Work has lost none of its spark for Vic Sutton – Britain’s oldest employee. Inspirational great-grandfather Vic witnessed the Second World War and has seen 17 prime ministers walk through 10 Downing Street during 76 years of clocking on. The engineer started a lifetime of honest graft back in 1949, when Clement Attlee was leader, and is still going strong at 90, calibrating precision tools by hand.
And the indefatigable nonagenarian said nothing beats the thrill of a hard day’s work – promising to toil until he drops.
He said: “My family keeps asking when I’m going to stop, but I genuinely just love coming to work.
“I love my family to bits, but I have no intention of giving up just yet. As long as I remain fit enough – both in body and mind – I hope to still be working when I hit the big century.”
Experienced Vic is a calibration engineer at Teepee Electrical in Bloxwich, Walsall, West Mids., and even spent his birthday this week toiling on the shop floor.
He said: “It’s a fantastic company. We all get on really well and it’s like one big family – the fact we are doing such great work for the blue light sector is the icing on the cake.
“I’ve been here two decades, starting off doing the drawings for the wiring harnesses for some big-name customers. These days I’m responsible for the calibration of more than 428 hand tools used by my colleagues to crimp the wires.
“We’ve got our own testing room that’s like my own den and my problem-solving skills are definitely put into good use as the management team tends to bring me in to make things more efficient.”
Vic received an early birthday present last month when he welcomed his fourth great-grandchild with Elliot James joining Nevaeh, Harlow and Nixon. He also has four grandchildren, Ashleigh, Amy, Ellie and William.
The former mechanical engineering apprentice, who started work four years after the end of the Second World War and has spent time at English Electrical, as a radio engineer with the Royal Air Force, British Electronic Products and Thorn EMI.
He combined his love of manufacturing with an insatiable appetite for Northern Soul that saw him become one of the scene’s most loved DJs with more than 700 gigs under his belt.
It was only the weight of equipment that saw him pack up his decks a few months ago.
Vic, who witnessed the final days of the Battle of Britain from the family home in Walthamstow, East London, told engineers of the future to embrace education, saying: “Make sure you take every opportunity to learn, whether that is at school, college, university or on the shop floor.”
Teepee Electrical provides complex harnesses and wiring looms for the automotive, electrification and emergency services sector, working with customers supplying ambulances, fire engines and military vehicles.
Managing director Steve Clarke said: “Vic is a walking, talking inspiration, it’s as simple as that.
“Everyone loves him, and he really brings a feel-good factor to the factory, not to mention years of manufacturing and problem-solving experience that makes a real difference.
“His stories are amazing, from overcoming tuberculosis as a child and playing in two bands in Stoke-on-Trent to rubbing shoulders with Alvin Stardust and Billy Fury.”
