Employment: First job was with as a plumber's apprentice in the Grassmarket. He had been keen to stay on at school and his teachers were supportive but his family were keen for him to start earning and the Youth Employment Officer didn't think his grades were good enough "She punctured by like a balloon". When starting work he was asked "have you got sticky fingers?". Older men would send new starts to look for non-existent pieces of equipment. Present job is apprentice loom tuner in McNabs. Would have liked to have joined the RAF but his mother was against it. Goes to the Scottish Woollen Technology College in Galashiels once a week. Dismayed by the standards at work and contrasts this with school where you are trained for perfection. The physical standards were also poor - dirty overalls, leaking roof. If he joined the union he would have been out straight away

Hobbies and interests: He likes music, his father who was killed in the war, played the accordion. Reads and writes science fiction stories. Radio better than television as it leaves more to the imagination.

Schools: Previously lived in Liberton and went to school there. Fond memories of playing on the farms and gathering tatties. Favourite subject was English. Career guidance included films on shipbuilding, coalmining and steel erecting and talks from a policeman and a fireman.

Politics: Proud to be a Scot but doesn't believe in Scottish Nationalism. Would like to see the whole world as one place with one government. In favour of the common market and believes in Europe you could unite all the brains and all resources and have a state as powerful as the US.