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Betty Young

Betty Young was born on 1st October 1931 in Thornliebank. Her paternal grandparents had come there from Ireland in the 1880s to work in the local print works as strike breakers. Her grandfather could not even write his own name on her father's birth certificate.

Betty's father was the local carting contractor, but this business died out with the advent of mechanical transportation. She has two sisters and two brothers (one of whom is now deceased); she is especially close to her sisters, who still live locally. They even worked as shorthand typists together before they married. Her sister Jean Burnett is also a member of the Salt of the Earth group.

Betty attended Thornliebank Primary School and went on to Allpress's College to learn shorthand typing. She got a job in a shipping office and stayed until 1959, when she left to be a housewife. She later returned to work in the office of a local garage. She has also been involved with the local church and with the Guild.

She married Gordon in 1956, a year before he was involved in an industrial accident which left him partially disabled. He was able to go back to work, but as a caretaker rather than in his previous occupation. They have lived in the same semi-detached house for 50 years. They have a son and a daughter, each of whom have two children. She feels lucky to have such a caring family, and to have had so many good years with them, though recent ill health of herself and her husband has been worrying. Her hope is for better health and many more good years together.