I was a hospital porter [special duties orderly - my formal title] in 1980.

Aged 21 - no formal training, just handed a uniform and told to follow a nurse, do what she says, and 'get on with it'...

Mostly pushing wheelchairs, and taking amputees to the toilet.

Taking blokes with both arms amputated to the bog was probably where the 'special duties' part of my job title applied....

Too many young blokes had lost limbs on motorbikes, and in the army in Ireland.

That job convinced me to get back into education and do a humanities focused degree.....