9 of 24 - Holman Apprentice 1972
After the holidays dad took me down to Camborne and dropped me off in Redbrook Road where I was to lodge to start my 4-year apprenticeship. I joined the Holman Apprentice School in 1972. Holman Brothers was famous for its compressed air machinery, and drilling equipment used in mining and civil engineering across the globe. The firm had its own test mine, and even a rail link. The head of the apprentice school was Fred Oliver. Fred was a kind man who looked for the best in us all. We received a blend of classroom instruction and hands-on experience in the workshops. We studied every aspect of mechanical engineering and machining, at first with plenty of pre-HASAWA safety procedures. But when HASAWA hit industry in 1974 it didn’t just change rules—it changed attitudes. It shifted responsibility from just the employer to a shared duty of care , and it became the backbone of apprentice training, especially in engineering firms like Holman’s. Safety wasn’t just a box to tick—it was a c...