On Friday 5 th May, Rotarian Ian Rodrick entertained us with some extracts of his family history, laced with a few snippets of his own. He was born and brought up in Glasgow where both grandfathers had worked in the shipbuilding yards – a tough life by any standards.
His father, a proud Scot, also worked in the ship building industry and was somewhat taken back to learn that his ancestry was not Scottish, but Portuguese. Evidently his great, great, grandfather, John Rodriguez, emigrated to Australia in the early 1800’s where he became a deep-sea diver, sadly losing his life when trapped under a ferry in Sydney harbor.
One of John’s sons came to Glasgow, then a major centre of ship building, to learn the trade and settled in the town. Wishing to anglicise his Portuguese name he
chose Rodrick – hence there is no ‘e’ in Rodrick.
Ian then recounted memories of his childhood, life as a Doctor in the British army and as a GP in Banbury, with several amusing anecdotes too saucy and numerous to publish here. A very enjoyable talk which was enthusiastically received by those present.
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