Seen his fair share of the world

From a hippie colony in Los Angeles and nursing in Zimbabwe, to reconnecting with family and his connection to Al Capone, Colin Lockey has seen his fair share of the world and now, living at our Easington House sheltered housing scheme, he recently shared some of his interesting life stories.

Early years:
I was born in 1943 and my father was an American GI whom my mother met when he was stationed here during Second World War. I never knew him because he went back to the USA and my mum put me up for adoption and I was brought up by a couple in Trimdon. My ‘relationship’ with my birth father doesn’t end there though.

I left school and went to a school for children who had passed the 11-plus but couldn’t afford to go to the grammar schools at the time. After I left school, I went to work at Easington Colliery, but even though the miners were salt of the earth, wonderful men it just wasn’t for me.

The bus I used to get went past Leeholme Hospital and something told me to get off and ask if they had any jobs there. Unfortunately, I was told they were about to close but I left my name and address and a few weeks later I received a letter saying there was a temporary job at the Thorpe Maternity Hospital. I took the job as a hospital porter and it was one of the happiest times of my life.

Becoming a Nurse:
One day, one of the Matrons told me to wear a tie and get my hair cut as she was going to take me somewhere. It turned out to be Cherry Knowle, a hospital for people with mental illness and after an interview I was told I had got the job, even though I had no clue what that was. The Matron told me that I was going to become a male Nurse so I started my career there and would end up doing that for the rest of my working life and once even won a Nurse of the Year award.

Working in Rhodesia:
After a few years I was looking through the nursing magazines and there was an advert for trained nurses in countries like Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Bermuda and Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe). I wrote a letter to each and the first reply I received was from Rhodesia, so I went to live and work there.

We were there during the dying throes of apartheid and it was terrible seeing the segregation and we found ourselves being a little ostracized because we had friends of all races. I was the first European to be promoted after independence and had responsibility for 365 patients on three wards. I also went back to nursing school to get a midwifery certificate, so I delivered babies while I was there as well. I also worked in villages with the local witch doctor and traditional midwives.

There were two periods of unrest after independence which resulted in curfews and mass killings and the sound of rocket fire and guns would be heard for days. My Rhodesian adventure ended on a sour note because after independence, they took all my savings and pension money, so I came back to the UK with nothing and had to start all over again.

Returning to the UK:
I got a temporary job working in a day centre for adults with learning disabilities, called The Shinwell Centre. I was Assistant Manager and it was some of the happiest days of my life, an absolutely wonderful place in which to work.
Then I got what turned out be a dream job with Durham County Council which involved taking adults with learning disabilities on foreign holidays. Our objective was to integrate people into society and taking them holiday so they could gain new experiences formed part of this. I stayed at the council as NVQ Assessor until I retired.

Living a Hippie life:
I spent a year in the United States, I lived in California in a commune in Redondo Beach. It was the start of the hippie era where people wore flowers in their hair and it was a magical experience. We lived in an old mansion with no electricity or running water and we had to go to a stream to get fresh water and what have you. It was beautiful on a nighttime as we used to light candles and sing and play music.

Travelling abroad:
I used to enjoy travelling by Greyhound bus and once went from New York and cross-crossed America until we reached the Mexican border. As I got older, I started to take Amtrak trains and went to places like the Space Needle in Seattle and Graceland. I met lots of people along the way and have lots of great memories.
I have travelled to see the current Pope in Portugal. There were a million people there and from my viewpoint I could just about make him out but that was another special experience. I also saw Pope John Paul 2 when he came to Rhodesia/Zimbabwe. People travelled from all over Africa to see him and it was absolutely magical.

Tracing his roots:
I became very interested in my roots, but this was in the days before you could use computers to search on websites like ancestry.com. So, I used to go to the library in Sunderland and used a microfiche to start compiling a family tree. You could only go so far then so when I moved to Rutherford House in 2020 and when we were in lockdown, I saw an advert for DNA testing service, so I did one and sent it back.

I then got a message saying I had a relative in America who may have been my half-brother, my father obviously having been American, and within a few days I got an email from someone saying he believed he was related to me and asking me what my mother’s name was. I thought that was a strange question, but he explained his dad kept a diary during the war and he mentioned some of the girlfriends in there and they included my mother. That’s when we realised we were half-brothers. I saw this diary in 2022. He started telling me all about my dad. He joined the Canadian army because American were not in the war at that time and he wanted to fight and he was a gunner on a bomber. He was shot down twice and on the last occasion it was over Germany and he became a Prisoner of War in Austria until the war ended. He was awarded five Purple Hearts and numerous other medals. He went back to the States, got married, and four children. He also fought in the Korean and Vietnam wars and went onto become a successful businessman and owned hotels. He is buried in Arlington Cemetery in Washington.
I went to Vermont to meet my half-brothers and sisters for the first time two years ago and it was wonderful.

I discovered my father’s family emigrated to Chicago and during Prohibition my father met Al Capone who was collecting protection money from my grandfather who brewed illicit alcohol and on Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter, Capone would give families food parcels.

And according to Ancestry.com, Elvis Presley is my cousin 13 times removed and I am also related to Edward the First, who was known as the Hammer of the Scots!