40s and 50s Memories
8
Alban, written in his own hand and I still have it
today. It was time to move on to a hotel in Zurich
as a floor waiter attending to room service.
Not having studied German it was quite a severe
baptism to start work at the Carlton Elite Hotel
in Zurich, but the Swiss staff were very good
to me and spoke clearly in German rather than
Swiss-German, the pronunciation of which even
a German national finds difficult to understand.
Within three months I was answering the phone
for room service in German, finding it an easy
language to learn by ear. I completed over a
year's employment in Zurich and then moved
on to Frankfurt, as a restaurant waiter.
The Frankfurter Hof Hotel is regarded as one of
the very best in Germany, and the experience
I gained there was excellent. I also had the
honour of serving the then German Chancellor,
Ludwig Erhard. Above all, I made many friends
with the German people, but after 18 months I
was recalled by my family home to Somerset.
The St. Audrie's Bay Holiday Hamlet had been
founded by my grandfather in 1933. It was set
in 70 acres of land with chalet accommodation,
and a main building. The catering was all in. The
catering manager had fallen ill in mid-season
and for this reason I was recalled to carry out
his duties, and this occupied me for the next
two years. We catered for 200 guests, the food
being of very high standard. Thereafter, with my
parent's full support, I enlisted in the Royal Air
Force.
St. Audries Bay Holiday Hamlet. The 'live in' staff of the
catering department
I joined up in the ranks as a senior aircraftsman,
and within a year was promoted to corporal. My
first posting was at The Princess Alexandra's
Hospital, Wroughton, where, as chef, I was responsible for 50 diets on a daily basis.I had
other postings overseas, to Masirah Island, off
Oman, and finally to RAF St. Mawgan, Cornwall,
in the officers' mess. On completing five year's
service I returned as General Manager to St.
Audrie's Bay Holiday Hamlet, the business
having been sold in the meantime by my family
to a Welsh industrialist.
I ran St. Audrie's for 14 years, the guest intake
increasing to 300. I still receive visits from
former guests today. Eventually I handed in 6
month's notice, wishing to seek more overseas
employment, and I left St. Audrie's on very good
terms.
I next took up employment with an Australian
diamond-mining company, in Guinea in
West Africa. My work was up-country and
surrounded by jungle. The principal language
was French, and initially I was responsible for
ordering shipments of food from Antwerp and
its distribution locally. The Guinean workforce
received family rations as part of their wage,
and the expatriate workforce, who were mainly
French, had their own shop. After six months
I took some leave in the UK but was recalled
within two weeks and appointed Administration
Manager.
1997 Guinea. My two children with Patrice, my foreman
After two years I was required to train two
Guineans in the administration section, and
having done this I was made redundant. I left
Guinea having made many friends and I still
hear from members of the Guinean workforce
today. I returned to the UK and within two
months had embarked for Saudi Arabia.