not underestimate the potential and profit if things went to plan.

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The 'London Gold Rush' 1903: Part 3.

The ‘London Gold Rush’ 1903: Part 3.

Towards the end of March the springlike weather completely vanished with a cruel easterly wind blowing in flurries of snow. Work was once again delayed and Willie and Davy found themselves with plenty of time on their hands

.
"You know something Davy?" Willie spoke quietly in the kitchen of Mrs. O’Brien’s while they were having a mug of tea with her. She had in fact become quite friendly with them both because of their manners and respect not to mention the odd bits of food that Willie gave her for free. "And what would that be Willie?" Davy answered. "Do you know what I miss most about home?" he asked. "No, Willie, go ahead and tell us". Davy looked up at the dirty ceiling and sighed. "’Tis the sea next to my parents that I really miss. Walking down the strand on the wet sand with the seagulls calling and the waves crashing against the rocks. That’s what I miss Davy most of all".

Davy made no reply as he could feel the pangs of homesickness creeping in and at the thought of the seashore he knew that if he spoke he would choke up and possibly start crying like a baby. They sat and drank their tea without uttering another word between the three of them.

"And why now don’t you both get well wrapped up and catch a train up town and have a look around" Mrs. O’Brien quietly spoke. She did not want them to get the idea that she wanted them out of her kitchen but in fact she did. She was expecting a visit from one of her previous lodgers who called himself a ‘doctor’. "Doctor my foot" she thought to herself, "and him insisting on giving me a thorough examination every time even if I have only a head cold". She let out a long drawn out sign whilst the two lads put on their overcoats and made a move to leave.

An hour later they stepped off the local train and found themselves in the heart of London quite close to Trafalgar Square. They stood in awe and watched the world pass by for almost an hour until Willie shouted. "Good God Almighty Davy, did you see that?" Davy was quite annoyed at the way Willie always made you guess what he had just seen but in a friendly sort of way, he didn’t really mind. "No Willie, what was it?" "The bus Davy, look at it, just look at it" Willie was as excited as Davy had ever seen him. "And what about it Willie, so it’s a bus" Davy was puzzled as to why another bus should excite his friend so. "It’s going to the Strand, it says so on the front" Willie began to drag Davy by the arm. With that they both jumped onto the slow moving bus.

"Two tickets to the sea front" Willie asked the conductor. "Are you taking the piss Paddy?" the conductor looked at them as if they both had two heads. "Sorry" Davy broke in "It’s two tickets to the Strand please" he asked. "Are you both taking the piss or what?" He seemed more annoyed than before. "We’re strangers" Davy spoke with his best apologetic voice. "I’ll take your word for it" the conductor smiled "you can save your money, this is the Strand".

The two lads got off the bus and stood on the pavement and looked around. It was just a busy street with shops and offices and no sign of the sea. Across the road they saw a Police Sergeant and decided to ask him for directions. He was standing looking into a shop window as they approached. "Excuse me officer" Davy began "but can you please tell us …….". As the Sergeant turned around all three of them were struck dumb. Willie was the first to speak. "Mother of God Almighty, if it’s not young Peter O’Loughlin himself. And will you look at that beautiful uniform and helmet on his head. Sure it’s grand you are looking Peter". Peter slapped them both on the back and it was only then that Davy fully realised what was going on. He did know Peter at school back home but had not seen him for years. They stood for a long time talking about home and the latest news. Eventually as he began to leave, Willie told him about the Strand and the sea. Peter began to laugh. He then laughed louder until Davy thought that he was going to burst. "What’s the matter Peter?" he asked. "What’s the matter you ask?" Peter answered through his laughter. "Sure if you tried to swim here I’d have to arrest you. The Strand is the name of the street not the blinking seashore".

The look of disappointment on Davy’s face was only beaten by the look on Willie’s. Peter saw it and took pity on them as he had often felt the same pains when he came to London five years ago. "I’ll tell you what you can do lads" he said "follow me and I’ll take you down by the Thames river and you can walk along the shore and imagine that you are back home. Just one thing though, it won’t be the smell of salty water you get, it smells more like an open sewer". With that, Peter stepped out into the street and with one wave of his hand, cars, buses, horse and carts and everything else came to an abrupt stop. The three of them strolled at their leisure across the road where Peter gave a slight flick of his wrist and the traffic began to flow again. The lads were so impressed that Davy made a mental note to tell them all at home about Peter the next time he wrote.

He took them down a short distance where they could actually see the river and some boats. They were mostly barges coming and going every minute or two. They said their farewells to Peter with a promise to meet up again some time then climbed down some steps onto the stony riverside. Immediately Willie began skimming stones on the water and was more like a ten-year-old child than the seventeen-year-old that he really was. Davy, as he had anticipated, upon seeing the flowing water began to softly cry.

Once again he was so homesick that if they had saved enough money, he would without any hesitation, be on the next boat home. "Alas", he thought to himself, "not quite yet"…………..

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The 'London Gold Rush' 1903: Part 2.

The ‘London Gold Rush’ 1903: Part 2.

Willie and Davy had now been in London for 6 months and as the January weather put a hold on most of their type of work, they had time to relax and visit places they had never seen the likes of before. With Davy’s control over Willie’s spending they had saved a nice few pounds and that was after they sent ten pounds each to their parents for Christmas. They were now saving as hard as they could so that they could have a summer holiday back home in July.

They soon found that their lodgings at Mrs. O’Brien’s was nothing like home. Although she did her best to keep it clean, the fact that twenty odd hard working and some hard drinking men slept in the four rooms set aside for them, the whole house always had a damp smell about it. They slept five to a room on mattresses on the floor. Most of the men, especially the heavy drinkers, slept wherever they fell. Davy had moved their mattress under a table and he and Willie seldom if ever had any trouble. It was Willie who had suggested that they join the other men on a Friday night to try out drinking but Davy insisted on not doing so. As their savings grew and they saw the other workers who drank to excess most nights penniless, both of them decided there and then to keep off the drink for good.

The boss of the gang had taken a great liking to Davy and took him under his wing to show him all the ‘tricks of the trade’. Davy was a quick learner especially where money was concerned. He discovered that the boss would always charge his employers for at least two extra men’s wages each week and when Davy spoke to him about it, the boss confided in him. He confirmed that it was ‘one of his little fiddles’. Ten or sometimes twenty pounds was no sneezing matter. The day after he had told Davy his prime secret, he regretted doing so and in order to secure his loyalty and more importantly his silence, he would pay Davy double wages each week. For doing so, Davy had to keep the accounts, make up the wage packets and pay the workers. He would have to act as ‘site foreman’ in the absence of the boss. Davy was only too happy to do so.

During one of their rambles around London, they came across one of the many street markets. They heard one costermonger call out his prices in a strong Belfast accent. They went up to him and had a long conversation. The result of it was that if Davy bought food in some quantity the seller would do him a special price. He was able to get all sorts of food including eggs, bacon, bread and other basics. Davy began to play around with an idea in his head.

During the weeks they did not do a full week’s work they were only paid for the work completed. This left many of the hard drinkers short of money. It was well known that Davy held the purse strings for both himself and Willie so naturally these men made an approach. Davy decided that he would indeed lend them up to a maximum of ten shillings provided they repaid him eleven shillings on payday. The men were delighted with the arrangement as it saved them the trouble of pawning whatever valuables they had and paying commission when they redeemed the articles.

So all in all, the boys were doing well.

On another occasion whilst strolling along one of the High Class shopping areas, Willie drew Davy’s attention to something in one of the windows. "Good God Almighty Davy" he exclaimed "but I would swear that that piece of Linen there in the window was woven by my own mother herself. And would you look at the price of it". Davy looked with wide-open eyes and quickly summed up the situation. He worked it out that one of their mothers would have been paid as little as seven shillings for the four foot square piece of beautiful handiwork whilst the price in the window was one pound seventeen shillings and six pence. A difference of over one pound ten shillings. Another idea began to form in Davy’s mind.

March gradually crept in and the weather had plenty of spring in it. They celebrated Saint Patrick’s Day in a public house but did not drink anything stronger than lemonade. They had a great day – in fact one to remember.

Davy had purchased a large quantity of food from his Belfast costermonger and charged the workers the normal price. The food was better quality and the portions bigger so they had no grounds for complaint. He managed to earn well over one pound per week with this little enterprise.

He had sent his mother twenty pounds with specific instructions. She was to buy up as much fancy linen from her neighbours at a cheap but fair price. He insisted that the patterns be as complicated as possible. He would send her more money as it became available and she was to hold onto the purchased linen until his arrival in July. Davy sat back in a chair with the biggest smile on his face that Willie had ever seen.

"Why are you so happy?" he asked. "Because young William" Davy replied "I think you might have been correct when you said that we could be millionaires in a couple of years. Yes indeed, I think you could be right"……………
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