I was at School from 1944 and left in July 1948 aged 15 years. I was not a star, very middle of the class.
I was probably a bit lazy but very happy there. I remember very good teachers all of them well respected, Thomas, Knoyle, Guy, Wyatt, every one of them had firm classroom discipline. I was sorry to leave but I had to bring in a wage.
I started at the Post Office July 1948 and stayed until 1951and left for National Service. I served 21 months in the Canal Zone protecting the Suez Canal. That time was my real wakeup call the discipline was hard to accept at first but the reasons were soon learned. When I returned I resigned from the P.O. and joined the Dowty group on the bottom rung. After a few months I understood the company and management structure and thought I should aim at something higher.
I signed on at North Glos. Tech College and did two nights a week on various management studies. I was promoted to the Work Study Section and over the next 10 years went into Production Management and was lucky to receive a whole range of training at Engineers House, Bristol, Loughborough, and Bristol University I became Production Director in Malta at age 37 years in 1970 and at its peak in 1974 it employed 1520 people. Because of my impatience with Distributing Companies I was appointed to the boards of Italy Germany and France all manufacturing companies in their own right with large sales networks, and only part owned by Dowty. These were subsequently Dowty acquisitions and accountable to me.
After a few years at this the Dowty Group Board wanted a bigger share of the U.S.A. market so the local Sales Office came under my control. Within three years we acquired Manufacturing Companies in New Hampshire, Toronto and Michigan all with Sales and Technical Facilities supporting each other. The Polymer Engineering Companies in North America and Europe were formed into a Sub Division ten companies of which I became managing Director.
In 1998 Her Majesty Honoured me with an O.B.E For Services to British Commercial interests Overseas. That year I gave up most work and was appointed Chairman of the Division but did not get involved but spent a lot of time in China and Japan at trade fairs, exhibitions etc. and ate very well. I retired from the Group in 2000 and later joined Caritas raising Government and Local Industries funding. I retired from that at aged 82 years and now get bored up to my eyebrows with nothing to do.