Alan
Obin's autobiography A brief life history followed
by some more detail in case anyone is interested!
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Here is a brief autobiography, written in the third person!
After education at St Joseph's College Beulah Hill, London
during World War 2, he trained as a marine and mechanical engineer, then
going to sea for 5 years. He then held various engineering management
appointments for 15 years before purchasing the Warsash Nautical Bookshop,
which he developed and ran for 27 years.
His wife, Olive is a doctor and they have 2 children,
both married with children.
Alan became a Church of England lay Reader in 1980.
Now retired he has spent some years working with young people in the church
youth groups. |
Here is the Detailed Autobiography.
This is about me Alan Obin.It is written in the third person
for convenience
Lets
throw some more light on Alan's life.
Education.
Alan went to St Joseph's College, Beulah Hill, London SE from 1940
to 1947. This was in 'bomb alley' and there were plenty of experiences
of bombs, incendiary bombs, flying bombs (V1s) and rockets (v2s).
There was the sleeping downstairs, an incendiary bomb through out roof,
also fun with the barrage balloon down the road. Victory brought
the burning of a 'guy' of Hitler and street parties. He became
a Leading Seaman in the West Croydon Sea Cadet Corps.
Alan's Engineering Training and experience and occupations.
Alan started working in the London Docks as an office boy in 1947,
starting his apprenticeship as a Marine Engineer in 1948. At the time there
were ships in their nice shining civilian colours but also many still in
the wartime grey. Remember World War II ended in 1945 and the ships were
still being reconditioned in 1948. Alan studied for his Ordinary and Higher
National Certificates in Mechanical Engineering, achieving these by the
time he finished his apprenticeship in 1953. The last year or so had been
in the Blue Star Line drawing office, designing the conversion of ships
diesel engines to burn heavy oil instead of diesel oil. He then went
to sea with the Blue Star Line in 1953.
Voyage 1. SS Tacoma Star. War built, triple expansion steam
engine and scotch boilers. Through the Panama Canal and up to Vancouver.
Junior Engineer
Voyage 2. The same again.
Voyage 3. SS Gracia. Triple expansion steam engine and scotch boilers.
As for voyages 1 & 2. Fourth Engineer. To Vancouver again.
A Triple Expansion Steam Engine
Voyage 4 SS Oregon Star (renamed Gracia). Fourth Engineer, To Buenos
Aires. Fire in engine room whilst in dock. Stoker drowned in dock.
Voyage 5 to 10. TS Brasil Star. Turbines & watertube boilers.
The first of 6 voyages to Buenos Aries.
A time to study (and pass) his Second Class Engineer's Steam Certificate.
Voyage 11. MV Sydney Star. Twin Screw Double Acting B &
W Diesel Engines. One voyage to New Zealand. At the Panama
Canal (Colon) a collision with a Greek 'Samboat' nearly sunk them but they
got back into port and the US Navy put a temporary patch on and they sailed
again for London. The refrigeration engine room caught fire in mid Atlantic
but they put that out and arrived in London with scorched funnel and lifeboats.
Voyage 12. MV Scottish Star. Twin Screw Opposed Piston
Doxford Engines. One voyage to Buenos Aries, with engine trouble
all the way there! This voyage finally completed his sea time to
take (and pass) his Chief Engineer's Certificate, Steam and Motor.
On marrying Olive he left the sea and worked for 15 years in various
engineering management positions in the J. Lyons & Co. Ltd group in
London. He was a boiler and oil firing specialist, then a Cake bakery
maintenance manager & director of an engineering contracting company.
During this time he became a Chartered Marine Engineer, Chartered Mechanical
Engineer and Chartered Fuel Technologist.
At J. Lyons he converted hand controlled steam boilers to automatic
control, did practical research into the preventing of smuts emitting from
chimneys, redesigned parts bakery machinery to make them more reliable,
installed swiss roll rolling up machines, was the trouble-shooter for engineering
industrial relations, managed redundancies among engineers, went on training
courses in Management, Maintenance, Accountancy, Sales & Marketing,
Personnel Management, Industrial Relations and Computers and lectured in
the J. Lyons & Co Ltd Management Training Centre on Managerial
Style.
He left Lyons in 1973.
He then purchased the then embryo Warsash Nautical Bookshop and
built that up to be an important international seller of nautical, maritime
& naval books and charts. He took it through the process of use
of computers from 1979, the publication of the annual Bibliography
of Nautical Books from 1985 for 15 years, and other books on Naval Architecture,
then selling from the Internet pages from 1995. He became a Chartered
Bookseller!
He left to retire in 2000 after working for 52 years.
Early days
Alan and Olive met on 25 April 1952. Alan was an apprentice
Marine Engineer in the London Docks and Olive was waiting to go to London
University to train as a doctor. Alan had been brought up as a Roman
Catholic, going to St Joseph's College Beulah Hill in South London.
Olive worshiped in the C of E and was a committed Christian at that time.
Olive went to the Royal Free Hospital School of Medicine in October
1952 and worshipped at All Souls, Langham Place.
Alan often went with her on Sunday evenings and became a committed
Christian at a guest service ministered to by Rev. John Stott.
Jobs and marriage
Olive continued her training a qualified as a doctor in 1957, then
did house jobs for a year in Croydon.
In June 1958 they got married in Christ Church Beckenham and lived
in New Addington where Olive was a doctor on the housing estate.
In 1961 they moved to Rayners Lane, Harrow and started worshipping
at Rayners Lane Free Church (Baptist).
In 1973 they moved to Warsash when Alan took over the Warsash Nautical
Bookshop.
Children
In 1961 daughter Anne was born. She married Colin Prestidge
in 1983 and have 3 children, Laura, Gillian and Timothy. They live
in Stubbington and worship where Alan & Olive do at Holy Rood Church.
Anne works with the youth groups and Colin leads services and singing worship
from time to time.
In 1963 their son Raymond was born. He married Jane Wyatt
in 1985 and their children are Rachael and Christopher. They live
in Newbury and worshipped in Newbury Baptist Church for some years and
have now joined St George's church where they are all involved in leading
singing worship.
Now.
Olive is retired from full time doctoring and works some locums
in local practices.
In Holy Rood Church she looks after the Covenants and Church hall
bookings, does some desk top publishing to help the church administrator
and is in the prayer ministry team.
Alan worked with the young people and is now a sort of Youth Advisor
in Holy Rood Church.
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End of Autobiography Page. --------- March 2002