Figure 1.-- Here are the culprits man and boy--plus the wire glasses. We were on a holiday at Bridlington or Scarborough in Yorkshire--I can't recall which. I was 5 years old. It was Corronation Year--1953.

I have worn glasses since a small child, in fact as early as I can remember. As a boy I broke lenses about five times. There may have been more, but I can recall five times. The first glasses I got were wire rims. They didn't hold up to well. I was constantly in the course of normal boyish play getting them bent and mishappen. I remember dad being very angry wih me once. He took me to the opticians to have the wire glasses straightened. I went out to play and of course returned with them misshaped. I'd have been angry too if I'd had been dad. Thankfully the National Health was up and going by this time. You got wire glasses. Then plastic frames, but these were not always good designs. Other styles had to be paid for as a private client. You can see me here wearing wire glasses on holiday (figure 1).

Getting Glasses

The first glasses I got were wire rims. I recall being called names for wearing glasses, but it never made me feel uncomfortable. Found it a good joke to be so called. It hardly ever happened. Started wearing glasses as soon as the first eye test occurred after starting school. Thus I grew up with them.

Eye Test

After an eye test I went with mum to get the new spects. I tried them on and could not see through them. It was like looking through a misty window. It transpired that I was given the wrong pair of glasses. All was well the next day when I got the intended pair.

Wire Rims an Play

You can see me here wearing my National Health wire frame glasses on holiday (figure 1). Those wire rims didn't hold up to well, but were the most durable. The wire frames were the most durable and could be knocked out of shape and bent back into shape again. Sometimes the lens fell out during rough play and on that occasion it landed in the mud but did not break. I was constantly in the course of normal boyish play getting them bent and mishappen. I remember dad being very angry wih me once. He took me to the opticians to have the wire glasses straightened. I went out to play and of course returned with them misshaped. I was told off for messing up the glasses. I'd have been angry too if I'd had been dad. Lens coming out of wire glasses are always easy to get back in. Plastic frames were more difficult. They could go in but you had to be gentle or the plastic frame would break. Often I called in to the Optitions to have the lens put back in.

National Health

Thankfully the National Health was up and going by this time. You got wire glasses. Then plastic frames, but these were not always good designs. Other styles had to be paid for as a private client.

Grammar School Girl

There was a time a girl broke my spects. It happened in this situation. On my way home from school I often passed older girls on their way home from the grammar school (selective secondary school). They wore a hat which I took delight in knocking off. A naughty thing to do but it got stopped. There was one weedy looking girl whose hat I tried to knock off. The next thing I knew was the girl's fist in my eye. She knocked the lens almost out. It was quite a shock to have this happen but a just reaction to my teasing. Never saw the girl again and never knocked another hat off either. I went back into town to see the optician who asked what had happened. I said I'd walked into a glass plated door. He made repairs the glasses. The black eye also healed.

Summer Camp

At Summer camp I used the glasses to light a fire. They were good for that on sunny days. Unfortunately I put them on the grass. A boy accidently walked on them as he came by. They were a mangled sight. I went into the nearest town with a teacher to get them staighted out.

Poetry Reading

There was the occasion when I was in the class presentation. We were performing before the school. As I was reading a poem I had written, the screws on the side of the frame choose that moment to spring open and the lens feel out. I caught one lens and the other landed on the book I was reading. So they were able to be put back in the frame and the screws tightend. The performance was wrecked of course as the school roared with laughter at this occurance. I survived this ordeal to tell the tale.

William Eric Ferguson