The Shields man who became a Californian bank's vice president - 20 years after leaving town with £200
Alfred was the South Shields boy made good in California in 1970
Talk about boy made good. If definitely applied to Alfred Conner who did South Tyneside proud when he left the borough for pastures new.
When Alfred left South Shields at the age of 17, he had £200 to his credit.
Two decades later, he had gone on to become assistant vice-president of the Bank of California, helping oversee assets of more than £20,000m.
On this day in 1970, he was back in his home town to visit his parents, Mrs and Mrs George Conner, of Beach Road.
A Shields Gazette reporting team decided to quiz him on the imminent topic of decimalisation in Britain.
Mr Conner Jr said at the time “For anyone who has worked with pounds, shillings and pence in school, and vulgar fractions, the decimal system means they only need half the brain-work.”
Alfred might have had time to check out the Spring sales in South Shields, especially at Binns. A limited number of TURNabout suits for women were on offer at £31-10-0, down from £39-15-0.
They were expected to be snapped up fast from the fashion department on the first floor of the store.
We wonder if Alfred would have had time to call in to the ABC Cinema where a film called Scream And Scream Again was headlining. It had an all-star cast of Vincent Price, Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee.
There were shows at 1.10pm, 5pm and 8.50pm in a programme which was being described as ‘The Thrills and Screams Programme!”
Tell us if you remember Alfred or if you have 1970 South Tyneside memories of your own to share. Get in touch by emailing [email protected]