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The working life of Charles Reid, as a farmservant in Aberde...

Date 18 November 1980
Track ID 49602
Part 1

Track Information

Original Track ID

SA1980.105

Original Tape ID

SA1980.105

Summary

The working life of Charles Reid, as a farmservant in Aberdeenshire and as a London policeman.

At his first farm, Charles Reid was moyened on [recommended] to a farm, and his father got him £8 for six months. Aged sixteen, he went to the feeing market and got £14. The feeing markets died out and jobs were advertised instead in the 'Buchanie' [Buchan Observer]. At his second farm, he was with another man who did their cooking. Aged seventeen, he went to a third farm, where the mistress was Mrs Mackie née Milne. He then decided to leave farm work. His father, a cottar, was disappointed and warned him that he would not earn enough to salt his brose.

Between the ages of seventeen and twenty-one, he worked in tailoring, in St Fergus. Trade suffered from the introduction of cheap clothes, and a commercial traveller advised him to join the police. He quotes: "There's mony a horse has slippit and faa'en an risen again fu early." His grandmother started greeting [crying] at the thought of him going away. He sat a dictation exam locally, using a new pen nib that a neighbour gave him, passed, and went to work in London. The train fare cost half of six months' farm wages. He joined a friend who was already in the police. Other recruits studying with him for the police exams included unemployed graduates. His brother later joined him. He talks about his brothers and sisters.

Item Notes

On farms where the men were accommodated in bothies (as opposed to chamers), they did their own cooking. Mrs Mackie was Mr Reid's old schoolteacher. The quotation is from the song 'Mormond Braes'.

Item Subject/Person

Reid, Charles

Item Location

County - Aberdeenshire

Non Scottish Item Location

England, London

Non Scottish Item Location

Sasainn, Lunnainn

Language

Scots

Genre

Information

Collection

SoSS

Source Type

Reel to reel

Audio Quality

Good