HARTLEPOOL

Coal vs Coke

When I arrived at Hartlepool just before Christmas 1961 I was told that COAL was for lighting the fires and COKE for burning. On the night watch one soon found out that the stove went out. So in the APO's room I would always put on coal and in the PO room/office coke. I was a very heavy sleeper so the PO would have to stoke his own fire or let it go out. After 2 nights he admitted that maybe I had a point putting coal on at night. - Arthur Harold

 

Apartheid

When I was there in the early 60's the docks were being developed - everything was being pulled down around the one and only pub where the PO would retire to the back room of a lunch time. The landlord would light the fire and he would read his paper on his own. I was told - not that I drank in those days - that this room was reserved for the PO's on the station - before the war there were at least 20 - and not for APO's who were restricted to the bar. One lunch time the PO came in fuming because the apprentices from the ship yard were all in the back room and he had to drink in the bar. - Arthur Harold

 

When I arrived I was told that there were certain areas of Hartlepool that were suitable or unsuitable for an APO lodge. We were pillars of the community and had standards to uphold so Doug Thompson and I rented a flat on the seafront at Seaton Carew. Happy times. - Arthur Harold.

 

Geoff Robinson's Memories

SUNDERLAND

Joining the Waterguard

Having recently left the then Ministry of Pensions and National Insurance huge office at Longbenton, Newcastle-upon-Tyne - the source of many North East APOs - and being bored at their local office in Houghton-le-Spring, I reached the magical age of eighteen and was eligible to apply to be an APO in 1967. Having carefully filled in the form I was summoned for interview to a government office in Haymarket in Edinburgh.

As I had been up half the night to get there by train, at the appointed hour, I arrived tired and wet having wasted much time in the Scottish National Gallery, as at least it was warm in there. I was then interviewed by three worthies, the climax of which was when I was asked where I would hide items on my bicycle. My answer of "in the saddlebag" did not impress! I must have been one of the first interviewees in the 1967 exercise as shortly afterwards I received a letter that virtually said I had done alright but they did have many others to interview and if they were better candidates then tough for me. They must have interviewed a large number of second class cyclists in due course as I was eventually told to report to my "waiting room port" at Sunderland in July 1967 after a brief medical which consisted of verifying I had two legs, two arms and a head.

With great expectation I duly reported to the office and was greeted by the relief CPO Mr Moore - a lovely guy - as the regular one Bill 'Call me Sir' Hammond was on holiday.  After reading the paper all morning, Mr Moore told me to go for lunch. I asked him what time I needed to be back and he replied "Make it a long one and we'll see you at 9 am tomorrow!.  This happened every day until September when I disappeared to Southend to be trained with all the other sweet young things.

At Sunderland at that time were four POs,  the great Jimmy Ray who had served on corvettes during the war & great company, Gerry Lawrence, who seemed to look pained over everything, regal Jack Miller and George Simmonds. Fixed APOs were Hetton's own Eddie Box, Colin Hignett, who called everyone by the their surnames without the mister bit, and Irishman Dave Baxter who at least restored sanity to everything. The vacancy was being covered by Alan Tomlinson, another supernumerary who I think eventually saw the light and became an immigration officer.

The office was an interesting old building on Corporation Quay with a garage downstairs and spacious accommodation upstairs, maintained in immaculate condition by the indomitable cleaner Mrs Batthey. You could always tell what colour they were painting the ships at Thompson's North Sands shipyard on the other side of the river by the spray coating that day on the official battered old mini parked outside the office. The office is long since demolished and the site of Thompson's is the National Glass Museum.  The mini is probably on Ebay somewhere being advertised as having one careful owner!

Following my training and returning to Sunderland, excitement built up to fever point in the allocated daily tasks of signing coastal cargo books, measuring fishing boats and the occasional rummage. The latter was not targeted using profiling, modern risk assessments, intelligence received or other such aids, but simply by the fact we had nothing else to do and it was probably the only foreign arrival that week. We rarely found anything but it kept us out of mischief. Occasionally I was allowed to cover for the fixed staff on days off, but funnily enough, never on Saturdays or Sundays. If I was very good, I was allowed out with the duty PO and I remember being introduced to the demon drink on an old Greek ship where the condition of the scrap cargo was far better than the ship itself. Also Sunderland covered a small port called Seaham Harbour where they did get foreign arrivals. I also remember going to see Sunderland AFC at the old Roker Park one Saturday with Jimmy whilst 8/4 and seeing West Ham thrash them 5-1. Perhaps that was divine retribution for not being sober and attentive on duty?

During the spell from November 1967 into 1968 I was joined by fellow supernumerary APOs Derek Lodge, Colin Robinson and an ex-army guy called Roy Sneldon. I did become proficient, however, in how not to play Hearts and Chase the Lady! This went on until March 1968 when 'Sir' Hammond came into the APO room and announced that Derek and myself were going to Elmden Airport. We were overjoyed but he became flustered and wandered off shaking his head and saying "how the hell do I know" when we asked him exactly where Elmden Airport was located. And so during the following week Birmingham Airport became a brave new world until October 1968 when Gravesend loomed and that's another story! Ah! for the Gables Guest House, wine, women and song in varying degrees - certainly the last three! - Geoff Robinson

'THE TYNE'

Nuff said . . . . .

'It is said there was an APO on the Tyne who found a note pinned to his sleeping bag from the visiting CPO. ' PLEASE DO NOT BLOCK THE DOORWAY WITH YOUR CAMP BED AS I HAVE DIFFICULTY GETTING IN TO SIGN THE APPEARANCE SHEETS' - Arthur Harold