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FISHGATE, Hull's fish market, has paid tribute to its longest serving employee - 81-year-old Ray Cutsforth who has spent 70 continuous years in the industry.
And even now he has declared he has no intention of retiring. Fellow workers at Fishgate gathered in front of the television cameras to honour the veteran who, incredibly, started work at the age of 11. He also joined the fishing industry when Hull was being blitzed by German bombs in 1941 and he recalled working through heavy air raids.
Ray and his son Neil run the family fish business R. Cutsforth & Son, which collects fish from the market and delivers to various customers.
Ray was taken on by his grandfather who, by Ray's own admission, was a bit of a slave driver. "We used to call him Wilberforce [after the Hull-born reformer who abolished slavery in Britain]," said Ray. When he once asked for a week's holiday his grandfather said he could take seven Sundays off.
Ray said he had loved working on the docks, so much so that he has only had 17 weeks' holiday in 70 years.
John Morrow of Atlantic Fresh, the main importer of Icelandic fish into Fishgate, described Ray as one of the few real characters left in the industry.
Brian Midgely of UK Seafood Processing said Ray was a good, trustworthy businessman. Ray said he planned to continue working as long as he was able and added with a smile that the job had made him a lot of money down the years.
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