The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 3 plus 6 letter word GAS FITTER
G
A
S
F
I
T
T
E
R
More clues leading to the result GAS FITTER
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "British workman" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case british workman = gas fitter.The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.