The Engineer’s Tale
Jo Hall
Ian tells the story of his life as an engineer.
Transcript
I was born on the third of August, 1939. One month later, we went to war, but it wasn’t my fault. Six years on, as the war ended, metal became available for peaceful use and I got my first Meccano set for Christmas. I reckon that’s when I became an engineer.
By the time I was fourteen, living abroad, I had flown in aeroplanes and was drawn towards aeronautical engineering. I studied at Glasgow University, got selected for the University Air Squadron, and learned to fly before I learned to drive.
Then I realised that nearly all the aircraft industry was in England, so I looked at Kingston-on-Thames, Hatfield, Coventry, Manchester, Hull… and Bristol which looked much the nicest place to live.
I joined a team at Bristol Siddeley Engines, working on the aerodynamics of Concorde’s engine nacelles and… the Harrier Jump Jet’s swivelling nozzles. Later I joined the technical side of sales, but eventually felt like getting involved in manufacturing.
That was when an old friend from University Air Squadron rang up and invited me to exchange the security of Rolls Royce for an old church hall, to run his factory making hot air balloons.
I took the plunge, and a large cut in pay but, with hard work and long hours, we made lots of balloons and enough money to give everyone an extra month’s pay at Christmas, and sometimes for the summer holidays too.
The special shapes were the most fun to make, every one a different technical challenge.
But the factory got bigger and bigger, and I worked harder and harder, and started getting ill with depression… So we recruited someone else to run it, and I became Technical Director, and sat down for a bit.
On a visit to Bristol Industrial Museum, I picked up a leaflet on the Museum’s Black Hand Gang volunteers and started looking forward to the next episode in my life. That episode has lasted twelve years so far, but I still fly balloons for a hobby and I’ve still got a Meccano set!
