He and his family had moved to the South to be near the Trinity House Headquarters and he had to travel every day to either his office or to other ports to attend to the ship repairs. But after about 7 years service in this situation he decided to move back home and resigned from this employment. He served for three of years as a Shipyard Manager at 2 repair yards in the Tyne when in 1977 he obtained a Managerial position at a large new ship repair yard in Bahrain and after settling in, his wife and younger son also joined him abroad and they settled down to a life very different to that at home.
This employment lasted about 2 years when he was persuaded to leave that employment and settle down in Doha in Qatar, also as Production Manager at a brand new shipyard he had stood by being built. All of the family once again settled down to a life in the sun for another 10 years. After 5 years he was promoted to General Manager of the yard until his contract had expired in 1990 and they once again returned home to South Shields. But the call of the Middle East once again entered Don’s blood and he entered into a partnership with another two interested parties and they commenced business as Consultants and Advisers to Ship owners, with their offices in Sharjah and Dubai in the United Arab Emirates.
Donald married Dorothy Barwick (born 15th September 1940) and they had two sons, Donald Jnr, born on 20th May 1959, and Darrin, born on 12th April 1965. Darrin settled in the Middle East with his parents and after leaving school, commenced working in the travel industry in Doha, and on their return to their home country, joined American Express Travel in London and soon gained promotion to an Executive position. He later married Sarah Ramsay who hailed form Bournemouth.
In the meantime, his elder son Donald jnr, settled in London when his parents were abroad. He eventually obtained employment as a trainee Restaurant Manager and served through all of the trades, which are attached to that business. He married Mairi Cullinane who belonged to Stroud in Gloucestershire and was a schoolteacher, on the 7th August 1982 and they settled down at Bath. After completion of his training, he went into partnership with a fellow trainee and opened a business in Bath as a Baker and Confectioner. The business prospered, but after a few years he withdrew from the partnership and returned to London where he obtained employment in the restaurant and hotel sphere
The Mother of the above large family had brought them all up in a wonderful manner, and in their younger years during the 2nd World War, managed on her own when their father was in the forces from 1941 until 1946. The whole family were a credit to her and her influence on them showed in their later life when each one inherited her qualities when bringing up their own families.
