Jim Duncan
Jim belongs to: The Doxford Engine Friends Association
Jim was born in Sunderland in 1943. He followed his father into Doxford's. He began his apprenticeship in December 1959.
Jim was interviewed by Kylea Little on 24 January 2006. The interview took place at the Interviewee's living room and lasted 1 hour, 16 minutes and 2 seconds.
The Doxford master plan
"Doxford’s had a master plan which I didn’t know about at the time because I wasn’t old enough to know"
Doxford’s had a master plan which I didn’t know about at the time because I wasn’t old enough to know but what they did was they placed you in different departments and the departments themselves had a look at you and sought out where you were likely to end up. They had a good idea from the interview and they had a good idea from school work, college work, polytechnic studies. The polytechnic did all the theory, but Doxford’s did all the practical work and the way they did it was they put you into each department over a six month, seven month period and moved you around. They’d give the foreman in that department a look at you and he was always making comments and writing notes. And he would also give you an idea of what you would like to do, so we got a two way advantage from it. From the light machine shop I went into the sub-assembly shop. The sub-assembly was mainly the, where they did the pistons and piston heads and I worked in there, again for six months or so and exactly the same- you just move from job to job. You started at the bottom, following piston head studs into pistons and you ended up at the other end, testing them, testing them and doing all the other things that you needed to do. And they were then stamped by Lloyds and were fit for use.
Jim has 14 memories in the memorynet:
Starting at Doxford's- The Doxford master plan
- Les Morris
- Working in the Tool Room
- Training the apprentices and the closure of Doxford's
- Value of Doxford apprenticeship
- Politics and Doxford's
- The apprentice strike
- Leaving Doxford's
The Doxford Ship Yard- Aerial view of the Doxford Works and the River Wear
- A ship being launched
- A Doxford engine
- Model of a Doxford engine
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