When the springs dried up at Malvern Water, John Birchley was let go and found another summer job as a catering assistant at Strensham service station on the M5 southbound in Worcestershire.
Birchley, who got the job after spotting an advert in the paper, said the service station could be chaotic with coachloads of people coming through.
“The first shift I did, there was a queue over the motorway bridge at that time. It never lessened, it was a queue half over the bridge,” he said.
“And drivers in those days had to sign in, because I think they got a free meal and I think we had 150 coaches that day.”
Birchley described how some customers at the time were not sure if their cars would get to their holiday destinations due to the heat.
The drought was “unprecedented” in those days, he added.
“It was hot and stuffy, you could go outside on breaks but there was just concrete to go outside to, so it was not the best conditions.
“It was a long shift, eight hours, but we got used to it I suppose.”