peter
“I got my school exams but my mom couldn’t afford the uniform to send me to the next phase so that was it… My dad died when I was eight, my mother had to look after me and my brothers alone. I remember one day, me and my friend, we were sitting beside the river and I just said, ‘let’s go to England and get a job!’ I remember my decision only really hit me when the boat was leaving and I saw my mother waving and crying as we slowly left the port. I was heartbroken and terrified of going into the unknown at such a young age… and it didn’t get any easier, but we both got jobs in the Cadbury factory and we spent three years there. They were a lovely company to work with! They provided a hot chocolate and bread for breakfast and we could eat as much chocolate as we could. To be honest that was the only thing that kept us alive really… I used to earn 3 pounds a week. I sent one-pound back home and with the rest, I had to pay the rent, feed myself and save up to be able to come home once a year. After the three years, my friend told me about this opportunity to become a nurse and I always wanted to study so I thought I would give it a try. They were only 10 years old when I started and back then most of the hospitals in England were staffed almost entirely by Irish people… We never got any recognition which makes me very sad to this day, however, I made some life-long friends and created beautiful memories working with them.”
This interview was taken as part of EPIC The Irish Emigration Museum’s Story Collecting Weekend. Find out more https://epicchq.com/