Reg bows out after 48-year service

8:48am Saturday 5th July 2008

Haringey's longest serving council worker has retired after 48 years in the business.

Reg Hart started work for Haringey in 1965, before the borough was even created, as an infectious disease officer earning just £380 a year.

Mr Hart, who then went on to serve as an enforcement officer, was presented with a certificate and farewell book to celebrate his career at a ceremony on Friday.

Council leader George Meehan said: "Reg has given sterling service to Haringey. I would like to take this opportunity to thank him for his many years of service and dedication to making Haringey a great place to live and work.

"In his later years with Haringey he has helped us tackle some very serious environmental issues including clearing eyesores and stopping illegal dumping.

"We will miss Reg, but I'm sure he'll be back in the borough telling us his tales and keeping an eye on his precious landscape to make sure the fly-tippers stay away."

Mr Hart talked about his work with infectious diseases in the Sixties.

He said: "I was kept busy dealing with the notifiable diseases. Measles was rife and so were whooping cough, scarlet fever, scabies and tuberculosis to name a few.

"Destitutes brought in by the police had their clothing ripped off and destroyed at the council cleansing station. Women were sent to facilities in Islington."

Mr Hart also worked on the Noel Park Estate, bringing in the provisions of the Clean Air Act 1956 by doing smoke observations on the roof of the civic centre.

In 1970 he was appointed a shops inspector, food and drugs officer and street trading officer. He did the first ever health and safety inspection in the borough.

Mr Hart remembered how women were pigeon-holed in Haringey's early years.

He said: "It was male dominated. The female staff worked predominantly as receptionists, short-hand typists, secretaries and telephone switchboard operators. Men did not do typing."

Speaking about what he most enjoyed he added: "I think it is enjoyment of the work, knowing the streets and characters on the streets. There is always something new - work is never dull. You gain experience which is logged in your head and is not capable of being put either into a manual filing system nor on a computer.

"I am easily content. I never saw the point of travelling across London because another council was prepared to offer me a higher grade. That would have lengthened travel time. I am all for working locally."

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