Interview of Ian Mason : Interview

13 April 2005 Ian Maclean Mason (Glasgow, 22 April 1938). Ian was the oldest son of four children. He had two sisters, Mary and Margaret, and a brother, Johnnie. He went to school in England, Sheerness, which was then a naval base. But when his father was away on work, he would go to and live at one of his grandmothers at Sandbank in Dunoon or Clynder. He then went to Lochdonhead, Mull. Then he went to Dunoon Grammar School. From there he went to a boarding school in Kiel, Dumbarton, which at that time exclusively took on and, sometimes, paid for students from the Highlands and Islands. He remembers there being a lot of Gaelic speaking boys at Kiel. He dropped out of school to get a job in forestry to support his mother; but she wanted him back in school. So then he went to Oban for his final year, and then on to Glasgow University to study maths, physics, and chemistry. But he ended up graduating with a degree in geology. He met his wife, Janet Carmichael Henry (Oban, 12 June, 1941), although he knew her when they both lived in Mull. They were married in 1963. After graduating from Glasgow, Ian accepted a place at McMaster University in Canada to study for his ph.d. They offered him a better deal that any UK university. He remembers getting off the plane in Montreal during the summer and being struck with the oppressive nature of the heat. But he remembers the people being very helpful and friendly towards immigrants. In fact, he felt that being Scottish worked to his advantage; people seemed to like the Scots. While at McMaster he became a TA. He specialized in petrology – the study of the origin of rocks. In his spare time he played the accordion. He also started playing the pipes, but it didn't work out because his piping teacher would be in the pub most of the time.... After graduating he got a job with Cominco, who were looking to expand into nickel mining. His job was to look for places for nickel mines – south of Thomson, Manitoba, then in Quebec. The reason he didn’t go back home was because he couldn't get a job in Scotland. Furthermore, there were better opportunities in Canada back then. When he did return to Scotland to see friends and family, he had “mild” feelings of returning home. Ian’s father was John William Mason (January 12, 1899). He had one older sister. He was in the Royal Navy, but before that, he delivered yachts. He was also a gardener at Torosay Castle and Gardens in Mull for a couple of years. He also took over the inn at Craigmuir. His wife and children stayed on the Mull estate of David James after his death of appendicitis at the age of forty-four. He was a very popular man. He wrote plays for the local hall and acted in them. Ian’s mother was Mary Maclean (Isla, 1899). She was a Gaelic speaker and didn't learn to speak English until she was 12. Ian’s grandfather on his mother’s side was Neil Maclean. He drowned in WWI off coast of Ireland. He was a Gaelic speaker. Ian’s grandmother on his mother’s side was Anne Bell (Isla). She was also a Gaelic speaker. Ian’s grandfather on his father’s side was John Mason. He was an engineer. And his grandmother was Elizabeth Sutherland (Wick, 1850s). Keywords: Glasgow; McMaster; mining

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