Identifier | EERC/DG/DG49/4 |
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Interviewer | Glover, John |
Dates | interview: 2017-02-24 coverage: 20th century |
Extent | 3 digital audio file(s), 1 digital photograph(s), 1 papers |
Notable persons / organisations | Burns, Robert, 1759-1796 (Scottish poet) |
Subject | Childhood, Working life, Industry, Community Life, Customs and Traditions, Literature, Dumfries, Heathhall, Dumfries and Galloway |
Interview summary | In this first track of 3 (DG49/4/1/1) David Smith explains his reaction to being informed he had been put forward for an BEM (British Empire Medal) for services to the heritage of Robert Burns. After his initial shock and surprise, David thought it was a joke and said he was delighted. He was sorry his mother hadn't been around to see this. In this second track (DG49/4/1/3) David explains that he was born in Loanhead in 1956 and came to Dumfries in 1956, when he was 12. His father was transferred to the ICI plant in 1954 and then the family followed later, after the council had built houses for them. David felt he had been very fortunate to come to Dumfries and considered himself a doon-hamer by adoption. After his first job, as a farm labourer, Daivd got a job with the North British Rubber Company at their plant at Heathhall. He talks about his work there, and about the changes in the company over the years. He also explains that the NB Rubber Company was bought over first by UniRoyal and later by Gates Rubber Company. In this final track (DG49/4/1/5), David talks about his devotion to Robert Burns which began in 1968 when a work colleague invited him aong to the Burns Howff. He applied to join and was successful and has held the post of secretary for the past 44 years. He talks about the meetings, noting some people who gave fantastic speeches (the toast) at the annual Burns Supper. He also talks about his role as President of the Burns Federation (1994) and tells some anecdotes from this time. towards the end of this interview, the fieldworker asks him about the enduring legacy of Robert Burns. David believes Dumfries has a lot to thank Burns for and believed Burns had written some of his best work in Dumfries. David added that he believed Burns' philosophy and his love of humanity is as relevant now as it ever was. |
Access | Open |
Usage Statement | We give permission for the re-use of our collections material for non-commercial purposes under the Creative Commons Attribution Non-commercial 4.0 International Licence. |
Audio links and images |