John's quiet life till son became a Bay City Roller

Published on Saturday 8 September 2007 11:53

WHEN John Wood opened a copy of the Evening News this week, his memories of his school days at Holy Cross Academy came flooding back.

The school is this week celebrating its centenary and the 78-year-old, of Fairmilehead, attended Holy Cross in the 1930s and 40s.

"I loved it," he chuckles. "Even though we had strict teachers. Our French teacher kept a strap with her and would hit it on our desks."

When war broke out, most of the male teachers were called up to serve in the army.

John left school at 14 and worked as a telegram messenger boy.

"There were around 140 messengers and we delivered telegrams to all corners of the city on bicycles, in all kinds of weather," he recalls. "And we would get stationed in different offices all over the city so I got to know the city well. I also got given indoor duties, putting telegrams in envelopes."

After this, John went on to spend more than 20 years in the Royal Naval Reserve, working as a petty officer.

He then joined the Royal Mail, working his way up through the ranks to chief inspector.

John was a member of St Mary's Cathedral choir and it was during a visit there that he met his wife Joan. They courted for five years, married at St Mary's, settled in Marchmont, and had three sons, Gordon, Stuart and Ronald.

The family enjoyed the quiet surroundings of their neighbourhood - with views of the Forth and the Castle - until Stuart found global fame.

At 17, the guitarist joined the Bay City Rollers, selling more than 120 million records in the 1970s. And for the Wood family things changed forever.

"We got hassle from fans from all over the world," says John. "They would hang around outside the house and take anything they could find.

"The neighbours' wall would be covered in graffiti and I had to buy gallons of paint and cover over it. Then I bought some hardboard and asked fans to use that. It filled up in two days.

"We had been there for 23 years but it became so crazy we decided to move to Fairmilehead where we've lived ever since."