Your first job in Coventry

My first job was to follow the family tradition and work at Courtaulds. Many of my relatives had worked there before me when I left school in 1968. My step sister had been a contomitor operator, my granddad a pipe fitter until he died of TB, I don't know what my mum did but she met my dad there; he was a foreman in the viscose spinning department for 40 years and took early retirement when he was 55 around years old - I was about 2 then. My aunt and uncle on my mother's side worked there somewhere, as did my aunt and uncle on my father's side, although my uncle was killed fighting in the First World War. In fact the records from Courtaulds shows my dad and my uncle leaving the payroll to go off to fight, and my dad returning, after he was wounded. They all lodged with another of the family in Coronation Rd. Anyway, enough of them - what about me. I was employed in the Textile Technology lab, carrying out, in the main wear and tensile tests on various fabrics and doing microscopic and chemical analysis to establish the percentage blend of yarns. My headmistress at Coundon Court was a friend of the lady in charge - I can't remember her name, but any time she had a vacancy she would ask Miss Foster if there was anyone interested at the school. My parents were not too keen, but agreed to my application as the job didn't depend on O Level results (good job, mine were dire) and I didn't want to repeat any or do A Levels. At the time all that seemed to be open to me if I stayed on was university or teacher training, and I didn't want to do either! However having been sent on day release for 5 years to study for a Full Technological Certificate in Man Made Fibre Production and Control (for which I got a distinction), I was really upset to find out that although my qualification was considered equivalent to the Licentiate of the Textile Institute, to become an Associate I needed to go back to school and get 4 O Levels and 2 As in a Science or Maths, if only someone had said; mind you, by then I had left Courtaulds and was working as a Laboratory Technician at the tech in the Butts. I earned £6 18s a week and gave my mum £4 for keep. I remember we did a big wear trial on towels, sending them to a boarding school to be used and recalling some each week to test. They started with the warp, weft and pile as 100% cotton. Different coloured treads woven into the selvedge denoted every % blend in 10% intervals in each of the 3 areas unti 100% viscouse was reached - I wonder what happened to all those results. After a while I moved labs and didn't like the new one, as all we tested was tyre cord, which was very boring, so I set my sights higher and moved to the tech.

In 1970 aged 15yrs, my first job was at Tescos, Queen Victoria Road (now Iceland). I worked full time for five pounds and fourpence a week. I worked on the shop floor and also in the warehouse which was on the floor above. There was a couple of lads that worked in the warehouse. One time they had volunteered to work all night stocktaking. I asked them "Won't you get tired?" They replied "Nah, we'll be kipping by the Kelloggs!". I laughed all the way home on the bus that day.

Hello petunia Welcome to our friendly forum Perhaps one (or both) of those lads will see your post and make themselves known!

My first job in Coventry was as an Apprentice Toolmaker at W. E. Jones (Tools) Ltd on East Street - long since gone but the building is still in use by various businesses.

My first job was apprentice pipe fitter/welder at W A Bennett and Son heating engineers, that was in 64. Just retired and loving it!!!

I forgot to mention, my starting wage was 1/11d per hour

Hi 3Spires Was there a guy called Jack Allen who ran the flame hardening?

Hi Mick Yes, good old Jack, what a character! He had an assistant but I can't recall his name.

I used to visit when I was in the buying office at Wickmans. He used to do all of the flame hardening on our cross slides.

When I came down to Coventry in 1967, my first job was being a school teacher. As I was broke, I used to sit with the kids at lunchtime, a perk of a free lunch being the reward. I lived in the Foleshill Road above Dodd's bicycle shop and ran to and from work near Nuneaton - again to save money. At the end of the month, I had to walk into Coventry on the Saturday morning to cash my paycheque but was told by the lady cashier that the banking system didn't work like that and I should pay it into my account. I told the young lady I had no money and no account, and it would be Monday lunchtime before I could eat again. No sympathy! I asked to see the manager and explained my predicament. He agreed to honour the cheque because the council had issued it but I must open an account - which I did. Since leaving school, all my part-time jobs had paid cash and through university I had used a post office account... so at the ripe old age of 21 I had to learn how to use a bank account and cheque book if I didn't want to stave to death!

My first bank account at 16 was with the Girobank, served at the post office. I still had it when I got my first Coventry job at Courtaulds and got my mortgage with the Alliance and Leicester, which took the Girobank accounts over. Now all Santander. Travelled about on buses and trains on a student travel card - maintained by college courses. I only got a car when transporting bags of sand and cement from the Do It All on Black Horse Lane (now called Blackburn Lane?) got too hard. A place that sticks in my memory because I managed to staple my hand to my steering lock and was in so much pain I couldn't work out what to do to release it.

Harrier, May I ask, was that two doors from the traffic lights, opposite the Wolfe? Helen, Why on earth did they change the name of Blackhorse Road, was the Do it All it near the corner of both. I wonder if that was Dunlop's old machine shop, late forties, and was it the main Courtaulds? I have memories of working at both, for a few days, in stories you wouldn't believe.

No Kaga, not the Wolfe, nearer town and on the opposite side of the road to the Wolfe. The fire station was nearby. It was next to a pub, but can't remember the name. Helen, Do-it-all was unbelievable. When we moved to our present house, it wasn't quite derelict but not far off and I used to trail across town to get all my stuff from there. It was clearly struggling for business as it was built in the wrong place out at Walsgrave. It had all kind of offers on. Then on a Saturday morning before 9am, the DIY store offered a further 10 or 20% on top of the discounts already offered. It was stacked out with builders, needless to say, because it was so unbelieveably cheap - it never lasted long!!

I think because there was already a lane with that name, probably the one you're thinking about. It was opposite Longford Park and didn't survive very long as a store or ultimately as a business. I worked at the Little Heath acetate works and passed the place on the way to Longford where I lived.

Helen You have typed Black Horse Lane and Blackburn Lane. Did you mean Road in both cases?