<<< Back

Having left school at the age of 15, I went to work for the Portsea Island Mutual Cooperative Society (PIMCO), having passed their entrance exam. I had very good training during this time which has held me in good stead for the rest of my working life, which has always involved working with the general public - until now.

Having spent several years in the retail grocery business, I then spent several years collecting chicken eggs from farms and delivering them to retail outlets. It was whilst working for 'Sunrise' Eggs at Emsworth, that I learnt to drive an HGV (Heavy Goods Vehicle), my father who was a driving instructor having taught me to drive a car at the age of 17, was unable to teach me to drive this HGV, so a colleague, George Page taught me. Nevertheless, I was able to pass first time.

By now I was needing a change and decided to get out into the open air and got a job as a milkman. This meant being up very early, out in all weathers and being very satisfied, especially when I progressed from Milkman to Supervisor to Manager. Even as Manager it still meant early mornings and out in all weathers, but not quite so much satisfaction.

After 12 years of this, I decided to try working for myself. So with the help of my wife, we bought a Guest House in Southsea, which we successfully ran for 11 years. During this time we met some very lovely people, many of whom are still friends and we still communicate with them. The hours were long and tedious, what with having to wait up for late arrivals on some occasions and then of course having to get up and do early breakfast for those going on the cross-channel ferries. There are many stories about our time at the Guest House, some of which may appear on this site at a later date. Whilst the tale will be true, the names may be changed to protect the 'innocent'.

In 1998, we gave up the Guest House and bought ourselves a house, which backed on to the main railway line, in the northern part of Portsmouth. For the first couple of months I spent my time decorating the house before looking for gainful employment. After a couple of months of working for employment agencies as a driver, I was put forward for a position at the NAVY NEWS, a newspaper based in HMS Nelson, Portsmouth, as an editorial assistant. I started work there in August 1998 and have been there ever since. It is a small band of workers who take great pride in producing the 'Newspaper for the Royal Navy'. This job has grown out of all recognition from when I started. I now am also known as the archivist for Navy News.