Thomas Simmons
Thomas remembers
working as a bricklayer:
"When I started bricklaying in 1928
I worked mostly on housing.
There were lots of house building
in every district
on the edges of Croydon
and so I was seldom out of work.
But as the years went on
I needed to go further
and further out from Croydon
to reach the estates.
All the estates were in various stages
of progress. First of all
there would be a show house.
Then a couple of painters
would be finishing off the next house,
or the next pair of houses.
A bit further along
would be the plasterers
finishing off the outside,
and possibly tilers on the roof.
And right at the end
would be the brickies,
laying the foundations
and building the walls
in various stages of progress.
Most of the work was done
with a brick trowel.
You put the bed on the wall with it
and you also cut bricks with it.
And my uncle,
who I worked for,
always said
'Never put the trowel down.
Once you put the trowel down
you're not laying bricks
and you're not earning anything.'"
