John Hankin was in touch earlier this year with his memories of visiting Weymouth as an apprentice in 1965-66 and then returning to the town for a one-off visit in the mid-1980s.

He has now been in touch at greater length recalling both visits and in this first instalment he remembers his first visit as an eager teenager when the Sixties were still swinging and there was much fun to be had, despite a shortage of ready cash.

THE first intake of the newly created United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) Risley Engineering Apprenticeship Scheme travelled down to Winfrith AEA in the autumn/winter of 1965 and the spring/summer of 1966 to complete the first year craft apprenticeship.

The object of the scheme was to develop craftsmen into design draughtsmen and engineers to work in the expanding design offices at Risley.

Twenty two teenage lads fresh from school, from the environs of Risley (Manchester, Liverpool, Warrington, Wigan, Lymm and Leigh), set off on a crisp October morning in 1965 on what proved to be a pioneering trip to Dorset.

It was an experience that was to prove momentous as for most of us it was the first time away from home apart from holidays and school trips. No explanation of the impending year’s tour was offered at the interviews except for a passing query ‘as to whether you would object to travelling’.

In those days the journey to Weymouth took around nine hours. We arrived at our destination at around 6pm, still fogbound, to be greeted by the establishment manager Eddie Hapgood, who was the England and Arsenal full back of the late 1930s.

Our home for the next few months was a single storey terrapin construction known as Egdon Hall. It was run by the WMCA and lay on the outskirts of Weymouth at the bottom of Lynch Lane, close to the Chesil Bank.

Our days began at 6am for showers for those up early enough and queuing for what seemed like acres of bacon and an epidemic of fried eggs served by the indomitable Mrs Davis. Most just had time to trap a sample of each between bread before dashing 100 yards to board a green double-decker bus that would take us to AEA Winfrith.

The route took us into Weymouth, along the promenade and past the famous White Horse at Osmington.

On arrival we walked down to the training school and well equipped workshops, with gymnasium attached. Before we started we were subjected to 30 minutes of torture under the watchful eye of ex-Marine Commando Mr Prosser-James, who had an inexhaustible list of impossible tasks with medicine balls.

We then changed into our overalls and started work on our specific discipline projects – electrical mechanics or instrument mechanics.

Adjacent to the training school was the social club with its distinctive spiralled roof, which we visited usually on pay day for a drink of lime and lemonade on the way from the cash office back to the training school. The money in our pocket was short lived, for that evening we queued to deliver the majority of it to Mr Hapgood leaving just £1 18s 6d remaining to last us the rest of the week.

In those days a vinyl single 45 cost 6s 8d and LPs anything from £1 10s to £2.

During our first spell in Weymouth it was dark when we arrived back from Winfrith and we tended to stay in the hostel making our own entertainment in the games room or watching TV during the week or dating girls met at The Pavilion or cinema. Weekends were different and usually we visited Davis & Hadley Ltd of St Thomas Street in Weymouth on most Saturday mornings, listening to our favourite groups and sometimes, when finances permitted, buying a record. Saturday evenings were spent in and around the Pavilion trying our luck with the local girls, or at the cinema. As most of us had turned 17 we could gain access into the local hostelries, even though we should have been 18.

It was here that I first tried the local brew of scrumpy and believe me, you didn’t need to drink much. Saturday nights were usually rounded off by calling at the Marquis of Granby on Chickerell Road and then Alf’s Chippie at the top of Lynch Road where faggots and chips were a lot cheaper than fish and chips.

One weekend our parents were transported to Weymouth and Winfrith by the UKAEA to see how we were being cared for. They were shown Egdon Hall and stayed at The Royal Hotel overnight, where we joined them for dinner.

Towards the end of our final weeks I got chatting with Susan, a girl who lived in, if I remember correctly, Gordon Crescent. My mate Alan was with me at the time and we arranged a date with Susan and her mate Denise, who lived in the centre of Weymouth in Crescent Street.

We seemed to get on well and started dating, going to the cinema and enjoying walks along the promenade. The four of us decided to visit the open day at Portland Naval Base and thoroughly enjoyed the day out seeing all the latest warships belonging to the Royal Navy and the navies of other NATO countries.

I remember Weymouth Carnival as well, with its many brilliant floats including a giant Baird TV with girls sitting astride it, a Greek or Roman temple with lovely girls wearing togas and a yellow submarine made out of cardboard in tribute to the Beatles.

Unfortunately Alan and I had to leave Susan and Denise to return home for good. I did correspond with Denise for a while but mainly due to the distance involved any continued relationship was difficult and we lost touch.