The War Years: the blitz, evacuations, ration books and butter smugglers.
There were the family stories of the dreaded knocks on the doors of the terraced houses during World War One: the knocks that might result in the receipt of a telegram. The telegrams would ultimately explain that another young son would not be coming home from such places as Thiepval, Picardy and Flanders.
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Many of the participants had experienced being evacuated to farms far away from Belfast. They all talked positively of life on the farms and exposure to a completely different lifestyle and food: including the consumption of animal parts not normally available in East Belfast butcher shops.
During World War Two and up until 1952 rationing books were a reality of life. Butter, bacon and sugar were among the rationed food items and this led to colourful tales of smuggling across the border. It was common in those times for people from East Belfast to take train rides to Dublin for the purpose of purchasing those food items. One tale was of customs officers at Newry inviting travellers inside to warm up in the station waiting room. There by the fireside, the butter, that was often concealed inside clothing and close to private body parts sometimes melted and flowed down legs to the floor: by this method custom officers detected customs-duty evaders.
The Workers of Yester-year.
The blacksmith; the cobbler, tailor, baker, seamstress, rag-and-bone man, coal-man, milk-man, bread-man, and the fishmonger: shouting out that the herrings in his hand-cart were alive, have more or less now disappeared from the streets of East Belfast.
Also long-gone is the sight of the gas-lamplighter. The lamplighters were also known as the ‘rapper-uppers’: they lit the lamps at dusk and as they walked around extinguishing them at dawn they ‘rapped-up’ those who needed a wake-up call for work.
Some traditional-style tradesmen do still exist: the odd milkman and Ronnie Graham, the Portavogie fishmonger who still supplies the outskirts of East Belfast in his van.
The Rope Works and factories; mills, foundries and The Yard.
Since the Industrial Revolution East Belfast had been a hub of industry which gave employment to the people who lived there. The mills and factories were not just the workplace however but the social hub as well: where friends met friends, lovers met lovers and where ultimately many met their partners for life.
It was acknowledged that shipbuilding had been the most significant industry in East Belfast for many generations. Apart from tales of Titanic there was discussion on HMS Caroline, HMS Laurentic, and HMS Belfast. Nicknames in the workplace were common. There was a bit of dispute over the popular tale of ‘Sammy No More’ and whether Sammy worked in Harland and Wolf’s or in Mackie’s Foundry: men just like Sammy probably in all Belfast factories.
Sammy Morrison didn’t have a nick-name until the day he was promoted to foreman. On that day some of his work-mates shouted over, “Hey Sammy!” Sammy replied, “From this day on you lot will call me Mr Morrison: I’m Sammy no more”. From that day on he was referred to as ‘Sammy No More’.
The Markets, Abattoirs and Piggeries.
The trading of cattle, sheep, pigs, chickens and horses was once a chief employer of people in Ballymacarrett and the Markets area. St George’s Market was the focal point of activity but there were abattoirs, piggeries and processing factories throughout the area. Cattle-droving was a common site over the Albert Bridge. Occasionally the cattle would stampede. The locals didn’t know if they were bulls, bullocks, cows or heifers; but being street-wise they ran for their lives anyway.
Wee Shops and Wee Pubs
Wee corner shops selling groceries and sweeties are now a rare site in any town or city. Along with post-offices, butchers, home-bakeries, hair-dressers and barbers, newsagents, hardware shops, drapers, and shoe shops they were, not only the basis of the local retail economy, but were also social gathering places. The customers knew the local owners and the updates on the local gossip obtained in these establishments were often as important as the purchase of the goods. These businesses sustained the essence of the community but have been rapidly vanishing from the landscape in recent times: replaced by multi-national superstores and chains.
Public Houses too were in abundance: the ultimate venue for a bit of crack and escape from the toils and tribulations of life.
The Terraced House and the Grander Edifice.
More important than the places of work, than the shops and the pubs were the homes. Until the late 20th century most people in East Belfast would have lived in streets of brick terraced houses where everyone knew their neighbours. Front doors were seldom locked and neighbours walked in and out of each other’s homes, quite often without knocking on the door.
Even more important to many were the spiritual sanctuaries and places of worship. To accommodate the strong religious convictions of this community scores of churches, of several denominations, were built throughout East Belfast. In this part of Belfast you don’t have to walk too far before coming across a traditional stone church: standing in testimony to the traditional faith of the people.
The Shoreline and Rivers
Victoria Park breaks up the landscape of industry and airport that dominates the western shoreline of Belfast Lough: an oasis of tranquillity amidst all the hustle and the bustle. Much of this land has been reclaimed in recent times as the place-names and street-names of Short Strand, Long Strand, Strandtown, Sandown and Strandburn confirm.
Parts of the shoreline today however remain a haven for walkers, naturalists, artists and beachcombers.
The Rivers, Connswater, Loop and Knock flow through East Belfast while the River Lagan marks it boundary. The rivers were traditionally used for transportation and operating mill-wheels.
The Monuments and Murals.
Murals and monuments are prevalent in East Belfast highlighting a community scarred by two world wars and the recent ‘troubles’.
Beyond the mural and the monument to a troubled past there dwells a warm welcoming community, full of humour and passionate tales of life: a community as sincere as any other in their quest for peace and harmony.
Famous Folk of the East.
Place names and street names refer to famous people once connected to East Belfast, such as Conn O’Neill and Colonel Pottinger.
Of more significance today perhaps is that in East Belfast an airport has recently been named after one of its most prominent sons. George Best developed his skills by kicking a ball around the streets of the Cregagh Estate: there can be no better way of acknowledging his international fame by naming an international airport after him. The work of novelist, CS Lewis and his connection to East Belfast is celebrated on a mural in Convention Court, off Ballymacarrett Road, and on a statue outside Holywood Arches Library. Clive Staples Lewis was born in 1898 on Dundela Avenue.
It has to be only a matter of time before prominent landmarks and murals in East Belfast celebrate another famous son, Van the Man. ‘Cypress Avenue’, ‘Orangefield’ and ‘The Hollow’ ring exotic in the ears of music lovers all over the world, due to the work of George Ivan Morrison of Hyndford Street.
