| Description | Track 1 [00:52:16] [Session 1: 11 October 2013] Douglas Hocking [DH]. Born Port Talbot, Margam [12 September 1934] DH gives some details about his parent’s lives - mother born Taff’s Wells [Rhondda Cynon Taff]; his father born in Taibach, had started in the mines aged 15 - explains why his father left mining; and financial reasons his ambition to be a carpenter was stopped. DM mentions he (DM) went to grammar school with ambitions to be a teacher; explains his own early working life and the influence of his father who wanted him to ‘have a trade’; remarks on enjoying industry and going to night school, eventually getting a Higher National Certificate. DM further describes leaving school at fifteen, then a trade apprenticeship (carpentry) for 5 years before National Service (2 years in RAF); on return he started work with Sir Robert Mc Alpine [RM] as a junior engineer working on the Steel Company of Wales [SCW] development from 1957- 1963. DH mentions some of the areas RM worked on at Port Talbot. [00:03:34] DH explains why he left RM to work for the local authority and then for the SCW drawing offices. DH describes how he achieved professional qualification as Chartered Engineer and Structural Engineer through night school classes. [00:04:55] DH explains why he left local government employment to work for SCW, and how he came to the position through Des Horn, the head of the drawing office. DH describes how he learnt the job and eventually became a design draughtsman; DH explains his working hours and describes aspects of his work, including coordination between SCW departments of civil engineering, structural engineering, architectural work, heating and venting and electrical. DH explains at length why he left SCW (1974), to work for local Government, makes reference to the drawing offices being sold to ‘Trafalgar House’ and that SCW kept a small number of staff who would need to travel around sites, [DH mentions that SCW had been sold to Corus, however Corus was not formed until 1999; in 1974 SCW was part of the British Steel Corporation a nationalised industry at the time, which absorbed SCW in 1964 - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steel_Company_of_Wales]. DH explains his involvement with Bryngwn [Steel Works in Gorseinon, Swansea] - briefly explains his role. DH describes his working conditions as excellent, gives examples, and comments on staff relationships; remembers numbers of staff in departments and areas they came from. [00:14:44] DH describes two examples of accidents while he worked on site and gives his opinion on why there were so many- lack of Health and Safety and people taking chances. [00:16:52] DH comments on relationships between office staff, process workers and craftsmen; remarks that bricklayers were a ‘law unto themselves’ because the steel industry would collapse without them, and they earned ‘terrific’ wages a week (£100 plus) compared to himself on a good wage of £20; DH discusses the effects on structural and maintenance staff of strikes, mentions that workmen did not support office workers strikes; comments on inconsistencies in bonus schemes between workers. DH describes a strike (circa late sixties) about pay by office staff, mentions Mr Des Horn (head of his section at SCW); DH says he was a member of DATA union - comments on its lack of power in the steel industry, and gives opinion on why members of other unions didn’t support its strike. [00:24:06] DH comments on interaction and relationships between departments, – gives his opinion that 75% kept to themselves, and again mentions wage inequalities. [00:25:13] DH comments on lack of sympathy for bricklayers strikes at the time, although now recognises how hard they worked, and the job was not good for their general health; DH explains principle of ‘job and finish’ for bricklayers. [00:27:03] DH comments on changes in the industry, mentions Corus, Tata, Trafalgar House (office move to Kenfig Hill); DH briefly describes how technology and change affected his own job; DH talks about a visit by ‘the director’, indicating changes to come in staffing; DH remarks positively on his own decision to leave SCW. [00:29:31] DH talks about positives of working for SCW, mentions continuity and variety of work, team working, excellent work experience; DH talks about social events including organized sports, and mentions a pensioner’s club for ex-employees. DH describes the differences between working for British Steel and his subsequent jobs with local councils (Port Talbot and West Glamorgan), mentions being involved in planning the County Hall in Swansea. [00:32:46] DH comments on little effect of craft worker strikes on his work in the drawing office. DH recounts his memory of the biggest change in the steelworks in his time - the development of the ‘continuous casting plant’, mentions a Japanese firm visiting to explain how it worked in Japan; also mentions developments of the BOS plant, deep water harbour and Eglwys Nunydd reservoir. DH comments that conditions working for the steel industry were ‘more favourable’ than working for Mc Alpine, gives an example, and mentions a ‘happy environment’ [in the steel industry]. [00:35:42] DH remembers the small communities of Port Talbot which ‘pre-1947’ had their own identities, mentions Margam, Goetre [English- Goytre], Taibach and Velindre, talks fondly of being a ‘Margam boy’ himself and the close relationships of the families; gives opinion why these community identities were lost due to the steelworks bringing in workers from other places over time, and resulting estate development to house them [Sandfields]. Discussion of relationships between the incomers and the locals, DH also comments on the community in present day. DH describes his childhood home and family in Margam and fondly remembers the community he grew up in; mentions neighbour Idris Roberts. DH explains he moved initially to Baglan in 1964 when he married, then to his current address in Sandfields in 1966. DH talks about the Sandfields area and it’s community, comments on the state of the housing and the ‘poor’, rather than ’rough’ people and community change with employment the SCW brought to the area; mentions his wages rose from £11 a week to ‘£20-odd’which changed his lifestyle; explains that the industry of SCW had a knock-on effect to all other trades in the area. DH comments on employment opportunities in his younger days, and the effect on Port Talbot of SCW redundancies in 1980s; explains his earlier ambitions to become a schoolteacher, also why he remained in industry and feels ‘very fortunate’. [00:46:48] DH briefly describes his job’s as a draughtsman and designer for SCW and local authority, mentions involvement with management at Bryngwyn [works]; comments on [poor] wage increases with promotions, and recounts experience involving SCW, underpayment, and it’s problems attracting staff. DH mentions [good] continuity of work at SCW, how they dealt with new ideas, gives example of a new method of production turned down due to cost. DH gives his opinion on investment in Port Talbot works when he worked for SCW, and how things are for workers today. [00:51:17] DH agrees that cuts came in the steelworks with nationalisation to British Steel Co, in 1968; DH confirms leaving the industry - early 1970s |