our working lives, then and now

Podcast: Download (Duration: 18:36 — 21.3MB)

Alan was born in Lucus Fife, but lived there for only a year. His father was in the R.A.F. and this meant the family moved around a lot, including Malta and Gibraltar. They returned to the U.K. when war broke out and Alan was 10 years old.. After a brief stay in Worcester the family moved to Bath in 1940. Initially Alan attended West Binton Secondary School but at the age of 13 he passed an entrance exam for the Technical College. He left there at age 15 1/2 years having passed an exam for an R.A.F. apprenticeship. He joined up in 1943 and when he was 18 signed on for 12 years. The apprenticeship was in aero engines and allied trades.

This included all the skills needed for the manufacture and repair of aero engines plus a technical academic education up to Ordinary National Certificate standard. They were not given a certificate in the R.A.F. so Alan and his peers had noting to show on paper in the R.A.F. They fought this injustice and post 1947 certificates were issued. The pay for R.A.F. apprentices was 10 shillings per week for the first two years and 14 shillings per week for the third year. Thereafter service pay was 29 shillings per week. Unfortunately Alan was unable to complete his 12 years service due to a Rugby injury. He never fully recovered and, in his view, his working environment with high octane fuels also helped prevent his recovery. He was dismissed from the R.A.F. after 7 years service in 1950 without medical help or a pension, as proper contracts were never drawn up.

Unemployment benefit then lasted only for 3 months during which time you had to find a job. Alan managed to find a temporary job in an engineering works which only lasted for 3 weeks. He then went to Crosswire Engineering Company .Whilst there Alan was a floor manager which meant wearing a suit and he earned the average national wage for this position. He stayed there for 18 months and then in answer to an advertisement, joined the Doughty Group who were manufacturing aircraft fuel systems at Melksham.

After 2 years Alan went to work for Armstrong Sidley at Rockworth – Gloucester. They were setting up to manufacture Sapphire aero engines for Hunters, Victors etc. He started on troubleshooting and manufacturing processes and liaison with the design and stress departments in Coventry. When difficulties arose between the three companies Napier, DeHavilland and Armstrong Sidley Alan was asked to liaise between them. This meant traveling between Liverpool and Coventry. There was no time allowance or traveling expenses.

About that time several air crashes occurred so Alan was asked to go on defective engine investigation. Thus in 1956 he was given the investigation department where he found the Sapphire engine manufacture was in total chaos. Again he started from scratch to analyse the problems. Within half a day the problem of compressor blades falling out was solved but the vibration and design failures took much longer to sort out. Alan was then asked to transfer to diesel engines as there were multi–million insurance claims ongoing world-wide.

One more testing was started from the beginning. He worked on quality and control of aero-engines from 1953 to 1959 until engine manufacture moved back to Coventry. Reluctant to move the family Alan moved to A.W.R.E at Aldermaston. The family were provided with a rented house in Tilehurst – 10 miles from work – so he went there on his 125 Bantam motor cycle as he’d done with his previous job. Just before Alan started work at Aldermaston two fatal accidents had occurred in the explosives department, so he was asked to look for improvements. After a year one of the atomic weapons was found to be de-composing, so Alan was asked to create an Atomic Weapons Record Department, -there had previously been no record department. – This was done and he proceeded to doing trials.

Talk of cutbacks there resulted in Alan answering an advert for a Chief Inspector at Devillbis in Poole, so yet another move in 1962. The family bought a bungalow and settled in Broadstone but the job didn’t live up to expectations. Thus, in 1966 Alan joined Plessey’s as a quality control inspector. As such he was asked to solve problems with the compressor system. This done he took over the management of Plessey research. It was not a financial gain but an agreement was made that his job would be light and that he would have assistance in the running around due to his on-going disability. Alan stayed in this department until 1979 earning approximately £1,000 per annum, a moderate living, still going to work on his motor cycle. By 1979 Alan had moved to Ptarmigan Military Communications which was within Plessey administration. However in 1980 the department moved to Christchurch and he decided it was too far to travel daily, so he was made redundant. There followed no regular work until 1988, when Alan worked for 2 years in the drawing office of Surface Electronics.

He finished in 1990 and remained unemployed until retirement age. During his years in management Alan earned, on average £1,000 per annum. Alan’s most satisfying job was working on the defects of aero engines. – It was rewarding technically but not financially. He felt that people of his generation had to be flexible and be prepared to find new jobs time and time again. Whilst unemployment benefits have improved, Alan feels there is still a great injustice towards the armed forces regarding their terms of employment.

Podcast: Download (Duration: 15:37 — 8.9MB)

Len was born in September 1926 at Bethnal Green, East London. He left school in 1940 at the age of 14. It was war-time, there had been no careers advice at school and he found his first job by asking around at local firms.

This was at a wood factory in Edmonton, which made wooden stretcher poles. The pay was to have been 4 pence per hour for a 40 hour week, and no sick pay. There was little supervision at the factory and, on his first day at work, Len was put onto a machine feeding poles in to be cut to length. He lost most of the fingers from his left hand and was out of work for a year, suffering two nervous breakdowns. Len went back to the same firm after a year where he was put into a noisy machine department where the continuous thudding gave him constant headaches. His doctor therefore advised him to give up the job.

Meanwhile, following the first accident, there had been an ongoing enquiry and a court case for compensation. After a long struggle and rejecting several miserly offers Len and his family settled for £750 plus £50 for his mother looking after him.

At 18 Len was called up and passed the medical at B1 level of fitness. He therefore went into the Ordinance Corps, where he was a Store Keeper. Len served in the U.K. for 18 months and was then sent to Egypt in 1946. He returned to the U.K. in 1948 and, after demob, signed on at the Labour Exchange. Because of this army experience Len was sent to as firm in Edmonton in April 1948. He stayed there for 33 years and left in 1980.

The firm was Thorne Electrics and Len started in the factory which made electric light bulbs which were sent all over Europe. He cycled to work and earned £58 per week. After about 3 years Len was transferred to Enfield where they made fluorescent tubes. His working hours were 7.45am to 4.30pm, and he stayed there for 27 half years.

Every Friday afternoon was spent collecting money for firm outings and organising raffle tickets. There was a very good social club, which arranged monthly trips to the West End theatres and an annual coach trip to the seaside.

Following his retirement, Len moved to Dorset in 1975. He reflected that, had the war not started, he would have liked to have had a career in using mathematics which he loved – possibly teaching or accountancy.

Podcast: Download (Duration: 21:11 — 12.1MB)

Irene was born in Shoreditch, East London in 1924. She left school at 14 and started work in April 1938. She had no qualifications, although, whilst at school, had taken and passed a Post Office examination. There was a 6 month wait to start, and because she need the money, she walked round the area asking for work.

Thus came her first job at Blades Eastern Printers as a type cleaner. It was a fairly large firm, which printed Bank Cheque notes, menus for the Dorchester Hotel, amongst other things. Irene’s job was to get the relevant type from various bank branches and take them to the machine operators for printing on sheets of five. When they were finished Irene collected them, cleaned them, and put them back in the right place. It was a valuable lesson in filing. She then progressed to the switchboard, a job she loved. It involved a manual board with internal and external lines.

Within the firm there was a department responsible for the Institute of Bankers labels – which were sent world wide. – Banking journals etc. Irene sorted them and ensured they went to the correct destinations.

There was no dress code at this firm and the pay was 12-6 pence per week – 10 shillings of which Irene gave to her mother. She walked to work and generally took a packed lunch. The job only lasted for a year, as the war started and Irene’s family moved to Dorset, having been bombed out.

Irene had to go to an employment agency to find another job and was directed to the Civil Service that had evacuated from London. They had taken over several hotels and Irene was sent to the Exeter Hotel to be a typist. She had some previous knowledge of typing as she had started a shorthand typing course in the evenings which stopped when war broke out. Irene’s work for the Civil Service was in the Public Trustee Office that dealt mainly with peoples wills. The pay was about £1 per week and Irene travelled to work on the bus from Ashley Cross to Bournemouth at a cost of 4-1/2p return. The Civil Service returned to London as war ended, but Irene chose to stay in Dorset because of her boyfriend.

She was then directed to war work on the buses. As a conductress she wore a uniform and earned £2 per week, some of which went to her mother. One of her routes was to Holton Heath where many people were doing war work. She had to walk to Poole to work on the 5am bus taking them to h Holton Heath for the day shift. The bus then brought the night shift back to Poole. The hours were long, – 7 hour shifts and Irene sometimes changed routes during the day. She saw much of the countryside in this job, Wimborne and Corfe Mullen were still very rural. Irene stayed in this job until 1945 and left on her Doctor’s advice.

Her next job was at Aishes Electrical Firm in Wimborne Road. She worked a relief telephone operator and also in the personnel office. There she dealt with job applications – students doing vacation work – She sorted out pay, time sheets, tax forms and temporary accommodation for them.

Irene had never taken any formal qualifications but, whilst working for the Civil Service, she had chosen to take their exams. As a result she had become a permanent Civil Servant at Clerical Officer level.

Irene then decided to go back in the Civil Service and went to work at Holton Heath, where she did telephone operating and general office work. She typed up secret scientific papers, which had to be perfect, with no alterations. If mistakes were made the papers had to be shredded and started again.

The Holton Heath site was in lovely grounds with a canteen on site. It had its own underground railway as they were dealing with cordite during the war. There was also a railway line from Poole to Holton Heath which Irene used until she had a car. She stayed in this job until her retirement at the age of 59.

Irene had chosen to do the Clerical Officer exam in order to obtain a better pension. Any further promotion would have meant returning to London, which she didn’t want to do.

On reflection, Irene feels that Poole has become much too overgrown. Much of the countryside and open spaces have disappeared. Progress has meant more housing and employment but it’s somehow a shame.

Podcast: Download (Duration: 7:05 — 4.1MB)

John was born on the 9th January 1935 and was brought up in Granwille Road, Parkstone. After leaving School at 16 he went to work at Poole Printers, opposite the Gorge Hotel, Poole having heard about it from a friend. John’s ambition was to be an artist, but, having been accepted at a college in London, his father deemed him too young to live there on his own.

Poole Printers printed the Poole Town Football programme and 15 copies of the Amity Cinema posters, among other things. John’s weekly wage was 17s-6d for 45 hours work but he left after 16 months as the firm folded.

John then moved to Cavey printers in Winton where he had a 5 year apprenticeship. This entailed attending Lansdown College for 3 evening and an afternoon each week.

He lost 10 shillings per week for the afternoon. He learnt all aspects of the trade – Compositing etc. and obtained his City and Guilds Certifate for graphic design. John received a prize for being the student making the most progress. His initial pay was £2-6s rising to £4-6s when he left.

John left to do his National Service in the R.A.F. After 6 weeks square bashing at Bridgenorth he went to Plymouth where he was a teleprinter operator working on Air-Sea rescue. He did this for 18 months – up until his demob.

When he returned home John went to work at Millson’s Printers in Ringwood Road – a job his cousin had told him about. He stayed there for 18 months then joined Southern Print in 1958. John was trained there as a top engraver for which he earned £9 per week rising to £15 per week by the time he left after 9 years.

There followed a move to Reading to work from Cosham – Wyvern; a massive printing firm. He was a T.G.S. operator, which involved using a keyboard and reading holes on tape. This was a new process that speeded up typesetting. The firm printed books for Penguin, Corgi, Mills and Boon etc. Whilst there, John and his family rented a firm’s house which cost 7s-6d per week. John stayed there for 4 years, but, after his marriage break up, he returned to Poole.

He then found a job, via a friend, at Roman Press, Southborne where he worked for 5 years as a compositor. His wage was £15 per week.

In all John had 13 different jobs in the printing trade, but his favourite was at Southern Print. They printed the Poole Herald, Bournemouth Times, Exchange and Mart – 22 different periodicals and newspapers in all. He worked briefly for the Echo from which he receives a small pension. John reflects that printing then was a secure job – one for life.

The work of a compositor entailed having a large board with lots of sections in front of you and carefully removing different letters and placing them in a “stick” to make up words and then paragraphs. This method went right back to the early days of printing, which was only superseded by modern Linotype machines.

Podcast: Download (Duration: 7:01 — 4.0MB)

Barbara was born in Pound Street, Poole on 11th April 1942. The family later moved to Hamworthy because of the war. She left school at 15 and went to work at Green’s Bakery in Alder Road. Barbara had no qualifications, she was eager to start work. She had worked there as a schoolgirl and, on leaving school, was taken on as a pastry cook. The dress code was a white coat – apron, a hair net with a white cap on top. The pay was £3-6s-3d per week. Barbara cycled to work with her brother, a journey which took about 45 minute, 3 miles there and back. She really enjoyed the job but had to leave after 3 months as working with flour gave her dermatitis.

From there Barbara went to Millers food factory at Sterte. The pay was about double that of Green’s but she could only stay there for 8 months as working at the freezers affected her health. She also cycled to this job – which took about 20 minutes.

Barbara’s next job was at Finefare’s Supermarket where she stayed for about 2 years. The wages were poor, only marginally better than Green’s, but she really enjoyed meeting different people at her fruit and vegetable stall – Barbara left just before her marriage at 19.

After her marriage she worked in an elderly people’s care home until her first pregnancy. At the home, Barbara made beds, tea, did cleaning. The money wasn’t great but she enjoyed helping the elderly.

After the children were born and before they went to school Barbara did voluntary work at St. Gabriel’s playgroup on Turlin Moor. After her children started school Barbara did a further 2 1/2 years at the playgroup, for which she was paid a small wage – it became almost a full-time occupation. She helped teach the children social and play skills whilst there.

Then came another change when her children moved to Herbert Carter Secondary school. She went to work in a greengrocer’s on Turlin Moor and also did a few hours at the chemist shop next door.

The family then moved from Turlin Moor back to Hamworthy, so Barbara then got a job at Barclays Bank where she worked as a cleaner. This lasted for 7 years until she was made redundant. She returned to Millers after a week but only stayed for 2 weeks as she couldn’t the pace of work.

Barbara’s last job was at Max Factors where she stayed for 7 years. The hours were long – she did cleaning 7 days per week, but the salary was good – about £135 per week. Barbara stayed there until 1989 when she left because of ill health.

Barbara’s favourite job was looking after children at play school – it was tiring but rewarding.