Forums Forums Wirral History : Chasing the Past Wirral Now and Then Your 1st wages

When I left school and started work in 1962 my 1st wages were
£3 a week (can't remember if it was 42 or 44 hours per week with overtime as extra))

Office boy in drawing office at Cammall lairds £2-3shilings 1961 waiting to become an apprentice.

10 shillings a week as an apprentice with Stewart Bale, Liverpool. Cost me more for the bus and ferry each day!!!

I worked for Mortimers toy shop in Moreton 1969 ,I was 16yrs old . I picked up £4.12.6. for 40 hrs.
My mother toke £2.10 house keeping!!!!!!

I was on about £7 per week for 40 hours as an apprentice in 1969

PB

£2.50/week as a Lab Asst in 1955 - 5 days plus sat morning - buy/clean your own lab coats!!!

For those who are wondering what £ s d are check out here the equivalent in today's money



2 halfpennies = 1 penny
12 pennies = 1 shilling
24 pennies = a florin
30 pence = a half crown


20 shillings = £1
10 florins = £1
8 half crowns = £1
240 pennies = £1


click notes

Boy sailor, 5shilling a week (25p) and the other 30s (£1.50) kept for when you went on leave and sent to your mam. It was all found though so you didn't have to pay anything out. The 5 bob was spent on nutty and pop. To be honest it may even have been 5s a fortnight, my memory aint what it used to be. I'll check up on the Ganges site.
One funny thing is that I had been getting more on my paper round before joining up, not as adventurous though.

Wm. Henderson, perfumery dept. 1967. £7.0.0d per week. Plus one hour for lunch and two twenty minute tea breaks, morning and afternoon.
Big increase for next job 1968 G.P.O. Telephonist £9.9.6d.per week.

Sayers, big one on the corner in town, started on my 16th birthday, worked 40hrs for £23.50 per week in 1980. gave my mum £10 per week keep.

September 1961 - 16 years old - £5 4s a week.

1959 I left school to work in the Co-op cheque office in oliver street,birkenhead, wages two pounds six and eight per week,mum had the two pounds for keep and bus fares,but the six and eight lasted me the week!!!!

1970 Apprentice joiner £2 17 6d 5days 45hrs

MPD Hampers 1983 - £25 per week, £15 of it to my mum for keep.

I started work as an office boy on the wholesale fruit market in Queen Square, Liverpool and had to travel from New Ferry to start at 7 am in 1949 and was paid £1.50 for 5 weekdays and a Saturday morning. Went into the RAF for national Service in 1952 and was paid £1.25 per week, my Mum was allocated 30% of this so I was left with 14 shillings to myself - not bad really because they fed us well.