Chapter 2, 'Leaving School and Starting Work', from Fred Kingdom's memoir 'Looking Back Over Time' covering hit life after school and starting work. Fred Kingdom left school at age 14 in 1938 and began working as an errand boy for Lewis the Star Clothiers in Neath, earning two shillings and sixpence a week. By 16, he joined the Great Western Railway as an engine cleaner, a respected job involving physically demanding and often dangerous tasks like cleaning steam engines and fireboxes. The railway environment was close-knit, filled with camaraderie and pranks. Fred later served as a call boy, waking drivers for shifts, sometimes under eerie and humorous conditions. Although he aspired to become a fireman, he failed the medical exam and instead trained to become a railway clerk. With coaching from a local teacher and a correspondence course, he entered the clerical grades and eventually passed an exam in 1957 in Station Accounts. His early work experiences were tough but memorable, marked by hard work, mischief, and the strong community spirit of railwaymen.