Singh, Jack oral history interview

At the time of the interview Jack Singh was 82 years old. He has since died. Singh grew up in the Maillardville neighbourhood of Coquitlam. Everyday after school he would walk past the Fraser Rails personnel office, and on June 14th 1945, at age 14, was . Singh worked the “green chain” at Fraser Mills. Singh began working as a longshoreman in 1958, and his first longshore job was at Fraser Mills. The interviewer, who also worked at the waterfront, recalled Singh as being the first East Indian that he knew of at the International Longshoremen’s & Warehousemen’s Union (ILWU) Local 502 in New Westminster. Throughout the interview Singh describes the “hard work” he did as a longshoreman, and his experiences travelling to work at other jobsites in Canada and the US. Singh worked as a longshoreman until 1995, and retired as an operator on the coal dock at Westshore Terminals. Overall, Singh speaks positively about his experience longshoring, as it gave him many opportunities to travel and fun experiences.