William Pick

   Cause of his death was Heart Attack.

  General Notes:

Memories from Steve Pick
Dad spent some of his childhood in Flookborough and when we drove that way in the car he would comment on his earning a shilling, or was it sixpence, for singing in the church choir. I think his father also sang in the choir. Without going through the paper work, both Cameron and Shakespear Street, Barrow-in-Furness, come to mind as possible birth places and he left for Flookborough at the age of two. On the car trips he also commented at playing "Hares and Hounds" in the countryside.
Maybe at this time his father John paid a visit to America to look for work but returned unsuccessful. Joan Pick (daughter) has a bible or hymn book from Flookburgh which showed he left the choir in 1923. This ties in with the fact that a 1922 year book from Barrow shows no Pick living in Barrow.

At some point (after 1922*) the family moved to 28 Hastings Street, Walney with his father working in the yard, but I have no recollection which school dad attended. He did mention attending night school while working at Vickers. There is a National Certificate date 20 July 1928 had obtained the National certificate in Mechanical engineeering. He earned the right to attend the University of Liverpool where he did a three year mechanical engineering degree course but as he had not mastered a foreign language he only got a Certificate in Engineering on 5th July 1933. (certificate filed in "Letters" file).
He mentioned his friend from Barrow, Len Redshaw( Sir), attending at the same time and there is a photo of both of them striding through a Liverpool Street. He also kept in contact with Mrs Barker, who looked after him in his digs in Liverpool. It was a household name at Christmas time when Christmas cards were received.

Dad met mum at the Walney tennis club and were married after mum's mother died. I assume he moved from Hastings Street to Beach Crescent at that time. There are numerous photos of the pair in the lakes making rambling excursions. Their friends were Jimmy Winder, Bertha Radford amongst others. Some of the names are on the many photos.

At some time before the war they bought a car, the Swift, and reference was made to it in my early journeys in the Ford but I am not sure if there is a photograph or what happened to that car.

After returning from Liverpool dad continued to work for Vickers Armstrongs in the drawing office and his focus was on submarines, although I think he was involved in the Apapa as I was invited with him to an open house before the ship left Barrow on its maiden voyage.

During the war he was an air raid warden and worked with Fred Bell to ensure the safety of the neighbourhood. I don't remember much about that time except he made a fort for me as a Christmas present one year. The details must be in his diaries which he kept from 1941 to his death in '85 but there were some years when he took a break. Unfortunately his writing was not too legible so scanning his diaries requires time that I don't have.

After the war he did a lot of overtime but he did buy a Ford 8 car in 1946 with registration EO6822. We went to Alysbury and London in 47 and spent many weekends camping with the Torrances at Silverdale in a farmers field.

He enjoyed listening to opera and especially Gilbert and Sullivan. Names that I remember were the Dolyi Carte(Sp?) and Paul Robson and was there a local boy called Townsend?

He left home a few times to go on board submarine trials off the coast of Scotland and I remember he brought me a book back on one trip which I thought a lot about.

At home he was a keen gardener and we always had plenty of vegetables which he grew. He laid a concrete path at the back and when he later bought the land at the back he did a lot of the work of building the wall around the property, although Eli Oscar also helped chipping the mortar off the used bricks they had bought.

During the war he also kept hens which enabled us to have fresh eggs and chicken when these were not readily available in the shops.

He was quite a keen soccer fan and took me many times as a small kid to watch Barrow soccer at Holker street. He would also come sometimes to watch me play on Tummerhill when I was older. He did mention playing in the fourth team at Liverpool and at one time I wore his old University shirt which was flannel and blue and white.

At some point, I think after I went to college, he bought a caravan and he and mum spent a great deal of time going away at weekends to enjoy the countryside. At the age of 60 they made some calculations that an early retirement could be afforded. He had spent too many visits in his last years at Vickers to see friends buried.

At that time they became gypsies and spent the retirement years visiting many parts of Britain and the continent. They also flew over to Montreal after my marriage and visited us in Spain several times. They still kept up the Beach Crescent house and this was used on many occasions for my visits home to Barrow.

Alas, their love of Spain took them to an hotel holiday in 1985 in Bendidorm where a cold, or his heart, caused a heart attack in the middle of the night and he died in the hotel room.

He loved Spain and mother was quite happy to see him buried there. However, buried is not quite correct, as the casket was placed in a space in a wall for 10 years and after that, who knows. The service was conducted by an english vicar from Alicante, and some of the details can be found in the paper work.

* The 1922 Barrow year book showed a A. McIntyre living at 28 Hastings St
Diary listings:
16 March 1951. Went around to Aunt Peg's (RIN28) at 4pm. Had tea before going to garden with George (RIN140). His sweet peas are 4 ft high.
Aunt Peg is not too good, suffering from dementia. Tom is OK now. Peg, Ron and David are fine too.
Barrow in Furness, , Lancashire, England

  Research Notes:

Barrow Evening Mail has death notice 13 Feb 1985
1911 Census Barrow-in-Furness, aged 1. (Details not looked at)
8/21/09 changed death from 10th to 11th as I found death certificate
Many old details in box on top of F1
Death certificate B4

  Medical Notes:

He was staying in a hotel in Benidorm and had a heart attack when going to the bathroom in the middle of the night. Was suffering a cold at the time. He was overweight

  Noted events in his life were:

• Birth, 4 Jun 1909, Barrow in Furness, , Lancashire, England. short form

• 1911 Census Barrow-in-Furness Pick John: William Pick son aged 1, born Barrow-in-Furness, 2 Apr 1911, 37 Cameron St. Barrow-in-Furness, Lancashire. ³

• Engineering Apprenticeship, 16 Feb 1925, Vickers Armstrongs, Barrow-in-Furness. ⁴ Agreement on File. The document is signed 12 October 1925 by his father John Pick as William was only 16 and needed parental consent. There were living at 28 Hasting St. Walney. Apprentice ship was for 5 years. John Callender was director who signed document for Vickers. He was a Fitter and Turner, He spent 7 months in Jig and Machine Tool drawing office and 1 year and 10 months in the Internal Combustion Engine Drawing Office.
Completed apprenticeship 15 March 1930
Wages: 7/6 1st year
2nd year Min 9/- max 10/6
3rd year; min 11/- max 12/6
4th year; min14/- max 15/6
5th year min 18/- max 21/-

• Scholarship for University: Attended 3 year course Mech Eng, Abt Sep 1930, Liverpool, Lancs, England. ⁵ Received a 100 pound annual award scholarship from Barrow-in-Furness for Technical Education.

• Diploma Engineering Liverpool: Completed Diploma in Mechanical Engineering at Liverpool University, 5 Jul 1933, Liverpool, Lancs, England.

• Death, 11 Feb 1985, Benidorm, Spain. One took out a 10 year "rental" for a "a hole in the wall". There was nothing renewed so I don't know whether there is any mention there

William married Harriet Rhodes Bancroft, daughter of Eli Oscar Bancroft and Sarah Rhodes, on 14 Aug 1937 in Barrow in Furness, , Lancashire, England. (Harriet Rhodes Bancroft was born on 22 Jun 1904 in Barrow in Furness, , Lancashire, England, christened on 28 Jul 1904 in Barrow in Furness, , Lancashire, England,⁶ died on 1 Jun 1992 in Barrow in Furness, , Lancashire, England and was cremated in Barrow in Furness, , Lancashire, England.) The cause of her death was Old age.

  Noted events in their marriage were:

• Wedding. Walney parish church

  Marriage Notes:

Honeymoon in the Isle of Man. Marriage certificate on file box 4
Barrow in Furness, , Lancashire, England
Barrow in Furness, , Lancashire, England