... for Kev,
I discovered, included 8 siblings.
In order:
First name Pet Name
1) James (named after his father) Bimmy
2) Brian Bry
3) Patricia Tricia
4) Terence Terry
5) Kevin Kev
6) Maria Ria
7) Michael Mike
8) Sandra Sanny
9) Andrew Booey
After a tumultuous marriage, his parents had divorced while their children were relatively young. They all lived in Kirby when I was introduced to the family, with the exception of Kev's father who lived in Liverpool City Centre.
Kev had been sent (at the age of four) to a specialist school for the disabled: - West Kirby Residential School and had stayed there until the age of sixteen. He was the longest recorded resident at the school, and left after having spent 12 years there, without any formal qualifications (the school didn't provide examinations of that nature).
The family were catholic by religion, though it seemed much lapsed when I was introduced to them. I mentioned early on acquaintance that I wanted to write a book or similar at some point. Kev's Mum suggested her life would make an interesting story and the whole family agreed.
While growing up within West Kirby Residential School, Kev spent occasional holidays at home with his family. The family were poor and Kev's only clothing was the uniform provided by the School. He usually returned to school with just the uniform that he was wearing (minus socks) the rest had disappeared while he was at home. They often laughed as they talked about the families difficult past, which included fetching potatoes from a farmers field under the cover of darkness.
Kev spent most visiting days pretending to be asleep in his bed because it was a very rare occasion for any visitors to appear for him. Christmas involved one present, always the same, a compendium of board games, to be shared between the kids. Though his father was well paid (comparatively) he spent most of his wages in the pub or the betting shop. When his Mum did manage to visit him at West Kirby Residential School, it usually involved money that she'd been given, by his father, to place on a bet. This invariably meant she'd be beaten when she did return home.
