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Interview of John McIlwraith
Description
March 10 2005
John McIlwraith (b. Sept. 4, 1926 in Glasgow) was one of four children.
Father: William Mason Peyton McIlwraith (b. in Connel Ferry, Scotland (near Oban)), had three brothers and three sisters. He met John’s mother after returning from service in the First World War. William was an engineer for Singer as well as an amateur musician (banjo, guitar, piano, choir conductor) and baker. He would compose and transpose music for choirs. During the Depression, he was forced to take on a variety of odd jobs to make ends meet (perming hair, painting, photography), and refused to accept unemployment. A small man, he was very bright and disciplined.
John’s paternal grandfather, John McIlwraith, was a foreman for the Singer’s Clydesbank factory.
Mother: née Phee (b. 1901 in Portobello, Edinburgh; one of seven children), also worked for Singer; she was in the accounts department. John’s father first saw her on the train to work. In her spare time she sang and competed against John’s father in their household baking competitions. At the time of interview (2005), John’s mother was 104 years old and living in Victoria. John’s maternal grandmother (from Arran) was a Gaelic speaker (John understood some as well).
The McIlwraiths were not religious. They were a close family; having no television, they often spent evenings together listening to John’s father’s music. John’s favourite relative was his paternal uncle, Bob, who was a carpenter and a “generous man.” John spent the majority of his childhood living in a flat with his family in Glasgow until the outbreak of the Second World War when he, his siblings, and a couple of his cousins went to live with his their maternal grandmother in Machrie Bay on the Isle of Arran. He was around 11 or 12 at the time. He attended elementary school in both Glasgow (St. David’s) and on Arran and completed his secondary school education upon his return to Glasgow at the end of the war. His school on Arran had grades 1-6 in the same class. After graduation, John attended Skerry’s College in Glasgow, learning shorthand and typing. John has since worked as a writer and broadcaster for many different newspapers/companies in both Scotland and Canada, including: CKNW, Mississauga News, and the Oakville Courier, among others. He was a columnist mainly writing essays and humourous pieces. He had written some humourous essays in Scotland. Before beginning his professional career, John did a variety of odd jobs throughout his youth (errand boy, milk and grocery delivery, and newspaper delivery). He remembers siphoning cream off the top of milk deliveries.
John immigrated alone to Canada in the spring of 1957. It had become too hard to earn a living in Scotland. His wife at the time, Bridie (1st wife, Bridget Fitzsimmons, a nurse whom he married in 1950), and their three children (Gordon, Susan, and Fraser) later joined him. They first moved to Vancouver, then to Ontario for 3-4 years, and later returned to Burnaby/Vancouver. John worked as the Sales Manager for Evergreen Press for ten years and was a co-owner of the French restaurant, La Colombe. Although not successful at the time of purchase, John helped turn the restaurant into the finest French eatery in Vancouver.
When asked about memories of saying goodbye to his family and friends in Scotland, John mentioned the going-away party that his friends held for him. He knew a friend who had moved to Hamilton. His parents thought his move to Canada was a great idea; his sister Mary was already living in California at the time and many members of his family gradually emigrated in the years following. He remembers the day he left Scotland, there was a piper playing at the airport and it was pouring rain; as he landed in Vancouver, it was also pouring rain, and a piper played at the airport. He felt he hadn’t gone very far from home.
Children: Gordon (b. 1952), Susan (b. 1954) & Fraser.
John passed away in 2006 (one year after the time of this interview).