More of Joe’s pictures from the history of Lisburn ‘Tech’

A WHILE ago the Star published the story of Joe Kennedy.

From 1940 to 1945 Joe, now in his 90th year and then a pupil at Lisburn Tech, was a member of a ‘War Effort Team’ based in the College workshop where he was involved in the manufacture of these components in addition to parts for Hugh J Scott and anti-aircraft gun parts for the Harry Ferguson factory at Moira.

Born in October 1922, Joe was the youngest of a family of six, three boys and three girls.

Now the sole surviving member of the family, he was brought up on a farm at Brookfield and instead of becoming a farmer, Joe chose a mechanical engineering career.

In 1937 he became a student at Lisburn Technical College. When war broke out, the principal Cecil Webb offered to use the machine shop for the war effort and Joe was one of seven boys selected for the project.

After the war he was asked to stay on at the school as a Maintenance Technician during which time he completed his further education at evening classes.

Joe recalls that one of his first jobs as a Technician was motorising the workshop machines and doing away the old overhead line shaft. When the new workshops were built on ‘A Floor’, he had the responsibility for the fitting out of the equipment.

A few years after his marriage to Edna Elkin in March 1948, Joe joined the full-time teaching staff.

He retired in 1982 and has the remarkable achievement of 32 years teaching service at Lisburn Technical College without missing a single day.

These are some more of the old photos Joe has of the old days at Lisburn ‘Tech’