Old Jobs That Don’t Exist

[Niegs]

Did some family history research recently which produced a number of people working in heavy industry/mining etc. Favourite job title to come out of it was "Puddler".

Mine's mostly 'farmer' / 'labourer' and 'dressmaker' (rare instances mention of a woman's profession), but there was one 'earthenware merchant' from Sheffield. Would have been fairly common then in that area, and not to today, I imagine? Another (his wife's father), a glass and china dealer from Stoke on Trent.

We have had an interesting one come up that we are trying to do more research into.

On my family tree there is a female relative who worked as a domestic servant in the 1800's in a large house on Candlemaker Row in Edinburgh. On my wife's side one of her relatives owned a large house on Candlemaker Row in exactly the same period. Candlemaker Row is not a big street at all so a decent chance she worked for or they knew each other which is a bit mental.

Amazing!

This isn't job-related, but my grandfather (now deceased) had a typewritten family tree book that says during WW2 a distant relative was a POW in Canada and the Canadian branch of relatives visited him! That's all. No other details. I think my uncle has the book so want to get some names and see what's what. That POW likely has living relatives... many even settled here after the war, so he could have stayed? My grandfather's ancestors had come over from Germany before the unification in 1871, so it's mental to me that they must have been writing each other or at least knew of an address during the war to say can you look in on Fritz for us?!

[Kiwias]

What countries still have petrol pump attendants?

NZ used to have them - but no more. Last time I went to SA they were still in operation.

20% of petrol stations here have pump attendants.

[mat the expat]

What countries still have petrol pump attendants?

NZ used to have them - but no more. Last time I went to SA they were still in operation.

20% of petrol stations here have pump attendants.

I love the retractable, roof mounted hoses you see in a lot of Petrol stations there

[Kiwias]

What countries still have petrol pump attendants?

NZ used to have them - but no more. Last time I went to SA they were still in operation.

20% of petrol stations here have pump attendants.

I love the retractable, roof mounted hoses you see in a lot of Petrol stations there

They are seriously cool

[Mr Bungle]

Did some family history research recently which produced a number of people working in heavy industry/mining etc. Favourite job title to come out of it was "Puddler".

Mine's mostly 'farmer' / 'labourer' and 'dressmaker' (rare instances mention of a woman's profession), but there was one 'earthenware merchant' from Sheffield. Would have been fairly common then in that area, and not to today, I imagine? Another (his wife's father), a glass and china dealer from Stoke on Trent.

We have had an interesting one come up that we are trying to do more research into.

On my family tree there is a female relative who worked as a domestic servant in the 1800's in a large house on Candlemaker Row in Edinburgh. On my wife's side one of her relatives owned a large house on Candlemaker Row in exactly the same period. Candlemaker Row is not a big street at all so a decent chance she worked for or they knew each other which is a bit mental.

So your wife is your cousin?

[mat the expat]

20% of petrol stations here have pump attendants.

I love the retractable, roof mounted hoses you see in a lot of Petrol stations there

They are seriously cool

Clever space saving

[Line6 HXFX]

There seem to be plenty of jobs for the " gosh gollies".
Gosh..golly.

Thatcher destroyed all heavy industry in the UK because inflation was sky high, and so she needed lots of poor people.

The pound was worthless on the money markets, so she needed lots of poor people (people to have no money) to make it tradeable.
Turns out if you pay people a decent, livable wage, that there is so much wealth is tied up in property in England etc, the pound becomes completely worthless.

The UK is a poverty dependent society, that cannot sustain a livable standard for 50% of the population.

It needs mass unemployment, child poverty and foodbanks.
Jobs to disappear.
Gosh..golly.

[ASMO]

There seem to be plenty of jobs for the " gosh gollies".
Gosh..golly.

Thatcher destroyed all heavy industry in the UK because inflation was sky high, and so she needed lots of poor people.

The pound was worthless on the money markets, so she needed lots of poor people (people to have no money) to make it tradeable.
Turns out if you pay people a decent, livable wage, that there is so much wealth is tied up in property in England etc, the pound becomes completely worthless.

The UK is a poverty dependent society, that cannot sustain a livable standard for 50% of the population.

It needs mass unemployment, child poverty and foodbanks.
Jobs to disappear.
Gosh..golly.

Fuck me you are like a broken record, ever considered getting a job manning the Samaritans helpline? I am sure the suicide rate will go sky high

[ASMO]

[The Druid]

Bus Conductors.
milkmaids.
Wheeltappers.
Film projectionist.

[SaintK]

There seem to be plenty of jobs for the " gosh gollies".
Gosh..golly.

Thatcher destroyed all heavy industry in the UK because inflation was sky high, and so she needed lots of poor people.

The pound was worthless on the money markets, so she needed lots of poor people (people to have no money) to make it tradeable.
Turns out if you pay people a decent, livable wage, that there is so much wealth is tied up in property in England etc, the pound becomes completely worthless.

The UK is a poverty dependent society, that cannot sustain a livable standard for 50% of the population.

It needs mass unemployment, child poverty and foodbanks.
Jobs to disappear.
Gosh..golly.

Fuck me you are like a broken record, ever considered getting a job manning the Samaritans helpline? I am sure the suicide rate will go sky high

He's like a parody "Dave Spart" column in Private Eye. Though he doesn't appear to have any brother or sister comrades!!!

[GogLais]

Drawing office tracers?

[Brazil]

Nightsoilman.

[.OverThere]

Groceries delivered by bicycles disappeared about 50 years ago but have made a significant comeback in the last 10.
Cycle couriers seems to have all but disappeared now though.

[dpedin]

I had a summer job in Timex, Dundee where my job for a week was to sit in a room and watch the guy who was in another room watching the guy who was in the room where they did the coating/chrome coating of watch cases. Apparently this involved some compound involving dangerous chemicals/poisons and we were the safety mechanism - they had had a few close calls in recent times of folk almost dying. Read Lord of the Rings that week.

[Cartman]

I had a spinster aunt who was a typist for a building society. Not a secretary just a typist. Did it for 40 years.

You still get typists weirdo
Our company has a whole department of them

[Niegs]

New Zealand, being a bit behind the times, still has one book binder left:

[bogbunny]

Drawing office tracers?

Indeed.

Started in the hull design office in a shipyard in 1983.

We were still doing design and fabrication drawings on tracing paper, using ink pens and razor blades to scratch out the mistakes. The A0 copiers were a step on from the old Blueprint system. We could even fax drawings to the Client's design office in the US!

Went on an AutoCAD course in 1987, downhill all the way from there!

[MungoMan]

Drawing office tracers?

Indeed.

Started in the hull design office in a shipyard in 1983.

We were still doing design and fabrication drawings on tracing paper, using ink pens and razor blades to scratch out the mistakes. The A0 copiers were a step on from the old Blueprint system. We could even fax drawings to the Client's design office in the US!

Went on an AutoCAD course in 1987, downhill all the way from there!

Ayup. In a related development, sometime in the late 80's an earlier iteration of my former workplace defrocked all the drafties, tracers and cartos and rebadged them all as graphic something something.

Many were not best-pleased...

[mat the expat]

Ayup. In a related development, sometime in the late 80's an earlier iteration of my former workplace defrocked all the drafties, tracers and cartos and rebadged them all as graphic something something.

Many were not best-pleased...

Did they have to hand back their brown overcoats?

[ASMO]

Wheeltappers

A wheeltapper is a railway worker employed to check the integrity of train wheels and that axle boxes are not overheating.

Typically employed at large railway stations and in goods yards, they tap wheels with a long-handled hammer and listen to the sound made to determine the integrity of the wheel; cracked wheels, like cracked bells, do not sound the same as their intact counterparts (they do not "ring true").

Wheeltappers also check that the axle boxes are not overly hot by using the back of their hand.

[fishfoodie]

Wheeltappers

A wheeltapper is a railway worker employed to check the integrity of train wheels and that axle boxes are not overheating.

Typically employed at large railway stations and in goods yards, they tap wheels with a long-handled hammer and listen to the sound made to determine the integrity of the wheel; cracked wheels, like cracked bells, do not sound the same as their intact counterparts (they do not "ring true").

Wheeltappers also check that the axle boxes are not overly hot by using the back of their hand.

with tragic consequences

[Chilli]

Wheeltappers

A wheeltapper is a railway worker employed to check the integrity of train wheels and that axle boxes are not overheating.

Typically employed at large railway stations and in goods yards, they tap wheels with a long-handled hammer and listen to the sound made to determine the integrity of the wheel; cracked wheels, like cracked bells, do not sound the same as their intact counterparts (they do not "ring true").

Wheeltappers also check that the axle boxes are not overly hot by using the back of their hand.

In SA we called them tapiologists.

[laurent]

New Zealand, being a bit behind the times, still has one book binder left:

Quite a few still around in France so rare but not gone.

[TB63]

Saggar makers bottom knocker..

A young boy employed to make the base of a saggar from a lump of fireclay, knocking it into a metal ring with a wooden mallet.

[MungoMan]

I was once employed to pull the longer hairs from cattle's tails and knock the insides out of their horns, the beasties being dead at the time I hasten too add.

Somebody prob'ly still does that, though, but not me thank christ!

[GogLais]

New Zealand, being a bit behind the times, still has one book binder left:

Quite a few still around in France so rare but not gone.

By accident I went to a lecture by one once, fascinating stuff, he was restoring a first edition of William Morris that was worth £100k unrestored. There’s a separate trade of people that do the gold edging to the pages.

[Niegs]

New Zealand, being a bit behind the times, still has one book binder left:

Quite a few still around in France so rare but not gone.

By accident I went to a lecture by one once, fascinating stuff, he was restoring a first edition of William Morris that was worth £100k unrestored. There’s a separate trade of people that do the gold edging to the pages.

Ah yes, this sort of artform!

[Enzedder]

Ethics advisor to the Tory Party.

That's not an old job - it never existed.

[Ghost-Of-Nepia]

I had a summer job in Timex, Dundee where my job for a week was to sit in a room and watch the guy who was in another room watching the guy who was in the room where they did the coating/chrome coating of watch cases. Apparently this involved some compound involving dangerous chemicals/poisons and we were the safety mechanism - they had had a few close calls in recent times of folk almost dying. Read Lord of the Rings that week.

Jdogscoop of this parish had a similar summer job at the local meat works - he sat on a chair and watched a guy paint the inside of a large pipe.

[Jimmy Smallsteps]

I had a summer job in Timex, Dundee where my job for a week was to sit in a room and watch the guy who was in another room watching the guy who was in the room where they did the coating/chrome coating of watch cases. Apparently this involved some compound involving dangerous chemicals/poisons and we were the safety mechanism - they had had a few close calls in recent times of folk almost dying. Read Lord of the Rings that week.

Jdogscoop of this parish had a similar summer job at the local meat works - he sat on a chair and watched a guy paint the inside of a large pipe.

Yes that sounds very similar. One of the painters was inside a big washing drum IIRC, doing some touch up work with a particularly toxic coating. Apparently some joker nearly died when they previously did it unsupervised, so I had to sit there and ensure he didn't keel over. The biggest challenge was staying awake.

[Gumboot]

My first paid job...slightly different cart to this, a squared holding tray with the crates 2 x 2. Early morning in the summer and afternoon in winter. Probably ran somewhere between 5-10km pushing those things every day at the age of 10 or so.

I did the occasional "milk run" in my 20s. The route usually included HK, Manila, Taipei, Seoul, then back to HK.

[freddie]

Groceries delivered by bicycles disappeared about 50 years ago but have made a significant comeback in the last 10.
Cycle couriers seems to have all but disappeared now though.

Eh? They are everywhere. Deliveroo, for example.

[dpedin]

I had a summer job in Timex, Dundee where my job for a week was to sit in a room and watch the guy who was in another room watching the guy who was in the room where they did the coating/chrome coating of watch cases. Apparently this involved some compound involving dangerous chemicals/poisons and we were the safety mechanism - they had had a few close calls in recent times of folk almost dying. Read Lord of the Rings that week.

Jdogscoop of this parish had a similar summer job at the local meat works - he sat on a chair and watched a guy paint the inside of a large pipe.

Yes that sounds very similar. One of the painters was inside a big washing drum IIRC, doing some touch up work with a particularly toxic coating. Apparently some joker nearly died when they previously did it unsupervised, so I had to sit there and ensure he didn't keel over. The biggest challenge was staying awake.

The next week because it was sunny I was sent up onto the roof to clean all the glass panels and remove debris. It was explained very carefully to me that this was expected to take all week inc weekend and I would only be allowed down for meals. Got dreadful sunburn that week!

I then moved onto nightshifts which was the plum job - 4 x 12 hour nights plus overtime, Friday 4 to 9 and Sunday morning 8 - 12! Mopping and sweeping floors, cleaning toilets, etc. Extra money plus got to play in the singles and doubles dominos and cribbage leagues. Got my haircut every fortnight for a quid and watched most of the Aussie v England test matches that summer. Also got beautiful set of darts made to order and snaffled a free Sinclair spectrum. Those were the days!

[C69]

Licensees that keep Golly dolls behind the bar.

The feckers have had to close the pub because the suppliers and the maintenance company and CAMRA have binned the racist feckers

[tabascoboy]

Licensees that keep Golly dolls behind the bar.

The feckers have had to close the pub because the suppliers and the maintenance company and CAMRA have binned the racist feckers

[C69]

if you don't like it don't come.

[fishfoodie]

Dragon tail ticklers

[Tichtheid]

if you don't like it don't come.

I know, eh?

I'm not usually one for schadenfreude, but that is funny.

[Blackmac]

I had a summer job in Timex, Dundee where my job for a week was to sit in a room and watch the guy who was in another room watching the guy who was in the room where they did the coating/chrome coating of watch cases. Apparently this involved some compound involving dangerous chemicals/poisons and we were the safety mechanism - they had had a few close calls in recent times of folk almost dying. Read Lord of the Rings that week.

Jdogscoop of this parish had a similar summer job at the local meat works - he sat on a chair and watched a guy paint the inside of a large pipe.

We had the same when we used to work inside the fuselage fuel tanks of Phantoms. A three man chain and we had to repeat a pre agreed phrase every few minutes to ensure no one was succumbing to the fumes, despite the PPE. Horrible bloody work.