96 ...and Bill is still on his 9 to 5
THE oldest worker in Britain is still clocking on at the ripe old age of 96, and only plans to stop when he dies.
Bill Parton started out as a plumber’s apprentice when he was 14 after leaving school unable to read or write.
And incredibly, 82 years later, he is still working five days a week at the family-run sawmill business he founded in 1982.
Sprightly Bill, who has never missed a week’s work in his life, now spends most of his time in the office.
But he is no stranger to getting his hands dirty and can often be found fixing tools on the factory floor.
Dad-of-four Bill works 40 hours a week at Hales Sawmills in Market Drayton, Shrops, having dropped his sixth day just 12 months ago.
And over the last nine decades, the great-grandfather has taken a mere two days off sick – and that was only because he had a hip replacement. Three of his grandchildren are now at the helm of the family business, and Bill says they will have to carry him out in a coffin.
“The trick is to not stop… keep working,” he says. “You’ve got to keep your mind moving. I’ve never been down the dole office. I wouldn’t know what to do if I went in.
“I used to be the gaffer, now I’m really the go-fer. You’ve got to let the kids have a go. It’s wonderful to see it pass through to the third generation.”
Bill and his wife Joan, who died in 2012, started the business with just two employees. It now has 60 workers over two sites, plus a retail store.
“She was the real boss,” Bill admits. “She had the brains and always knew what we were doing. She built us a great name. It’s hard to get a good one and keep it for all these years.”
Dismissing any talk of retirement, Bill says: “Until that bloke in the tall hat comes in to screw the lid shut, I’ll keep going.”