Gentlemen ,just before i post, some younger members of my family were here yesterday ,i asked them to read what i have posted and they said "boring grandad"fair comment ,i expect it is, however they have no connection to the haulage industry so they were not interested.my point is i am trying to say, is if any younger drivers are reading this ,back then work conditions were different, once a driver,it was very unlikely you would change your job ,why would you, however i am trying to show that we could and did adapt to any job through necessity ,the next stage maybe boring however it will lead you, to read on,thanks dbp
I had got my head on two things,well three really but there was no transport work around so I thought make the best of what you have got or get out.
The get out was =join the prison service as a prison officer [warder] I had looked into it in depth? and there was one man living in the village and I got to know him quite well then,[do not ask me his name now I have no recollection ] and he gave me insight as much as he could into the job. He was a chef so was a bit different .
After I had made the first moves for a application form things started to move quite quick. i do know that reverences were checked from previous employers all of them from20 years [not CW KNIGHT] I left them out. I did think though ,after all what went on when I was on strike and helping our selves to goods , [stealing] perhaps it was not the right thing to do ,but I was not going to beat myself up over it what will be will be.
The big day arrived and I was asked to report to a Borstal near WELLINGBOROUGH I do recall i was a bit on the nervous side, but not ■■■■■■■■ myself, just going into the unknown .and getting in my head to call everyone sir, eventually there were about 20 of men. All seated around a massive circular table ,well stood up, until told to sit by the enormous prison officer with a hat on just like they wear in the army guards units the peak was covering nearly all his noise you immediately thought “■■■■■ but a tough one so we did as we were told , we were given papers, told you start when told and stop the same and got on with it .
Well the first page was kids stuff then it got harder ,and harder ,and I knew i was now out of my league in the end I had not go a clue as to some of the papers so I just sat back and waited until we were told to stop. I knew I was out so I did not feel bad at all .everything seems easy until you are put out of your normal level and comfort zone. However after a time some of were told to stand and leave, so I was not on my own. Out of the room I was told to follow this officer, still no idea what for .anyway he said the governor would like to see me so I go into a room and a lady is sat there a governor ,and tells me that all my previous work history and background is what is required by them and I would fit in etcetera, however my English and Maths were of a twelve year old,s standard, go to night school and reapply when you get up to GCSE standard. Goodbye and that was it.
I go, a bit disappointed, but I knew before I went what my standard was like so nothing new as you may be able to tell by how ,and what ,I type and I now knew that I would have to carry on at the factory just like all the others, in actual fact I was no different from any of the men there all though most were skilled men at what they did and apprentice trained,.
I felt I needed to get on ,and get a better position in the factory there was a opportunity within the factory to get promoted for the skilled men however I needed to learn new skills but they would recruit skilled men from outside before they would give in house training on the machines .
So my time in the machine shop was up for me I wanted to move on to engine build department and that was going to be a wait, as it was a better clean job but with no immediate vacancy, and also others were waiting to move into that department.
I knew that there would be a lot of competition from all the workers not classed as tradesman for a internal transfer to the build department , I asked one of the engine build workers I knew, if there was any company reading material showing and describing the sequence of the engine build so I could in theory be able to describe engine parts and where they went and show I was interested I would go and ask for it and I was given it.
I had to stay where I was for the time ,in the engineering shop the smell of the lubricant oil they used did not get any sweeter . I did not dislike working at the factory at all, I was thinking it is better that pounding up and down the roads ,nice and dry,however I was always getting drawn to the doors ,to get out of the factory, I could at lest see the doors,some men. Stayed at their work station all of their shift on the same machine doing the same work day in and out.
They were highly trained 5 year apprentice-ship time served men. but now their skilled work was done by computers and they just programmed their work orders to the machine and let it get on with it.
I did let the human resources department know that I would like to move departments, over to the engine build ,i was sure that if the foreman knew I wanted to move he would block it . I was told that they were only recruiting experienced engine fitters from outside as it took to long to train in house men up to their standard, however there maybe a vacancy soon in the stores department maybe I would like to go for that so I said yes please. but I would still have to have a interview with the relevant head of the department and no guarantee I would get the job as departments did not like taking men from one department to another, also outside recruiting would take place for the job.
The Falklands war was taking place ,and there seemed to be a sort of buzz around the factory men talking in groups at break times ,it just seemed as if their was a together spirit about the place a nice change. small union flags would appear on walls,all ex service men walking ramrod straight .all wanting to go and stick it in the Argentines, but all to old but willing ,i thought, among all the workers in the whole factory I would bet anything that I was the only person ever who had been to Argentina, but I never let on, I was waiting for anyone to say “yea I was there”,but no one did so i
told no one ,i did not matter any way so had thousands of other men been to Argentina.
The time kept marching on and I was waiting for my stores interview, that never happened, but the strangest thing did ,I was asked by the personal department if I would consider moving over to the engine build department as a material handler, as there is a “ vacancy , going to be created” there was no material handler in the build department ,all the heavy material was lifted by a man from the stores on a fork lift . all the other material was collected from the stores by the individuals working on the engine they were building. it was strange, how do you get something you want in the end, w? I knew a lot of people within the factory , and I was not shy in saying what I would like to do .so as they say ■■■■ happens not always bad.
So after a time I left the Machine shop and started within the engine build department. I had a week in the stores trying to get in touch with all the bolts ,nuts washers, clips,all the ancillary parts that are used in all different parts of the engine build, nearly every engine was build with a different
use once it left the factory.