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Tom Newell
"We went down, on our bare feet, to the blacksmith's shop to get our hair cut, because he wouldn't charge us anything. We had no money you see"
The Story
Tom's father had just died. His mother was critically ill in hospital, meaning that he was one of six children effectively left as orphans to fend for themselves. They lived in an old house in the small coastal town of Ballymartin. The roof was ready to fall in, there was no water and they had one oil lamp between them. This was the real meaning of 'poor'. After his visit to the blacksmith for a free haircut, Tom found something really uplifting and positive in that day which he has remembered throughout his life...
The story continues...
In the 1940s and 50s, Tom went to work on both the Binnian Tunnel and the Ben Crom Dam in the Mourne Mountains. You can read about these major construction projects to supply water to Belfast, and also hear Tom talking about them here on BBC NI Your Place and Mine website.
Comments
Name: Walter Crawford
Date: 13/08/08
Comment: Heart rendering story and beautifully told - in my mind's eye I could see the blacksmith's shop and the boys sitting on the anvil getting theirhair cut. More from Tom - if this is possible.
Name: Marie Matthews
Date: 01/09/07
Comment: This story really brings home just what real poverty was like. It really made me think. Although I've never met him, I have thought about this man many times since I heard his broadcast.
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