7/4/2024
Michael Crotty
My career and life since school July 1952 – December 2010 – and beyond
I can remember Fr Gannon, the headmaster’s words and which he wrote on my reference, “Michael was attentive and diligent in class but never achieved more than average in his academic studies. He was however exceptional on the field of athletics and represented the college on many occasions”.
I loved animals and birds and so being a Vet sounded appropriate. I had a very short experience at a Test Centre, but the results ensured that my stay was hours rather than days. I contacted London Uni and was told that I needed at least 12 months experience to qualify for a place. I left home and spent12 months on a farm in Suffolk, was accepted for a course in Kent and completed a year’s general training, only to be called up with 9 others for my National Service. We had the chance to be deferred, but all felt it was better out of the way than interrupting a career later.
From this juncture on my life became an exciting merry-go-round of interesting mis-employment. I was offered aircrew as an air gunner so I signed on. Within a day I was redundant as they decided on jet bombers and a 3 man crew .. “no gunners”. The contract was scrapped and I was offered National Service or 3 years on an increased pay and any trade I would like. I opted for Air Traffic Control and later when asked to state my preference for posting, opted for ‘the Far East’ to see the world.
I went to RAF Shawbury, the ATC School for my training, “where I had gone for 72 hours by mistake as an air gunner and had decided that was the job for me”. Then my posting came, ‘Far East’? Yes, as far East as you can get in Southern England. I was to be attached to the USAF Strategic Air Command at Manston in Kent. RAF Manston was a Master Airfield for emergencies which included Civil aircraft so had to have a UK presence and a Flight Service.
For my last 3 months I was sent to RAF West Raynham in Norfolk where all the staff had been transferred following a mistake and the loss of 6 Hunter jets. Why they sent me I have no idea. However the bug had bitten and veterinary was out and aeroplanes were in. The Min of Aviation were not recruiting so I became Asst to the Sales Manager for Air Canada in their Pall Mall Offices. My days were spent touring around from the Foreign Office, to all the biggest hotels with the tickets for VIPs, and daily to our Head Office.
Finally an interview with the Min of A, and then the disappointment that I was accepted for a post at Croydon Airport. “I had found a flat in London with a collegue and Croydon was too far the wrong side of London. I turned it down but received a phone call saying I had come out top of the interviews and would I change my mind. I said I would have accepted Heathrow and straight away they agreed.
I arrived at the Heathrow Control Tower, where I worked local, approach, clearance and runway controller with the usual preliminary visit to the ATC school for training. After a couple of years I transferred to the LATCC, (London Air Traffic Control Centre), a dark radar filled blockhouse to one side of the airport which controlled all the air traffic in Southern England once it left the airports. Another couple of years and a post came up at RAF Wartling, an underground defence radar station near Bexhill, where a small civilian team could provide extended radar cover to London for the busy Continental routes. “It meant I lived at home again”!
All things come to an end and Wartling closed. I opted to go to the Min of A’s Evaluation unit at Bournemouth Airport and found myself as a pilot on the analogue simulator, used to train radar controllers. 15 of us flew a realistic hour’s traffic in SE England while they did their best to cope. As it was analogue it was one operator to fly realistically one aircraft. In between I was part of a team who assessed and calibrated radar installations for 2 weeks at a time all over the country and abroad. The training of approach controllers was done live from the Bournemouth control tower using a real aircraft, one of the Min’s twin engine Doves. Which flew round making approaches directed by trainees for an hour at a time. The pilots were elderly Min Operations Officers keeping up their licences and flying hours. Because Hurn was also BAC’s factory for the new 111 aircraft, a safety pilot was required on the aircraft. “I volunteered on most occasions”! The radar calibrations also took two of us away from the simulator as the diagrams and stats for each outing all had to be drawn up for the OIC’s report. We invented a protractor as a guide to height, distance and the curvature of the earth for our diagrams.
Ferranti were to build a replacement updated digital simulator and needed someone to write the program for it which they would then convert into the computer. The two of us were picked and the next year was spent writing every minute of an hour’s traffic out of Heathrow. It was to include the 2 US SSTs and Concorde, (The US cancelled both of theirs), I had to program a future Concorde’s supersonic flight profile, (even though it wasn’t built yet), and cooperated with BA’s SST rep. (My profile was later used by Concorde across the Atlantic). The program was completed and I was promoted. (How is another story). So also the program of Familiarisation flights to enable Pilots and Controllers to see first-hand each other’s view of the system, which led to my being on a BAC-111 air crash in Italy, and stranded without any identification in Tel Aviv, a war zone for over a week. “I discontinued the opportunities”?
Back to the LATCC only now it was at RAF West Drayton and I was a supervisor. This only lasted a year and then someone was needed to write a realistic program of current traffic in and out of Heathrow whilst a rep for the RAF Military, (transport, logistics, etc.), had to write one of their traffic for an hour for the Min of Defence. Air Defence were already writing their own program but the whole thing which was for them, was top secret. I applied and got the job as rep for the CAA. The eventual idea was that when Air Defence were not using the system, then ourselves, or the RAF military could use our individual program’s for Controller training purposes. I was given top security clearance and had an office that was huge and like fort knox. I signed for my office keys at the police desk and my desk and filing cabinet keys were kept in a combination wall safe whose code had to be altered every 3 months, (try remembering that after a week off?) The CAA and Military programs were eventually completed, tested and trialled. My military counterpart was awarded the MBE for services to the country. My only boss, a director at HQ wouldn’t let it be known that a relatively junior member of staff had solely and successfully represented the authority. So I didn’t even get a thank you!
With the job finished I returned to a supervisory role in the Control centre. There were problems at home and when a vacancy for a Briefing Officer at Gatwick came up. I applied, was selected, and took up a post where I could travel from home. Within a year my wife’s health deteriorated and I had to resign and find local work where I could be available. I joined ESCC as a social worker in the Emergency Response team which later included the occupational therapist’s duties. 9 years later a new Director disbanded the team and we were all offered menial jobs with the proviso accept or you will assume to have resigned “Thereby craftily avoiding redundancy payments”! “I resigned”!
One week later I lost my wife, and another week later, 4 children started summer holidays. Luckily the local Community Centre, 100yds away were looking for a Centre Organiser and I was given the job which had flexible hours, and served a purpose for 3 years until my eldest son was able to hold the fort if I found full time work.
This came when the London Borough of Southwark advertised for a Deputy Manager for their Holiday Home locally. I was lucky and was offered the post. For the next 4 years I covered every aspect of running a 40 bedded Care Home which included nightly entertainment, outings, ”France included”, and the operation and maintenance of 2 x 32 seater coaches. Soc Ser budget restrictions forced it to shut and as the Manager I closed it in Sept 1990. Southwark offered me a temp. Manager’s post in London which I accepted on condition it was made permanent before the December cut off date for severance payments. Nothing happened and the day before the end date, I accepted severance.
Three days later I was accepted as a Deputy Manager of a Care home in Bexhill for the Mental After Care Assoc. and I started on the 30th December. 2 years later MACA decided to combine their 2 homes and I was to become redundant again. However before this happened I was accepted by The Official Receiver for Allied Irish Bank to attempt to save a repossessed care home as it’s Manager. I changed its registration to cater for EMI, (elderly mentally ill), and a year later it was full. Another year and the Home was purchased, but the new owner refused to negotiate a contract and as I had already been asked to take over a new home in Eastbourne, I resigned and accepted the new position. It was unfortunate that within 6 months it became obvious that a manager was not required as the owners controlled everything.
The owner of a large Home in Hastings was looking for a Manager and for the next 5 years I ran St Peter’s, the oldest Care Home in Hastings. The owner became ill and retired and at the same time I was asked to open a new Home within a mile of home, so I accepted.
Copperbeach had to be started from scratch. I printed 1,100 documents and had 19 out of 20 residents in place by the 3 monthly Care Homes Inspector’s visit. “Which he said was unheard of”! My hard work, however hid a secret and a lesson which I learned too late. It suddenly became impossible to continue as the responsible person when the owners interfered and countermanded at every turn. They suggested I go if I didn’t like it and I did. Learning afterwards that it had been a set up just to have me get the place up and running.
Within days I had another Manager’s post in a large Home and the lady owner appreciating my position. However, within months I realised that the previous Manager, her daughter, although running her own mail order business was dictating what happened in the home. “Lesson learned”! I needed autonomy and it was refused, so I resigned.
Some friends ran a Home and his wife wished to retire so I took over as their Manager. For 2 years all was fine, until they sold. I settled the new owner in and then was asked by a previous Home if I could join them as their Manager had been found as unqualified. I arranged for my replacement and went back to St Peter’s where I spent the next 3 years until the owner’s brought in a H&S trainer, who once again started interfering with the routines which together with my objections, the owners ignored. “As the Manager you are ultimately responsible for everything”. I gave a month’s notice which was also ignored until my final day? “Then they were surprised”?
In the meantime the owner of the previous Home, which my wife was now managing, was ill following a hip operation. He had purchased a second Care Home and asked if I would manage it for about 6 months whilst he recovered. I agreed. But the 6 months turned into 3 years as the operation rendered him semi disabled. We had at the beginning of December 2010, agreed that he would take over at the end of the following April after my next birthday. However, without warning. On the evening of the 10th December he phoned and told me not to go in anymore, he had kept me waiting long enough?
I wasn’t unduly bothered because my next birthday was my 75th, but I was surprised as were the staff and residents at my sudden disappearance. It came to light, by accident, that he was in serious trouble with the IR and they were threatening foreclosure, so he had obviously offered my monthly pay to stop any further action. At the same time it was discovered that my name was still listed as Manager for a year after I had left, also no doubt, to avoid the cost of registering someone else. The place was sold and is now being converted into 9 flats.
And so, on December the 10th 2010 my working career officially ceased, although I seem to have been working twice as hard ever since.
It is an interesting fact that 7 of the Care Homes I ran, all closed within 12 months of my leaving. Only 2 reopened after a while under new owners.
Life has it’s up’s and down’s which included advanced colon cancer in 2019/20, but despite any of the blips I have thoroughly enjoyed myself and loved everything I have ever been involved with and done, which includes my marriage to Liz in 1992. My whole career and life has been interesting and fun, and still is.
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