RECENTLY I heard a politician scoff at people who wanted ‘jobs for life’.

In earlier decades many people expected stability in their working lives, and long-service was appreciated by employers. For example, Strong’s Brewery gave awards to those who completed 25 years with the company.

The owners of the Romsey Advertiser were amongst employers who took this attitude. In October 1941, the paper carried a report of one of their printers who had completed 50 years’ service with them. At that time the Romsey Advertiser was published by Holmes and Son of Andover.

The report reads as follows:

In October, 1891, Mr. John Westlake left school at the age of 13, and became an apprentice in the printing works of The Andover Advertiser. To mark the occasion of his jubilee with the Firm, presentations were made to him this week.

Mr. J. C. Holmes was proprietor of the business 50 years ago, and members of the staff in that early period included Mr. Frank Gamester (who served the Firm for 52 years, whose son was employed here for 38 years), Mr F Quinton (47), Mr F J. Hendy (20), Mr H. J. Humber (19), Mr. R. B. C. Kendall, Mr P. Cook (46) and Mr. W. K. Stanbrook. Five members still working here have more than 30 years each to their credit - an eloquent tribute to the happy spirit prevailing between employer and workers.

In those days the type for the newspaper was set by hand, and publications undertaken by the firm were the Andover Advertiser and Eastleigh Weekly News, and subsequently The Romsey Advertiser. When the copy was heavy on Thursday it meant working well into the night to get the papers ready for despatch by train.

When a change-over was made to mechanical composition in 1910, and a monotype machine was installed, Mr. Westlake had a short course of training at the works headquarters in Fetter Lane, London, since when he has been engaged continuously on the keyboard.

Thus Mr Westlake saw the introduction of monotype printing. I wonder what he would have made of digital typesetting, and electronic transmission of text. Even so, he lived through a revolution in techniques, for all that the late 20th century saw even more.

From 1896 Romsey news was included in the Andover Advertiser, but on July 1 1901, the Romsey Advertiser was launched and fortunately for the town has survived ever since. It continued to be printed at Andover for some years.