Sample biography written in the third person
709 words
Andy recalls that throughout their time living in Castle Road, the family didn’t have a car. His father, William, drove lorries for work but having their own car was a luxury that they couldn’t afford.
The family wasn’t completely without transport as William had a BSA Bantam motorbike which he mostly used for running back and forth to work, with perhaps an occasional trip further afield.
The BSA Bantam motorcycles were first introduced in 1948 and have been described as a cheap post-war bike for the masses. They were durable, could run at 50mph, had good brakes and were comfortable. All desirable qualities in what was still a relatively early time for motorised vehicles.
Andy was fascinated by his father’s motorbike, most likely influenced by the sense of excitement, danger and adventure that seems to surround motorbikes. It wasn’t long before his fascination got him into trouble.
‘I was mucking about with the motorbike one day and it fell on me and I couldn’t get out from under it. I don’t remember who helped me get out but it seemed as if I was there for a while. It wasn’t a big bike but I was only a wee boy at the time so I couldn’t lift it.’
When asked if his father was angry about it or indeed, knew about it, he smiles wryly.
‘Oh he knew about it, aye. He never said too much but I’ll tell you what he did. He took the plug lead and he told me to hold it and then he turned the kickstart. There’s a fearful spark that goes through the plug when you do that and on this occasion, it went through me. Jesus! I never touched the thing again. Oh, it had the desired effect. What a rattle I got off it.’
When asked how his father found out about his escapade he replies, ‘I never told him but no doubt Mam did.’
He’s silent for a while before shaking his head in mild amusement.
‘Aye, that was my experience and I’ve never hung onto a plug lead since except maybe through an insulated pair of pliers!’
Their lodger, Charlie, also had a motorbike, a BSA Gold Flash which was a top of the range bike for the time. He recalls that one day Charlie took him out on the back of the motorbike. Andy laughs when he remembers Charlie’s words:
‘Hold on tight, Andy, we’re going to go fast.”’
And they did.
Andy remembers it being an exhilarating ride. Of course, taking a small child on the back of a fast motorbike might seem extreme in today’s world but ironically, the accident that involved a trip to the Accident and Emergency department for Andy was a far more pedestrian affair.
In the early 1950s many shops employed messenger boys to deliver their wares to people’s homes. It was common to see teenage boys hurtling along the streets on pushbikes, the baskets on their handlebars laden with groceries. They were the original Deliveroo riders but without the Hi-Vis vests.
One day, when Andy was around seven or eight years old, he was walking across the road towards his house but he failed to see the older boy on the messenger bike, travelling at speed towards him. A collision occurred and Andy found himself lying on the road, tangled in the bike. Andy recalls that the messenger boy was ‘fearfully upset’ even though it was an unavoidable accident.
Andy, meanwhile, felt an excruciating pain when he tried to move his arm and it soon became apparent that he had broken his collarbone and needed to be taken to the local hospital. He can still remember the pain when the nurses tried to pull his jumper up over his head. Fortunately, he didn’t require extensive treatment so he was taped up with bandages and let out the same day.
Later that day, the messenger boy arrived at the house to check up on Andy, bringing some sweets as an apology for knocking him over. The messenger boy was possibly more upset about the incident than Andy himself.
It wouldn’t be the last time that Andy saw the inside of an Accident and Emergency department, nor indeed the last time that he broke his collarbone.
Dozy Writes 