Tag Archives: Work

Arthur LInfoot was employed as a clerk at the Hendon Paper Mill in Sunderland prior to joining the RAMC. He rejoined the company after demobilisation and remained there until his retirement, rising to become a Director of the company by that time.

19 January 1914; Monday

January 1914, ,

Got up about 8 o’clock. At work as usual. A bit off form. Finished in good time. Typed some copies of references for Joe. Soled and heeled my own boots. Under Father’s instructions. Took all the night over it. Went to the post office last thing with Joe. Played a bit. Went to bed by midnight.

16 January 1914; Friday

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Got up about 9 o’clock. Warm damp day. Got on very well at work. Finished in good time. Marmie’s party at night. Charlie bad and went to bed soon. Mr and Mrs Wells, Mr and Mrs Grey. Willie and Lizzie Whittaker. Willie Marshall. Mrs Wiseman.1 Kit † and Rosses †. Father didn’t go down there. And Willie Peake and Mrs. Rather slow at times. Played a few games and danced a bit. Finished about 2 o’clock. <I> played for the dances.
Marmie’s Party.

  1. Mrs Wiseman: presumably Joe Wiseman’s mother. ↩

14 January 1914; Wednesday

January 1914, , , , , , ,

Frank still off. Busy at work. Jack in at night. He and Hilda1 stayed to supper. We played ping-­pong between 10 -­ 11 o’clock.

Got Swan Fountain Pen for birthday present. Ernie sent 4 on to choose from. I wrote to him at night and returned 3. Father, mother and Charlie buying it. Jack and I tried them at night. Charlie working late. Played the piano a bit. Went to boss. Jack gave me the forms duly drawn out, and full instructions what to do.

  1. Presumbly wife of Jack (probably son of Uncle Jack and Aunt Esther -­ but see fn. on 12 January); had child, 4 April 1914. See Hilda disambiguation page. ↩

13 January 1914; Tuesday

January 1914, , , ,

At work as usual. Frank1 off in the afternoon with a cold. Went down to Band of Hope2 annual general meeting after boxing with Charlie for a bit. Went into choir practice. Fairly good practice for anthem on Sunday. Hurried home and met Jack. He had the forms drawn up and we arranged for him to see his boss about them.

Row with Okie3
Had called for Father’s money and he wouldn’t give it to me. There was a man at the mill taking photographs of the machine4.

  1. Frank: little is known about ALL’s office colleagues at the Paper Mill, except George Crawford. ↩

  2. “Band of Hope”: Victorian temperance organisation which still exists as Hope UK. ↩

  3. Okie: a representative of Robson’s Saw Mill? “Father’s money”: probably arrears of wages – there is more about compensation money later. ↩

  4. Presumably the moulding machine in which Father had lost his two fingers. ↩

12 January 1914; Monday

January 1914, ,

At work as usual. Pretty busy all day. Went to organ with Willie. Had to wait for him until 8 o’clock, left again at nine and called for Jack1 and discussed the form to be filled in2.
Old Mr Robson3 died.

  1. Jack: apparently son of Uncle Jack, but which? – cf. 8 February: probably of John Wilkinson and Esther (father’s sister), but could be of Uncle Jack and Bella – was this John Linfoot, b.1866, or was this Jack or Bella a sibling of ALL’s mother? ↩

  2. The “form/s” may have been to do with Father’s accident; but maybe not. ↩

  3. Mr Robson: a Jno. T Robson is on record as joint “Superintendent” at the South Durham Street United Methodist Free Church, in April 1905; alternatively, or also, he might have been owner of Robson’s Saw Mill, where ALL’s father worked. ↩

8 January 1914; Thursday

January 1914, ,

Got up about 8 o’clock. Late for work. A bit dull all day. Finished early. Played a bit and then went round to Whittaker’s. Talked over the compensation business.1

Joe gave in his notice2 about this time.

  1. “Compensation” refers to his father’s loss of the first two fingers of his right hand in a workplace accident on an unrecorded date, probably in late 1913. ↩

  2. Joe: Joe Wiseman. ALL would occasionally go back to an earlier date to make a note of events not yet known to him at the date in question. This is apparently one of ALL’s  retrospective diary entries. It is not recorded where Joe Wiseman had worked. ↩

6 January 1914; Tuesday

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Got up about 8 o’clock. Got work well up to date. Cold and frosty. Finished early. Read a bit. Did some Pelman1. Went down to meeting. Called at Furley’s and got to know that Mr Furley was at work again. Played2 for the class meeting. Had break for a few minutes. Mother, Father and Gertie3 at the pantomime. Said it was pretty decent but not of much account†. Went to bed about midnight.

  1. Pelmanism was a popular system of memory training, using association of things and ideas. ↩

  2. “Played” without a direct object generally means “played the piano” or according to context “-­ the organ”. Like many Victorian and Edwardian families of all classes, ALL’s family were ‘musical’. His father played the ‘cello, ALL and his two sisters were competent pianists, Ernie learned to play the violin, and Charlie was a popular bass-­baritone soloist and chorister. ALL also played church or chapel organs throughout his life. ↩

  3. Gertie was ALL’s younger sister. See also Family page. ↩