A Staffordshire Lad - Reflections of Wartime Youth

Known throughout Wales for his gentle self-deprecating sense of humour and brilliant TV and radio broadcasts, BBC presenter Roy Noble guides us through the "lay-bys" of his life; his warm, loving fifties Brynaman childhood; his college and teaching days; and his ultimate success in that most difficult of careers - showbusiness. A beautiful and entertaining depiction of the life of a truly extraordinary and much loved Welshman who has enriched the daily lives of millions. We meet his family and friends, the ordinary and the rich and famous. We rejoice at his triumphs, laugh at his blunders and cry at his unflinchingly honest depiction of personal tragedy.

These memoirs record the life of a Cobh, Co. Cork boy born in 1927 from infancy to adulthood in the millennium. Amongst the happy memories are the games and tricks played on each other and his schooling from the convent years to secondary college in Cobh. It is an honest reflection of the heartbreaks and happiness of pre war and during World War ll. Road tarring and the introduction of electricity into houses are 2 such memories. The regular appearance of Liners accompanied by tears and weeping of Emigrants to America and their families left behind. The might of the British Armed Forces with their naval ships anchored in the Harbour. Flags adorned these ships on August 15th of each year in honour of the local regatta. The navy also set off fireworks. Wartime rationing was enforced. He Qualified as a Marine Radio Officer in 1945. He headed off to London in 1946 to unsuccessfully join the Metropolitan Police. The challenge of manufacturing military electronics was his first job. 10 years of Sea life, on 14 ships, covering 50 countries and islands followed with all its wonderful and hazardous aspects which included Sexual temptations, Fights, and Collisions and the mental torment of the Jesuits and Redemptorists. There are amusing episodes of his ventures at being Medico onboard. He refused to sign on as British and defended strongly his right to be Irish. The love of a wonderful woman who became a mother of their 4 lovely children is the highlight of his life, and for her he returned to work ashore in 1960. He continued working in electronics in England before returning to Ireland. The death of his darling wife was the main reason that he started writing this book. He is now living in Malahide, Co. Dublin.

Survival was never easy for the early settlers in the Great Smoky Mountains. People "made do" with what they had and what they could glean from a rocky garden and hillside corn patch, and from picking wild berries and grapes, canning, preserving and drying food. Sometimes, in order for his family to survive, a man had to resort to making illegal corn liquor.

This is a story about growing up in a family of ten children in the immediate post-depression era, living high in the mountains on a steep winding dirt road, eight miles from the nearest town.

Much effort has been made to use authentic mountain speech, along with giving details about activities of daily living, including housing, clothing, food, school, work, play, attitudes and customs of the time.

The story of a young boy who left school at 14 to work in the shipyard of Harland Wolff, Belfast. He went to sea at 16 years as an officer cadet and eventually became a captain. He struggled to start his own shipping company, not for the love of the business but to be in shore employment, and to be with his family during the political problems in Northern Ireland. His return to the Merchant Navy and the formation in Northern Ireland of the Merchant Navy Association in the Province for the benefit of retired seafarers.

This is the first fully documented and detailed account, produced in recent times, of one of the greatest early migrations of Scots to North America. The arrival of the Hector in 1773, with nearly 200 Scottish passengers, sparked a huge influx of Scots to Nova Scotia and Cape Breton. Thousands of Scots, mainly from the Highlands and Islands, streamed into the province during the late 1700s and the first half of the nineteenth century.

Lucille Campey traces the process of emigration and explains why Scots chose their different settlement locations in Nova Scotia and Cape Breton. Much detailed information has been distilled to provide new insights on how, why and when the province came to acquire its distinctive Scottish communities. Challenging the widely held assumption that this was primarily a flight from poverty, After the Hector reveals how Scots were being influenced by positive factors, such as the opportunity for greater freedoms and better livelihoods.

The suffering and turmoil of the later Highland Clearances have cast a long shadow over earlier events, creating a false impression that all emigration had been forced on people. Hard facts show that most emigration was voluntary, self-financed and pursued by people expecting to improve their economic prospects. A combination of push and pull factors brought Scots to Nova Scotia, laying down a rich and deep seam of Scottish culture that continues to flourish. Extensively documented with all known passenger lists and details of over three hundred ship crossings, this book tells their story.

"The saga of the Scots who found a home away from home in Nova Scotia, told in a straightforward, unembellished, no-nonsense style with some surprises along the way. This book contains much of vital interest to historians and genealogists."

- Professor Edward J. Cowan, University of Glasgow

"...a well-written, crisp narrative that provides a useful outline of the known Scottish settlements up to the middle of the 19th century...avoid[s] the sentimental 'victim & scapegoat approach' to the topic and instead has provided an account of the attractions and mechanisms of settlement...."

- Professor Michael Vance, St. Mary's University, Halifax