The working life of Charles Reid, as a farmservant in Aberde...
Track Information
Original Track ID
SA1980.105
Original Tape ID
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
Collection
Source Type
Reel to reel
Audio Quality
Good