Interview of Donald Sinclair

August 24 2004 Donald Sinclair – Tape 1, Side B, Tape 2, Side A, other recordings missing. Recording starts abruptly, in the middle of a sentence. Mother's siblings: Peggy (married Tim MacLean), Marjorie (married Ronald Laing) came to Vancouver, Canada with her husband. Allister, settled in Winnipeg. Ronald – was a police officer in Glasgow, was pipe major of the Glasgow Police Pipe Band. Badly wounded in WWI. He was quite short and called "wee Ronald". Donald Ewan - Superintendent of largest insane asylum in Scotland, also wounded in WWI. John – served in WWII, became sergeant major. Had to leave the army to take care of the family farm after his father fell ill. He later became an Inverness City Counsellor. Youngest sister Marg (married a Morrison). Several first cousins in Ontario, Manitoba and B.C. Mother: Maiden name MacDonald – passed and buried in Vancouver. Went out to service in Glasgow after she left school (around age 13 or 14). There were 10 girls in her class at school with the name MacDonald. The teacher couldn't speak any Gaelic and they couldn't speak any English. The teacher named them "Doll 1, Doll 2, etc." nicknames which stuck – Donald remembers meeting "Doll 10". They tried to "put down" the Gaelic in school, encouraging students to read & write in English. His mother couldn't write any Gaelic but spoke it fluently. She was a great baker, taught by her sister Marjorie. Grandmother: Mary Cameron. His grandmother spoke virtually no English and had never gone to school. Her brother came a Minister of Divinity in Edinburgh. She was "a tough little cookie". Uncle Allister immigrated to Canada in 1912. Donald went to look him up while in Winnipeg at one point, calling the local police for help (a common practice in that time). They told him to call "The Voice of the Red River Valley", CKNY, the local radio station to put out an ad. He went down to the station and they put a call out on the air. A woman phoned in, who turned out to be his cousin (Allister's daughter). She picked him up from the station and took him to his uncle's house. Donald remembers she said, "Dad, one of your relatives from Scotland is here to visit", and he immediately reverted to Gaelic, asking, "Who's that?" Donald replied (in Gaelic), "Donald Head Dottie Moore" (his name, his mother's name, his grandfather & great-grandfather's nicknames). To which Uncle Allister said, "Mo ghradh, mo ghradh" (my dear, my dear) and pulled out a bottle of whiskey. His wife had a thick accent. Wife: Iris. Children: Two daughters, one who lives in England, and another who lives in B.C. Siblings: Ian, Lexie, twin brother Stuart. Donald's mother hosted boarders for the Glasgow Police Pipe Band. His grandfather's house in Scotland was called "the doctor's house". It's located on a hamlet called Kyle's Peible - "a beautiful machair (low-lying, grassy plane)". He recalls a time when his mom asked if he would like a wee drop of "Polly" – whiskey from ship the SS Politician, which had famously run aground in Eriskay. His mother was a tall, good-looking, gentle woman. His parents never "strapped" or struck him or his siblings as discipline. Both parents spoke Gaelic, but couldn't write it, and had thick Hebridian accents. The Depression was a tough time on the family, and there were times growing up when his father was out of work, but he never went on the "parish" (welfare). Donald was manager of a life insurance company for a time. He lived in Edmonton. When living in Toronto he was President of the Toronto Scottish Rugby Football Club. His first job was for a florist/fruit-seller in the Glasgow Foot Market, preparing orders and managing inventory. He would take the streetcar up Argyle St. He worked for a few years before moving onto construction and labour jobs. He worked for a rubber company which supplied motor parts to the Army. His twin brother had been drafted in the Army, and he was anxious to do the same, but learned his boss had declared him as a "reserve occupation". He wrote to the War Office in Edinburgh and ultimately joined the Seaforth Highlanders, serving in WWII. Both he and his twin were short-sighted in one eye, which gave him the classification of "A4". He was sent from training to York, then transferred to Nottingham. He applied to be commissioned as an officer like his older & twin brother had. When the Atom Bomb was dropped, they were shipped to Singapore, where Donald met his wife Iris at "Lord Louie's Headquarters". They were both shipped back to the U.K. after the War. He came to Toronto, Canada in spring 1947, his wife followed in spring 1948. Although they considered South Africa, the immigration officer in Glasgow told him, "You have to go to Canada – Canada is more Scottish than Scotland". They initially planned to stay for a few years. He travelled by airplane, and Iris came by ship. Donald spent his first 3 days in a hostel on Jervis St. in Toronto, where lists of lodgers were provided. He lodged with Jesse & Tommy Reid. Canada had a great reputation in Scotland and everyone had a relative who lived there. He remembers feeling excited to see the bears and trees. Iris was still with the Army and was stationed in Chelsea when he came over. His first job in Canada was washing cars for several days. He then got a job with a manufacturing company making golf clubs, tennis rackets and golf balls. Donald applied to Sunlife Insurance, and was a salesman for several years before moving to Standard Life Insurance Company. It was this job which transferred him between Edmonton, Toronto, and eventually Vancouver. He worked for them until his retirement, after which he took a brokerage contract. Donald and Iris married before he came to Canada, in 1947, at St. Columbus Gaelic Church in Glasgow. He recalls people "presenting" in Gaelic at church. He remembers when he first arrived in 1947, Canada was entering an economic recession of sorts, and people worried of another Depression. One particular individual told him, "Jobs are for Canadians". There was also a girl he met who felt jobs were being taken by Canadians. He found less and less of this sentiment as time went on. Donald's feelings of "Scottishness" increased in Canada. He got involved in the Robbie Burns Club in Edmonton, which he hadn't known much about in the old country, aside from visiting the Burns cottage one time. He remembers the dinner hosted Tommy Douglas at one time. He spent 10 years in Toronto, 10 years in Edmonton, before moving back to Toronto. He wrote the Burns Club in Edmonton for assistance to put on a Burns Supper in Toronto with his Scottish Rugby Football Club, which the Mayor attended. He recalls the story from this night. It's since become a major event. He still feels a sense of belonging when visiting Scotland. Donald recalls the "crofting" life in the Hebrides, and the strictness of the Presbyterian faith in the area. Sunday was the Sabbath and he wasn't allowed to play music. Looking back on his life, Donald may have gotten more education, both he and his mother were proud of the fact that despite this, he and his brothers finished as Captains in the Army. His biggest satisfaction is still being with his wife, as well as being involved in Rugby, as he had never had the chance while growing up in the tenements in Scotland. He learned to play while in India during his time in the Army.