My father, Allan Brockbank, who has died aged 94, worked as a boatbuilder at Windermere in the Lake District from the age of 15 until his retirement in 1998. He became one of the founding directors of Bowness Bay Boating Company, now Windermere Lake Cruises.
Allan was born in Windermere, then in the county of Westmorland, to James Brockbank, who delivered groceries on a horse and cart, and his wife, Annie (nee Judd). He went to St Mary’s boys’ school in the town, leaving at 14. His career was punctuated by national service, from 1947 to 1949, in Bielefeld and Göttingen, Germany, where he was put in charge of the joinery workshop. His demobilisation was delayed by the Russian blockade of Berlin, and during this extended stay he took a sign-writing course.
