The Institute has identified that I have been a member for 60 years. Whilst I am senior I am not ancient, so to achieve 60 years I must have started young. I did! I should like to offer some words explaining how I managed to reach this significant milestone.
My key message is: don’t wait for an advert, advertise yourself first. I was always interested in transport and when I was in the Fifth Form, the year for sitting O-levels, I decided to investigate a possible future. There was a publication called Transport Age published by the British Transport Commission and in each edition there was an interview with a significant leader in the transport industry. I wrote to three or four of the individuals explaining that I would like advice about my future direction. All replied with their helpful suggestions, but one reply was particularly attractive: ‘I’ve enclosed a ticket, so why don’t you come down to London for a day and see what we do?’
In the meantime, I had been awarded the Nottingham Chamber of Commerce Centenary Scholarship to study the Inland Waterways of Western Europe. Contacts introduced through the local Chambers of Commerce made the whole tour work, although none of the barge skippers could understand why anyone would want to travel on commercial freight craft. I had also spent a week on a British Railways Appreciation Course, which took about 20 likeminded lads anywhere worthwhile to see a modern railway operation.
Then followed the offer of a position as a company management trainee based in the Transport Department. On requirement was graduate membership of the Institute of Transport, and attendance one day and some evenings at Kingston Technical College.
After six years, I moved to Procter & Gamble at Newcastle upon Tyne in its Buying and Traffic Department, where road and rail movements included specialist transport of liquids and powders, ship chartering, exports into Europe and designing road vehicles, culminating in the now universal curtain-sided trailers.
After 18 years, I joined British Road Service/National Freight and with them later moved into movement of people as a Director of the Business Travel Company Wagon-Lits, which became Carlson Wagon-Lits. Too much time spent flying suggested a change in 2001 and finally I joined RSPB in its Marketing Department for five years’ finance and logistics management.
For the past dozen years I have been Chairman of the Grantham Canal Society, which is a voluntary charity committed to restoring the long disused canal from Grantham to the Trent.
If you are thinking that logistics could be a career for you, I assure you that it can be and one that you could enjoy. No two days are the same. The problems can tax your ingenuity; if you could find a way of managing without needing staff it would be easier – but very dull!
Join CILT as a graduate and go forward with pride.