Papa - John Holmes Gordon

Although I was only three when Papa passed away in November of 1983, I still to this day have so many memories of him. We shared a very special bond and I have always felt that Papa is one of the most important people in my life. It is because of this bond and this love that I have always been fascinated with learning more about him and his family, my family...

I don't remember when I first listened to it, but Papa did an interview with a family friend of ours, Barry Fox, in July of 1978. He talks about his life in Scotland, his move to America, and of course, his family. Unfortunately, the tape ends with Mr. Fox saying he was going to change over to tape #2, and that tape hasn't been found, but as Judie told me the other night, one tape is better than none. It's my goal to find a place that will copy this tape to MP3 or a CD so that I can share it with all of you (and so that the tape doesn't disintegrate one day - I'm so scared of that happening before I can make a copy!). I tried making copies myself but since the tape is very old, both sides of the tape bleed through somehow and the recording is not clear.

I've been trying to listen to bits of the tape and transcribe the interview. I've also tried to use what Papa shares to find out more information about our family. You'll see my notes thrown in throughout this transcript.  I changed the font so that (hopefully) they're more easily visible.  Here is the beginning of the interview where Papa talks a little about his parents and life as a young boy in Edinburgh:

Mr. Fox: This is an interview with Reverend John Gordon and his wife in their home at 3586 Mobile Drive, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. The date is July 29, 1978 and I’m Barry Fox. Reverend Gordon you said you have a birthday coming up tomorrow.
Papa: Tomorrow.
Mr. Fox: How many years young will you be?
Papa: I will be 77.  (Here's a link to Papa's Birth Record, also shown below)

John Holmes Gordon, born on July 30, 1901 at 8:40 pm to William Gordon, a Water Trust Laborer and Annie Scott Gordon (who were married October 5, 1900 in Edinburgh), at 16 East Thomas Street, in the District of Saint Andrews, in the Burgh of Edinburgh, Scotland.

Mr. Fox: 77. That’s great.  Ok. I’d like to start way, way back. And uh you’re from Scotland, right? You and your wife are from Scotland, right?
Papa: Edinburgh.
Mr. Fox: Edinburgh, Scotland. Ok. I’d like you to tell me about that first of all. About your parents, what they did for a living, anything like that.
Papa: Well, my father (William Gordon) was employed by the Water Trust they called it (this can also be seen on Papa's Birth Record, as the father's profession was also recorded), the water department of the city, but uh, some of the time he spent in the army and uh World War I, through World War I and he was badly hurt in a disaster, a train disaster (the Quintinshill Rail Crash, see below) that took over 200 lives.

From Wikipedia:
May 22, 1915 – In the Quintinshill rail crash near Gretna Green, Scotland, a troop train collides with a stationary passenger train and another passenger train crashes into the wreckage, which also involves two stationary freight trains. The passenger cars are wooden-bodied and a serious fire ensues. The second train was forgotten by a careless signalman following improper operating practices during a shift change at this busy location. This is the deadliest railway accident in British history, with 226 fatalities and 246 people injured.

From The Long, Long, Trail:
7th Royal Scots, 1/7th Battalion

• August 1914 : in Dalmeny Street, Leith. Part of Lothian Brigade, Scottish Coast Defences.
• 24 April 1915 : transferred to 156th (Scottish Rifles) Brigade, 52nd (Lowland) Division.
• A and D Companies were involved in a rail accident at Quintinshill near Gretna on 22 May 1915 while en-route to Liverpool from Larbert in Stirlingshire. 210 men were killed and 224 injured, forming the majority of the 473 casualties of the worst disaster in British railway history.
• Sailed from Liverpool 24 May 1915, going via Egypt to Gallipoli 14 June 1915.
• Returned to Egypt 8 January 1916.
• Moved to France, landing at Marseilles, 17 April 1918.

(I'm not sure how much of the above William Gordon was involved in, but it's a good place to start since we know he was in the Army and involved in that crash.)

Papa:  Later on, he went to France and uh disappeared for awhile. Then we got word that he was a prisoner (we know he was a POW in a Japanese camp, but does anyone know more details about that?).  He came home in 1919. And after recuperation and so on, he went back to work.
          We spent, or I spent, the first 23 years of my life in the city of Edinburg. One of the most beautiful cities on the island. They call it the uh, they call it the modern Athens. The reason for that is that, it is built on hills and there are monuments of all every description all over the place and uh in the background is one of the most picturesque castles that anyone could set eyes on or wish to set eyes on. It’s beautiful. It’s still used for military purposes. The garrison is kept up there and it is open to visitors and they have a museum up there and also there are apartments where if the queen, the present reigning queen, wished, she could live. The castle, incidentally, is one mile from Hollyrood House, or the palace where the queen or the reigning royal person does live when they come to the city. Their home normally is London.
          Now, the city, of course, like most other old cities, is being torn apart quite a bit. A lot of new buildings are being erected so that even I, though I’ve been going back and forth there for years almost every year, changes have taken place and of course the streetcars they‘re giving way to buses and these are overcrowded always. Speaking about transportation buses, trains and what have you, are always crowded. If you traveled, say, from oh, London to north, any city north, you not only pay your fare, but you’re expected to book your seat, even though you, you pay extra for that. Even though you booked your seat and maybe paid your fare a month ahead of time, you still have to pay the extra. Or if you’re just getting a ticket right there to board the train you have to get a ticket with a booked seat on it and then someone will show you the number. It’s the only way that you can be sure of getting a seat. Otherwise, you may have to stand in the corridor all the way, which I have done, inadvertently.