GEORGE MATCHETT - WOOD CUTTING MACHINIST AND SHOP STEWARD
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Introduction
This interview was carried out as part of the Topography of Titanic exhibition. Ruth Graham talked to 11 people in early 2003 who worked in the shipyards or who have a great interest in the Titanic, 9 of these are available here. Ruth Graham kindly supplied this interview summary.
George Matchett
Wood Cutting Machinist and Shop Steward
Listen to George Matchett (00:15:16) | Read Transcript
"A lot of the guys unfortunately have gone away from their trades because there is no prospect of them using them here - so they are working in supermarkets, taxiing, security work, etc. That is sad, because those guys are in possession of skills way beyond the positions they find themselves in now."
George Matchett worked for Harland & Wolff as a wood cutting machinist and later went on to become a shop steward for the Furniture Timber & Allied Union, which was later amalgamated into the GMB Union. He has been Regional Organiser of the GMB since 1994 and is Past President of the Confederation of Shipbuilding and Engineering Union. He has never lost touch with his roots in the shipyard and was full of stories about nicknames, pranks and the general humour of the yard. Mr Matchett had great respect for the men he worked with and related to the sense of pride associated with the major feats of engineering carried out by Harland & Wolff - often to the astonishment of the rest of the world in the case of the Sea Quest Oil Platform which everyone said could not be launched. Mr Matchett believes that there was and still could be a future for shipbuilding in Belfast. The situation as it stands today, is the lowest point and in his opinion, things will gradually improve.