George's Notes
A once familiar figure to be seen at night-time whenever any draining, main-laying or paving was in progress on our streets and roads, was the night-watchman sitting in his little hut beside his brazier. His job was to ensure that the red lamps which marked any excavation or obstruction were kept alight during the hours of darkness. The men who usually undertook this kind of work were elderly-friendly characters and most of them had stories to tell. Indeed, in the very early years of radio, more than fifty years ago [1977], there was a BBC series written around a night- watchman.
George Mainwaring
