A Wonderful Career
I left British Gas on 31st March 1996, after 27 wonderful (well almost wonderful except for one boss who shall remain nameless) years.
I started with Northern Gas in June 1969 as a door-to-door salesman (a semi-detached employee) on a small (commission related) salary. The highlight of this job being selling 22 cookers in one day down Oak Street in Gateshead, taking old stoves as a deposit for brand new state of the art cookers. The following day I sold another 12 in the adjoining street. I remember my then boss saying that most of the customers I had signed-up would be rejected as high risk for the purposes of their Hire-Purchase Agreements. I was delighted that every customer had a clean credit record and all my sales were accepted. After 6 months as a door-to-door salesman I got a proper staff/salaried job in the Commercial Sales Department, Tyne Division, with Bernard Haugh as my Divisional Commercial Manager. Bernard like me these days is a BG HQ Retired Employees Association “Old Flame” member –Thanks Bernard, you really did kick start my “BG my career”.
Two years later I moved house and home (to St. Ives in Cambridgeshire) with 2 young sons (aged 4 and 2) to work for Mike Price (another active BG HQ REA “Old Flame” member) Deputy General Conversion Manager, at Eastern Gas in Letchworth, Hertfordshire as his Technical Administrative Assistant. This was my first introduction to management. John Maylam (Rtd: Group Captain DFC – “One of the Few”) led the Conversion team, and he was one of nature’s gentlemen. I later worked for another former flyer Jim Holdsworth, who replaced Mike when Mike was promoted to Conversion General Manager. I had two exciting and challenging years, which included the aborting of a “Sector of Stevenage at 1pm on “Conversion Day”, the only time such an event occurred during the whole of the conversion process in Eastern Gas. Another event was having to arrange to convert the Home Secretary’s (Robert Carr) home on Boxing Day, which went smoothly, thanks to a very professional Conversion Field Team. There were other hilarious and serious episodes but never a dull moment - Thanks Mike it was a pleasure working for you.
I then took up a promotional appointment in the then “Technical Liaison Department” (later renamed Environmental Planning Department) of the Production and Supply (P&S) Division of BG HQ on the 6th floor of Marble Arch, working in close proximity and coming into contact with industry giants such as Sir Dennis Rooke, Geoff Roberts, Spencer Moppet and later Bob Evans, Jim McHugh and Cedric Brown. My boss for most of this period was Frank Dean, Chief of Environmental Planning - another of nature’s gentleman, with Bob Hackett as Assistant Director of Engineering Planning, being Frank’s boss. Bob is also an active BG HQ REA “Old Flame” member.
I had 14 mainly happy years in P&S, being very much involved in the development of the “Frigg Project” and the extension of the National Transmission System into Scotland. I remain very proud of the fact that I was member of the P&S Team that made the planning presentations to the local authorities in Aberdeenshire, Perthshire, West Lothian, East Lothian, Dumfriesshire and Northumberland, which subsequently granted BG planning consents for the St. Fergus Terminal and the Aberdeen, Kirriemuir, Crieff, Bathgate, Moffatt and Wooler Compressor Stations.
Not all were built, but their planning consents gave BG planning flexibility for a generation.
The highlight of this period was personally being introduced to HM The Queen and Duke of Edinburgh at the official opening of the St. Fergus Gas Terminal on May 9th 1978.
Sir Dennis Rooke, presenting me to HM. The Queen.
I also worked on the Barrow Gas terminal and met Sir Dennis Thatcher at the opening of the Blackpool Heli-Terminal, which service / supplied the Morecambe Bay Gas Field. Cecil Parkinson, Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, was scheduled to open the Heli-Terminal and the brass plaque which he was to unveil was in place behind velvet curtains within the terminal building. However, this was the morning, 14th October 1983 when his relationship with Sarah Keys was exposed in the daily papers while he was attending the Conservative party conference in Blackpool. Just 30 minutes before the opening was scheduled we were told that Sir Dennis would be doing the opening, so very quickly the plaque was removed and only the Oak base remained behind the velvet curtains. Sir Dennis unveiled the Oak Base, made some appropriate and humorous comments as part of his opening speech.
I was later a member of the Resources and External Affairs (REA) Division Team that purchased the Isle of Grain site from BP in the mid 80’s and obtained planning consent for an LNG Importation Terminal and Coal Gasification Plant, planning consents which only since 2000 have started coming to fruition with National Grid.
Then in 1988 I took a secondment (thanks to Mike Arnold who was Assistant Company Secretary at the time) from the Environmental Planning Department in the Production & Supply of British Gas (BG) to join the Estates Department, which was part of the then Secretariat of BG working for John Lowman, Head Surveyor. My initial role was that of Site Manager of the former East Greenwich Gas works site, (some 300+ acres) which was partly derelict, partly operational (some still part of BG South East) and partly occupied with a variety of Industrial Tenants. Most were legal occupants but some were illegal occupants. My role was to ensure that all site occupants became legal tenants so as to ensure:-
· Rental Income was maximised
· Tenancies could be terminated in accordance with the law when BG wished to commence redevelopment of the site.
The site had been transferred into the ownership of Assethall Ltd; a BG Holding Company in anticipation of its future redevelopment potential and, partly (I believe) to make it a little more difficult for the Government (who had created the London Docklands Development Corporation (LDDC) to Compulsory Purchase the site, as the LDDC were ambitious for land at that time.
Within 18 months all tenancies had been regulated and the site was generating £2+Million a year rental Income for the company. At the time this was the largest single source of Property Income within BG.
The rental income from the tenancies was used to finance the emerging development ambitions which BG had for the future of the site.
BG subsequently created a new company Port Greenwich Limited (PGL) which became the development company which would drive forward the regeneration/redevelopment of the site.
The BG principals involved with Port Greenwich Limited were Gil Hogg, Company Secretary, John Lowman, Chief Estates Officer and me (now a permanent member of the Estates Department) as Project Development Manager.
There were then a number of structural and management changes to “Property Management” during the period 1992-1996, however what can never be denied is that the former East Greenwich Gas Works site became the largest single regeneration / redevelopment project in the UK during the 90’s and the new millennium.
What now exists on the Greenwich Peninsula is solely due to the foresight, perseverance and tenacity of BG (in its various forms and personnel) to bring about the regeneration of this former gas works site, which is now a National and International Landmark site.
When BG decided to sell the Greenwich Peninsula Site to English Partnerships, I then decided to take a voluntary redundancy package which was on offer and ended in March 1996, a wonderful career with a “Great Company” which had successfully transformed itself from a successful Nationalised Industry, to a “blue chip” Private Utility Company.
Michael Lynch – December 2015 Page 3