 |
|
|
 | |
© 大象传媒 2004
|
| |  |
The Yard |
 |
Mischief and Humour
The language of the yard is typified by the nicknames given, almost immediately, to some of the more unfortunate men who happened to have a certain physical trait or habit.
In David Hammond`s wonderful book, Steelchest , Nail in the Boot and The Barking Dog, a full range of names are evident : A man who walked with his hands and feet spread out from his body was dubbed Stabiliser , a worker who walked with a limp was called Nail in the Boot, a fitter who constantly made a pipe , forgetting to fit the joint in it , and therefore having to break the joint ,was simply known as Make and Break. Washing soda , Tired Hands and Wire Nail are just some of the many names borne out of the dry, dead -pan humour, typical of Belfast.
War Effort
- By December 1944 there were almost 31,000 employees at Harland and Wolff.
- Queen's Island launched 170 Admiralty and merchant ships between 1939 and 1945.
- This included 40 corvettes, 27 minesweepers, 11 frigates and three aircraft carriers.
- The firm also repaired 30,000 vessels and manufactured 13 million aircraft parts, over 500 tanks, thousands of field guns and hundreds of searchlights.
|
|
In the late forties, a strict procedure governed toilet breaks – 7 minutes was the maximum time allowed to answer nature’s call. The unenviable job of enforcing this regime fell on a clerk stationed outside the toilet block. As ever, harsh conditions bred humour to deflect from reality : this draconian system relied on the tolitee entering their work number in a book on the way in and then shouting the same number aloud, to signify their departure.
However, this hardly fail safe method of latrine bureaucracy was abused with ease by the mischievous among the men. By crawling under the clerk’s window on the way in and shouting a made up number on the way out, the clerk would be left searching up and down his ledger to tally his figures.
Another simple but effective trick preyed on an unsuspecting manager, or “hat”, at going home time. As everyone gathered , waiting for the horn to sound to mark the end of the day, a group of workers would spot a “hat” stepping onto a gangway. With the speed and natural instinct of a pride of lions stalking an antelope, the workers would line up directly behind the manager and simultaneously walk out of sync with the unfortunate hat, with the comical result that the poor man was bounced down the plank like a startled horse on a trampoline.
Your comments
| |
 Print this page |
|
Archive
Look back into the past using the Legacies' archives. Find nearly 200 tales from around the country in our collection.
Read more > |
| | |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
| The 大象传媒 is not responsible for the content of external Web sites. |
| | | |
| | |
| |
|
