~ Reg ~

�

[Foursights Rock Group 1964] | [Home] | [Foundry Rock Group 1971]

[Me Dad] | [Family History] | [My Page] | [Family Tree] | [Me Mum]

Me Dad

George Reginald (Reg) Airey was the middle son of George Alfred Airey and Ada Jane (nee Steeples). He was born on the 27th of January, 1902 at Grace Road, Aylestone Park in Leicester. Dad's father's family came from the parish of Tunstall in NE Lancashire; from a tiny hamlet called Cowan Bridge. His ancestry can be traced back to the early 1700s. Dad's Mum's family, the Steeples, were Leicester through and through and can be traced back - thanks to the males being all Freemen of Leicester - to the early 1600s. Reg was educated at Alderman Newtons School and at age 16 ran away to join the Navy during WWI but was unceremoniously hauled back from a Southern port (Portsmouth I believe) by his Father George Alfred. In his twenties, he was a motorcycle (grass track) racer and former champion of the East Midlands (1928-29 season).� Reg and his brother 'Pip' (Lawrence) were at one time managers at Dunlops - St Mary's Mills. Their father George Alfred was Managing Director there.� Dad was survived by his younger brother 'Pip,' but his elder brother, Alfred James, died in Birmingham around 1947. Alfred (nicknamed 'Tim') had been badly gassed during service in WWI. He had served with the 10th Hussars and 16th Lancers.�

After his years at Dunlops, Reg started his own haulage business ("Associated Services") and it was based in Blaby. He was first married to Catherine Gilbey in Bristol in 1933 and his second wife was Stella Beatrice Walters. They had Angela Elaine (born 22-8-1938, lives in Nevada, USA), Timothy Baron (born 16-11-1944, lives in Calgary, Alberta Canada), and Sally Amanda (born 19-5-1954, lives in Coalville, Leicestershire). The eldest, Judy, who died of Myloma in January of 1989, was by Stella's first marriage; Judy was born 8-5-1934 and lived most of her adult life in Ballyclough, near Mallow, in Co Cork, Eire. Reg was apparently, in his younger days, a good pianist and excellent dancer. Unfortunately I never saw that side of Dad's personality. He was also a skilled driver of all types of vehicles; and again, unfortunately, as he got older, his skills deteriorated, but he would not give up driving until he was about 75 years old. He was slowed down a lot by a series of strokes in the 1950s while he himself was only in his late forties.�

The first happened aboard a boat to Jersey or Guernsey when he and I (I was ten years old) were journeying to the Channel Islands. I had gone missing aboard and Dad thought that I was overboard. In actual fact I was being given a tour of the engine room by one of the ship's officers. Dad got all worked up and had a stroke. We were escorted back to Leicester (by a nurse) in an ambulance - once we had been returned to the mainland aboard the next ship available of course. Dad was laid up for most of the year, and the whole thing so traumatic to me, that I have blocked out everything about it. On one other occasion, I was returning from Guthlaxton (around 1959-61) with a group of friends. We all caught the bus from school and got off at the County arms near where I lived. As we were walking across the canal bridge, we saw that a concrete lamp post had been knocked down and we wondered what "stupid sod" had done that. When I got home, I learned that it had been my dad. He had had another stroke though claimed to have swerved to miss a dog. In total, he was to endure three of these strokes and together they left him with a permanent slur, a limp and very limited mobility. But he still drove for many more years.�

I have one vivid memory of driving with him - as his passenger - across the Sierra Nevada Mountains between Nevada (near Lake Tahoe) and California in my sister Angela's 1965 Ford Mustang. The year was 1969, dad was 67 and wanted to go to Sacramento to look at some guns. He was always asking us to accompany him to do crazy stuff like that - another time it was to look at an exotic cat. We were negotiating the twisting mountain road and coming dangerously close to the edge on some of the corners, and to the ditch on others. After a while, he stopped the car and said to me: "here Tim, you drive, I don't see so good without my glasses."� Very abrupt and to the point - my Dad. Reg often came home, when I was young, with strange animals: a chimp, a marmoset and a couple of myna birds were notable additions to the Airey household. He was also penny-wise and pound-foolish was Dad: running around the house complaining about 40 watt bulbs being left on and yet spending hundreds on holidays. Later on, after retiring, he would squander his savings (and my inheritance) on many many trips to the States and Canada. He also 'lent' my mum $10,000 for her ill-fated wig and cosmetics business in Lake Tahoe and that was money down the drain. Still, I honestly think that there was only one way my Dad could show love, and that was to be very generous with money.�

I only once saw my Dad show much emotion; it happened when I was on board the "Empress of Canada" at the Liverpool docks waiting to set sail for Canada. As I looked down over the ship's railings at the waving crowds (including the in-laws) my Dad was on the dock visibly upset. He had lost the last of his family and was inconsolable; we all would soon be abroad. But still, that's when he started all of his transatlantic flights, arriving in Canada for the first time that very July (1966). In May of 1977 I took my son (from my 1st marriage) to Leicester for a three-week holiday. Dad, generous as ever, brought me a second hand Mini just to use on holiday. He only wanted a trip to Sheringham in return. On the other hand, I (selfish as ever) didn't even do that for him, and within a year he was dead. I didn't see him again after that holiday. 

We all returned to Leicester in May of 1978 for the funeral: my three sisters and my Mum - all together under one roof for the first time ever. This situation had come about because my eldest sister, Judy, had already left home when the youngest, Sally, was born. Dad had died at his house on the Upperton Road in Leicester on the 28th of May, 1978 and was buried at the Welford Road Cemetery in the same family plot as his parents. 2; margin-right: 2"> Below is a photo of Reg on his 1928 Chater Lee Grass Track Racing Bike. He was Champion of the East Midlands that season (28/29) and in addition won over 40 cups and other awards during his career. In addition to grass track, he also did some dirt track, road and side-car racing. He once entertained thoughts of entering the Isle of Man T.T. Races, but the idea was quashed by his then employer - Dunlops.�

Below is a poster dated Thursday, August 30th, but with no year given. Now it should be possible to date the poster fairly accurately since Aug 30th only falls on a Thursday every 5 to 7 years depending on how the leap years fall. Based on that information, I have dated this poster as either 1923, 1928 or 1934, but since Dad was at the height of his career as a motorcyclist in 1928 - that's the best bet. The venue is at the "Leicester Thrillways" which was on the Aylestone Road at the "Agricultural Show Ground." If anyone reading this knows where that was or anything more about it, please let me know. This poster came into my possession only recently and it had been badly stored and heavily damaged. What you will see on the expanded version (just click on the poster) is a digitally enhanced version of the real thing. Some of the corners are still shown as missing but all of the other torn, creased or aged parts have been removed. It took me about 8 hours. The photo (Circa 1910) to the immediate right of the poster is just classic. It's of Dad (centre) flanked by his older brother Alfred James (Tim) and his younger brother Lawrence Arthur (Pip). To the right again is my Grandfather George Alfred taken around 1890 and my Grandmother Ada Jane (nee Steeples). A rather poor quality photo unfortunately.

� �

click on photos or poster for an enlarged view

�

George's brothers and sisters were:�

Clarice Annie Laurie: Born in 1896 at Grace Road, Aylestone Park in Leicester and died in a nursing home at or near Wells (c.1985). Clarice married Leslie Clerk and had one child, Yvonne.�

Alfred James (Tim): Born on the 23rd of October,1900 at Grace Road, Aylestone Park in Leicester and died in Birmingham. He married Ena before moving to Birmingham and they had two sons, Michel and Peter. Alfred was badly gassed during service in W.W.1. He served with the 10th Hussars and 16th Lancers.�

Laurence Arthur (Pip): Born on the 2nd of May, 1905 at 27 Chestnut Street in Leicester and died on the 2nd of September in 1979. He married Constance (Connie) Mary Hairby and they had three children: Dianne, born 29-3-34 Paul, born 26-4-1940; Veronica, born 1-9-1946.�

Katherine Ethel Beatrice Lillian: Born on the 30th of December, 1908 at 27 Chestnut Street in Leicester and died at 16 Duncan Road on the 22nd of February in 1994. She married Joseph Edward Swinfield and they had two children: Derek, born 31-1-1928; Pat, born 22-11-1930.