Chance find brought back fond forge memories
WHAT happens to commercial vehicles when they come to the end of their working life?
In the case of the particular truck pictured here, once part of the fleet of Dudley Drop Forging vehicles, its final resting place is in a field on the outskirts of Wall Heath. Presumably it had been acquired for storage but now lies unloved and uncared for.
Deliveries
In its previous life the vehicle would have delivered high quality forgings the length and breadth of mainland Britain, in particular to the automotive industry.
I came across it whilst out walking, and thought I would venture to Cochrane Road, Holly Hall and tie it in with a photograph of the works. I was aware that in more recent times the plant had been operated by Stokes Forgings although production had ceased several years ago.
Imagine my surprise to find that the factory had been demolished and the site being prepared for a housing development in excess of one hundred dwellings. For some reason parts of a wall had been left in isolation and I was told that it was to be clad and flowers planted round it. Rather like a memorial garden I thought!
The elevated (fairly modern) office block, erected in the 1970s, is still standing although a For Sale notice is in evidence.
Its more recent use has been as an offshoot of Dudley Council’s Housing Department.
I had worked for the company as an accountant for a brief period in the late 1960s and the Accounts and Personnel offices were housed in what in a former life had apparently been a public house. Although back then it was approached from Vine Street, the original entrance, when a drinking establishment, was from Charter Street.
I was amazed to find the premises were still standing and in relatively good condition and I deduced that it had recently been used as domestic accommodation. I had assumed that the name of the pub had been The Vine although this was never verified and a friend of mine, Tony Bradley, who worked at the company for 42 years, 15 as a fitter and the remainder in the Stamping Section, told me recently that he thought
that it was called the Cock and Trumpet, although reference to the internet has failed to confirm the existence of a pub.
On the first day in my new job as part of my induction I was taken on a tour of the offices and works, trying to take in both the locations and a plethora of names that I knew I would struggle to remember. Drawing Office, Sales Office, Die Shop were all negotiated and then the shock of entering The Forge for the first time.
Conditions
Suffering from asthma attacks the fumes within the atmosphere flew straight to my chest and although I wasn’t exactly overcome I certainly experienced difficulty in breathing freely, and this was to be the reaction every time I entered that area. I was soon to realise and appreciate how hard those men worked in very difficult conditions.
As my first morning drew to a close I walked with Colin Simmons, the Personnel Officer, to the canteen for lunch. There were three categories of diners – Directors. Staff and Works. I cannot speak for all but certainly the fare that we enjoyed in the Staff part was excellent with a three course, plated, subsidised meal. A more than lively discussion was witnessed on most days with the older serving managers not altogether receptive of some of the new ideas put forward by those who had joined the company in more recent times.
Sporting allegiances were disclosed and banter
of a more good natured variety then surfaced. Staff I recall from that time are David Adderley, Joe Cartwright, Trevor Howard, Arthur Pountney and Barry Shaw.
Staff were paid on a monthly basis and the works weekly, although for some strange reason the Die Shop staff were paid every four weeks.
This was all very well until there were 53 tax weeks in the year. This meant that for one week every four years the Die Shop workers needed to be paid for that one week separately. This resulted in a meeting with the Trades Union representative who then had to be convinced that there was no other option and they were not paying more tax and national insurance than they should be. We got there in the end!
Following an “incident” in The Forge it was deemed necessary to instantly dismiss one of the employees. At the end of the week the said employee turned up to collect his wages which were ready and waiting for him. However he was not pleased when his accrued Holiday Pay was not included (the system operated was that holiday pay was accrued up to the time of leaving but was not paid out until the works shut down at the end of July).
Banging
This caused a most frightening reaction as the person continually banged his head against the notice board and threatened to return the following day – and if his holiday pay wasn’t ready he would
inflict grievous bodily harm. The sleepless night was fortunately unnecessary as he did not return. Strangely when he did return prior to the shut down to collect his due monies, he was extremely well-mannered, and when asked by the fifteen years old Junior if he would mind waiting for a few minutes he raised no objection and departed the premises without so much as an ill word.
Football
1968 was the year that Manchester United reached the European Cup Final which was to be played at Wembley. I had long arranged to have tickets for the game but never thought to mention it when I was being interviewed for my job. My request for the day off, which I would take as holiday, was not met with the enthusiastic response that I had anticipated although permission was eventually granted.
As football enthusiasts will know Manchester United became the first English club to win the Cup and it was a most enjoyable and emotional experience which I was delighted to experience, and entered it on my “things that I have done” list. Although returning home in the early hours I still reported for work the next morning on time – although no mention of the event was made by my superiors. I thought it pertinent not to mention that on the way to Wembley
our coach made a detour to Epsom racecourse where The Derby just happened to be taking place that afternoon. Two important events in the sporting calendar attended in one day.
I only experienced one Christmas at the company and I was surprised to be summoned along with other members of staff who held managerial or senior positions to the office of the Managing Director, Gerald Lowe.
Attending individually we were wished a Merry Christmas by Mr Lowe’s secretary, Dorothy Hannaford, and given a gift of cigarettes, although I cannot recall the brand or the quantity. It was a gesture that was reminiscent of the time but in the present climate would not have been entertained. It was “one size fits all” with no question asked if we were smokers or non-smokers.
Maggots
During my time there I needed to have a short stay in hospital for a minor operation. This meant a telephone call to my superior to advise him of my absence, together with details of what tasks I had left unfinished or needed attention.
I returned to work after two weeks and on opening one of my desk drawers I was met by the sight of a colony of maggots crawling about! What I had forgotten on my last day at work prior to my entering hospital was that I had not eaten all of my
sandwich lunch and left part of it in the drawer – for which the family of maggots were extremely grateful. It was an aide memoir for future packed lunches!
Significant
Although my stay at the company was relatively short I have some fond memories both of the place and the people. A few years hence I founded my own printing and stationery business and DDF happily became one of my customers.
It was with sadness that I observed the site that once employed upwards of two hundred people and was a significant contributor to the manufacturing base of The Black Country had now disappeared, joining so many who have suffered the same fate.
In The Bugle published on September 23, Dan Shaw wrote about the contribution made by the chainmakers, Woodhouse Brothers, and as Dan stated it is no great stretch to state that the Black Country built modern Britain.
Many of the great engineering feats of the Victorian age were built with Black Country artistry and labour. The Crystal Palace of 1851 is a classic example. Its iron frame was made at Cochrane’s Woodside Ironworks and as Dudley Drop Forging was based in Cochrane Road I wonder if the two companies are in some way connected?