| Description | Tape 1 Side A: DAVID COLEMAN CRAWFORD born 7 March 1930 Dixon, Illinois, home town of Ronald Reagan. Has younger brother. Family names. Paternal family: grandfather a tailor in Boston. Father an engineer for Illinois State Highway. Recalls playing poker with grandfather. He was Jewish, took his wife's family name. Maternal family: German origins. Grandfather made cigars. Mother college-educated. Details. Describes her. She was a teacher. Describes father, his approach to engineering. Grew up in middle class neighbourhood. During World War II mother worked in defence plant. Effect of bazooka powder on her hair. Mother a churchgoer. Baptised in Baptist Church. Recalls spending time in pool hall on Sundays earning pocket money. Details. Recalls discipline in childhood. Treated like army private by father. Details re inspections. Taught about keeping books when young by father. Mentions own later gifts to university, acknowledgement of father in naming building. Further details re father. Found school easy. Details re Norwich University, military aspect. Graduated during Korean War, went to graduate school. Later went into Army. Hell-raiser at school, attitude of high school principal. Explains. Describes punishments at home, school. Family was Republican. Explains his attitude to presidency. Own politics conservative. Comments on changes to US political map. Always wanted to be an engineer. Studied structural engineering at University of Illinois. Recalls teachers there, they were the best. Played sport. Details. Worked during summers on building construction etc. Reference to Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company. Graduated MSc 1954. Mentions marriage which took place in Cuba 1958. Details re wife, rendezvous for wedding, children. Recalls first jobs as engineer, military service. Benefit of Army training.
Tape 1 Side B: Joined Freeport Sulphur Co, New Orleans 1958, helped design first offshore sulphur mines. Pioneering work. Details re process used involving superheated water, compressed air etc. Platforms designed to cope with subsidence. Details re platforms used, their placement etc. Effect of advent of Fidel Castro on own potential career. Explains sulphur industry processes. Sulphur discovered by oil companies. Returned to foundation engineering work with ETCO Engineers 1962. Details. Learned to write engineering reports, legal aspects. Importance of this. Further details re marriage. Offshore oil business starting to go in Gulf of Mexico in early 1960s. Recalls Sea Gem collapse - it should never have been in North Sea. Recalls early platforms in Gulf. Explains interest in offshore work. Joined Offshore Company, Houston 1964 as engineer. Designed rigs. Later became Resident Engineer, North Sea for John Brown, Clydebank. Recalls early designs for jack-up rigs in Gulf, North Sea. Attitude in 1964 to North Sea. Gas found but no oil. Explains dilemma, possibility of rigs leaving North Sea for Singapore. Recalls day of discovery of first oil in British North Sea, urgent calls from Houston. Details re construction of rigs on Clydebank. Pioneered use of high tensile steel in platform legs. Details. Reference to North Star. Recalls ignorance re North Sea, weather, design parameters. Attitude in Houston to North Sea. Comments on stupidity of use of Sea Gem, its design. Not surprised at disaster. Details re North Star, Constellation, Orion rigs which were built by John Browns, Clydebank. In charge of construction. Recalls technical issues. Legs built separately in Gareloch. Explains 'prototype disease', financial concerns. Details re American workers.
Tape 2 Side A: Strength of steel used for rigs compared with shipbuilding steel. Explains technical issues, need for small diameter members because of weather. Pioneering work. Took regulatory bodies years to catch up on knowledge required. Explains. Explains insurance cover. Mentions location of centre of gravity of rigs. Recalls commissioning parties, tow-out. Procedures when lifting three-, four-legged rigs when they were on location. Constellation lost in North Sea - heartbroken. Details re accident, causes. Feelings about abandonment of rig. Feelings about Constellation as a rig, details about its leading-edge construction. Engineers' relationship with rig operators. Continued to work as licensee with John Brown on Gulf Tide rig, Offshore Mercury - first self-propelled jack-up rig. Details re power systems, steering, reason for design, speed, draught of Offshore Mercury. Left Offshore Company 1970. Reference to self-propelled jack-up rig built for Indian Government. Reason for going to Singapore. Tried earlier to buy shipyard in Singapore. Joined Far East Levingston Shipbuilding as Assistant General Manager 1970. Period on McDermotts' payroll. Joined Marathon Manufacturing Company, Houston 1971 working in Singapore. Managing Director of yard. Details of jobs done. Became Senior Vice President, later appointed in Houston to run marine all Marathon operations including Clydebank 1973. Details re dates of jobs. Mentions Clydebank sale 1979. Impact of oil price movements - overbuilding of offshore rigs. Didn't realise situation till 1981. Details. Impact on own career, financial situation. Recalls being in charge of four shipyards including Clydebank. Details re costs, profits etc. Peak of building period in late 1970s. Contracts cancelled in early 1980s. Background to lower profits in Clydebank, attitudes there. Reluctance of customers to go there.
Tape 2 Side B: Explains low backlog of work at Clydebank, fear re unions' attitude. Own attitude to Clydebank. Compares benefits, drawbacks of building in Clydebank, Singapore. Compares Marathon's relationship with unions with John Brown days. Explains 'final job' syndrome. Reference to documentation, own papers, correspondence. Rocky road when Marathon took over. Explains confusion re job costings set up by predecessor. Never lost money on own jobs. Recalls formation of British National Oil Company, their Clydebank orders. Recalls relationship with Ian Clark, BNOC orders for rigs which they sold. Heard Clark preach on radio, tried to figure him out. Taught by him never to give in. Gives example. Comments on Clark. Comments industrial situation in UK, e.g. 3-day week. Not under pressure to buy supplies from UK. Understanding re supplies brought from US, much of it proprietary. Explains. Reaction of Scottish people to oil industry. Recalls situation in Singapore. Spent little time in Aberdeen. Relationship with unions, regular encounters, eg work-to-rule. Compares situation with Gulf Coast. Recalls running-out of union there. Feelings about unions, militancy. No free lunch. Near end of programme when Thatcher government came in. Explains own role negotiating Marathon's withdrawal when UIE took over. Recalls being told in 1973 that Marathon should never have been in Clydebank. Explains hidden agenda to get out, Marathon chairman's dismissal because of purchase of Clydebank (Upper Clyde Shipbuilders - formerly John Brown). Explains name change. Mentions earlier Marathon plan re LNG (Liquid Natural Gas) industry. Recalls dismissal of chairman. Impact of involvement with Clydebank on Marathon stock. Explains relevance of Penn Central takeover of Marathon, need to get rid of Clydebank.
Tape 3 Side A: Disposal of Clydebank (cont'd). Had to make yard as viable as possible in meantime. Details re profits etc. Recalls first moves in sale to UIE, proposed financial arrangements. Always conscious of hidden agenda re eventual sale. Recalls arrangements with Scots on staff who went with the yard. Advantage to French of this. Comments on why French wanted to buy. Mentions imprisonment of head of UIE. Company sold as going concern. Recalls work backlog at time of sale - a Gorilla rig for Transocean. Details. Comments on demographics of Scottish workforce - 20 years older on average than other workforces. Couldn't change this. Recalls union difficulties, demarcation - a factor in selling company. Recalls union officials, respect between them and own managing director, Joe Craig, who had come up from shop floor. Recalls completing sale of Clydebank 1979. Timing coincident with Penn Central taking over Marathon. Sale just in time. Recalls own correct prediction re oversupply of drilling rigs. Enjoyed Scots, English. Scots honest to a fault. Situation in US. Compares size of contracts in early days and now. Deals used to be done on a handshake. Details re addition of cancellation provisions when aware of oversupply of rigs. Attitude of operators. After 1979 continued with successful operations. Details re job. Left in 1985. Involved with investments, Trustee, Norwich University. Wife and self race Porsches. Wife comments on driving. Golf affected by stroke in 1999. Mentions home in Rio Grande. Reference to boat. Has been major donor to Norwich University. Details. Current lifestyle. Honorary doctorate from university. Comments on current world situation, President George Bush, Iraq. Details re children.
Tape 3 Side B: Blank.
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