WHEN teenager Roger Baitup started a new job his father was worried he might not turn up – now Roger is retiring after almost 50 years with the same Exeter firm.
Roger started work with the late Ken Bartlett at Bartlett Refrigeration when its premises were in Holloway Street, on May 11, 1965. He still recalls his father driving him to work on the first morning – not as an act of kindness, but believing Roger would do a bunk and not go!
In 1966 Ken Bartlett had four employees, including Dorothy Green, who retired last year after 52 years with the company.
At 16 years old, Roger was employed as a general refrigeration apprentice and learnt his trade with Ken's younger brother Roy Bartlett, before progressing to be a full refrigeration engineer. Roger remembers those early days as being both tough learning the trade and never being allowed to 'stand around with your hands in your pockets', but also incredible fun, especially as the premises was next to a pub.
From engineering beginnings, Roger progressed through the ranks of a rapidly expanding company to become service manager of the Exeter branch, which by now had relocated to Marsh Barton and had branches and field service engineers throughout Avon, Somerset, Devon and Cornwall.
With Ken Bartlett and Colin Follett, Roger was instrumental in the winning of major national contracts such as Gateway, Little Chef and Roadchef, while continuing the development of the company's successful service department locally.
As Roger is Exeter born and bred there are not many people that he didn't know or hadn't heard of, including customers, staff, suppliers or delivery drivers.
For many years he played football for Heavitree, cricket for Countess Wear and golf at both Crediton and Exeter Golf & Country Club.
Steve Branch, service manager, said: "As a company we have been blessed to have Roger and are continually appreciative of the dedication he has shown over the last half a century. He has always been a company man who has devoted many hours above and beyond the call of duty – to which I am sure his wife, Yvonne will testify – whether it be working early or late and weekends to ensure all the works run smoothly, attending engineers calls or bogus alarm calls in the early hours, and he has lived and breathed Bartletts.
"Whether it be the MD of an multinational company or a lady with a domestic fridge fault, we would know that Roger would be himself with them and his usual friendly personality would shine through, and there certainly aren't many scenarios that Roger hasn't seen over the years."
He added: "He has seen many changes during his working life and has embraced most of them, although computers are his nemesis, but still manages to instil 'old school' values into modern day working life.
"He is more than just an employee though, Roger provides the heart and soul of the office and whilst we would like to wish him a long and relaxing retirement, we will all miss him and his sense of humour terribly – as Roger is certainly 'one of a kind' there will be a huge void which will be impossible to fill."
