Jeff Clocks 50 Years
26 Apr 2005
Friends and colleagues bid a fond farewell to Jeff Hackett, who has retired from the telecommunications arm of Thales after an exemplary 50 years service within the railway industry.
Jeff started, aged 15, as a Junior Porter in the Traffic Department at Bolton with British Rail, earning £2 and 18 shillings a week. He transferred to the Bolton Signalling & Telecoms section just after his 18th birthday, where he worked in all departments, learning the trade and awaiting a post, which came when he was 20 years old - his first technician post.
He was involved with the installation of self-screening copper cables on the WCML between 1959-1965, ready for the electrification of the route, before he transferred to the Telecoms department at Manchester as a Cable Technician in 1972, following the closure of the Bolton Depot. He became a Senior Cable Jointer and Senior Cable Technician during his time at Manchester and completed over 35 training courses throughout his years of service, achieving a City & Guilds in Fibre Optics in 1993.
Jeff has a fund of stories to tell. ‘In 1958, we had to get a telegraph pole to Bromley Cross from the depot at Bolton and we did it by carrying the telegraph pole on a handcart and walking it through the streets!’
Sincerest wishes go to Jeff for a long and happy retirement, from all his friends and colleagues within the rail industry, past and present.