career-history-alex

My Father’s Education and Career History

20 March, 2023 0 Comments

Before carrying on with ‘Life after the Wedding’, it might be a good idea to look at my father’s naval and civilian career history, as this will provide some kind of background. I’m afraid this will be a piecemeal description, because I don’t have all of the relevant documents.

However, it may help if I provide a ‘Timeline’ of his work experience. I will also include details of addresses the family lived at, as well as other information:

Timeline (1916-1962)

Dates of testimonials, and other documentsEmployment and education of my father, A. W. Harkness1; addresses the family lived at; events, and other documents.
As of 3 April 2023, and after this date, this ‘Timeline’ will be updated using an ongoing process. This is due to the fact that my brother, Gavin, sent me about 100 letters written between my parents during the war years. In other words, as I read through these letters, new information will appear regarding addresses of residence, places of work, family, friends, and so on.
26 July, 1916Birth of my father, Alexander Whitecross Harkness. Living at 134 Gorgie Road, Edinburgh, Scotland.
21 May, 1921Birth of my mother, Rhoda Campbell MacGillivray. Living at 81 Plantation Street, Govan, Glasgow, Scotland.
2 April 1932My father was living at: 12 Dumbarton Rd., Stirling, c/o Tawse (see ‘Victoria Friendly Society’ penny insurance document). 
1933-1938Pratt Brothers, Edinburgh. Apprenticeship. 
11 July 1938Lockhart & MacNab. Electrician. (Stirling)
14 Jan 1939John Carroll & Sons, Ltd. Cumbernauld, Scotland. Charge Hand Electrician.
4 April 1939Burgess & Speedie, Stirling, Scotland. Electrical work. 
30 May 1939
1 June 1940		Certificate of Service under the Admiralty. H.M. Dockyard, Rosyth. Temporary Draughtsman. 
3 Sept 1939France and Britain declare war on Germany. The start of World War 2. 
7 Sept 1939This is the stamp date on my father’s ‘Officer’s Pass’ giving him admittance to H.M. Dockyard Rosyth in plain clothes.
26 May –
4 June 1940		Battle of Dunkirk – the defence and evacuation of British and other Allied forces to Britain. 
12 June 1940My father enlisted in the R.N.V.R. (Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve). He was working at a land-based naval facility, H.M.S.  Spartiate. He has a testimonial dated 30 December 1940. It gives the dates 12 June 1940 and 1 October 1940. My father’s service in the RNVR lasted from 12 June 1940-12 July 1946 (as stated in his ‘Statement of Service’). My father was probably billeted at the Highlander’s Institute in Glasgow where my mother worked. But he still had his house at 2 Chesser Loan, Edinburgh. 
19 June 1940H.M.S “Defiance”. I’m not sure where H.M.S. “Defiance” is, but I believe it’s in Plymouth, England.   
Prior to 4 October 1940 (date of wedding)My father seems to be quartered in the boat “Girl Ethel”, Holy Loch. My mother lived at 29 Scotia Street, Glasgow, but she also seems to be staying at the Highlanders’ Institute, Elmbank Street, Glasgow (where she worked).
4 October 1940My parents got married in Glasgow. My father is perhaps sometimes billeted at the Highlander’s Institute (where my mother worked); that is, his headquarters were in Glasgow (St Enoch’s Hotel, and HMS Spartiate); so he was perhaps on occasion ordered to travel to Glasgow to receive further tasks. But at the moment of the wedding he was quartered on the boat “Girl Ethel”, Holy Loch. 
1940-1941My mother is living at lodgings “Woodbank”, Holy Loch, Argyllshire. The name of the landlady is Mrs Christie. See letter in appendix dated 17 September 1941. 
1941- (September)My parents are living at “Mardumho”, Strone, Holy Loch, Argyllshire, but my father is working and living at other places, such as Liverpool, due to his naval duties. So he is only able to visit her when he has leave. See letter in appendix dated 17 September 1941.
21 May 1942My parents were living in Dunoon, near the Holy Loch (see the telegram to my mother from her mother on her 21st birthday). My mother at this time was in her eighth month of pregnancy with my eldest brother, Sandy, so it seems likely that they had applied for a house to rent in Dunoon, near where my father worked. But I do not have a precise date of when they moved to Rannoch Cottage, 85 Queen Street, Dunoon.   
14 June 1942My eldest brother, Alexander, was born in Dunoon, Scotland. This was just three months before Operation Jubilee, or the Dieppe Raid (19 August 1942) – the allied amphibious attack on the German-occupied port of Dieppe in northern France. This was the other side of the coin to the Dunkirk evacuation (which my father perhaps contributed to).

Thus, the jubilation of my mother’s firstborn son was mirrored by the jubilation of the re-advance in France. This inspired my mother to keep some newspaper extracts (see below). However, this was “false” euphoria, as it wasn’t until the birth of the third son, Alistair, that the Allies finally made headway (in 1945).
10 October 1942 – 20 Jan. 1944 Working on “Young John”, most likely at Sandbank, but his command is still in Glasgow (see testimonial referring to “Young John”).  
15 March 1944My brother, Stuart Campbell, was born in Dunoon.
7 May 1945 On May 7, 1945, Germany unconditionally surrendered to the Allies in Reims.
16 June 1945Birth of the third son Alistair in Sunderland. According to Alistair’s National ID card, they lived at 145 Ryhope Road in Sunderland, England. This implies that they were no longer residents of Dunoon. I believe they only stayed in Sunderland for a short time before moving to my father’s house at 2 Chesser Loan in Edinburgh.

On July 14, 1945, according to Alistair’s ID card, they were living at 2 Chesser Loan. But exactly why they were in Sunderland is unsure. One theory is that the HMS Royal Athelstan was docked in Sunderland or Newcastle. An educated guess would be that Newcastle was a convenient port for sailing to Antwerp, Belgium, but there appear to be too many unknown variables to draw any firm conclusions. 
30 March 1945 to 1 July 1945My father was working on the Royal Athelstan. It is perhaps unclear exactly where this is docked (see discussion in the main body of the text). Also, it is a little unclear where my parents are living. However, it seems clear that they moved away from Dunoon, and started to live in my father’s house in 2 Chesser Loan, Edinburgh. This is evident from some photos showing my elder brothers between the ages of 3-4 years old and roughly six years old.

Considering that my father was serving in Burma in 1945, it makes sense that they were living at Chesser Loan roughly between 1944-45 and 1948. 
14 July 1945Alistair’s National Identity Card shows that the family was living at 2 Chesser Loan, Edinburgh. In other words, this was after my father was working on the Royal Athelstan. This is probably in connection with the fact that the Germans had already surrendered on May 7, 1945. But the Japanese had still not surrendered, perhaps making it necessary for my father to continue his service in the RNVR  
1945My father was serving in the RNVR in Burma in 1945, according to a note attached to the ‘Rangoon photos.’ Because the Japanese had not yet surrendered, my father’s service in Burma could have been before or after the surrender, and he could have been involved in both a clean-up mission and an attempt to stabilize British control of one of their colonies. 
2 September 1945The end of the war—Japan surrendered after the dropping of two atomic bombs on Nagasaki and Hiroshima.
March 1947-
30 Sept 1948		The North British Rubber Company, Edinburgh. Electrical Draughtsman. This also seemed to suggest that my parents were living in Edinburgh during this period.
1947 – 1948½  Rangoon Electrical Supply Co., Rangoon, Burma. This is what is stated on his CV (which is sometimes inaccurate). However, it contradicts the testimonial for the North British Rubber Company provided above. Logically, he could have worked for the North British Rubber Company in Burma, but I couldn’t find any documentation in his papers or on the Internet to support this (albeit after a brief search). 
1948My father started to work at Windscale (Atomic Energy). The National IDs of my two brothers, Alistair and Alexander, show a date of 1948. The family was then living at New House Farm, Drigg, Holmrook, Cumberland, England.
28 March 1949I was born at Newhouse Farm, Drigg, Holmrook, Cumberland, England (see Ian Harkness’ National ID card and birth certificate). So, by this time, my family had moved from Scotland to England. My father was working at Windscale (Atomic Energy).    
23 May 194943 Dent View, Egremont, Cumberland (see Alistair’s National Identity Card, as well as mine).
12 Oct 1949My mother’s National Identity Card states that she was living at 60 Bowfell Road, Mirehouse, Cumberland, England.
1949-1953Living at various addresses in Cumberland, England
1950 to 25 Nov 1952Cumberland Education Committee. Whitehaven Technical Institute. My father was working as a part-time member of the teaching staff. 
1953-1962Family living in Culcheth, Lancashire, England. First at 3 York Avenue, and then at 26 Hob Hey Lane. My father worked for the Atomic Energy in Risley, Lancashire.
10 August 1956Auntie Violet marries Uncle Gavin

1 It is best to rely on official documents rather than my father’s CV, as his CV is ‘unreliable’.

Category: NWNC Vol. I, Vol. I - Chapter 3

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