Tony (Edward Anthony) Clarke (1919-2010)
& Irene Gladys Whiteman / Clarke (1926-2004)

Outline Chronology of Their Working Lives

This is a companion-page to the Chronology of Their Lives as a Whole


Tony Clarke (1935-85)

1935-40 (May to Jan), Smith & Vosper, Grocers, North End, Portsmouth, Apprentice (5 yrs)

1940-46 (22 Jan to 20 Aug), British Army (6-1/2 yrs), in camps in the south, incl. Deal and Caerphilly, in France and out of Dunkirk in May 1940, in late 1940 via the North Atlantic and Durban to north of Cairo, in Alexandria and Tripoli, into and quickly out of Greece and Crete, east of El Alamein, back to Alexandria until late 1945, then back to the U.K, posted to the Channel Islands, but argued his way back to Portsmouth for his first Christmas at home since 1939, 6 years earlier

1946-47 (Sep to Jun), Smith & Vosper, Grocers, North End, Portsmouth, Shop Assistant (1 yr)

1947-48 (Jun to May), Liverpool Victoria Friendly Society, Insurance Rep (1 yr)

1948 (May to Jul), Partly out of work, partly with French's Vegetable Wholesaler, Salesman (1/4 yr)

1948-49 (Jul to Oct), Brighter Homes, Gosport, Wallpaper and Paint Retail, Branch Manager (1-1/4 yrs)

1949-51 (Oct to 2 Jun), Smeed & Smeed, Wine Merchants, Branch Manager, Outram Rd, Southsea/North End, Portsmouth (1/1/2 yrs)

1951-53 (Aug to Dec), Peanut Marketing Board, Kingaroy (2-1/2 yrs)

1954-55 (Apr to 11 Feb), Pinks Grocer and David Greig Grocer, Shop Assistant (1 yr)

1955 (12/14 Feb to 31 Dec), Beecham's Pills, Portsmouth, Sales rep (1 yr)

1956 (Feb to Jul) Wypers, Bundaberg (1/2 yr)

1957-68 (Aug to Aug), Wittkopps, Bundaberg (ran back-end of plumbing business, 12 yrs)

1968-73 (Aug to Sep), BBC Hardware, Willoughby (5 yrs?)

1973, Courier Service (3 mths)

1973-76, ?BBC Hardware, Eastwood (3 yrs?)

1975-85 (Sep to Sep), Raymor, Plumbing Suppliers, Thornleigh (10 yrs)

This gave him that new-fangled idea of Long Service Leave.

In the meantime, Raymor's owners, the Kelly brothers, had attempted a combination of a tax dodge and a Tontine Fund – a non-contributory superannuation scheme designed so that no employees ever qualified for a pension. But the brothers fell out, one litigated, and as a result the company was caught out – Kelly v Raymor (Illawarra) Pty Limited 13 ATR 592 (1983), reported in The Chartered Accountant in Australia (April 1983). It had to pay to a small number of employees, of which Tony was one – and probably the longest-lasting. He'd missed out on contributory superannuation, which came in after he retired; but he 'lucked in' to a $6,000 p.a. Raymor pension, which they had to pay for 25 years

27 Sep 1985, Retired, aged 65-3/4


Rene Clarke (1943-48, 1952-54, 1959-1987)

1943, ?Jun 1943, Millinery trainee (6 mths unpaid apprenticeship, then bombed out)

1944-46?, ?Jan 1944, Dockyards, Portsmouth (pre April, for the Normandy landings, 2 yrs?)
1946?-48, Harveys, but we don't know what they did – Milliners? (2 yrs?)
m. 9 Aug1948 and hence enforced 'retirement' (4-1/2 yrs)
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1952 Domestic work for Mrs Redman, Pharmacist, Kingaroy
1953 Cinema Usheretting, Kingaroy
1954 (3 jobs, to save money for the voyage back to England)
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1959-68- Cinema Usheretting, then cashier, then Deputy Manager, Birch, Carroll & Coyle's Olympia, Wintergarden and Drive-In Theatres, Bundaberg (9 yrs)

1968-69, Aug 1968, Cashier, Her Majesty's Theatre, Haymarket, Sydney (6 mths), then Feb 1969, Cashier, Lyceum Theatre, Castlereagh St, Sydney (3 mths)

1969-71, ?Jun 1969, Big W, Chatswood (manchester, 6 mths), ?Dec 1969, Farmers, Gordon (furs, evening wear, 1-1/2 yrs)

1971-72, Jul 1971, NSW Permanent, Grace Bros Chatswood Branch (cashier, 9 mths)

1972-78, 1 May 1972, NSW Permanent, Wynyard Branch, Deputy Manager (6-1/2 years)

1979-87, ?Jan 1979, NSW Permanent / Advance Bank H.O. (now St George), financial advisor (8-1/2 yrs?), retired ?Sep 1987


This is a page within Roger Clarke's Family Web-Site

Contact: Roger Clarke

Created: 2 January 2011; Last Amended: 1 March 2011