First job from leaving School

[Cliff Ton 10,464]

Bearing in mind the day today.........if you started your first job before the mid-70s you would've worked on New Year's Day.

New Year's Day only became a bank holiday in England for the first time on Jan 1st 1975 (although it already was in Scotland)

[EileenH 496]

It was always a holiday where I worked in the 60s - EMEB HQ. We understood that it was prolly cos some of the Board members were Scots

[plantfit 7,592]

Hi Mick,

Believe it is/was called the Red Lamp, next door was a wool/knitting shop and the garage next to that, going up the road was Deny's general store then a chip shop (owned by the Chinese) then as far as i remember was Eyre street, we used to service and repair most of the fruit market vehicles and AW Lymn the funeral peoples vehicles

Rog

[mick2me 3,033]

This is it Rog?

[plantfit 7,592]

Thats the one, thanks for the pick, in the upstairs right side window was the managers office, the other two were the spares rooms full of old stuff as mentioned in an earlier thread, the garage itself had three boom type fuel pump arms going over the pavement on the right side and a diesel pump boom on the left side, the original doors were painted red and were a bu99er to slide open in the mornings especially for a weedy apprentice like myself, there were cobbles on the pavement directly in front of the doors, in the very early days of the garage it catered for cycles and motor cycles (circa early 1900's) and later becoming a garage for motor cars as well, the original name was "Claringburn and Codd" Mr Claringburn used to visit on odd occasions but he was no longer the owner, the owners when I started there was a Mr Would and his two sons Geoff and Roy, very good mechanics

Rog

[Thomas 11]

First job at a firm that made wooden roller blinds opposite the old Labour Exchange Castle Boulevard 1958, cant remember the name of firm though.General dogs body and tea boy Soon got fed up with it and joined the Army as a boy soldier ( Royal Green Jackets, KRRC became a bandboy and played cornet.

[mgread1200 141]

First two are not worth mentioning wasn't there for more than a few weeks in either. Then the same year I left School I went to work for a company on Lower Parliament St "Arthur E Wootton Ltd" ladies dress makers, wonderful old family run business, his sons Mr Brian and Mr Roger, his wife Dorothy and of course Arthur himself "Mr wootton Sir". the trade name was "Dortona" made up from the names of his wife, surname and A for Arthur. Think they were Masons as I used to catch snatches of conversation with regard to blokes walking round with one trouser leg rolled up, no idea back then what they were on about. Always at christmas and holiday time he would give me an extra fiver from his wallet which was doubleing my wages. I see from google that the tradename still exists for someplace that does alterations in Nottingham.

[btb11 0]

Apprentice at Rediffusion on Castle Blvd, £9 a week. Was a good place to work, in the TV workshop then as TV repairman. Being an apprentice I had to spend a little time in each department or section, though out on the vans mending tellies was the best, everyone welcomed the telly man! I was quite the rebel though and didn't get on at all well with the supervisors or managers, but nevertheless had a good time with me mates there.

(should say this wasn't in the fifties though, was 1970)

[Trickymicky 57]

Royal Ordnance Factory apprenticeship,followed by William Watts at Lenton. Then Lonsdale and Bartholomew,the Printers at Netherfield (bet some on here worked there),and finally 22 years with Severn Trent Water.

[mudgie49 401]

Apprentice painter/paperhanger, or general 'gofa',44hour a week less than 3 quid.

[katyjay 5,091]

mgread. Roger Wootton was my next door neighbour in Langar for a while. He was divorced and his young son would come to stay weekends. This was 1968/9 ish.

[mgread1200 141]

Hi Katy I remember he was more interested in the retail side of the business and in 64 he had opened a shop in Melton Mowbray, remember his wife also she often came into the factory on Lower Parliament St.

[piggy and babs 544]

for many of us paper rounds and baby sitting were our meand of earning a bit of extra money to do the tings and buy things that my little bit of pocket money would strech to for me it was things like ridding iceskating and going to the bikers cafe saving for my first second hand leather jacket took me weeks to save for that,

another job i did for a while before leaving school was collecting eggs from the local egg farm battery and free range . battery easy take them out the wrack put them onto trays put trayon big table at the end of the sheds free range scout all round the land to see how many you could findgot a pound a week for that job pluss as many eggs as my mum wanter plus apples pears plums when in seasonand often salad and veg strawberrys and raspbarrys from the gardens if they had any extra wich they usually did.

[piggy and babs 544]

my first real job was as a mothers help

[.... 23]

My first job was working on the ground staff at Trent Bridge for Notts County Cricket Club. I was pretty keen on the game in those days and very happy in that first job for the little while it lasted which was from early summer to Christmas, 1974. Managed to meet quite a few famous players such as Garfield Sobers, Derek Randall, Colin Cowdrey, Geoff Boycott, Clive Lloyd etc. Also met one of two other notables visiting the ground such as John Le Mesurier.

There were quite a few perks with the job. One was the overtime they paid you to work evenings and weekends to operate the scoreboard (which was your normal task on match days too). I loved just watching the cricket so it was a godsend for me. We'd get sandwiches and teas sent round in the intervals from the players dining room to sustain us. During tea breaks I'd play cricket in the indoor school and it was hard to break off and get back to work some days.

Most of the gatemen also worked at Forest's City Ground and Notts' Meadow Lane as well as the racecourse. I didn't pay to watch a game of football in the city for two years and became very adept at jumping over turnstiles!

The club was experiencing hard times though, unlike now, and at Christmas I had to leave along with a few others. In January I got a new job as a sales assistant at Hornes Brothers (the business that took over Skinner & Rooke's premises at the bottom corner of Clumber Street. I hated every minute of being cooped up in that place with snotty customers and a reminder of the slowly dragging time every fifteen minutes from Little John in the Council House. I couldn't think of anything but the former job I'd had roaming the wide open green sward of lovely Trent Bridge. The job last just three weeks and boy was I glad to get out of there.

May, 1975 came along and I embarked on my apprenticeship in the print trade - a 'real' job and one that provided me employment for some twenty-seven years. The rest is history.

[VWGolf 21]

Worked for British Gypsum in their laboratories, first at East Leake, then at Gotham. Earned about £26 per month, most of which I spent on clothes.

[jackson 301]

Junior Library Assistant with Nottingham Public Libraries - 1960's.

I had to attend three different interviews - all with gentlemen - and told that I would be accepted for the above post on gaining five O' levels; so you can imagine that I spent Summer holidays following exams on tenterhooks!

I passed my exams and was posted to the almost new Bilborough Branch Library on Bracebridge Drive. David Bartlett was the Librarian and Miss Radclyffe, Senior Assistant; luckily another school leaver, name of Christine Hill started with me at the same time.

Every Monday, Christine and I would travel to the Central Library in town where we had to do duties in the Archive Department. A wonderful place the Central Library, full of little nooks and crannies; the main library was vast and with a highly polished wooden floor - it was so quiet in there, you literally could have heard a pin drop!

Every Thursday we had to attend the Nottingham Polytechnic - day release - to study for our First Professional Exam in Librarianship. Classes were held in the old University buildings.

Looking back I learnt so much working for Nottingham Public Libraries - Happy Days

[Bubblewrap 3,815]

A wringer out for a one armed window cleaner;)

My first proper job was a signal box lad on the railway at Colwick.

Sorry this should have been in the 60s bit. first job 1965

[Ashley 288]

Old Ace, Piggy and I actually knew a one armed window cleaner! or at least a guy who could no longer use one arm,

Jackson I once went for part time position as library assistant, just after I got my first book published, not being a clever dick I didn't get it! (ideas above my station)

[Thomas 11]

Junior Library Assistant with Nottingham Public Libraries - 1960's.

I had to attend three different interviews - all with gentlemen - and told that I would be accepted for the above post on gaining five O' levels; so you can imagine that I spent Summer holidays following exams on tenterhooks!

I passed my exams and was posted to the almost new Bilborough Branch Library on Bracebridge Drive. David Bartlett was the Librarian and Miss Radclyffe, Senior Assistant; luckily another school leaver, name of Christine Hill started with me at the same time.

Every Monday, Christine and I would travel to the Central Library in town where we had to do duties in the Archive Department. A wonderful place the Central Library, full of little nooks and crannies; the main library was vast and with a highly polished wooden floor - it was so quiet in there, you literally could have heard a pin drop!

Every Thursday we had to attend the Nottingham Polytechnic - day release - to study for our First Professional Exam in Librarianship. Classes were held in the old University buildings.

Looking back I learnt so much working for Nottingham Public Libraries - Happy Days

I can't remember ever seeing you there. ha!

[jackson 301]

You Three Wonderful Fellas: Bubblewrap, Ashley and Thomas, for giving me such a laugh!

'A wringer out for a one armed window cleaner'

'He who makes his friends laugh, deserves Paradise'

[Bubblewrap 3,815]

How about a "Bouncer" for "Mothercare"?

Or a "Thistle cutter" at a Nudest colony

[Ashley 288]

re going for jobs, around 1990 we had an "area manager" start at firm I worked for, in charge of about 5 engineer + office staff and others looking after 5,000 + st ann's and victoria centre heating for the council, brand new car all the perks etc, a couple of us thought him a cockney wide boy lol, after about a month he decided not his thing and left same day, before he went told us fitters he had no qualifications at all or experience, had told a pack of lies conning all inc the wherever his new job was! advised us all to do the same for good money positions, (didn't work for for me, had always fancied being a doctor but no one would take me on)

[denshaw 2,871]

I fancied being a Doctor but didn't have enough patients.

[trevorthegasman 150]

My first job was with the EMGB(hence the gasman) June 1959 and the pay was 3pound 6shillings and 1 penny but if you worked 5 miles from Woodboro Rd you also got 2shillings and 9 pence dinner money each day and age did not come into it.

By the way re the one armed window cleaner well my hairdresser only had one arm(lost in WWI) I'am sure he would have been spoken about on this forum just on Kirkewhite St corner of Arkwright St.....