Your first job in Coventry

Thinking back, Colin, I did not venture very much to that floor, although I did have to be a relief on the switchboard sometimes. I found that very nerve racking as it was an old fashioned plug in board and I was never quite sure if I was plugging in the correct hole! I suppose when I think about it now, although we had what we called the computer room on the 2nd floor there was nowhere that the data was stored so it makes sense that there was another room where that was done. The room I had to go in had a very mechanical machine to add up the cards, one that sorted them and a big one with the program boards on that I think printed out the invoices.On the ground floor that you were on was the drawing office and the "tracers" so I did not have any cause to go there although we could see them as the 1st and 2nd floor offices were an open plan with a "well" in the middle so the light from the large skylight went right down to the ground floor. I do remember that when I worked in the HP department I had to go down to the creepy basement. If anybody moved out of the area with HP the HP agreement had to be transferred to the new area. The archive documents were kept in the basement but we had to go and get the original agreement. Some of them had very old stamps on them. The meter readers room was also down there and late afternoon I had to cart my comp down to add up the Prepayment cards to check what they were paying in.(that is where I met Roy as he was the accounts clerk who had to check in the shilling and two shilling pieces. We left those offices a couple of years before I left and moved down to what is now known as Electric Wharf so your recollections must be late 60's early 70's.

My first job was during school holidays, at the Kwik Chick in the Burgess in the mid sixties. I peeled spuds and fried chips for half a crown an hour, day shifts and night shifts until two in the morning sometimes. Does anyone remember the place? John, a Spanish guy was the owner and a nice bloke. I learned how to cook chips properly, blanching them first on a medium heat and quick frying them in hot oil before serving to crisp up the outsides. Rick Stein advocates this method and gives the impression that he discovered it. Tommy Cooper would call in every night for a cup of coffee on his way from the Coventry Theatre to the Leofric when he did a show there. The wannabe comedians in there would try to impress him with their jokes and Tommy remained completely deadpan, not even a smile.

Was he John Marquez, father of John (Doc Martin) and Martin (Hotel Babylon), and grandfather of Ramona (Outnumbered)?

Hi, Just having a scroll thro' on a wet afternoon,wonder if you knew my dad Jack Hewitt he used to run the ribbon weaving at Cash's? I used to go in after school sometimes the noise of all the different looms was LOUD. We used to live in the houses below the old "Top Shops" part of the original factory.

hi Bob,I don't recall knowing your dad but it was 50 yrs ago when I worked there at the age of 19.(happy days!)

As I only joined this wonderful forum last year I have seen many topics that I could comment on, my first job being one of them. I left Stoke Park School in 1960 and, although I couldn't wait to get a job and earn some spending money, I was persuaded to take a Secretarial course at the Butts Technical College, I think it only lasted a year. So with my shorthand-typing qualifications, my first job was with Coventry Council, albeit I was still training but did receive a small wage. Before applying for any shorthand typing posts within the many departments of the Council we had to spend time in the Typists' Training Section. This was based in the little room right at the top of the Council House and was run by a quite elderly lady called Miss Jeffers. There were about eight of us in there, and each day we had various tests to do, spelling, correct letter writing - all the things we were expected to know once we left the TTS. If a job came up two or three of us would be put forward. In the meantime we were encouraged to stand in at various departments during holiday times and I can remember spending time working in the little old office at the Fire Station (now some sort of restaurant I believe), then the Housing Department, the Welfare Department (ground floor of the New Council Offices as they were known then), and the Town Clerk's Department. I missed out on a permanent job in the Housing Department, but eventually one came up for me in the Health Department (middle floor of the New Council Offices). This was a wonderful job as I was in a small typing pool (manual Olympia and Hermes typewriters - no computers in those days) working for the Medical Officer of Health, and typed letters and reports for School Health, and Social Worker reports and letters etc for the Mental Health Department - many of which caused many a snigger within the typing pool ! I remember taking notes for Jack Noble, a lovely social worker, who was unfortunately murdered some years later by one of his "clients"?. I have many happy memories of working there - I remember having to go down to the basement on pay day where staff from the City Treasurer's Department would dish out the wage envelopes, for me the princely sum of £12 a week ! At the time rumours abounded that secretaries at Massey Ferguson were getting all of £23 a week. However, when a job was advertised for a shorthand typist at the Woodlands School in 1964 I applied and got the job. Such wonderful memories of working there; however, after about a year I got married and was soon expecting my first child, and after about eighteen months I had to leave the job as they were not kept open for you to return to in those days.

Jack Hewitt, yes, I started work, age 15, September 1963 at Cash's in the Finishing Room opposite the Dye House. Ribbons, that was 6 shop? Yes. Can't remember the dye house forman's name, he lived in one of the houses under Topshops. Would you know. Finishing room manager was Jim Underwood.

I used to work at a hotel near Coventry a few years back. You may or may not find this story amusing but it is true. After they had a major extension to the hotel it was realised by the management that the sewers hadn't been upgraded to suit the new capacity, but they did nothing about it due to cost (a big mistake). The old sewer couldn't cope and great big 'fat balls' would clog the sewer or sump. They were great lumps of white grease, margarine and butter. When this happened the effluent from all the rest of the hotel would back up and travel down the pipe to a function centre where it had its own kitchen. You can guess where this is going. When it reached the kitchen, it would rise up the trap and flood the kitchen floor, yes, the kitchen floor where food was being prepared for conferences or weddings. Well on one occasion this was so bad that the effluent not only flooded the kitchen, but it crossed the corridor and entered the conference suite. The carpet was soaked in raw sewage and whatever was in the mixture. After a clean up operation, the next day a young woman arrived to 'dress' about 60 chairs to 'show off' the facilities and the function rooms. She was making a lovely job and the chairs looked smashing. Trouble is, it was warm work for her and she decided to take her shoes off. She soon commented that her feet were damp!. I did not enlighten her since no good would come of it in the long run. I often wondered if she didn't smell something strange about her feet. I didn't hang around to find out. I would have lost my job if I told her, such a pity.

Hi & welcome to our forum, Heathite Thank you for your introductory post, which could make me wish that I had not eaten so much today. Happily it is your memories of long ago. We do hope you have a happy time with us & that you will feel comfortable, pulling up a chair & putting your slippers on with no risk of sewage discharge backup. Best wishes.

Hi Jamey. Did we know each other in 1961? I worked in room 146 Health Enquiries, next to the typing pool. Sending more details by message.

Hi all I wonder if the Medical Officer of Health was Dr Watson?

no.... but there was a Dr Foster about 1963.. and yes.. he did go to Gloucester..

The Medical Officer of Health in the early sixties was Dr Tim Clayton.

Janey.. You are right about Dr Clayton. Dr Foster was his deputy and he did go to Gloucester as Medical Officer of Health. I remember him coming into the office the day he left and we warned him not to go as it looked like rain... the rest is history.

just spent a happy couple of hours reading recollections of first jobs..come on people..there must be a lot more out there (recollections I mean not people)...and it's surprising how interesting the minutiae are (I looked up how to spell that)...and how much we got away with!!! in my case it was my facade of competence that stood me in good stead (well mostly!!!)