bobber, n.¹ — Green’s Dictionary of Slang

bobber n.¹

[Shropshire dial. bobber, a term of friendly greeting, e.g. ‘Hellow bobber’]

a friend, a chum, a fellow worker.

1860		W. White Round Wrekin 34: Bobber being the equivalent of a chum [F&H].
1871		Daily News 19 May n.p.: As he sells these, the buyers or their bobbers carry them off [F&H].