| Description | Tape 1 Side A ROBERT (BOB) MIDDLETON born Aberdeen 28.07.1932. Family background. Reference to own book Whatever Happened to Labour? Father a foreman in Electricity Company, mother a nurse. Both active in Labour Party. Details re paternal grandparents. Grandfather a foreman in railway, a Liberal. Recollection of his stories, diet of brose (poor man's porridge). TB rife among farm labourers in his day. Influence of grandfather, his attitude to upper classes. His step the length of a railway sleeper. Explains local liberal/labour situation. Influence of maternal grandfather who was blinded in World War I; his stories of post-war Germany. Danish ancestry of grandmother. Mentions father's work in Australia quarrying, working on Sydney Harbour Bridge etc. Description of parents' personalities, father's political attitudes. Recollection of collecting union dues for father. Not much political activity in family during war. Mother's political activities including Tenants' Association. Attitude of own children. Explanation of own political evolution, Aberdeen education system. Reason for going to Grammar School. Influence of a teacher, Mr Baxter. Impact of Suez crisis, Hungary. Details re educational progress, activities. Recollection of parents' attitude to discipline, sex education etc. Description of Aberdeen pre-oil, industry, attitudes, university, religious tolerance etc. Comparison with west coast of Scotland. Recollections of Jim Hunter, Assistant Director of Education. Employment: trained as telephone engineer with Post Office Telephones. Ended up as Department Manager. Reference to National Service in Royal Signals, political career as councillor. Background to joining PO Telephones. Details re work.
Tape 1 Side B Influence of father, friendship with him. Recollection of involvement with last hanging in Scotland as Junior Magistrate. Details. Reference to Judge John Wheatley. Details leading to the hanging, people involved, choice of hangman, payment arrangements. Impact of event on view of capital punishment. Feelings about the prisoner before and after the hanging. Details re prison arrangements at the time. Role of magistrate. Explanation of system of appointment as magistrates in Aberdeen at the time. First stood as Labour member of Council for Mastrick in 1961. Recollection of efforts at attracting industry to Aberdeen. Effect of opening of Grampian Television on women office workers' wages in city. State of fishing industry. Reaction of many people to coming to Aberdeen because of distance etc. Explains lack of support from Chamber of Commerce. Aberdeen mostly Labour-controlled in post-war period. Description of Labour approach. Details re transport, housing, education situations, pre-oil Aberdonians, their view of themselves, outside world. Relationship between town and gown. First awareness of oil industry - talk by retired Aberdonian ex-Shell geologist re remote chance of finding oil in North Sea. Later awareness of exploration, North Sea licensing, approaches from oil companies for land. Attitude of union movement - paid no attention until moves by North Sea Oil Action Committee. Mentions own parliamentary candidature for Bamphshire (1966), later chairmanship of education in council. Reasons for leaving council. Details re marriage, family, clash of work and council activities. First heavy involvement in oil at time of selection (1972) as parliamentary candidate for South Aberdeen.
Tape 2 Side A Details re marriage, date. Background re South Aberdeen parliamentary seat nomination (1971). Mentions Donald Dewar's situation. Awareness of oil. Took to 1972 Annual Conference of Labour Party resolution asking for formation of national hydrocarbons corporation. Background to this. Local but not national awareness of potential industry. Conference resolution eventually leading to BNOC. Background to appointment as Press Officer, North Sea Action Committee, group's aims to bring oil-related business to Scotland. Explanation of early attitude of Americans in North Sea. Recollection of term 'tartan coolie'. NSAC attempts to draw attention to safety situation, labour relations. Reaction of contracting companies. Details re accidents to divers, demands made of them, decompression chamber situation, working hours of other crews, accidents, deaths. Rush to find oil. Attitude of oil companies. Eventual success getting clause re working conditions into Employment Protection Act 1975. Attitude of contractors to situation. Aims, work, personnel, leadership of NSAC. Discrimination against local workers in oil industry in favour of Americans. Shipbuilding worker support for NSAC. Honorary Committee of NSAC, membership. Story of how early information re North Sea oil find was acquired. Attitude of unions. Own suggestion of forming a union. Mentions evolution of NSAC to Inter-Union Offshore Oil Committee (1974). Details re NSAC work, response of people, complaints re conditions offshore. Details re various nationalities in Aberdeen in mid-1970s, education arrangements for children. Americans not integrated at first. Changes to Aberdeen in 1970s, industry etc. Examples of James Milne, Sir Ian Wood. Attitude of oil companies. Reference Houston oil show.
Tape 2 Side B Reasons for oil industry coming to Aberdeen rather than Dundee. Situation in Peterhead. Reference to Conservative Government 1970-74. Details re taxation, power of oil companies in this area. Mentions situation in Norway, Middle East. Situation in Aberdeen, Houston when oil price low. Role of BNOC, OSO (Offshore Supply Office). Breakthrough when OSO went to Glasgow. Details re materials needed offshore. North Sea Action Committee's interest in getting OSO out of London. Effectiveness of OSO, BNOC. Aim of original Resolution 141 - total nationalisation. Power of oil companies, during discussions on PRT. Comments on possibility of control of media. Difficulties for unions getting started. Attitude of oil companies, patriarchal attitude of BP, Shell. In early days, NSAC unable to get answers locally; power bases in Houston. Divers, 'the matadors of the North Sea', met in George Hotel. Recalls their rituals, death rate, dramatic accidents involving globular helium. Reason for British naval divers never having teeth filled. Workers in North Sea came from all over Europe. Recalls NSAC meetings with Eric Varley, Tony Benn, Michael Foot, their attitudes. Difficulty seeing trade union leaders, recalls their attitudes. Compares NSAC's work with OILC's. Impact of Employment Protection Act. Reaction of other unions to OILC; difficulties between unions. Formation of IUOOC (1974), key influences, end of NSAC. Own involvement with oil post-1974, move to Grampian Region, involvement in Industrial Committee in 1970s, 1980s. Unsuccessful attempt to get a cracker plant built at Peterhead. Comments on Shetland barrelage tax, reason for same thing not happening on mainland.
Tape 3 Side A Explanation of situation re PRT (Petroleum Revenue Tax). Compares North Sea exploration success rate with other places. Recalls work of Professor Alexander Kemp, Aberdeen University, on economics of North Sea, NSAC work on taxation possibilities. Attitude of oil companies, Labour Government. Opinion re contrasting attitudes of BP re taxation, Forties field production. Feelings re possible use of money from oil for retooling British industry. Opinion of Tony Benn, a friend, his attitude. He could have done better with BNOC. Comments on Scottish Nationalist attitude of 'It's Scotland's oil'. Own view re possibility of oil doing good for Britain. Recalls Shetlanders saying 'It's Shetland's oil'. Likely current thinking of Scottish Nationalists. Attitude of Shetlanders. Opinion of John Swinney, Alec Salmond. Comments on Piper Alpha disaster. Impression of an oil rig. Details re North Sea's characteristics, its dangers, dangers of oil leakage from pipelines through fracture by fishermen's gear. Attitude of Americans when they first arrived. Description of Aberdeen since the oil came, its importance in Europe. Impact of oil industry on employment, standard of living, drugs, prostitution. Changed attitude of outsiders coming here. Influence, benefit of oil outwith Aberdeen in Scotland, eg west of Scotland; distribution of Government money. Recollection of difficulty getting into Department of Energy. Feelings re use of oil money in UK. Comparison with Holland. Need for there to have been more Government control in UK. Attitude of Margaret Thatcher to oil industry. Recollection of own role and others' on NSAC. More credit due to other members.
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