A MAN believed to be one of the longest serving employees at a shipyard has died, aged 93.

Henry 'Harry' Charnley, first began working for BAE in 1939 at the age of 14, back when the yard was owned by Vickers

The father of three, who was born in Abercorn Street on Barrow Island, then spent the rest of his adult life working for the Barrow shipbuilding company VSEL, clocking up a total of 51 years.

Mr Charnely's daughter Debra Ridgway, 55, believes her father was one of the longest serving Barrow shipyard employees in history, after she found an old newspaper cutting written at the time of his retirement in 1990 which suggested no-one had come close to his record.

Mrs Ridgway said: "He was very well known in Barrow and lots of people know him from work and remember him from the yard.

"He was a very conscientious worker and very good at timekeeping.

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“I remember him talking about when he started working when he was younger and he said he was working 47 hours a week in short trousers."

Mr Charnley, who would have been 94 this month, was also believed to be one of the longest-serving tenants in Barrow's Headmeadow.

As one of 12 children, the keen gambler always had a big family, and leaves behind his son Alan, who followed his father's footsteps in becoming a welder, and two daughters Debra and Linda.

The grandfather to 12 also had 10 great-grandchildren and one great-great grandchild.

Mrs Ridgway added: "He enjoyed gardening, having a bit of a flutter on the horses, and dancing with his wife Olga at Walney Cricket Club until she sadly passed away in 2001."

Mr Charnley died on September 6.

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