In Loving Memory of
Albert James Sivers
3 November 1931 – 1 February 1987
Dad was a proud man and an old-fashioned sort of guy. He believed in working hard, looking after your family and treating people well. “You never get nothing for free in this world,” he used to tell me. He lived by those words.
He was born in Sliema, Malta, and spent more than two decades serving in the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, reaching the rank of Sergeant. He repaired and recovered Army vehicles, including jeeps and the big Scammell lorries. Being an Army kid meant I sometimes got to visit his world at the Clare Street Drill Hall in Northampton. I remember the smell of grease, the machinery and getting dirty. One day Dad put me up in one of those great recovery vehicles. I felt like the Queen of the road.
After his Army service, he worked at the steelworks in Corby, first with Stewarts & Lloyds and later British Steel. He worked for around 13 years and hardly ever took time off sick. When a serious heart attack forced him to retire at 54, he and Mum had been thinking about taking a cruise. Dad died at home in Corby on 1 February 1987, aged 55, just before he was due to receive his retirement money. I still think about how much he gave to his work and how little time he had to enjoy retirement.
There was so much more to Dad than work. He cooked wonderful curries, spaghetti dishes and bread pudding with a little cocoa powder. He fixed cars in the garage, collected stamps, made homemade wine and played the mouth organ, sometimes in the bath. He loved photography and took pictures of the great dragline near the Corby quarries. We looked for fossils there together.
Dad also cared about his community. In 1985 he was elected as a Labour county councillor for Corby Town Centre. I remember his determination to help people, including a boy who needed support to attend a mainstream school. At home, his care showed in small ways too. When Mum went to bingo, Dad would meet her afterwards and walk her home.
He could make me laugh. He told me spaghetti grew on trees, and I believed him for years. When I got older, there were times we grew apart and I did not listen to him as closely as I wish I had. His words have stayed with me all the same. I would love the chance to tell him what they mean to me now.
“You never get nothing for free in this world.”
— Dad, as Annie remembers him
Lovely Little Facts
What did Dad usually wear? A shirt and trousers, with his flat cap when he went out. On Sundays, he wore a vest and trousers.
What did he think of jeans? “Jeans is what they wore in prison,” he told me. It still makes me laugh.
What could he cook? Curries, spaghetti dishes and bread pudding with a little cocoa powder.
What did we do together for hours? Work on his stamp collection. I helped with the little stamp hinges.
Where might you find him? In the garage, fixing cars.
What did he play? The mouth organ, sometimes in the bath.
What did he make? Homemade wine, including peach wine.
What did he photograph? The Corby quarries and their huge dragline.
What was Christmas like for him? Home, the fire, Christmas television and a bowl of whole nuts with a nutcracker.
What did he call me? Sweetpea.
“Jeans is what they wore in prison.”
— Dad, as Annie remembers him
A Life in Pictures
“I felt like the Queen of the road.”
— Annie, remembering a ride in Dad’s recovery vehicle
Life Timeline
“Education must not be a privilege, it must be a right for every child.”
— Albert, in his election leaflet
A few of my Favourite Things
Favourite food
Curries, spaghetti dishes and bread pudding.
Favourite pastimes
Stamp collecting, photography, fixing cars and making wine.
Favourite music
The Seekers; Annie remembers “I’ll Never Find Another You” and “The Carnival Is Over”.
Favourite Christmas comforts
A warm fire, whole nuts and television.
Favourite places with Annie
The New Forest, the fishing water near Bare Hill Farm and the Corby quarry.
Favourite thing to wear
His flat cap when he went out.
“The Lord helps those who help themselves.”
— One of Dad’s sayings, as Annie remembers it
Memory Maps
The New Forest
Some of my loveliest memories are of walking through the New Forest with Dad. He taught me about nature and which things you could and could not eat in the wild. More than anything, I remember our conversations along the way.
Bare Hill Farm area, near Daventry
Dad and I went fishing together when I was younger. I cannot remember catching very much. I remember sitting beside him and enjoying the quiet time together.
Clare Street Drill Hall, Northampton
I loved visiting Dad at the workshop. I remember the grease, the machinery and the excitement of seeing the recovery vehicles. One day he put me high up in one of them, and I felt like the Queen of the road.
Corby steelworks and quarry area
Corby was part of Dad’s working life and part of our time together. He photographed the great dragline at the quarry, and we went looking for fossils nearby. I remember finding a few.
“Treat people how you expect to be treated — with kindness, respect and care.”
— Dad’s advice, as Annie remembers it
A Final Word
Dad, I miss you so much.
There are so many things I wish I could tell you and so much time I wish we could have had together.
I would love one more walk through the New Forest, talking as we went. Or one more quiet day fishing beside you. I would tell you about my life, and I would listen to the things I did not always understand when I was younger.
Your words, your humour and the way you cared for us have stayed with me. I love you, Dad.
Your Sweetpea, Annie x
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