Time at South Works

On reflection this was the worst time of my apprenticeship.  It was the first shift outside the apprentice training centre.  I reported to the foreman and he didn't know what to do with me, or so it appeared.  I was in a shop with all sorts of bending equipment and as far as I can remember I stood around all day just watching nevertheless I picked up a feel for the processes which varied from manipulating sheet steel to forging angle iron into Royal Tiger for windscreen frames.  It was fascinating at times.

For my second three weeks I was in the cab assembly shop and I ended up helping one of the fitters putting the steel cabs together.  I remember hardly speaking a word at this time!  I wasn't happy as I didn't know how to get accepted.  Up to this time the students had all been sons of customers and they weren't interested in working so the foremen didn't know how to deal with me.  I was one of the first batch of genuine students being paid to learn, previously the families had had to pay for the 'training' hence the 'trainees' were called Premiums.