A workforce brimming with pride
Those who worked at workshops in Stirling marked their passing with regret but also pride at having played a vital role in the smooth running of Britain’s armed services .
Staff there were engaged in the repair and maintenance of Army vehicles and light guns and work could include anything from mending a radio mast antenna to working on a tracked combat reconnaissance vehicles.
Ronnie Simpson, the Unite union convener at Babcock DSG Stirling, who started his apprenticeship there in 1982 along with pals Glenn Douglas, Davie Kerr and the late Kenny Morrison, said closure represented a sad day for the city.
“Looking back,”he said.,“I see a workplace that retained a workforce for more years than many could wish for in today’s `single hours, part-time’world.
“There were periods of uncertainty, but it was a workplace that offered salary and security to many and developed apprenticeships that turned boys to men.”
He spoke of the“unique camaraderie”among staff and said:“The variety of the workload was enormous and the workshop didn’t miss target. Work was completed on time in full and the guys took great pride in that.
“They provided service for the troops and latterly supported them abroad which brought it home to many that if our vehicles broke down or equipment failed then we let down the customer, the soldier on the ground. That would not be allowed to happen so it was 100 per cent effort at all times.”
Jimmy Mackin was the workshop’s longest-serving employee remaining there when he left on April 18 having clocked up 43 years and 241 days’service.
The 60-year-old told the Observer:“It was not only my place of work, it was a social centre. I made many friends and will always remember with fondness my time there.
“It was an engineering hub with people trained to the highest possible standards in their trade. Myself and lots of other people trained young apprentices who went on to great things.
“We have also had many characters during the years and one of them that springs to mind is Jackie Lewis.
“Jackie was a Jack-of-alltrades and each Wednesday he used to put a chair in the middle of the workshop and cut offer to cut hair for 50p.
“If you complained that it wasn’t quite what you wanted, he would say `wear a hat, son’ or `it will grow back in’.”
“On the social side we had the REME club which catered for young and old. We held family fetes at our workplace where our families and friends could come along and join in the fun and games and during one year included an appearance by`Thomas the Tank Engine’which was hand made by one of the tradespeople.”
One ex-employee who learned a trade at the Stirling workshops was Andy McCormack who is currently managing director of MTS Recovery and Repairs, based at Bandeath Industrial estate, Throsk.
He told the Observer:“I started work in the depot in 1987 as a 16-year-old apprentice. It was a fantastic place to serve your apprenticeship. Time was spent to recognise potential in individuals and develop their skills in the workplace to suit the vast variation of military equipment that was maintained and repaired there.
“Although I moved on to pastures new in the mid-90s, I made some lifelong friends while working there and to this day a bond exists with my former colleagues that is difficult to explain to anyone who hadn’t worked there.
“It’s disappointing that neither the MoD nor Stirling Council have chosen to mark the site’s closure with some sort of acknowledgment for the work that has been carried out there by the people of Stirling over many decades.”