The jobs we did before and after our Sea life .

[John Pruden]

one thing I can say a heavy day/night drinking there I woke up on my doorstep now seamen always search for the wallet that was there the watch that was there still money in the wallet they paid for a taxi and paid for it say what you like about coloured clubs but when you are in with them you are looked after?true jp

[cappy]

one thing I can say a heavy day/night drinking there I woke up on my doorstep now seamen always search for the wallet that was there the watch that was there still money in the wallet they paid for a taxi and paid for it say what you like about coloured clubs but when you are in with them you are looked after?true jp

#####john it was always testicles spetcticles wallet and watch..... once woke up in the hold off a japanese fishing boat ..it was tied up at the ferrry terminal ........there was 3 of us we were covered in old fish scales .....as we climbed up the ladder on too the ferry landing the ist guy up saw the japs were all dressed going to work with briefcases...he roared like a lion and i remember them japs all shuffling away and bowing we had a good laugh at the one....jeez we were kings of the world...cappy

[Captain Kong]

I was on a Shell tanker, AURIS, in Curacao, after a heavy drinking session with some dagos I awoke on a coil of mooring ropes on a sailing ship bound for Venezuela,
I arrived back in Curacao six weeks later and rejoined my ship after sailing around the Orinoco and Barbados . Learned to sail a SAILING SHIP..
I told the Captain I had been shanghaied on a sailing ship and Captain Brown who served his apprenticeship on the famous Windjammer MONKBARNS , let me off.
Lucky that the AURIS was in Curacao for two months.

[Doc Vernon]

Mainly for the Newer Members

I am reviving this Thread for all new Members so hopefully they may join in this discussion of their past Job list.
It has been in the backdrop for some time now,so hopefully it will get some more good replies! Come on now don't be shy! LOL
Cheers

[Trevor Bodiam]

Not up to your total Doc but i tried. So just to keep the post going-

England.

Greengrocer delivery boy
Paper round with W.H.Smith’s @ Dover Priory station
Trainee manager for W.H.Smith’s
Casual dock worker on Dover docks.
British Rail car ferries.
Merchant Navy
Townsend Car Ferries
Casual labourer on Dungeness power station
Christmas time casual Postman
Casual labourer with Engineering/Roofing company
Casual labourer on new build housing estate
Swimming pool/custodian/lifesaver with Cambridge council

Australia

Shoe factory in Heidelberg. Lasted about 6 days.
Maintenance worker for M.M.B.W. Yan-Yean Reservooir
Manager of Record department for Murdoch Electrical Preston
Courier Owner/Driver for JBD transport
Delivering Avon in evenings to reps homes
M.M.B.W. Yan-Yean again
Delivery driver for Gem engines
A.P.M. in Fairfield Held various in-house positions
Kodak Australia Coburg
Take away food partnership in St. Kilda road Melbourne
Second hand Record & C.d. Shop in Pascoe Vale then Williamstown.
Part time Taxi driver
Courier owner/driver for various Melbourne based companies.
Volunteer for Vinnies second hand stores in Clayton and Springvale
Part-time delivery driver for PBS pharmacies in Moorabin.
Retired and came to Europe.

[Doc Vernon]

Thanks Trevor
You have also doine well in your time ,its good to know that there are so many that had Careers outside of the Merchant Navy ,but then some would not have had it any othe way. I feel that many of us though had itchy feet in our younger days! LOL

[happy daze john in oz]

At the tender age of eight began work on a pig farm, continued on weekends and holiday up to the age of 16
At about 12 doing a paper round.
At just over 16 went to sea.
Then ashore,
Barman in a pub, then assistant cook in a theater restaurant
Back as pub barmen
Off to Jersey for the season as assistant cook
Back to UK, Bournemouth as assistant cook in hotel
Back to London worked as relief cook for Alfred Marks agency
Took permanent position with contract catering company
Took on a pub, Took on a second pub and restaurant
Came out to Oz
Catering controller with major retail outlet
18 months as assistant store manager in supermarket
Catering control in University for 14 years.
Retirement village as jack of all trades for almost 7 years.
Early retirement
15 plus years as a volunteer at local health center.

All done

[Pam Fudge]

Hello
My Dad, Vivian Squibbs, spent 42 years at sea in the Merchant Navy starting aged 17 as a cabin boy and progressing through to being 1^st Mate. He however avoided the position of 1^st Mate as he preferred the navigation aspect of the job as 2^nd Mate. However Dad was also trained as a photographer by his father, becoming the third generation photographer of the Squibbs family who worked in Bridgewater, in England and Cardigan, in Wales.

So during his forty one years at sea in the Merchant Navy he always had his camera with him. I'm at present working through the hundreds of undeveloped negatives he took during his years at sea; including those taken during the Atlantic crossings in WW2 (that are quite illuminating). My idea is to link these with his sea faring experiences in a book.


I’ve already published 2 books about his dad, my photographer grandpa - ‘West Wales through the Lens of Harry Squibbs’. Volume 1 is about South Cardiganshire and Volume 2 about Pembrokeshire. So following up with one about my dad’s life on the ocean waves seems like a good way to continue. If any members knew my dad I would love to hear from them.

[Red Lead Ted]

NO COMMENT OFFICER ……………………….

[John F Collier]

Left school aged 15 at Easter 1954, my first year at work was at a local small engineering firm that was in two parts, one building was an
casting foundry the other was a lathe turning shop. My duties were shared between the two as a shop floor boy but I was also hands on with
learning csting and lathe turning which I really enjoyed, the factory was victorian era and everything was old fashioned, the lathes were driven
by belts from ceiling mounted pulles, the two lathes I worked was a large capstan lathe and a small turning lathe, I was very happy there but
it was always only ever a stopgap until I was old enough join the MN, I did my course at TS Vindicatrix and went on to work for the NZSCo ,
Shaw Savill and Houlder Bros, when I came ashore I got my national service call up papers, I failed the medical on hearing damage that was
caused by the wartime bombing of our house. I had a hard time adjusting to shore life and drifted from job to job, including Whitbreads delivery's,
Ice cream van, milk round also tried some factory work, plastic and metal injection moulding, building site's hod carrying, some roof work and road
making gangs, then I got married and knew it was time to knuckle down, we moved to Essex where I worked for a company called Land and Marine
then moved on to fibreglass boat building, I wanted to buy my own home so for mortgage reasons it was time to get a secure job so I went to the
GPO Telephones which was at that time part of the civil service, with my work record of so many jobs I had to wait for over a year for them to
check me out, I got the job and ended up staying with for 30 years although The GPO Telephone was privatised and became British Telecom.
I learned many thing there that I found very useful away from the job, I got promotions and earned some good money through long hours and
hard work. cheers











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