Hello Listers Mildred Robson touches on an aspect of WW2 that I have never seen fully explained or documented. My father too worked at Hawthorn Leslie but in the marine engine works at St. Peters. Apart from the normal 5½ day work week until noon on Saturday, there was mandatory overtime until 7-30pm at least two evenings a week. During the early years of WW2, particularly in 1940 and 1941, night air raids were frequent and all able-bodied men had to act as air raid wardens for the duration of a raid until the 'All Clear'. I remember my father getting home on these 'overtime' evenings about 7-45pm after walking from St. Peters, sitting down and eating immediately, then wash and shave and go to bed. Somewhere around midnight the siren would signal an air raid and he would be on duty until 3am or later patrolling the area close to the house. After the 'All Clear' he would be able to lie down for a couple of hours of sleep before rising again at 6-30am for breakfast and walking to work for 7-30am. This schedule of interupted sleep was common for the early war years. Every Sunday afternoon was devoted to sleep and I often wondered why until I realized that it was the only time during the week for an uninterupted rest. Undoubtedly, this tough schedule over the span of several years led to exhaustion among many tradesmen, particularly those in heavy industry. On the subject of reserved occupation, my father was an apprentice at Hawthorn Leslie during WW1 but was still conscripted into the Army and served in France. He had to complete his apprenticeship after demobilization. Charles Atkinson, Niagara Falls, Canada. At 06:51 PM 30/04/2013 +0100, you wrote: >My father John E. T. Heslop worked at Hawthorne Leslie shipyard and during the duration of the Second World War told me he was in a 'reserved occupation' and worked two extra half- shifts and one night shift on top of his normal hours each week; in addition he was an air raid warden and when the siren sounded he would put on his tin hat and go out to patrol the area. >Mildred Robson