George Gardner
George belongs to: The Doxford Engine Friends Association
George was born in 1940 in Hendon. He began his apprenticeship in 1956 and finished in 1961. From Doxford's George served in the merchant navy on tramp ships, cargo liners, container ships and oil tankers until he retired in 2005.
George was interviewed by Carl Greenwood on 26 January 2006. The interview took place at Sunderland Museum and lasted 31 minutes and 54 seconds.
Safety and accidents at Doxford's
"Well, we did things there which would be major health and safety issues these days"
Well, we did things there which would be major health and safety issues these days. There were accidents- things happened, you know. They weren’t, they weren’t quite as conscious of the hazards as they are these days. I mean they could, there is, let me think, there was least one fatal accident while I was working there. I didn’t see it, I didn’t want to see it, because it was pretty ghastly. But there was certainly injuries of one sort or another. Eye injuries were common, I mean I had one or two myself. You know, pieces of metal going into your eye, because you weren’t wearing eye protection because eye protection wasn’t in common usage in those days. Foot protection wasn’t in greatly common usage. It became so but– I can remember my father being brought home. He had had something fairly heavy fall on his toes and fracture his toes.
George has 12 memories in the memorynet:
George's memories with a Sounds and Smells theme:
George's other memories:
Apprenticeship at Doxford's- Benefits of a Doxford apprenticeship
- The value of a Doxford's apprenticeship
- Safety and accidents at Doxford's
- Sailing with a Doxford engine
- Conditions on the ship
- Meeting Michael Wilson in Shanghai
Engineer's Certificate- Continuous Certificate of Discharge
- Africa
- Shanghai
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