Chepstow Memories

Work in Wartime

When I signed my apprentice deeds my first wages were four shillings a week, my second year was six shillings, my third year was eight shillings, my fourth year was ten shillings. I never did get the pound for the last year because I was away. By the way I went to work for my first week in shorts short trousers, that’s all I had. I remember standing up sorting screws in the Red and White into different to learn the size of the different things, and what they were and things like that, in shorts for the first week. It was a daunting experience actually being amongst that noise and clatter and things like that, and didn’t know anybody. But after the first week when you know by that time you’d organised overalls and stuff like that, it wasn’t too bad.

I left school when I was fourteen, served as an apprenticeship under in the Red and White until I was nearly eighteen. I volunteered then for the RAF. The funny part about it really was that I volunteered for flying air crew, took my educational exam which I passed, took my medical exam which I passed, and then told the Red and White that I was going to leave. And I was summoned to Head Office. I can’t remember the name, I can still see him know, because we had given nicknames to all the people from the head bunch. And I had to go see this bloke, whose nickname was the ‘Scented Lizard’, he was immaculate, and he always smelt nice, I think his name was Bowns. I always remember going in to see him because he stood behind, I was in front of the desk and he said “well I understand you think that you are going in the forces”. And he said “I’m sorry to tell you you can’t”. And I said “Oh why is that then?” And he said “Well this is a Reserved Occupation”. And I said “Well I’m sorry Mr Bowns but I am going in the forces and you can’t stop me”. He said “Why is that then?” I said “I’m going into Air Crew”. He looked up at me, “Air Crew!” he said. He said “you have to be intelligent to go into the Air Crew you have to have intelligence”. And I said well “I have passed the entrance exam to go in”. And he looked at me again and he said “on top of that” he said “ you have to be extremely fit!” he said “my Brother is flying” And I said “well I’m sorry to tell you again that I’ve actually passed the medical exam”. And he looked at me for while and he said “Just what do you think you are?” I looked at him and I said, “Well I believe myself to be a fairly intelligent but totally under educated person.” And he looked at me and for the first time a smile come on his face and he said “do you know what? I think your right!”

Work in Wartime

There was a women from Bulwark, first woman we ever had into the Red and White, I can’t remember her name, who came in there as a painter. Not a painter in the mains, but she would do all the undercoating and painting with red lead, and stuff like that. I mean she didn’t have the training she wasn’t a painter as such, she just came in to wield a brush. And there was another women who used to clean the buses from Itton. . But she was a much older woman, you know very old in fact, she must have been nearer forty! I believe they did have but I’m not sure of this, a women in the trimming department. There was four men there in that department, they repaired the buses there I mean, you’d get an accident and the whole side would be whipped out. Things like making seats and stuff like that, and repairing seats on buses. I mean they’d recover a seat in leather or rexene or moquette.

Well the Red and White to some extent increased my education, mainly about people; it teaches you to stand on your own two feet. Couple of examples of that was one of the foreman, the coach building foreman’s name was Arthur Virgo. I was standing in what we call the bottom shop one day talking to somebody about a job, this job, how we were going to get about it. And he walked by and said something very sarcastically. And I thought, excuse my language, I thought bugger that! I’m not having that. So as when he came back down a little while later I said “Arthur excuse me” I said “but when you passed by just now, you passed a very sarcastic remarks” And he said “Oh did I?” I said “don’t you ever do that again to me” I said “you can give me an order, you can tell me what to do, but don’t ever use sarcasm on me, otherwise I’m afraid you’ll find yourself on your backside” I said “I just won’t have it from you or anybody else”, and he never did.

As you went into the Red and White Stores and Office were on the left, the Works office that was, and then there was the stores, then there was the dock shop, then there was the paint shop, and there was the trimming shop. Down the bottom was the blacksmith for shaping irons and different things like that. The bottom shop was where they had the engine shop, and another big shop, and then behind that was the machine shop, it was big in those days yes. The dock was sort of a maintenance place. Most of the big jobs were done down in the bottom shop, and all the painting was in the painting shop as well, there was or four or five painters.
Work in Wartime

There was an orchard on the left hand side belonging to Bert, where we used to scrump his apples, and there he had a place where he killed his stock. He didn’t only kill them there, I mean there were occasions when he killed a lamb or something like that or a pig, in the back yard behind the buildings, out in the open. And then I mean I know that because I helped him, he used to put a thing for sharpening the knives in under the skin. Then to get the skin off you blew it up, you put mouth and blew air in which loosened the skin, the skin would peel off that much better.

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