Correspondence dated 2 March 1957

Summary

An item from the surviving correspondence of William John Sands.

Historical context

This item forms part of the surviving William John Sands correspondence and is dated 2 March 1957. It is preserved in the William John Sands Family Archive as evidence of Sands’s professional work and relationships. The accompanying transcript was produced by machine OCR and should be checked against the original scan before being treated as a definitive reading.

Catalogue description

Original correspondence scan imported from the Sands and Ferguson family archive. Source file: 19570302.pdf.

Machine transcript — unreviewed

[Page 1] Abbstswond, Stow - on- the-@ald, Glas. *. j.J.Sands, Esa. , * Lisburn, Co. Antrim. 2nd March, 1957. *, dear Willie, e ; Thank you ever so much for your very, very nice letter of 26th February. We certainly had a nerve- racking experience, as you will see from one of the attached Jamaican reports, which please treat privately. When we got to Jamaica, we were told it would be getting cooler and drier, and easier to live with. Rut the reverse happened and it got warmer. We felt it very much and have both got home really very tired, but otherwise sound. We will have to take life very easily for a few weeks. My leg has made a wonderful recovery and I can now walk almost as much as I want to and without any pain whatever. I have been thinkine about a dog for a long time, but I never liked Alsations. T feel one cannot trust them. The dog of my life was the wire--haired terrier you cave me when we were in May Street, a rood many years ago. T was devoted to that dog and he was a beauty. If you ever hear of a similar kind of dog, drop me a line about it. I world not own one of the most horrible looking of todays wire--haired terriers. They are chastly looking things. Some of my friends advise me that a tittle, good Irish terrier would make a rreat ffiend for us. As you are fairly well up in these matters, a word of advice from you would help, but there is not the least hurry for months ahead. Fishing is too slow for me and I could not ret to the Norfolk Broads for yachting. Believe me, I have lots of the most interesting kind of work on the estate here, and the garden is always a joy to us. All is going well at Coventry. No one, however, knows better than you the years it takes to convert even the best ideas into saleable, low cost, high quality, products. You remember the time we had to spend on the gear ratio for the valve and the design of the main spring, etc. etc., and what a long, long job it was. We are satisfied that our chassis is 100% richt in all its details, and also with our transmission, but these final details do take a lone time. When I am looking at commercial T.Y. I sometimes wonder whether you see it and set a laugh at the ridiculous advertisements. I confess they would just about all put me off buying anythine so advertised. Again, thanks for your very nice letter and the best of good wishes to you and your nice family, and their nice families. Yours most rdially, e/a Wid) lragiro [Page 2] ‘e retired early, but the nirht was so hot and oppressive I eould not sleep, e were sleeping in one of the many redtes 21 Fay the hotel estate, which was about 15° yards fron e . About two agm, I rose and took a mild sleeping pill, Normally, I sleep like a dead man and it would take an explosion the room to wake me ! With a sleepinr pill, I am still more dman! Ry three o'clock, IT was sleeping deeply and was ’ ed by blows on the head, J met have cot one heavy blow on the forehead, with some metal object, because there was quite a bir black lump next day, was lying with my face to the wall and as I turned over slowly I saw the most evil sicht and the most villainous black face I have ever seen, ‘The figure seemed to be a tall woman, but it afterwards transpired that it must have been a man, crogtesquely disruised to look like a woman, Me was pointing a gun at me with one hand, and usine a torch with the other, He kept on mutterine somethine about money, I thourht T mist be havine a phastly nichtmare ! I cannot forret that villainous face that was locking at me ! Of course, between the blows on the head and the sleeping pill, I was very stupid, but IT slowly rot up and faced the apparition, He bac off a bit into a passage leading to the next room, Prom which he had come and which was empty, Then I fot another crack on the head with somethinre, and I backed off to cover my wife's bed, The burvlar then fired a shot which hit the wall and ricochetted up throuch the roof, I called to ny wife to telephone the hotel, 1 will always remember how calmly and couraceously she did this, “he said there was a burrlar in the room, with a cun, and would they send help, The next thine I remember was feeling a burning pain in ry left ler, which was caused by 2 second shot, By this time I was gettine more normal, but there would not have been any sense in tackling the burglar personally, because T had no eun, and he had ! IT began to feel that I was beine pushed around, and hated it ! TI also began to feel a bit mad at the treatment I had received and cuickly made up my mind that thir scoundrel should not have any money, The cnly hope was to take a hich hand, which T did by jumping for the door and orening it, JI called to the vurelar: "Set to hell out of thie, you won't cet any money from me", I fairly shouted that at hit in the most commanding voice possible, I suprose that, rartly because of this and his fear about the telephone message, and also the noise of his shots, he cleared out through the open door, Nothing has been heard of him since, 411 he got away with was a i white bath torvel, which he had taken from the bathroom, evidently to dispuise himself, Blood began to stream down my lee and we had to plue it as best we could until the Doctor came, from a distance of some ten miles, 4 very good end kindly fellow he was, ‘The bullet went in at the top of my calf, just missine the bone, and came out at the rear about halfway down, which at least showed that I was facine the foe ! We did our very best to keep everything out of the Press and managed te do so for about three weeks, Then somehow or other it léaked out. [Page 3] DATED Ist FEBRUARY, 1957, PROM re ehon JAMATGA, TO URS SNELDOM. ERS. As we are not changing our plans about going home, it shows that progress 1s good BXTRACT FROM A LET tat of that leg, of Ry bo s such Wve ways ' gt went then said Fad They the calf of Dad’ that the t through g,08+: al ih EE All the coloured steff workers have been flowers ani staff, of the us The other one then crowd weint all in Dad sai graft amused greft “Be eetasie® ie : wag aB228 Beigh Bg oo — a ee