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Jim was brought up in North Rothbury,a coal mining area,near Branxton
in the Hunter Valley. He worked in the coal mines and during that time
married an English lass, Gladys Hammonds,who came to Australia with her parents,her father also being a coal miner.During the great depression and the lockout of miners by mine owners and the Rothbury Riots,Jim had a wife and one son to support and sought work on the railways. He obtained a job as a fettler and went to the town of Ardlethan in South Western NSW.The home was a tent alongside the railway line with railway sleepers for floor boards and also sleepers were used at the sides of the tents to hold back the buildup of red dust,caused by the dust storms.The family moved about whilst employed by the railways and as Gladys said “You name it and we have been there in NSW”.The towns included Grafton and Bargo,son Allan being born there.
In 1944 the family moved to Tecoma Street,Heathcote and Jim retired from the Railways in 1965 after 32 years service,the last three years,being at head office.He then worked for almost five years as the groundsman at Engadine Bowling Club until 1970. In 1977,sons Allan and Mervyn and their wives,hosted a Golden Wedding Celebration for Jim and Gladys at the Engadine Senior Citizens Hall on the 23rd April.Many fine tributes were said of the couple and at the end of the evening Allan, Mervyn and their families presented a cheque for the sum of$1000 to the happy couple which allowed them to book a passage to England and for Gladys to visit the County of Staffordshire where she was born. Jim died at Caringbah in his 81st year,his wife Gladys predeceased him.
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