| Administrative History | Recorded as part of the 'Lives in the Oil Industry' oral history project |
| Description | Tape 1 Side A MARGARET ROSEMARY WATT born 6 August 1949 Aberdeen. Background to names. Only child. Lives in childhood home. Was very small baby. Describes neighbourhood which was part of Cotton Estate. Reference to old Woodside mill. Recalls neighbours in childhood, semidetached houses. Visited neighbours only when invited, didn't drop in. Explains attitude of mother who was English. Maternal grandparents, named Walster, visited every summer, from Lewisham. Recalls taking sleeper train twice annually to visit them. Details re their names, interests, personalities. Grandfather a plumber/builder. Mentions his riddles. Recalls times with cousins in England, different accents. Paternal family lived in Kintore. Father joined Gordon Highlanders as signaller, went to First World War, joined British Army, away 30 years. Parents married late, met in Bletchley after train crash. Details. Describes present (and childhood) home, modernisations, garden. Father went to Aberdeen Wireless School. Details re father's years in Army including India, Northwest Frontier, and as radio operator on Everest expedition. Learned Morse code from him - origin of own skill in languages. Father skilled in French, German, worked at Bletchley Park, never spoke about it. Describes his personality, attitude to life. He liked children. Recalls his Lanchester car. Lot of friends were only child. Explains. Describes mother. Her life was her family. Recalls her attitude to Aberdeen, England. Compares Aberdeen in childhood and now. Went to Sunday School but not religious family. Got all needed as child but understood limits. Went to Aberdeen High School 1954-67. Always a reader, listened to radio, shortwave. Mentions father's later work with builder. Own attitude to school. Interested in swimming, horse riding. Good at mathematics.
Tape 1 Side B Recalls childhood interests. Family musical on father's side. Had music lessons. Still enjoys riding. Was obedient at school. Explains attitude to life, education. Recalls family holidays, travelling by Lanchester car during Aberdeen Trades Fortnight in July. Family did a lot together. Mentions dog. Recalls school friends. Had natural ability for science, liked solving problems, discovering something new. Explains lack of interest in English literature. Link between interests and computer work. Recalls pre-oil Aberdeen. Well-off people lived in west end. Never invited to homes of girls who lived there. Own family had been farmers from Buchan, Kintore. Mentions earliest family records. Development of lifelong friendship with Linda Slessor. Enjoyed holidays together, went on youth cruise to Spain, North Africa when aged 15. Own inclination to wander. Explains desire to travel, influence of father. Reference to Pathe news, cinema. Has holidayed with Linda for c40 years. 1967-71 did mathematics BSc Hons at Aberdeen University. Saw the light in mathematics. Explains. Kept up languages, later did business course with languages at Aberdeen College of Commerce. Details. Learned shorthand/typing. Able to get job as secretary. Recalls social life in Aberdeen, horse-riding round Hazlehead. Lived at home - traditional. Father died 1961. Learned to be independent from that point. Explains need for good education. Mother close to her own family. 1972-75 Research Assistant, Universities of the UK, London. Background to appointment. Details re work on student grant survey data, use of mechanical calculators. Enjoyed London, social life. Mentions accommodation. Reason for leaving Aberdeen. Details re school essay c1967 on North Sea oil. Recalls student interest in geology at Aberdeen University.
Tape 2 Side A Considered doing geography at university but studied philosophy, logic. Explains. London experience best time in life. Recalls friends including one studying gemology. Recalls IRA bomb fears. Mentions interest in theatre. Keeps in touch with friends. No awareness of oil when in London. Always regarded Aberdeen as home base. 1975 emigrated to Australia on Chandris Line ship Australis. Explains. Feelings at leaving Britain. Attitude to boundaries, change. Impression of Sydney, Australians. Compares opportunities with UK. 1975 Statistics Officer, University of Sydney. Became Australian citizen. Details. Travelled all over Australia. Details re friends. Explains attitude to friendships, ease in making friends. Mentions New Zealand friend Penelope Dunkley. Recalls work in Sydney, trees, sandstone, birds etc. Work colleagues in Sydney came from other places. Studied for Postgraduate Diploma in Computer Science. Details re American approach to computer work, compares with European approach. Learned programming. Explains qualities of good programmers. Compares dealing with people and computers, techniques involved. Explains importance of focussing on one task, seeing through to end, going with what natural to self. 1978-9 went to South Australia. Mentions earlier family emigration there. Explains intuitive side to personality, liking for Adelaide, family links. Had short contract, 1978, as Computer Systems Officer, Department of Lands. Appointed Computer Methods Officer, Electricity Trust 1978-9. Details re work as programmer. Compares South Australia with Sydney. Details re accommodation, flatmates. Got to know South Australia. Details. Wrote home every week, mother kept letters. Mother's situation, her attitude to letting go of children. Explains decision to return to Aberdeen 1979. Saw opportunities in oil industry. Attitude to making major decision.
Tape 2 Side B Returned to Aberdeen overland 1980. Details of trip, itinerary. In Iran at time Shah deposed. Details. Recalls feelings at time of return to Aberdeen. Changes in Aberdeen, Dyce Airport. No changes to home. New buildings in Aberdeen, Bridge of Don, more traffic. Buzz about the place. Harbour had changed. More money, restaurants, entertainment. Recalls numbers of ships, helicopters. Appointed Computer Analyst/Programmer, Information Systems Division, BP Exploration 1980-90. Recalls department when first joined. Everything operated remotely through punched card reader etc. Details re staff, functions of machines, links with other centres. Dealt with accounting system for Forties field. Details. Own role running programmes using job control language. Explains work routine, transfer of information. Recalls time when Dyce became headquarters for North Sea exploration. Changes to computer technology. Most colleagues were local. Computer department were in support role, grew in importance. Describes culture of BP then. Did not feel involvement in what company was about. Attitude to job, spending money. BP salary good. Details re increases. Programmers were quite close. Recalls hierarchical structure in company. Did not take part in company social life. Production Reporting work, 1982, related to Brae platform pipeline. Details re metering input, output of oil in pipeline etc. Mentions Marathon Oil. Explains different products coming out of refinery. Oil took 3 days to travel from field to refinery. Details re own role ensuring computer programme took account of all factors including value of oil going in, useful products coming out etc. Programme run on weekly basis. Programme had to balance oil in and products out. Mentions effects of temperature, pressure. Further technical details.
Tape 3 Side A BP Exploration 1980-90 (cont'd). Further clarification of own role running computer system making sure programme worked correctly. Materials in and out of pipeline never matched up completely because of maintenance, leakages, flaring etc. Had to programme for this. Mentions use of pigs in pipeline, sediment. Explains methods of calculation. New streams affected composition of output. Technical details. Reported to accountants, Government. People came and went in BP. Details. Recalls Social Club, sporting clubs. No contact with opposite numbers in other companies. 1985 worked on development, testing systems. Details. Explains effects on computer systems of new fields coming in. Effect of industry on Aberdeen, e.g. prices in shops, hard to get tradesmen for small jobs. Mentions own house renovations, rise in property prices, cost of repairs. Recalls family not involved in politics or church. Own position. Labour Government part of reason for going to Australia. Opinion of Maggie Thatcher, privatisation, lack of balance. Comments on oil situation. Economic impact of oil on Scotland. Importance of freedom to express opinions etc. Didn't belong to union. Feelings about unions in 1970s. 1988 work linked with plant maintenance systems on Forties. Details re routines ensuring valid data. Relevance of work to safety etc. Own attitude to job. Worked on-call one week in four. Details. Examples of errors in computer systems. Explains work schedule. Regular changes in processes, new equipment, training courses. Programmer staff numbers, computer users grew. Each field had own computer people. Explains. Feelings about BP as employers. Home situation: mother needed more help. Feelings about home. Details re holidays, their place in lifestyle. Likes to compartmentalise activities.
Tape 3 Side B BP Exploration 1980-90 (cont'd). Explains module system of checks in computer system. Own work was related to an accounting system. Later developments in computer systems. Recalls changing attitudes to safety. Heard news of Piper Alpha disaster when on holiday in Turkey. Details. Impact of disaster in Aberdeen. Reaction in BP. Explains level of impact on own work. Explains significance of time-writing system, monitoring of personnel. Always interested in job. Explains. Computer people the same wherever they work. 1990 offered redundancy. Reaction to this. Set up own company, Marengo Systems Ltd. Explains company name. Good teleworking opportunities at beginning. Background to starting company, details of early work. Contracted services out to network. Company didn't pay much but had potential. Benefits of work. Explains communications, early days of email. Learned programming in 'C'. Background to appointment as Maths Tutor at RGIT (now The Robert Gordon University) 1992-present. Did postgraduate diploma in advanced computer processing. Now teaching maths to engineers doing degrees in subsea/offshore engineering. Details. Also teaching quantitative methods, computer applications and information systems. Benefit of own experience in oil industry. Time working in oil industry good financially and in other respects. Explains. Benefits of being in Aberdeen. Mother needed more help. Details. Feelings about looking after her. She died at 90. Working at RGU more stressful than working in oil. Explains. Feelings about teaching, researching, lecturing. Mentions changes to computing, application of mathematical techniques. Attitude to work. Desire to travel. Feelings about being Aberdonian, Scottish. Future prospects for North Sea oil. Feelings about going into the unknown, having something to fall back on. |