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Written by Harold Taylor, these memoirs tell us of some examples of the type of jobs he worked on with his half-brother, Bill, mostly around Chichester where they lived. Harold would have started working during the early part of the Second World War.
When I left school, I went to work for Clemens the builders, where my half-brother, Bill, worked as a plumber. He had not long been working for them again, having had several jobs in between. As a child he had worked for them when their yard was in Southgate, next to the Daren Bakery.
I recall he had worked on the Ship Hotel when it was converted from a private house.
His last job had been for the Neal Brothers who had built Willowbed Drive and other housing in that area. In fact, to keep Bill working for them, they had offered him one of their houses at cost price. I never knew why, but he did not take up the offer.
Oddly enough I did one day's work for them. The circumstances were that we had some bitter cold weather and we were due to go to Bill's for a party. One of the Neals turned up, and they had had some freezing up problem in their conservatory and sought Bill's help. As I was shortly to be working with him, he took me along with him.
I can also recall my first job with Bill when I started working. It was at a house on the corner of the forked road at Eastergate, leading into Fontwell Avenue. (The house does not seem to be there now, or some change in the layout confuses me.) I can see the cottage as clear as day. It was a two storey place in flint with a narrow gap between the house and front garden wall, which was also in flint and formed the boundary to the road. A pilot officer from Tangmere occupied the house.
I can never understand to this day why I was not indentured. With my father's and my brother's experience, surely they should have seen to that. I, of course, at that time knew little about such things. So I was the plumber's mate, the one who forgets the tools.
I found it an interesting job, visiting many different types of homes and finding differing states of existence between the many classes. Surprisingly, some of the homes of the poor were better looked after than those of the better off. There was pride where there was no money, and where there was money, no pride.
My work was very varied, from installing water pipes to roofing, and any odd job that came in between, including working with paint and glass. Rarely did I get involved with wood, but more often with cement and sand and bricks.
The works yard was in Chapel Street, Chichester, with the entrance opposite Crane Street, which had been a row of old houses called Providence Terrace. The houses were still there and used as various workshops or stores. Now of course the whole area has been re-designed, but the works office is still there and used by a jobbing electrician.
Other building projects Bill had been involved with, had been the new Post Office and County Hall in West Street and Marks & Spencers in East Street. Therefore, when we were called to those buildings, Bill was on home ground and knew more about them than the management did.
I also worked on the sorting office in South Street and probably all of the houses in Canon's Close, including the cathedral.
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