John Watson
John belongs to: The Doxford Engine Friends Association
John was born in 1936 in Hendon. He started his apprenticeship at Doxford's in 1952 with the intention of going to sea. John has no regrets about the people he has met, and friends he has made.
John was interviewed by Carl Greenwood on 26 January 2006. The interview took place at Sunderland Museum and lasted 21 minutes and 13 seconds.
Asbestos
"The bad part about it was, what we didn’t know, that we were working in extreme conditions with asbestos"
The bad part about it was, what we didn’t know, that we were working in extreme conditions with asbestos, and a lot of us are suffering, even myself now with pleural plaque and chest complaints, and a lot of people have died young through the asbestos, and it was just like snow coming down the engine room. And of course when you were apprentices, you didn’t realise what it was, but you used to throw pieces at each other, not knowing the dangers of it.
John has 14 memories in the memorynet:
Apprenticeship at Doxford's- The value of a Doxford apprenticeship
- Sounds and atmosphere in the Doxford Works
- Asbestos
- Moving on from Doxford's
- Bill King
- First voyage, carrying dynamite through a hurricane
- Being in a hurricane
- Joining the Doxford Engine Friends Association
- What does the sea mean to you?
Doxford's reference- Diary
- Working on a lathe
- Catch of the day
This memory has these themes:
Danger | Environment | Work
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