So my life up to meeting with my colleagues of note...? 26 12 21
Just for a moment put yourselves in my shoes: this fatherless kid of 15 deciding to leave school, not the local High or Grammar Schools but his Bury Junior Technical School which had just introduced a third year to its curriculum so it too could could take students one year closer University entrance in taking the Nationwide requisite GCE (General Certificate of Education) O-level (O for Ordinary). Preparatory to later sitting, not up to typically 9 subjects, but a restrictive selected 3 A-levels (A for Advanced) to anticipate the chosen University course. Like Chemistry, Physics and Maths to pursue one or other of these three disciplines, or English, French and History to pursue one of the Humanity courses, for example.
But sod that! An extra year doing stuff like Woodwork 1/2 day a week, Practical Drawing another half day, or Metalwork a third when none of these appealed to this young fellow, as preparation for the career he would pusue in industry.
Instead, I knuckeled down to joining the laboratory staff of one of the local Paper Mills, of which there was as many as 25 in the town in 1955. On the bottom rung of the ladder, running to the canteen at the morning "Brew Time" break to bring back the toasted cheese and onion sandwiches for this more senior guy, or fried egg on toast for another such person, in between doing all the sh*tiest jobs like analysing all the different waters in the Boiler House, preparatory to making a second morning visit there, to hump all the water-treatment sacks of chemicals, in typically 1 hundred weight sacks (that's 112 lbs), and treat the respective waters with these chemicals: Caustic Soda, Sodium Sulphite, Calgon, etc., as water softeners. Whilst one day per week, and one or possibly 2 evenings 7 - 9 pm studying Chemistry, Physics and Mathematics, with additional Physics and Maths if one intened one day to continue studying in a University, as Chemistry was broken down into Organic, Inorganic and Physical, in pursuit of the O.N.C. and H.N.C., i.e. the Ordinary and Higher National Certificates, via part-time day-release, paid for by our employers.
Breaking out aged 20 and traveling more of Northern Europe when I would be welcomed to work in Finland's Pulp Industry, as a part-time Laboratory Technician, summer months for the years 1960 through 1965. Stayng a couple of winters too, when I had re-sits for my Part-time Technical College exams back home. Returning to England to join other companies, other industries and in the process becoming disillusioned with the standing of the ONC and HNC qualifications, when I too decided to top them up to University Honours level Chemistry level, in my case with the highly coveted Royal Institute of Chemistry 2 year bridging-course at Salford University.
Following this up with 2 full years employment in Finland with Oy Kaukas Ab, a Wood Products company, when there were no jobs for Graduate Chemists in the UK, plus further work in the Viscose Industry, back in England, manufacturers of Cellulose Films, both coated and uncoated, with eg Saran PVdC coatings for high oxygen and moisture barrier properties.
When aged 35 I presented myself to J.R. Crompton and Bros Ltd, a local lad, to impress the likes of Polo-Playing Philip Crompton and his Atlantic-Yachting brother-in-law Dick Orton, after being accepted jointly by Research Director Reg Johnson together with Mr Crompton, againgst the background of my extensive industrial background of all the industries which impacted their extensive operations: Pulping their own source of Abaca Fibre, Paper-making after working and or visiting more than 10 other facilities, last but by no means least working in several Cellulose film plants when they too used it as a bought-in starting material Viscose, or Sodium Cellulose xanthate, from just such manuafacturers. Little suspecting that they would each in turn take me with them on business trips to Finland: first Dick for what I believed to be a one-off visit which recurred every 6 months for the next 6 1/2 years when he entrusted me with the job of bringing home the bacon alone, and somewhere along the way with Philip, when a bigger project to that of Paper supplier, was in the offing.
Now with hindsight hob-nobbing with the likes of Philip Crompton and Dick Orton I'm going to say my star was at its zenith, though shortly thereafter it was to nose-dive again, with Philip's unforseen riding accident which too soon swept him fatally away, but not without its rising out of the ashes yet again...
But sod that! An extra year doing stuff like Woodwork 1/2 day a week, Practical Drawing another half day, or Metalwork a third when none of these appealed to this young fellow, as preparation for the career he would pusue in industry.
Instead, I knuckeled down to joining the laboratory staff of one of the local Paper Mills, of which there was as many as 25 in the town in 1955. On the bottom rung of the ladder, running to the canteen at the morning "Brew Time" break to bring back the toasted cheese and onion sandwiches for this more senior guy, or fried egg on toast for another such person, in between doing all the sh*tiest jobs like analysing all the different waters in the Boiler House, preparatory to making a second morning visit there, to hump all the water-treatment sacks of chemicals, in typically 1 hundred weight sacks (that's 112 lbs), and treat the respective waters with these chemicals: Caustic Soda, Sodium Sulphite, Calgon, etc., as water softeners. Whilst one day per week, and one or possibly 2 evenings 7 - 9 pm studying Chemistry, Physics and Mathematics, with additional Physics and Maths if one intened one day to continue studying in a University, as Chemistry was broken down into Organic, Inorganic and Physical, in pursuit of the O.N.C. and H.N.C., i.e. the Ordinary and Higher National Certificates, via part-time day-release, paid for by our employers.
Breaking out aged 20 and traveling more of Northern Europe when I would be welcomed to work in Finland's Pulp Industry, as a part-time Laboratory Technician, summer months for the years 1960 through 1965. Stayng a couple of winters too, when I had re-sits for my Part-time Technical College exams back home. Returning to England to join other companies, other industries and in the process becoming disillusioned with the standing of the ONC and HNC qualifications, when I too decided to top them up to University Honours level Chemistry level, in my case with the highly coveted Royal Institute of Chemistry 2 year bridging-course at Salford University.
Following this up with 2 full years employment in Finland with Oy Kaukas Ab, a Wood Products company, when there were no jobs for Graduate Chemists in the UK, plus further work in the Viscose Industry, back in England, manufacturers of Cellulose Films, both coated and uncoated, with eg Saran PVdC coatings for high oxygen and moisture barrier properties.
When aged 35 I presented myself to J.R. Crompton and Bros Ltd, a local lad, to impress the likes of Polo-Playing Philip Crompton and his Atlantic-Yachting brother-in-law Dick Orton, after being accepted jointly by Research Director Reg Johnson together with Mr Crompton, againgst the background of my extensive industrial background of all the industries which impacted their extensive operations: Pulping their own source of Abaca Fibre, Paper-making after working and or visiting more than 10 other facilities, last but by no means least working in several Cellulose film plants when they too used it as a bought-in starting material Viscose, or Sodium Cellulose xanthate, from just such manuafacturers. Little suspecting that they would each in turn take me with them on business trips to Finland: first Dick for what I believed to be a one-off visit which recurred every 6 months for the next 6 1/2 years when he entrusted me with the job of bringing home the bacon alone, and somewhere along the way with Philip, when a bigger project to that of Paper supplier, was in the offing.
Now with hindsight hob-nobbing with the likes of Philip Crompton and Dick Orton I'm going to say my star was at its zenith, though shortly thereafter it was to nose-dive again, with Philip's unforseen riding accident which too soon swept him fatally away, but not without its rising out of the ashes yet again...
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