Taylor, of course, was the conservative candidate.

When I left school in 1930, liner number 534 was being built in John Brown's yard at Clydebank and my father was working on her. I had a job as a soap boy in Jardine's Barber Shop beside the admiralty bar next to the John Brown's yard gate. I got to know all the foremen very well.

Suddenly the chilling news spread that number 534 was to stop. Cunard had run out of money. many were thrown out of work including my father and three of my brothers. The date was Friday, December 11, 1931. Our town of Clydebank became an industrial graveyard.

I was showing some promise as a footballer. And I went along to John Brown's Welfare ground where William McKenzie, the manager, was running all sorts of sports to keep the unemployed men occupied. He allowed me to join in. The only drawback was, that I was looking after my youngest brother who was in a pram. So I had to be the goal keeper. And if I didn't stop the ball, he did, with his face! As it turned out, Frank has turned into quite a handsome young man, so I must have been quite good. So much so, in fact, that I later signed professional forms as goal keeper for Airdrie football club. However, I'm getting ahead of my story...

Mr. McKenzie managed to get me a job as an apprentice shipwright and I entered the yard gate and got my first sight of the giant, derelict hull of number 534. To me it looked like a gigantic steel monster balanced delicately on thousands of match sticks. I later found out that they were wooden tree trunks around 18 inches in diameter of various lengths and called 'shores'. So this was the liner that was keeping my family idle and in straightened circumstances!

I had to walk along to the west yard where two destroyers were being built, but every lunchtime I'd go over to the east yard and take my dinner and look at 534 and wonder when I would ever get to board her. My mate [co-worker] at this time was Alan Adam, a very religious man. I remember one day he slapped my face for saying, "damn". He was good at his trade and he taught me well. I was with him for two years.