I joined the Royal Navy in 1944, training as a marine engineer and then moving over to naval architecture. I completed my training in 1952, and from then until 1983 I worked for the Ministry of Defence, mostly on design, concentrating on submarines, but including small craft, frigates and the management of ships materials, and computer projects. Towards the end of my period I was the Refit Project Manager for nuclear submarines, including the research and development side of submarine warfare, and my final two jobs were Director of Naval Ship Production, the interface with the industry, and then for about a year, Director of Productivity and Industrial Relations for the Royal Dockyards. I then joined British Shipbuilders as Board Member for Warshipbuilding in 1983 and was with them for three years, and that included ancillary jobs such being Chairman of the Council of the British Ship Research Association, and also Director of Technology, and head of their training company. Towards the middle, due to the problems at Vickers, Barrow, I was sent by the Chairman of British Shipbuilders to take over the running of the Barrow shipyard for the final two years before its privatisation.

The industry was broke before it was nationalised. It eventually capitulated, and thereafter, the individual owners wanted to stay on the gravy train, and if they could keep their heads down and keep their firms un-violated by these horrible people at headquarters then they might survive to be reprivatised. So from their point of view nationalisation was a wise policy. From the national point of view I am not so sure that once it was nationalised it would not have been better to have kept it together and ended up with a privatised British Shipbuilders with two or three yards who had a chance of competing reasonably well, and I include that in the merchant side. I do not think that the industry would have rationalised itself. The 1970s created the scene for nationalisation to do it. In the 1980s if it had not been done then market forces would have dealt with it and you would have ended up with few yards, if any.

British Shipbuilders management in the beginning was fairly inept. I do not think the first Board was all that competent.