St Peter’s Probus Club

ON TUESDAY, April 13, St Peter’s Probus held its monthly meeting at the Ivy Bush Royal Hotel, Carmarthen.

Eric reported that there were now 28 members, and that ties and lapel badges were on order for the new male members. The women members decided that a Probus scarf would be far better for them than badges and lapel pins and this was accepted.

Martin said the yearly membership fee of £25 was due from all members.

Eric reported there were still four to six members playing bowls regularly but that the bowling rink had suffered water damage to the office and foyer during the heavy rains.

Before retiring as welfare secretary, Arthur gave his last report on how those members who were not in the best of health were progressing. The chairman complimented Arthur for all his excellent work. Geoff was then formally welcomed to the post of welfare secretary.

Geoff said a guided tour visit to Newton House, Llandeilo, had been arranged for April 18. Guy said he was arranging a visit to Picton Castle for May. Eric said he was looking at the feasibility of a theatre trip to Cardiff, but a coach would cost about £600 and the theatre seats about £50 each. There was also the possibility of a visit to St Fagans in July, but again the travel cost would be high.

The guest speaker was Emrys Davies, an engineer who had worked at the Ford Bridgend Engine Plant from its inception.

Emrys said he had started work in the coal-mining industry and had worked for a time for Corgi Toys before moving to the Bridgend Ford engine site. He had joined in the early days of its development and remained there until its closure 40 years later. As was to be expected of an engineer, Emrys gave a comprehensive and enthralling blow-by-blow account of the factory’s highs and lows, backed up by facts, figures and photographs.

The site expanded as contracts for building different engines were won by the factory. As the Ford company acquired other companies including Jaguar, Land Rover and Volvo, the production of engines diversified, with the site being further divided into separate units, each producing an individual design of engine. About this time the British government concluded that the coal industry was unsustainable and pit closures would create inevitable redundancies, Thus the Ford factory was seen as a means to provide alternative employment.

By 1991 engine production had surpassed five million a year but the change to fuel injection and diesel engines meant that the cost of setting up or retooling production lines had become exorbitantly expensive. Incidentally, it was as late as 1998 before the plant started reaping the benefits of employing women on the production lines, being well after other similar sites.

In the new millennium the factory output declined as the older types of engines were phased out and the plant eventually closed completely in September 2020. Emrys retired as a senior manager and his knowledge and expertise has continued to be in demand. Emrys was given fulsome thanks, compliments and resounding applause on the quality and expertise shown in his talk.