Back to news & events
50 years and counting
30/06/2016
John Moss, one of our electricity Linesman is celebrating an impressive 50 years of service in the industry.
John Moss being congratulated for his 50 years of service by his team.
John, who lives near Newcastle, Stoke, joined us as an 18-year-old in 1966, and was part of an underground cable gang at the former Midlands Electricity Board. He later trained to become an overhead Linesman before progressing to become a Charge-hand supervising a number of teams.
“When I first started, an open-backed wagon would pick us up in the morning and take us out to site. Cable gangs used picks and shovels to dig out cable trenches by hand while overhead powerline crews had to dig out six-foot pole holes and lift the poles into position by hand.
“We didn’t have all the machinery that we have today so it was very physically demanding but over the years, more equipment and vehicles helped tremendously – like when we first got Landrovers and thought that they were the bee’s knees,” said John.
Over the last five decades, John, who is married to June and has five children and 11 grandchildren, has worked on the electricity network across much of Stoke. He is a keen sportsman, spending much of his free time as a cricket umpire but says he has no intention of retiring: “It’s a great job and I’ve no plans to stop work yet.”
John Moss with his certificate for his 50 years of service with his Team Manager Ron Basu and Stoke Distribution Manager Andy Pickering.
John Moss being congratulated for his 50 years of service by his team.
John, who lives near Newcastle, Stoke, joined us as an 18-year-old in 1966, and was part of an underground cable gang at the former Midlands Electricity Board. He later trained to become an overhead Linesman before progressing to become a Charge-hand supervising a number of teams.
“When I first started, an open-backed wagon would pick us up in the morning and take us out to site. Cable gangs used picks and shovels to dig out cable trenches by hand while overhead powerline crews had to dig out six-foot pole holes and lift the poles into position by hand.
“We didn’t have all the machinery that we have today so it was very physically demanding but over the years, more equipment and vehicles helped tremendously – like when we first got Landrovers and thought that they were the bee’s knees,” said John.
Over the last five decades, John, who is married to June and has five children and 11 grandchildren, has worked on the electricity network across much of Stoke. He is a keen sportsman, spending much of his free time as a cricket umpire but says he has no intention of retiring: “It’s a great job and I’ve no plans to stop work yet.”
John Moss with his certificate for his 50 years of service with his Team Manager Ron Basu and Stoke Distribution Manager Andy Pickering.
Tagged under
- About Us