2000-2007
R.N.A.S. Culdrose - Serco
I have to be very fair to Serco because the company did their very best to find me a job and I had a go at writing contracts, acting as a secretary at various meetings and doing anything that was required that no-one else was doing. One of the tasks that I did do successfully was to produce a database to control tradesmen’s trade qualifications. To be fair, most of the really technical stuff was written by my son Nick. This task did have one very unexpected result, when I was invited to attend Serco’s award ceremony in Bristol, representing Culdrose. Not only was I allowed to take Maria with me but the company also provided me with enough money to buy a new suit for the occasion. We had a very pleasant evening even though I didn’t win an award; it was good however, to be recognised as having made some contribution to the company.
Eventually I did get a job that I really enjoyed. A new section had been set up to help sort out problems associated with the Royal Navy’s EH101 Merlin helicopter. This section was called Integrated Merlin Operational Support (IMOS) and it included specialist Navy & AgustaWestland personnel, both British and Italian. I was actually contracted out from Serco to Westland Helicopters Limited (WHL) and although I started as the initial contact man for all defects and problems, it soon became clear that there were two specific tasks that required one person full time and I became that person. The initial contact man became the Warrant Officer and I took over control of all Equipment Defect Reports and Technical Publication (A.P.) errors. I had a lot to learn because I had never worked on the Merlin but over a period of time I became quite proficient, especially when I learned the procedures associated with AgustaWestland. I had an office that I shared with one other person and we had a super lady secretary who would do a lot of typing when needed.
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Westland EH101 Merlin - ZH860
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Although I did most of the leg and paper work on the publication errors, all corrections were verified by the RN personnel in the section. For the equipment defects however, I was much more ‘hands on’ with constant liaison with the Supply section which held all the equipment pending its disposal. When I started this particular job, I went along to Supply and found all the people who controlled the defective equipment and found that some of the equipment had been awaiting disposal for up to four years. By the time I left to retire, I believe that the systems in place and the control was very much improved.
During the early months of 2007, I found out that WHL would not employ me after March 2008. At more or less the same time, the section moved buildings into a much better looking building. Better looking perhaps but I did not like it as much. In addition to a couple of manager’s offices there was a conference room and a large open plan office, which didn’t suit me. At the beginning of the Summer, we knew that we had sold Redcap and had effectively bought Roseveare House and so I gave in my notice to leave on 31st August. On that day at the age of 66½, I left work for the last time and prepared for retirement.
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