Creation and Collapse of an Occupational Community, the Case of Sheerness Naval Dockyard, 1950-1980

Abstract copyright UK Data Service and data collection copyright owner.

This study aimed to provide support for other, parallel, research on aspects of the contemporary labour market of the Isle of Sheppey. It focused on the Naval Dockyard which had dominated the labour market and the social life of Sheerness, the Island's principal town, until its closure in 1960. The interview material held here is made up of nine interviews, of which seven are transcribed, with retired dockworkers who describe many aspects of their long working lives at the Dockyard.

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Main Topics: Dockyards; shipbuilding; labour and employment; occupational life; working experience; working conditions; apprenticeship; craftsmen; technological change; work history; families; households.