They say there is one day in your life you never forget, this was mine

I would have been in my early twenties, and living in Manchester
It was my second job since i moved to Manchester, my first being, British. Insulated. Calendar. Cables. laying phone cables all over Manchester

Then i went to work at a small glass works, Armstrong glass, part of the main Pilkingtons group.
I had only been working there for a month, when the first, near miss happened

Our boss had gone for a few weeks holiday, and we had a replacement to take over from the other factory over at New mills area.

One day, around four oclock at night, a (loose load) came, its a load of sheets of glass, that have been badly loaded on a flat wagon, upright.
The boss should have refused it, and sent it back, but no, it had to be unloaded.

We stood along the side of the wagon, and the first sheet was handed down, and stored, for twenty minutes all was well, then one that had an airline crack was in the lads hand and it travelled along the crack, split in two and the top part came down and sliced the end of the lads thumb off.

The hospital was near so one of the office staff took him to hospital. over the next half hour another four lads had bad cuts, i said. no way to the boss, and refused to unload the sheets, the load was to badly damaged

Then the real disaster happened the next lad, was not so lucky, it took his hand off nearly, the boss went into a panic, the office door opened and the owner was stood, glaring at the boss, and he took him in the office, the lads hand was packed in ice, and he was rushed in a car, to the hospital, to see if it could be saved

We could hear the owner tearing strips of the boss, and he threw him out, and came to tell the wagon driver" to take the rubbish back" and expect to be notified on any claims from the injured lads
The lad with the nearly lost hand, did get use back, but couldn ,t work, doing heavy jobs again

I should have had the sence to give notice, and leave, but i stayed on a decision i nearly lived to regret.

My near death was a few weeks later, a pallet with assorted panes of glass was on the top of the slope, leading into the street, one of the office staff came into the warehouse, and ask me and another workmate to hold the glass as he pulled it forward to check the labels.
We had over twenty peices leaning down the slope, but the idiot from the office would not stop pushing them forward, the weight was to much, then the lad with me, panicked and let go, i had the full weight now

I thought, the idiot would push them back one at a time, but no, he pulled another forward, and i knew it was time to, let go and run for the street.
I pushed them up as far as i could, and ran as fast as i could to the outside, down the slope, i knew the sheets would be right behind me, so if i fell, or slowed down i was as good as dead

I got out of the door, and again ,t the wall, on the right, and waited for the, now shards of glass to come flying into the main road, we where on Cross lane, a busy road in Manchester.
Cars and buses where coming up and down, as luck had it no people at the time near the doors or on the other pavement, but traffic, as the glass came rushing out of the opening
With luck again, the glass run stopped a few feet off the pavement and no cars or buses where hit in the tyres , my heart was pounding with running for my life, and when i saw the shattered glass, i knew how close i came to being cut to peices

The office idiot blamed me and the other lad, the owner in the end said the office idiot was wrong to do what he did, the lad with me was sacked for leaving me with the full weight and running off, i didn, t want to stay any longer, so i gave a weeks notice and left, and never worked near glass ever again