WHO WHERE YOUR MENTORS YOU HAVE MOST TO THANK FOR?

[marconi]

Lucien Nunes mentioned and gave credit to one of his mentors which reminded me of three fellows who I have much to thank.

My next door neighbour taught electrical engineering, apprentice electricians and the electrical aspects of refrigeration systems. He did his apprenticeship at Metropolitan-Vickers in Leeds and then the Yorkshire Electricity Board before teaching. I learned from him the art and science of electrical work. Enough as a teenager to do electrical work and my own design of burglar alarm in folk's homes and businesses and do the testing required at the time. He taught me to abide by the rules which he regarded as accumulated wisdom.

The next is my physics teacher who applied physics to everything from the green flash at sunset to the Magnus effect of footballs. He posed me problems which in the early days I could solve or get close to solving but increasingly problems that were beyond my ken and reach at the time - and that was their purpose.

Finally, my uncle who was an electrician in the 1930's, volunteered for the RAF and served as a flight sergeant maintaining the electrical and electronic equipment in the Wellington bomber. After the war he made TVs, repaired them and radios in his wonderful workshop and invented solutions to problems - he was just pipped to the post on the automatically operated extractor fan in toilets. He loved experimenting - how things perform in real life and not just on the drawing board, and fixing things.

What about you?

 

[Pete999]

My Mentor Pete Orange, nice bloke. good Sparks, sadly left this world far to early, rest in peace Pete O. My teachers at Day release, Edward Woodward (no not the original Calan or Equalizer) just a good teacher, Les Gault who took over from Ed and Dr Death he looked like ---- Scientist, scared me to death but he gave me a prize at the end of my course, funny as it may be he was German by birth, but he was adept at getting the best out of you, took no prisners, if you messed about you were out end of, thanks to all of them, teach the Angels how to rewire Heaven.

 

[marconi]

My Mentor Pete Orange, nice bloke. good Sparks, sadly left this world far to early, rest in peace Pete O.

Might you say please a little more about him and his influence on you?

 

[hightower]

For all I don't agree with everything my uncle told me, I can't thank him enough for allowing me to work alongside him and gain much needed experience. Other than that, this place has been the biggest mentor, so thanks all.

 

[Pete999]

Might you say please a little more about him and his influence on you?

Pete O was about 7 years older than me, he taught me loads of things (this was in the late 60s mind you) one job I recall, was wiring some sockets in a remote cottage, Pete actually got fired for takng time to teach me (got taken back on after though)
He taght me Domestics, Conduit, MICC How to treat customers, I was the only one from the small firm we worked for who was invited to his Wedding, lots of people thought Pete O was a snob, far from it. he was a Gent, we often joked that I was better than sliced bread, and he was sliced bread.
We lost contact for a while, Pete O went to work for the PSA Property Services Agency, looking after MOD properties, I seemed to follow Pete O around for a while, he was posted to MOD Bath looking after a computor suite A/C installation, I followed him in that area as well,something else he taught me about, PeteO was posted to Cyprus Akroteri, I followed but was shoved up the top of the Troodos Mountains, by this time we were both posted back to the UK, I was posted to Moscow for 4 years, by the time I was repatriated and promoted, Pete O had become riddled with Cancer and died, a very sad time for me as a good Friend, Pete O had a daughter and named her Peta, I liked to think he named after me, but sadly I'll never know, as his Wife had passed away a few years ealier.
I still think of Pete O occasionally with regret that he was gone, PeteO a Gentleman, good Sparky above all a good Friend. RIP Pete O, hope we will meet again in the hereafter. You did ask Marconi.

 

[Squid]

All I remember was a big black dude from Brixton when I was 16.5 and just starting out mellow as anything and taught me some tricks his nickname was Uncle, also Ron and old sparks who would always ponce 50p off me on a Wednesday to play the dogs until payday on a Thursday.

 

[Pete999]

All I remember was a big black dude from Brixton when I was 16.5 and just starting out mellow as anything and taught me some tricks his nickname was Uncle, also Ron and old sparks who would always ponce 50p off me on a Wednesday to play the dogs until payday on a Thursday.

So he taught you well then?

 

[Squid]

So he taught you well then?

Uncle yep, Ron taught me not to gamble and not to be a loser in life.

 

[pirate]

My Dad...simple as that. He was mad keen on building things, and built a 32' powerboat in the garden...taught me how to do woodwork, plumbing, electrics...mainly simple stuff you would find on a boat..but he always told me there ain't no RAC or AA out at sea, so you'd better learn how to fix it yourself...I could strip a marine diesel and rebuild it, carry out electrical installations that were waterproof, and bypass a busted cooling water pump with a bit of hose, resurrect a drowned outboard motor, all by the time I was 14. He got me a wee sailing dinghy when I was 10, and just let me loose on the water, no lifejacket...in all, I learnt self-sufficiency and that has helped me my whole life...
He was a doctor by profession, but just lived to sail the west coast of Scotland.
Also, Albert Camus, who's book L'Etranger changed my outlook on life.

 

[7029 dave]

My oldest mentor, would be over 100 years old now , he was 66 then, a very long time ago.

 

[gazdkw82]

I'm too early into my career to have such a figure to look fondly on.

This form has been a great inspiration and educational place for me

 

[ruston]

My Dad...simple as that. He was mad keen on building things, and built a 32' powerboat in the garden...taught me how to do woodwork, plumbing, electrics...mainly simple stuff you would find on a boat..but he always told me there ain't no RAC or AA out at sea, so you'd better learn how to fix it yourself...I could strip a marine diesel and rebuild it, carry out electrical installations that were waterproof, and bypass a busted cooling water pump with a bit of hose, resurrect a drowned outboard motor, all by the time I was 14. He got me a wee sailing dinghy when I was 10, and just let me loose on the water, no lifejacket...in all, I learnt self-sufficiency and that has helped me my whole life...
He was a doctor by profession, but just lived to sail the west coast of Scotland.
Also, Albert Camus, who's book L'Etranger changed my outlook on life.

Similar to you really , and geographically close on the West
Coast. Only it was earthmoving plant and most thing electrical and mechanical. My dad was an engineer , time served at a famous shipyard not far from you , but left to follow work as things started to get hard .
As he worked seven days a week in opencast mining, and 12 hour shifts he did not have a lot of time to himself. The time he did have I worked with him maintaining the old car to keep him mobile for work. From an early age I was privileged to maintain the old Morris 8 we had , and all the subsequent ones after that.
At the weekends ; and before the H&E stringent regulations I was allowed to go onsite with him when he was called in at weekends .(weekend working was usual, but sometimes cut when demand was low , but the walking
Draglines never stopped )
I was around nine years old the first time I was ever in one . That was me hooked.

 

[Adam W]

Whenever anyone comes on here asking how to get into the industry I always suggest agency work because that's how I started.
Just after I finished my 1st year exams I got a start with an agency; after a couple of weeks second fixing some offices I was sent to a new MOT testing college which had just been started. I was put with a young(ish) guy called Steve who had been locally trained as an apprentice and did agency work because he didn't want to travel. Since this job was quite varied he taught me loads of stuff from pulling in T&E to putting up basket to bending steel conduit, plus a few little tricks like what to do if the holes you've drilled don't quite line up and how to look busy when the foreman came round.

I went back to college for the second year in September and my practical tutor commented on how I must have been working in the industry since my work had improved so much in a few months.

 

[Squid]

My Dad...simple as that. He was mad keen on building things, and built a 32' powerboat in the garden...taught me how to do woodwork, plumbing, electrics...mainly simple stuff you would find on a boat..but he always told me there ain't no RAC or AA out at sea, so you'd better learn how to fix it yourself...I could strip a marine diesel and rebuild it, carry out electrical installations that were waterproof, and bypass a busted cooling water pump with a bit of hose, resurrect a drowned outboard motor, all by the time I was 14. He got me a wee sailing dinghy when I was 10, and just let me loose on the water, no lifejacket...in all, I learnt self-sufficiency and that has helped me my whole life...
He was a doctor by profession, but just lived to sail the west coast of Scotland.
Also, Albert Camus, who's book L'Etranger changed my outlook on life.

I watched my Dad deteriorate from when I was 9 to when he died when I was 12 and I only really knew him from when I was about 3 the family of a Merchant Seaman eh.........

I never had the connection so try with my kids to do the work on the cars etc etc to bond, trouble is they also now live busy lives, ho hum......

 

[Kamikaze]

My story starts at the age of seven, when I played the angel Gabriel in the Christmas nativity play. I have no recollection of this performance or whether I was any good but I do remember repeating the words "Fear Not" ad nauseam whilst in the bath. I then went on to play a pr0st¡tute at the age of eight in the school production of Jonah and the Whale. I didn’t have any lines that time but I got to wear a red silk dress with a split up the side and was required to put my leg over a chair and pull the dress up seductively. I hated doing this because I had to pretend that I fancied Paul Greenough who had sweaty lips. My Mum remembers this production as being the closest thing to ch¡ld ---- she had ever seen. Please note that my contribution to school plays got smaller and smaller as the years went on. Maybe they were trying to tell me something? With my obsession of all things electrical, it came as joyous news to me, not least because I think masquerading as an electrician is woefully underrated, when the part of "Poopie the Sparky" came up in another play. The name of the play escapes me now, but Dr Jackson the Science teacher wouldn't let me be in it because I handed an essay in a day late and I hadn't packed my anti-gravity underpants. Bar-stuard!!!

Dr Jackson had a theory about life. He reckoned there were only two types of people in life. You were either an astronomer and studied the universe around you through the safety of a telescope or you were the astronaut that went out there and touched the stars. He was quite a character, a cross between Crocodile Dundee and Uncle Albert, and could count on one hand the amount of times he had escaped certain death in pursuit of scientific knowledge. It's 14!

His office and I use that term loosely was a tip. It was rammed full of broken electrical equipment he had taken apart in autopsy’s. Every lesson he would tell us a story about some sort of misadventure he has had, and would show us his scar on top of his arm to prove it. It was always the same scar…lol.

One of my favourite stories was about a genuine glow in the dark Sturmanskie watch, which he bought at a local market for 50p. The seller guaranteed that the watch would never lose or gain a second in a million years. That day, he settled in front of the TV when the nine o’clock news came on. He checked his watch and found it was actually quarter past seven. He slapped his son and told him not to mess with the television set again.

My lasting memory of him were his favourite quotes “You haven’t seen me do this” and “Knowledge progresses one funeral at the time” . Another trick he told us about was “The Spit Test” for determining the A and B legs of a telephone line. Spitting into the palm of your hand and inserting the two bare ends of a telephone line, the B leg would fizz. I’ve never had any use for this information, so never have found out if this is really true. He also used to keep beehives next to the maintenance shed, although we were never allowed near them.

They certainly don’t make them like him anymore!