At 96 He May Be Britain’s Oldest Worker–And He Has No Plans to Retire: ‘You can’t sit back…Keep going’
Britain’s oldest worker says he still has no plans to retire at the grand age of 96, after a career spanning eight decades.
Bill Parton is still clocking in five days a week at the sawmill business he founded himself 42 years ago, and he has no plans to quit working.
“You’ve got to keep your mind moving. The trick is to not stop. You can’t sit back, you’ve got to keep doing something.”
The great-grandad began working at age 14 as a plumber’s apprentice in 1942 during the World War II before going on to forge the successful family-run company.
Mr. Parton now mainly helps in the office but is no stranger to getting his hands dirty and fixing tools if required on the factory floor.
He still works 40 hours a week, having only dropped his sixth day 12 months ago. Even more admirable, he has never missed a week’s work in his life.
“I’ve never missed a week’s work in all my life. I did have a hip operation that laid me off for a couple of days though.”
Three of his grandchildren are now at the helm of Hales Sawmill in Shropshire, England, but that hasn’t stopped the sprightly senior from continuing to “keep his mind active” inside the firm he built from scratch in 1982.
“I used to be the gaffer—now I’m really the go-fer. You’ve got to let the kids have a go,” Parton quipped.
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“My son and the grandchildren are running it quite efficiently. It’s wonderful to see it pass through to the third generation.
He normally comes in around 9am and leaves at 5pm, and often walks around to see what the machines are doing.
“I don’t do as much these days but I’m always on hand if they need me.”
“I can tell if something’s wrong with a machine even from a squeak—I can hear it above all the noise.”
The sawmill began with just two employees but now has a staff of more than 60, spanning across two sites.
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His stellar work ethic has sustained him since leaving school as a teen—despite not being able to read or write—but admits, “you have to be lucky in a way.”
He also credits his late wife, Joan, and their 60-year marriage.
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“She was the real boss. She had the brains, and always knew what we were doing. She built us a great name.
“It’s easy to get a bad name, it’s hard to get a good one and keep it for all these years.”
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