TC/0863

Tyrone Constitution bids golden farewell to John Wilson

TURKISH sunshine beckons for Omagh man John Wilson when he retires from the Tyrone Constitution this week, following a record 50 year's service with the company.
John who works with the newspaper and printing business as a proof reader, is very proud of his long service with the 'Con' and leaves his job with "absolutely no regrets."
As a young man, John started work as an apprentice at the tender age of 15 years in 1951, earning a mere 25 shillings a week.
Looking back, he recalled how ironically he almost didn't start work at the 'Con' at all.
John had been studying for his RSA exams taking shorthand and typing and commercial studies, when his Dad received a letter from the headmaster of what was then known as Omagh Technical School, asking him to come to see the principal.
John amusingly remembered how at the time, his Dad had thought John had done something awful, but he need not have worried as it turned out. Recognising that he had a bright lad at the school, the headmaster wanted to ask that John be allowed to continue his studies. He thought that this young scholar had potential for going a lot further in his education.
"He thought I could have been a teacher," added John modestly.
At the same time, the Post Office where John's father worked was also searching for bright recruits, and although he had given some thought to it, John took up his apprenticeship with the Tyrone Constitution and Strule Press instead.
Although he had been accepted for a six year apprenticeship, he came out after five years and moved up the ranks to the status of Journeyman.
"At that time the trade Union was evident in the workplace, very evident," John recalled.
"There were certain jobs that you could or could not do," he said.
He said that there were three different sections within the trade and under no circumstances were you allowed to trespass from one to the other.
"That was a rule I was always against and I'm pleased that it has changed now," added the proof reader.
Significantly, he said that the workplace was now a much more flexible place.
Not long after he joined the company, John was elected to attend a conference of the 'Guild of Young Printers' in Dublin to represent the Typographical Association. This membership of the Guild was to take him to venues around Ireland and across the water, representing young printers here in Omagh.
Later he was elected onto the Irish Regional Council which meant travel to Dublin every six weeks. A few years later he represented the printing trade in the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU), which included book binders, printers, and journalists.
"Some of my work mates through friendly banter used to say I was having a great time travelling to meetings, but I can assure you it was far from what they imagined," added John.
Having lived and breathed with the development of the print trade for 50 years. John witnessed many dramatic changes in production methods.
"As the "Con' office moved slowly forward trying to keep ourselves classed as modern, new technology has turned the trade away from what it used to be," he reflected.
"Instead of lino machines, galleys, slugs, space bans, formes, which were all common usage at one time, it is all about different codes being fed into computers pressing a few selective keys and low and behold you have a page made up in next to no time," added John.
Over the years there was a great sense of comradeship among staff, even when the 'Con' and the 'Herald' met on the football field. John reflected. He admitted that there were moments in the sporting competitions when the comradeship became "somewhat strained"!.
"At the end of the day we shook hands and probably went for a pint or two," he added.
He recalled the joint team from more than 40 years ago, called the 'Caxtonians' who were named after, William Caxton, the man who is believed to have founded the first printing press in England centuries ago.
Twice during his 50-year stint at the 'Con' John explained that he came close to emigrating. It was the thing to do back then in the 60s he remembered. John saw emigration as a chance to do well for himself, and he admitted that he was ambitious.
Canada was his first choice and he had hoped to go there with his young wife at the time, but due to ill health problems, they decided not to go in the end and John turned down the chance of a printing job abroad.
Emigration loomed on the horizon a second time when he received a job offer in Port Elizabeth, South Africa. John explained that he had made arrangements to travel to S. Africa and the printing company were going to deduct the cost of travel from his wages
Suddenly the apartheid system took hold in South Africa and as John explained, it put him right off the idea of emigrating there.
Closer to home, John once more had an interview for a printing position with the Belfast Telegraph, but around that same time, due to the untimely death of Mr Bowles, who was the foreman in the machine department of the "Con'. John was offered a new position.
"I accepted the offer and put off any thoughts of moving," he said.
He spent a few months in the camera department, painting negatives and making plates with odd jobs in make-up, before becoming a full time proof reader, a position he took up in the early 1980s.
"I enjoyed it and that is where I have ended up in the last number of years," said John.
Outside of the workplace the Omagh man, in his youth was a keen sportsman, and most of his sporting activity centred on the local YMCA.
"Facilities for sport were sadly lacking then and the YMCA provided most sporting activities," he recalled.
Looking back down memory lane he recalled how, over a two-day period he represented the YMCA at four different kinds of sports.
He revealed how he had just finished a billiard match at the YMCA, when he went next door where a table tennis match was due to begin. As it turned out, the team was a man short, so John helped out. Then the next day he played a hockey match for the YMCA and later, the same day he played a snooker match.
"Out of the four tournaments, I was on the winning side twice and I still have a few medals at home," he said proudly, adding that his mother had kept the medals at home. Interestingly, his father was also the Billiards town champion around that time.
Hockey was one of his sporting interests and in the past, he held the position of secretary of Omagh Hockey Club and also played a lot of football.
Charting the changes in the development of the printing trade over 50 years. John recalled that one of the highlights was the move to litho printing. It was a lot easier and cleaner compared to the letterpress way of printing, he said.
He recollected how working with the metal was hard physical work.
"Comps, linotypes and massive formes were used then and 16 pages of a magazine were often printed on one big sheet, he explained.
John had often been involved in helping to lift the huge formes out of the machine, which was quite physical activity.
The Tyrone Constitution's 150-year celebrations was another highlight of John's career and it will always be special to him.
"It was a nice time to be working at the 'Con', we had a sense of achievement. There were even letters from people outside and some of them were quite famous," he added.
Sadly the Omagh bombing atrocity was one of the low periods during John's long career in news printing. He proof read all of the coverage that the 'Con' printed on the tragedy, and added that he really felt for the editorial staff who had to report on the entire atrocity.
"The staff went through a difficult time," he said.
"Reading every detail about all those friends who died and who were injured, I don't like to think about it,"he added.
Although he is sad to be leaving the 'Con' after 50 year's service, John said that he leaves with no regrets .
"I have no doubts that the 'Con' will be among the leaders for many more years to come," said John.
As for his retirement, John plans to spend more time with his daughters Liz a veterinary surgeon who resides in Omagh; Aileen, a canteen manageress who is based in Limavady and Sheena in Omagh, who has just started work as a cook in a local nursing home. His two grandchildren will also feature in John's plans, Georgia aged 2 and Pierce aged 7 years.
"I'm looking forward to watching my grandchildren growing up, as I get a lot of pleasure out of their company," said John.
"I often take them out for walks along the river bank, on a nature watch, Pierce is a brilliant wee lad, he has a brilliant memory," he added.
It could be said that long service runs in the family as John's Dad, Andrew Wilson, who worked in Omagh as a Postman, rising to the ranks of Office Supervisor, clocked up service that ran just about two years short of the 50-year mark.
Throughout his period of employment at the post office, Mr Wilson senior, had also served in two world wars as a volunteer. During World War one, Mr. Wilson and a friend from Strabane applied to join the RAF, and as they were too young, they added on a few years to improve their chances of joining-up. The intrepid young man came home and told his mother that he was heading off the very next day. the story goes.
His dad also served in the RAF from 1939-45 and during that time he was still under contract to the Post Office and had his service time credited to him, John explained.
Meanwhile during his father's absence at war, 'little' John Wilson moved out of Omagh and went to live at Ballyronan which skirts the shores of Lough Neagh. close to Magherafelt, where his mother's relatives also lived. He was only a little boy then, but he can still recall his days at the local primary school quite well.
A welcome with open arms awaits John when he goes to Turkey in May this year.
A keen traveller he has been all around the Mediterranean to Crete, Corfu, Rhodes and Spain, but he revealed that he has never met people as friendly as the Turks.
With the mention of Turkey, his face lights up and a permanent smile grips his lips - for John has been visiting Turkey for many years and he has made many lasting friendships there.
"I personally have become friends with a family who keep a family-run hotel out there. We ring each other about once a month and they can't wait until the end of May, when I go out." said John.
He explained that the family usually invite him to have his evening meal with them.
"I really like that, as soon as 1 appear they have open arms of welcome. I know about seven families that I visit there," he added.
He was also invited to the wedding of a niece of his friend Osman two years ago which he described as delightful.
"It was an experience, something different from a wedding you would see in this country," he said.
He had remembered the bride as a little girl growing up and going to school with her school bag.
Retirement brings with it many blessings, one is to spend more time doing what is most enjoyable, the other is having time for the special people in your life, and both of those are certainly high on the agenda for John Wilson when he leaves the Tyrone Constitution at the end of the week.
He is wished well by all his colleagues and friends, and will be greatly missed.

Publisher: TYRONE CONSTITUTION

Ref: TC/0863

Published Date: 29-Mar-01