Jack’s Journey

About the Book

Jack’s childhood and formative years on the family farm in Scotland during World War II are recounted here. This is followed by an account of Jack and Pat’s journey from marriage at an early age to retirement, including many poems and stories from events along the way. A keen interest in things mechanical became a passion and a driver for Jack in the fields of construction and commissioning. Various projects and locations are discussed, including working in the Middle East deserts to Alaska and the North Sea, together with the effects on family life. Pivotal moments occur almost in an unplanned way but formed a cohesive picture through time.

About the Author

Jack, born into a farming family in rural Ayrshire, Scotland, knew he was heading for a farming future. That changed when he met and married a girl from the industrial town of Kilmarnock, some three to four miles from the farm. Their fifty years of marriage were adventurous and often difficult, with five children and working in many remote locations in foreign lands. Jack discovered his passions to be engineering, construction, and poetry. Retirement to Crieff, Perthshire, Scotland, due to his wife suffering a stroke, was the thirty-sixth house move made during their marriage. His wife died the following year. Jack continues to live in Crieff but is thinking of one more move.