User:Georgecranston

..  GEORGE CRANSTON. BORN IN HAPPY VALLEY. HONG KONG. IN 1930,HIS FATHER A SOLDER IN THE K.O.S.B. THEY RETURNED TO PORTADOWN IN NORTH IRELAND IN 1931,HIS MOTHER ,BROTHER CECIL,AND GEORGE.HIS FATHER REMAINED IN HONG KONG. ABOUT 1936, THEY SPENT ASHORT TIME IN FORT WILLIAM, SCOTLAND AGAIN RETURNING TO PORTADOWN. MUM, CECIL, AND GEORGE, LIVED FOR A WHILE WITH THEIR GRANDMOTHER, THEN RENTED A HOUSE IN THE SAME STREET;NORTH STREET.IN EDGARSTOWN, PORTADOWN. GEORGE WENT TO THE HART MEMORIAL SCHOOL. HE WAS NOT TO KEEN ON SCHOOL, AND OFTENMISSED GOING,HIDING IN HIS GRANDMAS YARD.GEORGES ONLY MEMORIES OF SCOTLAND ARE RUNNING A STREET BLOCK WITH A BOY NAMED TOBY? AND LATER HAVING TO GET SOME STICHES IN HIS HEAD AFTER FALLINGOFF A TABLE ON TO SOME TEA CHESTS. BACK IN IRELAND GEORGES BEST FRIEND WAS BILLY SHERMAN, AS GEORGES FAMILY WERE IN POVERTY, GEORGE WORE BILLYS CAST OFF CLOTHES.GEORGES EARLIEST MEMORIES OF THE RAGS THAT HE DID WEAR WAS WHEN A NEIGHBOUR, ERNIE DOUGHERTY,A RETIRED BUTCHER, MADE FUN OFF A RAGGEDY WAISTCOAT THAT GEORGE WAS WEARING THAT GEORGE WISHED ERNIE DEAD. AFEW WEEKS LATER ERNIE DID DIE, THUS GEORGE THOUGHT HE HAD CAUSED HIS DEATH.OTHER BAD MEMORIS WERE WHEN HIS MOTHER STARTED GOING WITH FRED Mc NALLY, HIS MUM WOULD GO OUT FOR LONG HOURS ,LOCKING THE HOUSE AND GEORGE HAD TO STAND WAITING AT THE STREET CORNER UNTIL SHE RETURNED, EVEN IN THE COLD WINTER NIGHTS. HIS MOTHER LATER MARRIED FRED, WHO WAS VERY GOOD TO GEORGE GEORGE LEFT SCHOOL IN 1944, FOR 2 YEARS HE WORKED IN THE REGAL CINEMA. AFTER ABOUT FOUR SHORT TERM JOBS GEORGE WAS BLESSED TO BE ABLE TO SERVE AN APPRENTICESHIP TO PAINTING AND DECORATING WITH A VERY GOOD FIRM ;W.J.MAGEE; THIS WAS NOW 1947, GEORGE WAS BLESSED AS WELL AS LEARNING A TRADE, THE TRADESMEN ALSO EDUCATED HIM. SOME SIX YEARS LATER GEORGE MOVED TO THE 'ULSTER LACES' AS MAINTENANCE PAINTER AND DECORATOR, WHERE HE REMAINED FOR ELEVEN YEARS, UNTIL HE AND HIS FAMILY EMIGRATED TO AUSTRALIA IN 1966 they spent one year in COBURG, MELBOURNE, WHICH GEORGE DID NOT LIKE, GEORGE GOT A JOB IN SALE VICTORIA AS A SUPERVISOR WITH APAINTING CONTRACTIOR, HE SPENT TWO YEARS WITH THEM BEFORE MOVING OFF-SHORE TO THE OIL & GAS PLATFORMS AS CORIOSION SUPERVISOR GEORGE SPENT 17 YEARS OFF-SHORE just logged on 4th may 2011, will update later.