Mr George was asked what was the first piece of technology that he encountered in the workplace

As a Local Government Officer he used typewriters. If one made a mistake one had to rub it out with a hard rubber and start again. The typewriter was very noisy with the carriage going back and forth. He was glad he left before the introduction of video recorders and computers.

In 1939 he worked in the Portsmouth Guildhall and found the first form of the copying machine. All of the letters were typed in purple ribbon. When the letters were typed in purple ribbon it could easily make a copy if it was placed on damp paper and put through a mangle. That made an exact copy. The machine was approximately two feet high and was placed on the table. It was considered to be very large. The copying machine was the simplest version of the photocopier. It was extremely noisy.

Mr George was then asked about his attitude towards the introduction of new technologies?

He said he was dismayed. The introduction of new electrical appliances required evening classes to learn how to use them. It was beneficial in that it enabled one to put information on a piece of paper a great deal more quickly, but he personally did not want to modernise. He preferred to hand write any information onto a piece of paper rather than type it.

The successor to the typewriter was then discussed

It was the VDU (visual display unit). The makeup of the machine was basically a screen and a large machine for storing written information. It came in due to the financial aspect of the job. Prior to this, statements came monthly. With the new technology the statements could be generated throughout the month so there was no need for the time delay.

Mr George recalled his involvement with the preparations for D-Day. He was required to prepare lists of the men who would go on the boats - eight copies of each list were required. Did you use your technical skills during the war?

Finally Mr George reflected that new technology is too complicated for the older generation to master so feels that there is a tendency no to use it.

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