sorry to hear that kiss, up here in the NE the opposite happened, shops and banks were for the workers, well in wallsend they were. yes i did miss mortgage payments and as said our bank at the time were great. and as for how many blokes it took to do a job, would you either have a jack of all trades or a qualified person doing the job. the so called black trades down the yards needed the extra personnel, if burning through a deck or bulk head just how would the burner know whats on the other side, so he used a lookout to make sure ll was safe to continue, as fires in confined spaces tend to kill people.