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Time Keeper

postie

postie

The buck stops here
Staff member
My dad was a time keeper at Saltley Gas Works.
The job was also called a gate keeper. It was his job to control traffic and deliveries going in and out of the works. My dad was also in charge of the people who came for the cheap coal and coke. I suppose the modern day equivilent is a security guard.
Hope this helps.
 
From the dictionary of Occupational Terms

A train TimeKeeper for instance would record time of arrivals and departures and keep records of times before passing them to the authorities which regulated such times.

Other types of timekeeper might (i) record entry and departure of workpeople in a book. (ii)Have charge of timekeeping clocks, and checkboards and suprintend "Clocking In" & "Clocking Out" Locks and unlocks clock mechanisms at specified times, prepares card for each worker with his/her name and number. Sometimes may compute times hours worked during each week, and make returns to cashiers department. Sometimes in charge of Gate and Weighbridge.
 
In my very first job at Atkinsons Brewery we had to report to the Cashier
who also acted as a manual timekeeper, he kept a large ledger and when we arrived our names were entered by him in wonderful copperplate handwriting. I think there was a 2 minute period of grace and then double red lines were made and if you were late your name was entered under the red line. This was for office staff only, the rest of the workforce "clocked in".
 
Hi postie, you mentioned that your dad worked at Saltley gas works and I was wondering if you had any pictures of the gasworks as I've been finding them hard to find. My grandad worked at the gasworks around 1950-1970. Thankyou.
Corinna
 
I did a 6 month stint as part of my GEC Apprentiship at Chamberlin & Hookham Instument makers in New Batholomew St(The Old Workhouse Building). There the time keepers had a board with brass discs on you would have to take your disc from one board and put it across on too another by the time lodge.
If you were late the Gates were locked,only to open when the staff members arrived, then you were put in the late book by the time keeper.
This was in the late 50s. What would the kids of today make of these Victorian methods.
 
Does anybody know what a sealer did (1871)? Did he manufacturer seals or puttings seals on documents?
Thank you in advance.
Ingrid
 
Ingrid, the answer to that is no, seals were made by craftsmen who were jeweller's and every important person or body had a seal on a ring or watchchain or on a desk which they used to seal letters with wax
Loads of things needed sealing such as Boats or water vessels using tar etc, gas holders needed sealing
as did anything that had to be "airtight" or waterproof, the term could be used in quite a lot of trades
 
ROD. I bet you are spot on with that, I guess they kept the records on separate sheets as to hours lost through lateness, absenteeism and records of overtime worked and hours that qualified for premium rates of pay.
I always qualified for lateness until l got a ticking off. ( Is that why it was known as a Ticking Off ?)
Maybe this belongs on another thread. " Ticking Off " would it mean PAY STOPPED for some misdemeanour ?
 
Every time I hear about clocking in I smile as I allways clocked in but never clocked out ......WHY
with the coloured pens I had I wrote my own time in as I often worked late, did it for 15 years never got sussed as I had a steady hand and a good eye......totally illegal but I earned the firm more money that they paid me
 
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