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Page 2
Automatic filling of milk bottles on a continuous conveyor driven by Radicon Worm Reducers. Photo § by courtesy of "Mechanical Handling" Wherever smooth, continuous working is necessary, however arduous the duty, Radicon Worm Reducers are the essential link between the motors and the process plant.
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The issue of '"Contact'' has again been delayed by the presence of other and more urgent duties. In the meantime so much of historical moment has taken place that the whole aspect of industry has changed.
Both ""*V.E."- and '"'V.J.". days have been duly celebrated, a complete change of
Government has taken place and industry
is pursuing a chequered path towards normal, peacetime production.
Although we are fortunate in not being involved in the radical changeover of products which some companies have to face, we have nevertheless, a very con- siderable amount of re-arranging of plant and layout before we can say that we are in proper balance for peace-time conditions. We have also a very considerable amount of repair and maintenance work which conditions have precluded us from tackling in the last six years.
There is, however, one particularly welcome sign of the times in the gradual return of our colleagues who have been serving in the Forces. Our organisation has extended substantially in their absence and '"Contact'' should be of substantial help in familiarising them with the present day ramifications of our industry.
This issue includes a gratifying number of articles by new contributors and, as paper restrictions ease and we are able to expand the size of the journal, we look forward to continued support of this nature.
The development of our organisation has now been furthered by the opening of additional area offices and for the convenience of those (whose business takes them over the country, the addresses are :-
No. 3
Vol 7
MaANcHEsTER:-71 and 72, Atlantic Chambers, 7, Brazennose Street, Man- chester 2.
BristoL :-70, Queen Square, Bristol 1.
NEWCASTLE :-109, Pilgrim Street, New castle-on-Tyne 1.
We deeply regret having to record the death of Mr. John Alexander Brown our well known and respected Scotland area manager. He first joined the company in 1924 and his cheerfulness and generous co-operation made him a valued colleague who will be sorely missed. Mr. Brown was well known as an engineer of standing and repute and in 1934, was President of the Association of Mining, Electrical and Mechanical Engineer:. He was one of the first members of the West of Scotland branch and served on the British Council and the Training and Education Committee.
Page 87
Feb. 1946
e
Page 4
This message was given over the internal broadcast at Park Works on 26th October, 1945 and it is reproduced below for the information of personnel at other works within the organisation. Editor.
Now that we are facing the difficulties of the transition from war to peace, I feel the time has come for me to talk to you about the Company's position in post-war trade. Throughout the war years we have played a highly important part in supplying vital gears and gear units to all the Services, and the demand for our products is greater now than it was in pre-war days, as the Gearing Industry, in which we are still the largest manufacturers, plays an important part in the necessary reconversion and re-adjustment 9I‘f our major industries to a peacetime footing. They are also essential to our Export rade. Orders of the highest priority in these two spheres continue to be placed with us, but owing to the serious shortage of labour which has so adversely affected our productive Sapacity, we have been forced into the unfortunate position of giving long term delivery ates. For those of you who are comparatively new to the organisation it may be as well for you to know a little about the peacetime uses of our products. At the present time we are being pressed by the responsible Ministries for gearing of all types, for colliery equipment ; textile, boot and shoe and food producing machinery ; the new jet propulsion turbine ; civil aircraft; shipping and many other industrial purposes, whilst on the Export side, we have large orders from oil wells, rubber plants, petroleum refineries, etc. We have a very full order book and you will appreciate from what I have already said that there is every indication that our products will be in demand for many years to come. This means that there is a very high degree of security assured to our employees. At the present time, we require about 250 additional men in this Works alone to replace those withdrawn by the Services and the Building and Textile trades. It is only natural that some people have decided to return to their pre-war occupations, but there must be many who are still undecided. To those I would say that their future can rest with the David Brown Organisation as, although many occupations will be covered by the Relaxation Agreements, other opportunities are continually arising. I have always endeavoured to be progressive in such vital matters as shop conditions, canteen, medical, personnel and welfare services and this policy will be continued. Our wages policy will continue to be on the basis of offering the highest earnings in the district for steady, consistent effort, and schemes of training, grading and internal promotion are being steadily developed. The older employees will probably recall that the Company was among the first in Yorkshire to introduce Works Committees many years before the war. To continue this policy, and in order that all sections of employees will be acquainted with the Company's activities, I have decided to re-establish the Joint Works Council which will co-ordinate the efforts of our numerous Committees, and the first meeting of the new Council will take place early next month. The Council will consist of representatives of the Works Committee, the Staff Committee, the Foreman and Chargehand's Association and the Management, and I hope it will do many years of useful work in connection with matters of mutual interest. I, personally, shall make a point of being in the Chair as often as possible. By our united efforts during the war years, we played no small part in the Allied igccesses and I thank you all for your loyalty during that most difficult period in our istory. I am confident that the future success of the Company lies in the full understanding of each other's problems, and in developing this spirit of co-operation we can look ahead with every degree of confidence to security and success.
e. /
Page 88
Page 5
a // EE rel
\ N
1, thing OC {. TIGLITRODE
Reprinted from the Iron Age
Following an annual practice of fifty years standing, I went to the circus one night last week. It was a good show al- though the manpower shortage, in evidence here as elsewhere, was reflected in an unusually large proportion of women performers.
One goes to such entertainments to forget present day troubles and business. But the circus this time did not do that for me. It emphasized them. That was not the fault of the entertainment but most likely a current personal mental quirk.
The circus, on this occasion, seemed to symbolise a number of things that we are experiencing in industry. One was the black market and labour racketeering ; another was the contrast between an in- centive system and the lack of it in getting work done ; still another was a reminder of management's present difficulty in walking the tight rope. I will take these up in order.
The house was about sold out when we got there and the only obtainable seats were in the rear of the top gallery which is as close to heaven as anyone can get in Madison Square Garden. A very polite usher examined our tickets. **You can't see much from up there," he said, "but for a buck apiece I can slip you into some good seats on the lower mezzanine." I saw this enterprising young man repeat this performance at least a dozen times that evening. Any time that he wants a recom- mendation for employment by Petrillo or Lewis, I will write him one.
It was a joy to watch the trained seals. They went through their act of juggling,
balancing things on their noses and playing tunes on musical horns with evident gusto and enjoyment. After each act they would applaud themselves by clapping their flippers. And after each act, each would be given a fish by their trainer. The incentive system at work.
The animal act with the trained cats was a diametric opposite. Here was an ex- ample of unwilling workers being driven to their tasks under lash and prod and obviously hating their boss. They got no meat in reward but they clearly would have liked to make a meal of him.
The Wallendas, on the high wire, gave their usual hair raising performance. Two cyclists crossed the wire with a bar extend- ing from one's shoulder to the other's ; another performer, standing on a chair, balanced on that bar both himself and a woman who was doing a handstand on his shoulders. No net beneath them and a 60 foot drop to the ground. Enough to send cold chills down your back.
But the audience respected the difh- culty of the act. There was absolute quiet while it was going on, and no rocks were thrown at them. Quite a contrast I thought, to what the management en- counters today in walking its tight rope.
After all, however, the Wallendas have to contend with but one law, the Jaw of gravity. And management has to contend with hundreds of laws and thousands of regulations. And there is no net to catch it if its foot slips, and plenty of rocks and brickbats fly to make things more difficult.
Funny, isn't it, what one can think of at a circus ?
Page 89
Page 6
The 'Queen Elizabeth" leaves
with American
troops (and our authors) aboard.
émvkes anoF. NORTH
A.
Page 90
A VISIT TO
AMERICA ano CANADA
A visit to America would be interesting at any time but during a world war there is much added interest and along with it certain difficulties and inconveniences, but these are not such as to loom very large to anyone who has just spent 5 years in Great Britain with its closer proximity to the European war front; on the other hand there are many compensations.
The following details of the tour under- taken by the writers of this article com- mencing on December 27th, 1944 and terminating on March 31st, 1945, are by no means an exhaustive description, but merely a few passing observations illust- rating what one does and sees on such a tour.
To leave the country during war it is necessary to obtain an "Exit permit" for which the support of a government depart- ment must be obtained.. Application was made early in November and we received notification on December 24th, 1944,
Page 7
i
A Visit to America and Canada
requesting us to present ourselves at Princes Pier, Greenock, at 10 a.m. on December 28th.
We were not told by what vessel we should sail (which might be anything from a cargo boat to a large liner) and very little information was given us beyond a set of labels bearing the number L.23 and a warning that we were not allowed to take out of the country more than £10 each in cash ; we were required to have a certifi- cate from the Bank to show that we should have some means of supporting ourselves on arrival in America.
On reaching Greenock the usual em-
barkation formalities had to be gone
through and we were required to sign an undertaking that during the voyage we would submit to military discipline.
Going on board a small tender we were taken some distance down the Clyde estuary to a point where a number of vessels of various sizes were lying at anchor. They were all painted a light grey colour without any camouflage and eventually we made our way to one which appeared rather larger than any of the others.
We had something of a thrill when getting to close quarters we saw the name of the ship in large raised letters round the stern - *"*Queen - Liverpool, and we felt that we were in luck's way in travelling in the world's largest and fastest liner ; her great height from our small tender was impressive. Her corridors seemed endless and there are twelve decks of which nine are above the water line. On board, much of her normal luxury had been discarded and she had become a utility model. Our room, which was normally a double bedroom, had outer doors and wardrobe doors removed and steel-framed bunks for 18 persons in tiers of three had been fitted. As civilians, and very much in the minority, we were regarded rather as curiosities and were given extra space, only three of the bunks in our room were occupied (on the return voyage, luckily on the same ship, there were only about 20 civilians amongst 12,000 troops).
We were soon given some preliminary instructions as to how we should conduct ourselves and were provided with emer- gency lights in the form of a well made
battery which could be carried in the pocket and a lamp with spring clip which could be fixed on the lapel or other convenient point. Other instructions were regularly given through the loud speaker system and the following gives some idea of the daily routine announcements :-
6-55 a.m. "All table waiters and chow line M.P.s report at the Mess Hall." ('"'Chow line M.P.Ss" means **Military Police in charge of mess queues,")
7-10 a.m., "All Red Watch Gunners and 8 o'clock relief guards report at the Mess Hall,. All troops with No. 1 Mess Cards line up (or fall in) for chow."
7-45 a.m. "All port holes on Main Deck (or sometimes A deck) may be opened during the day. (On some days "starboard side only" or '*''port side only.")
7-55 a.m. "All troops with No. 2 Mess Cards fall in for chow."
8-40 a.m. '*'Troops with No. 3 Mess Cards form your line-No. 3 only."
8-50 a.m. M.P.s on Starboard side of Promenade deck, clear deck, re- move all gear and raise bottom bunks. (This was because a number of troops were sleeping on the Promenade Deck.)
Other announcements would continue at intervals. At 11 a.m. all troops and civil- ians were required to attend "Emergency Muster" which occupied Promenade Deck, Boat Decks and Sports Deck. During this muster, which took about an hour, a broadcast announcement would be heard. "'This is a British ship under a British Captain but as American troops are on board you are under the command of a senior American Officer. Life jackets must be carried on all occasions-you are not allowed to leave without- during Emergency Muster they must be worn in position. You must not smoke in the lounge or on open decks and you are not allowed to be on open decks after black-out. You are no longer in a safe area, the ship is liable to attack at any moment but if she is attacked she may
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Page 8
not be hit-if she is hit she may not sink as she has many bulkheads. If her machinery is disabled her speed will carry her forward for many miles and you must not throw any rafts overboard until she stops or they will be lost."
During the muster, inspection was made by a small group of officers to see that life- jackets were properly secured and that our military bearing was as good as our capabil- ities in that direction would allow.
Although on leaving the Clyde there was a keen frost, we found after a few days at sea, probably due to our taking a southern route and passing through the Gulf stream, the air was so warm that we could walk on deck without hats or coats, but in New
THE LUCINICUT-OFF
across? the Great Sait Lake, 'Utah. - Carried over 12 miles of trestle and 16 [miles of solid earth fill the original cost was over $8,000,000.
Page 92
WASHINGTON, D.C. Part of the main waiting - room - of Union Station.
York the temperature was back again to zero. The voyage is lengthened not only by departure from normal routes but by the continual zig-zag, the course being changed every 5 to 8 minutes the whole of the daytime at least-what happened at night we could not say since no one was allowed on open decks after blackout.
In spite of the lengthened course and some rough weather, our speed was such that we were in New York harbour in 5} days from departure, having seen not a single ship, aeroplane or even a seagull the whole of the voyage. To see the tall buildings of New York on entering the harbour for the first time is a sight never to be forgotten and a night
Page 9
A Visit to America and Canada
time view is just as impressive with its thousands of lighted windows dotted about in haphazard fashion at any height up to 1,250 feet.
The orderly arrangement of New York's streets and avenues makes it very easy to find one's way, as, apart from a small section at the southern end of the city, they are all in straight lines at right angles to each other and numbered in consecutive order. There is one notable exception- Broadway-which meanders across the city in a diagonal direction from South East to North West.
Of the tour through America one can only touch very briefly as there are many things to see in passing through 29 different states of America and 2 provinces of Canada, covering places as widely separated as New York, Ottawa, San Francisco, New Orleans and Houston. Washington is very different in character from New York having wide tree-lined streets, no sky- scrapers but magnificent public buildings and, like many other large cities, a very modern railway station.
Railways alone could be the subject of a very interesting article, but speaking generally, the most notable difference from English systems lies in the provision for long journeys, the luxuriously appointed main stations and the enormous oil engined locomotives, some of which are in 3 or 4 sections which make almost a train in them- selves.
A journey from New York to San Francisco, a distance of about 3,200 miles, leaves many impressions on ones mind, requiring in all 4 nights and 34% days, with a little break in Chicago which has little in common with either New York or Washington. Although some of its build- ings go upwards to a moderate degree, its extent in area is more notable than its height, covering as it does a space about 20 miles wide and over 30 miles long, in fact
two of its main streets run almost in straight
lines for a length of about 43 miles.
Leaving Chicago, the route passes over the Mississipi river and after leaving Omaha starts a gradual rise through vast tracts of desert country (at least that is what it seems like in winter) in the states of Nebraska, Wyoming, Utah and Nevada ; it reaches a height of over 8,000 feet, but
as the rise takes place in a distance of probably 1,000 miles, the gradient is not very noticeable and on this route the mountain scenery is not very attractive except in the Sierra Nevada nearing the west coast where it passes through a pan- orama of snow and "Christmas Trees."
The railway passes over the Great Salt lake at a point where it is 30 miles wide, the double track being carried on a wooden bridge which is quite an engineering feat
There are no large cities on the way but a few notable places such as Cheyenne, capital of Wyoming, Reno (Nevada) re- nowned for its gaming rooms and divorce courts but there is a treat in store on arriving in San Francisco where even in winter the trees and fields are green and in late February all kinds of flowers could be seen as well as extensive areas of fruit trees in blossom. f
San Francisco is built on a series of hills on the edge of a charming bay and has two remarkable bridges, the Bay Bridge to Oakland over 8 miles long with two decks, the upper deck taking 6 lines of cars and the lower taking tramcars and commercial vehicles; the Golden Gate suspension bridge which also carries six lines of traffic is an object of beauty as well as utility. - San Francisco's main street has 4 lines of tramways and some of its streets are so steep that only cable tramways can operate and the causeways can only be negotiated by long concrete stairways. It is however, very pleasant and clean, the summer temperature is never oppres- sive nor does the winter become very cold, snow being almost unknown.
We experienced considerable change of climate during our stay, the temperature falling as low as 44 degrees below freezing point at Springfield Vermont and rising to about 87°F. at New Orleans, Atlanta and Washington in the middle of March.
The state of Texas covers a vast area much of which has sub-tropical growth and contains many large cattle ranches. One of these is said to cover a whole county, about a million acres, and runs the whole of the county's business including tax collection, highway maintenance and police. Here one sees quite a large coloured pop- ulation which still remains as quite a sep- arate community from the whites.
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Page 10
THE GOLDEN GATE BRIDGE AND STRAIT
Where the Pacific Ocean meets San Francisco Bay stands this great red- orange bridge, with its graceful - towers - the height of a 65 story building-and its 4,200 ft. centre span. _
It would not be doing justice to this description if no reference were made to the great kindness of the people whose generosity and hospitality knew no bounds.
There is undoubtedly an intense feeling of friendship towards Great Britain, al- though there is some lack of understanding of each other's problems which can best be remedied by closer contact and there were frequent expressions of opinion that visit- ing in both directions ought to be done at every possible opportunity. There was a great admiration for what the people of Britain have done during the war and in particular for their leader Mr. Churchill, who is regarded by many as being the greatest leader of all time, who "lifted the
free nations of the world out of despair into victory.'' Perhaps it would not be amiss to quote the words of an American officer addressing about 1,000 of his brother officers on board the "Queen Elizabeth" when nearing home on our return journey.
It ran something like the following :- **You are coming to a very peculiar country, if you can see the mountains it will rain-if you cannot see the mountains it is raining. You will not be able to go into a drug store and buy milk shakes and other small luxuries to which you have been do not exist. Remember that the people you are going to meet have been suffering these priva-
UNION SQUARE SAN FRANCISCO
showing the St. Francis Hotel and entrance to garage beneath the gardens.
Page 11
NIAGARA FALLS in “winter.
tions for five years. Remember also that they were facing the enemy alone in 1940 when we had not a gun to fight with ; it was they who enabled us to have the oppor- tunity to prepare to fight the common enemy.
We offer our thanks to the crew and to this beautiful ship which has brought us so far in safety ; let her be our example of perseverance-perseverance on the battle- field-perseverance in the supply lines."
On nearing the British Isles we were diverted from our course for several hours for some "unknown reason"' and were met by two destroyers who accompanied us during the last 24 hours, but no incident occurred beyond the dropping of a few depth charges during the night.
We were told that the captain, who un- doubtedly had an enormous responsibility with such a ship and so many troops on board, never left the bridge during the whole of the voyage, his bedroom being in a position where he could be called at any instant.
It ought to be mentioned that although conditions for living and travelling in America were somewhat better than in England, they were experiencing some of the effects of the war. There were two meatless days per week and butter was often a scarcity.
The call up of men to the Army from Engineering shops was much more severe than in Great Britain-averaging 30% of employees as the following table will show :
No. No. of men employed called a Aae Gleason Works -.. <*> 678 Fellows Gear Shaper Co. 2,500 720 Kodak Co. s % .. 40,000 12,000
.. £70,000- 50,200
Although the journey was a strenuous one, involving long hours and little spare time, we shall retain the most pleasant recollec- tions of the country and the people we saw during the three months and we cannot do other than feel the utmost gratitude to all who helped us at home, on board and in America and Canada, particularly the staff of the British Admiralty Delegation at Washington, the staff of the United States Navy Department and Commander Miles R.N.V.R., who was deputed by the British Admiralty, London, to accompany us during the greater part of our journey.
General Electric Co.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
To Californian's Inc., for the photographs of the Golden Gate Bridge and Union Square ; to the Pennsylvania R.R. for that of Union Station and to the Southern Pacific Co. for the Lucin cut-off.
Page 95
Page 12
NTRIFUGAL
STEEL CASTINGS
§ fiéfwéam
For nearly 20 years the name of David Brown has been linked with centrifugal casting, particularly in relation to the now famous series of Taurus bronzes. To those who have regarded centrifugally cast phosphor bronze worm wheels as being pre- eminently a David Brown product it will no doubt seem natural that in the develop- ment of centrifugal castings in steel we should be the first in the field.
The development of centrifugal casting in steel was started at Penistone in 1938, just as soon in fact as the centrifugal casting plant attached to the Bronze Foundry was transferred from Park Works to Penistone. This original plant was used for the first centrifugal steel castings made at Penistone, the steel being melted in the Steel Foundry in the ordinary way and being transferred, by a somewhat tortuous path and with some ingenuity, to the centrifugal machines in the Bronze Foundry.
This early centrifugal casting of steel was confined to H-arm gear wheels of some four feet in diameter.
Page 96
Centrifugally - cast ring for gun-turret.
By 1940 we had installed centrifugal casting plant in the Steel Foundry and from gear wheels the application of the process was gradually turned to castings of much more complicated shape, such as those shown in Figs. 3 and 4.
It will be seen from these photographs that in the centrifugal casting of steel we have broken away from the traditional wheels and rings which were familiar to bronze foundry production and that re- striction as to type of casting which could be produced centrifugally has disappeared.
The question is often asked as to how is it possible for such a casting as that shown in Figs. 3 or 4 to be produced centrifugally and to those familiar with the production of phosphor bronze gear blanks such a question does not at first sight appear unreasonable. Imagine, how- ever, a centrifugal mould (Fig. 5a) for a ring casting divided up into partitions by radially placed cores (see Fig. 5b). Cast metal into this mould, bronze or steel or any other alloy, and instead of having a ring or wormwheel blank you would
Page 13
Fig. 1 _ blank in .40%, carbon stee diameter 50 ft. +A
Fig. 2. Intermediate shaft for double reduction gear unit incorporating two centrifugally cast helical gear wheels in heat-treated nickel-chrome steel (50 tons (sq. in. tensile strength).
Fig. 3. Two pounder gun protector, for Churchill Tank, in centrifugally cast 4%, nickel-chromium- molybdenum air-hardening steel (65/70 tons/sq. in. tensile strength).
ugally cast n steel Bracket.
Bse
Page 14
Centrifugal Steel Castings
produce a series of castings each of which would in itself be very different from a ring.
-_ On this principle it will be seen that it is possible in quite a simple fashion to depart from the ring-form of centrifugal casting, and without stretching the imagin- ation very much further it will be seen that instead of dividing our ring mould by partition cores we could virtually divide the ring cavity into a series of individual mould cavities of any shape we liked (Fig. 5¢c). In other words we can place round the bottom-plate of a centrifugal casting machine a series of moulds any shape we wish (refer back to Figures 3 and 4) into which molten metal, whether bronze or steel, will be fed under centrifugal action when the casting machine rotates.
A _é---o ~ lem tmp ”’ / *% uae
wa ma fom cae mae an A
Page 98
Fig. 6. Four centrifugally cast Forks as removed from centrifugal.
It is on this principle that the centrifugal casting of steel has developed and in Fig. 6 can be seen a number of centrifugally cast steel forks still attached to their central runner, a photograph which should make clear the principles which we have attempt- ed to describe,. (Compare Figs. 5¢c and 6.)
Since 1940 the centrifugal casting plant in the steel foundry at Penistone has been extended and a great variety and weight of castings produced both in carbon and alloy steels, mainly for tank construction pur- poses. Many parts of the Churchill and of other tanks have an unrecorded debt to this centrifugal steel casting development.
Similar developments to those we are describing have taken place in America and there have been references to American- produced centrifugal castings in technical journals published in the States. It is, however, high time that it should be known that in this country, at Penistone, simult- aneous development along such lines has taken place and to an extent not equal in quantity, but in size and complexity of casting considerably beyond either Ameri- can or Continental practice to date, So far wartime security demands have pre- vented public references to these advances in the centrifugal casting of steel but per- haps the photographs which are now seen in ''Contact'' will speak for themselves and assure you that the David Brown foundries which have for so long led the field with centrifugal bronze castings now lead, by some five years in this country, in the pro- duction of centrifugal castings in steel.
Page 15
CENTRIFUGAL
CASTINGS FOR AIRCRAFT in HicH Ttensice §TEEL
. present designers with freedom for creating new ideas in
irregular and complex types of steel castings having fatigue and ductility properties compared with forged steel.
Representing the highest level of attainment In (steel. foundry technique and metallurgical science DAVID BROWN STEEL CASTINGS for AIRCRAFT now meet a special requirement of the industry !
Draft specification . D.T.D. : 666 covering alloy steel castings for Aircraft is available.
DAVID BROWN
€ SONS (HUDDERSFIELD) LIMITED
PENISTONE WORKS
PENISTONE wear SHEFFIELD
Page 16
Over thE nuMP
Sandwiched between the vast land mass of the South American Continent and the limitless Pacific Ocean lies Peru, a land remote from the great trade route of the world, yet possessing immense natural re- sources and untold mineral wealth. As South American countries go, Peru, despite its 700,000 square miles is not large, but what is lacking in size is made up in geographical features so bold in scale as, at times, to stagger the imagina- tion. Imagine for a moment a country with a relatively straight coast-line stretch- ing roughly north and south for some 1,000 miles, a coast line cut by innumer- able swiftly flowing rivers, each being . separated from its neighbour by mountain ridges running down to the coast. Need- less to say such terrain is not ideal for transport, so that few roads and railways find their way along the coast and com- munication is mainly by means of slow steamers. Parallel to the coast and at no great distance inland lies a range of mountains, which although not unduly wide, are amongst the highest in the world,
Page 100
and whose snow-capped summits scrape the sky at tens of thousands of feet. This great mountain system, known as the Andes splits the country vertically in two, and has for centuries proved an effective barrier to all but the most hardy and primitive forms ~ of communication." The - steep coastal escarpment of the Andes contrasts sharply with the inland or western slopes which shelve gradually away into the vast unexplored central plain of the South American continent, through which rivers such as the Amazon pursue their way from the Andes to the Atlantic Ocean some 4,000 miles distance. These western slopes of the Andes are tremendously important to Peru, for both there and in the inaccessible remoteness of the mountains much of the true wealth of the country is found. Vast copper and nitrate mines are hidden away in the moun- tains while a wide range of agricultural products grow readily on the favoured western slopes of the mountains. Lima, the progressive capital of the country is, however, on the coast, and it is through
Page 17
Over the Hump
this thriving city, of half a million popu- lation, that much of the produce of the country passes. Like many other countries Peru has its problems, and perhaps the most important is that of transporting the country's wealth from the rich inland mines and farmlands to the capital and sea-port. A fundamentally simple prob- lem it is true, but one which has taxed some of the best engineering ability in the world. Peru's answer to this major prob- lem is the central railway, not a very in- spiring title even when we give it its full Spanish equivalent Ferrocarril Central del Peru, and nothing is exceptional about its length, for it is less than 300 miles, or roughly the distance between London and Carlisle. But distances are apt to be mis- leading when talking about the Central Railway, as its length is nothing to boast about. It is on the score of altitude that the Central leaves every other railway cold, for whereas, for example, the L.M.S. between London and Carlisle, attains only a height of 1,000 ft., the Central although starting at sea level goes mountaineering to the tune of 15,000 ft. and over.
To what does such an enterprise owe its inception ? Many years ago an Ameri- can, Henry Meggis settled in Peru. The country suited him and gave him scope for the terrific schemes on which he thrived. Some were successful, some failed, but as time passed his interests were being grad- ually absorbed by a project, the like of which had never before engaged his fertile mind. It was nothing short of a railway over the Andes. In order to train himself for this self-appointed task, he took on the supervision of the Southern Railway of Peru, a scheme of no mean proportion and after years of struggle, finished the job with flying colours. His training finished, he took up what was to be his greatest triumph. - The year 1869 witness- ed the commencement of this project, one which was boldly conceived and brilliantly
executed, a scheme in which difficulties -
increased with the passing years. Shortage of skilled labour and raw material hampered progress, while money was scarce and communication poor, but above all there was the overwhelming and everlasting problem of the mountains towering up to 20,000 ft. always ready to turn back the
adventurers with everything at its disposal.
Avalanches, precipices, gorges and snow, all this and more had to be fought and overcome. - So vast indeed were the prob- lems to be faced that the task looked virtually hopeless and many openly said it was impossible to lay tracks through the mountains. "All right," was his classic reply "We'll hang 'em on balloons." Meggis died in 1877 but not before his line had crossed the summit and estab- lished a record which remains as yet unbroken, that of being the highest standard gauge railway in the world.
Like all great pioneers the memory of Meggis lives today, both in a name given by the Government to one of Peru's highest peaks, Mount Meggis, and perhaps more strikingly in the memorial of his own construction, the Central Railway.
On the whole railway journeys, especial- ly today, are not packed with interest, they are just packed, but here is a railway that will stir the imagination of the most hardened traveller. Judged by British standards the service cannot claim to be frequent, for there is but one through train a day. - Lima station is a pleasing set of buildings in modern style and on ing on to the platform at about 8 a.m. we may be surprised to find in place of the conventional steam train, a smart low- slung railcar picked out in the gay colours of the Central Railway.
Steam traction is, of course, extensively used, but 1938 saw the introduction of these rail cars which have enabled con- siderable reduction to be made in the
Page 18
Over the Hump
overall schedule time, and have contributed enormously to increased passenger comfort. Before we board the car there is just time for a word with the driver. He may tell us that, as railcars go, these are exception- ally light, and while seating some sixty passengers only weigh approximately 20 tons, about a quarter the weight of a main line locomotive. This is due to the tubu- lar construction that is used, which has the effect of eliminating completely the heavy under frame of the rail car. Indeed, the reduction of weight is one of the main secrets of the success of these cars, for with the gradients that lie ahead every extra pound tends to hamper the rail car in its ascent. - The engine is worthy of attention, as it is a supercharged Diesel which, although developing 200 h.p. at sea level has an output of only 150 h.p. at 15,000 ft., due to rarification of the air at higher alti- tudes. The engine power is taken through a A-speed electromagnetic gearbox and then on to the axle through a David Brown gearbox, which not only enables the direc- tion of the rail car to be reversed, but provides two distinct road speeds, one for climbing and the other for coasting down the "hill.'"' Our attention will also prob- ably be called to the exceptionally large radiator, a prominent feature at the front end of the rail car. At 15,000 ft. water boils, not at 212°F. but at 180°F. and this is just another headache for the designer, because it means that a radiator of much greater capacity must be provided. Talking
Page 102
of headaches, it is not unlikely that we shall feel the effects of altitude as the journey progresses, but there is little time to worry about this now as it is time to join the rail car.
The journey commences without undue ceremony. We take leave of Lima, accelerating rapidly, over the points and crossings and for the first forty miles or so the smooth rhythm of the rail car is hardly disturbed.
The valley of the River Rimac is followed and wide farmlands skirt the line on both sides, while away to the south the ridge of the mountains breaks the sky-line, and then, almost imperceptibly at first, the grade stiffens and the sunny open fields give way to hills, low at first but later in- creasing in height and slowly growing closer to the track. Here on the fringe of the Andes lies Chosica, and the rail car halts, partly to pick up passengers and also to gather its strength for the stiff task that lies ahead, for beyond Chosica the Central and the Andes stop sparring with
each other and begin to get down to real
fighting. Gradually the low hills are lost and their place taken by mountains, not the smooth undulations that we are used to in Lakelands, but tough hard faced specimens apparently attempting to bar all further progress. But the railway, light weight fighter that it is, side steps, dodges, and without undue fuss is somehow past its first obstacle. A further round of
Page 19
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U
\
I
Over the Hump
such tactics brings us to San Bartolomae, where we stop once more and after a brief halt are away again, making straight for the solid wall of rock in front of us,. We try the same tactics as previously to dodge this latest obstacle, but these fail and we apparently come to a dead stop at the edge of a precipice, while below us a river dashes itself into a foam as it hastens seawards. But the Central is an old fighter and it still has a few tricks left. The railcar reverses and we are off on a new track with a gradient in front of us like the roof of a house, leaving the line we have just traversed hundreds of feet below us in the floor of the valley. This dodge of revers- ing just at the point where all seems lost is a speciality of Central, and by this means we zigzag upwards, apparently squeezed
skywards by the immense pressure exerted -
on our slender line by the surrounding mountains.
A few miles of these tactics and then, as if by magic, the pressure on the truck is relaxed and we are suddenly shot out into the bottom of a fresh valley, in which lies Surco. Here at Surco is another halt and we will perhaps be passed here by the gravity car manned by two gangers whose mission in life is a simple one. This small vehicle precedes our opposite number-the railcar bound for Lima-by a few minutes with the object of ensuring that the track is clear from obstructions such as rocks.
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wl
An added reason is to make sure that the line is still there, as there have been occasions when an avalanche has complete- ly swept the track away, a state of affairs which tends to disturb the equanimity of the passengers. The gravity car operates both by day and night and for this purpose is fitted with a massive head light whose beam at night pinpoints the track and picks out the dim vague shape of the surrounding mountains, There was an occasion when the lamp failed half way down and the gravity car carried on in the inky blackness of the night, but as Kipling would say- that is another story.
We will perhaps observe at Surco the usual collection of picturesque Indian women selling flowers and fruit on the platform. - Station crowds are always inter- esting, but the Central variety is unique. Beggars, gold diggers-not the blonde variety but the genuine article-hobos, all form a motley collection at each station and as we approach the summit we shall also be aware of the contemptuous stare of llamas viewing with disdain the new method of transport which has displaced them from their time honoured role.
Between Surco and Matucana there are still evidences of the ancient civilisation of the Incas, the terraced walls reminding us of an era long since past, but at Matucana even the Incas called it a day, for here civilisation stops, vegetation dies and only the Central carries on.
We leave Matucana and using the same tactics as previously, the line makes a fresh assault on the towering peaks which press in on every hand, and we hold our breath as the railcar makes its precarious way along a ledge cut in the solid rock. A sudden turn in the line and we plunge suddenly into the gloom of a tunnel, the intense noise deadens the senses and nerves. A merciful provision this, for as the railcar shoots into the blinding light of day we are faced with a deep ravine immediately in our path. It is too late to turn back and the Central carries straight on, the railcar being momentarily suspended between the earth and sky with a spider web bridge as its only support, but like a plunge in the cold water it is quickly over and we breath again as the darkness of a new tunnel envelopes us.
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Over the Hump
For over three hours this cat and mouse battle progresses and a hundred times the railcar is finally cornered, only to lift itself out by its shoelaces on to a still higher plane. In all there are 67 bridges, 65 tunnels and a score of reversals to say nothing of literally miles of climbing at an average gradient of 1 in 25. The most famous viaduct goes by the name of the Infernillo Bridge meaning "Little Hell," the name to. which many travellers fully subscribe as the abyss which it spans is so deep that even at mid-day only a faint glimmer of light breaks the gloom. Great struggles, no. matter how able the contestants cannot be indefinitely pro- longed. Six hours have passed since we left Lima and as the line pushes forever upwards we feel in doubt as to whether a level track is not just a whim of the imagin- ation, or an invention of a troubled mind. However, as we are well over 10,000 ft. up it is more than possible that the effect of altitude is beginning to distort our outlook on life. In fact, by this time we may well be in the grip of Soroche or mountain sickness which is the price one may have to pay for straying from the beaten track. Of course, before setting out from Lima we shall probaby have been well primed with accounts of the terrible results of this affliction. Splitting head- aches, nose bleeding, accelerated heart
action, high blood pressure and rapid breathing are supposed to be less serious results of an experience which eclipses the fiercest hangover and leaves those who are foolish enough to cling to conscious- ness with a desire to pass out. One expects highly coloured stories from old hands, but in fact the experience can be highly disturbing, and each railcar carries tanks of compressed oxygen (amongst other things) for the relief of those affected by the rapid change in altitude.
We cross our final bridge, cling to the face of our last precipice, dodge the final buttress of rock and suddenly, we miracu- lously find ourselves on the smooth plateau which forms part of the Central Andes, but although the line is still slightly uphill the change in gradient is so marked that for a moment we have the sensation of careering wildly downwards. Away to the right is the line of snow-covered peaks, and crowning all these by some 5,000 ft. is Mount Meggis,. the top of the world. The line swings away to the right and makes for the base of this huge mass before entering the tunnel. Half way through the note of the engine changes, the pace quickens almost interceptibly at first, and without fuss we cross the continental divide at 15,694 ft. just about the same altitude as the summit of Mont Blanc, the
Page 21
Over the Hump
highest point in Europe. Out in the open again, the low gear which has been in action during the whole of the climb is disengaged and in high gear we coast rapidly down the more gentle Eastern slopes of the Andes. We are still hemmed in by snow-capped mountains, but their lower slopes show signs of green vegeta- tion for we have left behind us the arid and rainless plateau of the Central Andes. Grey clouds give way to blue sky, evidences of civilisation appear, and on rounding a shoulder of the hill, the mountain of Oroya rushes up to meet us.
This after the war period is the com- mencement of a new production age. Not just a going-back to the ways of 1939 but going ahead with new products, new processes and new materials.
Once again the demand will be "Give us the Tools'" before the country can get into full peacetime production for home and overseas.
Development of British tool design is well illustrated by the new small sizes of the David Brown patent, adjustable ing Reamer. The addition of these four sizes from #" up to 1" dia., means that this type of reamer is now available in an un- broken range from #" to 24" diameter. The basic principle of the four new reamers is, of course, similar to the larger
From Oroya onwards, the journey is by way of an anti-climax and although many miles lies between us and the terminus of the line at Huancayo they are almost uneventful, and we are left with the feeling that, by comparison with the line we have just traversed, all other journeys are with- out purpose and void of worthwhile experience. For much of the information contained in the foregoing, the author is greatly indebted to Messrs, D. Wickham & Co. Ltd., Ware, builders of the railcars referred to in this article.
sizes described in our September, 1943
issue. Their body portions, however, are made 2" long so that bores of reasonable length may be reamed without interference from the socket carrying the reamer.
The blades are manufactured in 18%, Tungsten high speed steel for the standard reamer, any size being supplied with Tungsten Carbide tipped blades if re- quired. Standard blades in high speed steel are always available from stock.
The reamer has, of course, been used from 1" upwards for many years and has greatly reduced the reaming troubles of many firms, not only in England, but in many different parts of the world, and we are confident that the smaller sizes now manufactured will give equal satisfaction,
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fix
OUR LONDON WORKS .
During the war it has obviously not been permissible to describe any new engineer- ing projects, but it is now opportune to give an insight into our activities in London during the last few years. Of particular interest is the major project, the develop- ment of the new C. J. Fitzpatrick factory at Stonebridge Park on the North Circular Road, London, N.W.10, where the Com- pany's registered office and all activities are now situated. Some confusion may have arisen as to exactly where C. J. Fitzpatrick are located, due to the fact that the Company has operated two factories for a large part of the war years in order to keep pace with the demands of the services, but the business is now com- pletely centralised at the Stonebridge Park address. It was realised early in the war that the facilities in the factory we then occupied in Acton was not capable of coping with the wartime demand, particularly for air- craft gears, which constituted our main production at that time. Support was given by the Ministry of Aircraft Produc- tion to our scheme to build a new works on the North Circular Road, and this allowed us to vacate the Acton works at the end of the war and concentrate all our energies in the new factory. The Manag- ing Director agreed to proceed with the scheme in February, 1942, and building operations commenced on June 22nd, 1942.
The site was formerly covered by a -
single storey factory, which was destroyed by incendiary bombs on the 25th Sept.,
By J. T. Riley j
1940, and it was necessary, before com- mencing building operations, practically to demolish all that was left standing, such as outer walls, etc.
As can be seen in the photograph above, the building has a two storey frontage, with an entrance as the central feature and continues round the west side as a double- storied building, the top floor being oc- cupied by canteen and dining-rooms ; the remainder of the works is single storey of the pitched roof type. The total site area is 25,353 sq. ft. with a work's area of 16,182 sq. ft., whilst the factory is bounded on the front by the North Circular Road and on the back by the River Brent. Many difficulties were experienced in obtaining, under war-time restrictions, the required building materials, but these were overcome even though substitutes had to be utilised and the factory was ready for occupation by the end of Feb., 1943. The installation of plant commenced on 1st March, 1943. It is all independently motor driven, no line shafting being used. Production started during the first week in March. Fortunately, during the building period, little enemy air activity was experienced, but three days after commencing produc- tion, work was stopped due to a feeder cable for the electricity supply being des- troyed by a bomb, but no damage was done to the works.
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Page 24
Our London Works
The two interior photographs of the shop give a general idea of the type of the machines in use and show the modern working conditions which obtain. All hardening and heat treatment is done on the premises, the furnaces being of the
gas types.
During the war C. J. Fitzpatrick have specialised in the production of aircraft engine and propeller unit gears and some thousands of gears of their manufacture have gone into "Typhoon" and "Mosquito" planes. In this article it is impossible to describe in detail the production level which was achieved during the war years
- Gear cutting and _ _- Grinding Bay.
on the varied types of aircraft gears which were produced. An idea of this can, however, be obtained from the fact that for the three months ending October 31st, 1944, 23,759 gears which came within the Ministry of Aircraft Production Aero- nautical Inspection Department's juris- diction were completed and despatched. Mention should be made of the gearbox output, which, in the main consisted of bevel gear type marine gearboxes and forward and reverse gearboxes for air-sea rescue launches.
Some 750 of this type of gearbox was
Page 108
manufactured, and the importance of the work can be gauged from the fact that 5,721 R.A.F. and American air crew were saved by the Air-Sea rescue service in the waters around Great Britain during the war against Germany.
Overseas Air-Sea units rescued at least 3,200 air crew, and in areas other than the seas around Britain, the service saved 4,665 soldiers, sailors and civilians.
Production was maintained during the flying bomb attacks of the summer of 1944 which was followed later by the rocket attacks. Although many anxious moments
were experienced, we must consider the
eneral Machining Section __ t Stonebridge Park. ___ _- -
fact that no serious damage was done to the new factory, a most fortunate one.
In this connection we were pleased to receive, in August, 1944, a personal visit from Sir Stafford Cripps, Private Parlia- mentary Secretary, Mr. G. R. Strauss, M.P. who congratulated the works on the high level of production maintained throughout this difficult period. , We are now busy working on our post- war programme, to which end we have already in production the 1} '"Radicon"' Worm Reducer, which will be followed by a 1$ unit of the same type.
Page 25
Care and Maintenance . =::
The general maintenance of a large in- dustrial plant calls upon the services of many trades. Millwrights and fitters, joiners and plumbers, electricians and glaziers, all play their essential part in keeping factory, power and plant always on the job. Each is a specialist, and this article deals only with the work of one section- those "blessed" with the care and main- tenance of Machine Tools.
MACHINE INSTALLATION. As the proper working and satisfactory service of a machine depends to a very large extent, on the care with which it is installed, this is the responsibility of the maintenance foreman. Care must be taken to notice any snag, from a mainten- ance point of view, arising from the location of the machine. Levels must be carefully checked and any cross-wind remedied before the machine is grouted in.
Machines which are top-heavy, such as Radial drills must be bolted to the floor. This is also necessary on Turret lathes where, for alignment purposes, it is nec- essary to pull the bed to the position in which it was built. Any special instruct-
ions issued by the makers must be care- fully read and followed before the machine is put into operation and a check made, against the advice note, of all loose equip- ment supplied.
Oiling should be carried out as instructed. After warming the machine by running about 2 hours, starting at the bottom speed, inspection should be made for any oil leakage, overheating bearings, etc., after which the alignment should be checked. The result of the check should follow closely the report on the machine inspection sheet which is supplied by most manu- facturers of machine tools.
If all is in order the machine can then be handed over to Production.
AFTER CARE AND MAINTENANCE.
As some causes of failure are due to lack of lubrication a full-time greaser has been found to be an advantage.
All makers of machine tools appear to favour some special brand of oil for use on their machines, but it is out of the question to stock small quantities of numerous brands of oil.
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Page 26
Care and Maintenance
The following grades are found to give good results :- (1) Ordinary machine oil for general use. (2) A heavy oil for gearboxes. (3) D.T.E. Light or Heavy Medium for all Hydraulic systems.
Two types of grease oil are generally used :-Shell R.B. for High Speed Roller Bearings and a heavier grease for general use.
MamTaAINING Accuracy. The maintenance engineer is generally called on to correct faulty work turned out by machine tools. He must therefore have a good knowledge of the set up of any type of machine tool as it has many times been found that the trouble has been due to faulty setting. This, then, is the first point to consider before hastily dismantling any machine, as hours of labour can be saved by carefully studying the cause and effect and tracing the mechanism through- out the machine before dismantling any part of it. In the general run of machines such as Borers, Planers, Millers, Lathes, etc. the cause is generally MALALIGN- MENT, which can be overcome by adjust- ments to slides, bearings, etc.
In the case of specialised machines such as gear cutting machines, the trouble is often more difficult to locate and overcome, A thorough knowledge of gear cutting in all its forms is essential, as each method has its own peculiarities.
GrEar Hossinc. The two main factors required to pro- duce accurately hobbed gears are an accurate Worm Wheel and a perfect Lead Screw. These coupled with the differ- ential are the most likely causes of any faults in the product. Backlash in both the index and lead change gear trains should be the minimum. A steady motion of the table and the Hob Slide must be maintained to give good results.
PLANED GEARS AND MaAcHINES Using CIRCULAR GENERATING CUTTERS. The main faults for rejection of work are "DROP and FLATS," in other words (1) Incorrect Profile. (2) Pitch errors. (3) Leaving flats on the flanks of the teeth. In planed gears this can be traced to the Index Worm Wheel and Elevating nut and screw, for the cutter slide. Again all gear trains should be positive.
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On machines using circular generating cutters the cause can often be traced to :- (1) Eccentricity of Cutter or Cutter Spindle, (2) The Index Worm and Wheel, (3) Play in the guide block for the cutter spindle or (4) Incorrect adjustment of the relief mech- anism.
MacHingEs UusInG FormEp CUTTERS. The main points on this type of machine - are the cutter spindle bearings, Index Worm and Wheel, and the cutter spindle slide and, in the case of End Mill cutters, the cutter slide nut and screw should be correctly adjusted.
BEVEL GEAR GENERATORS. The main faults on this type of machine are :-(1) Cutting out of Apex or Distance, (2) Incorrect Tool Setting Gauges or Master Block, (3) Roll mechanism out of time or (4) Faulty Indexing.
The machine should be run until the zero marks on the roll slide are opposite. The cutter slides should be brought to the parallel position and a check made from the main bed to the centre of work spindle and roll slide, the heights of which should be the same. Check tooth angle verniers and cradle roll zero lines. Check tool height gauge and tool length gauge. Check face angle and cone distance gauge. On some machines a proof block and length bar are supplied for testing purposes.
Indexing faults are rare on this type of machine, but the roll mechanism requires very careful timing to obtain correct results and to avoid breaking the machine.
GRINDING Chatter and waves are the principle cause of rejected work from these machines. The faults are usually overcome by en- suring that the wheel is in balance, or tracing the cause to faulty mechanism. Wheel spindle bearings should be checked for clearance ; the work spindle bearings and the tailstock sleeve for list. The fault may be found in the loading or glazing of the wheel when a different grade wheel would be the answer. The trouble again can be traced to the location of the machine due to building vibration or vibration set - up by adjacent machines.
Grinding wheels should always be laid flat when stored so that the water does not drain to one point and thus throw the wheel out of balance when next mounted.
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Care and Maintenance
PROFILE GRINDERS.
All the previous conditions apply to this type of machine plus such faults as Index- ing and Wheel Trimmer trouble. Care should be taken to see that the indexing plate and dividing mechanism is thoroughly clean, also the pantograph and trimmer plates used for operating the diamond for trimming the wheel should be inspected.
Most types of grinding machines are hydraulically operated, and a study of the various types of hydraulic pumps, motors and valve boxes is necessary to overcome most of the difficulties attached to this type of machine.
BELTING.
Belting problems require attention and a record of the life of belts is a reliable guide in obtaining the most suitable belt for the job. It is usual to carry stocks of cotton endless belts and Vee ropes, and in experimenting with different makes and types of belts it has been found possible considerably to reduce the amount required to be carried in stock. As belting is a very expensive item the time is well spent in obtaining the right belt for the job.
CooLaANntTt
Failure of coolant pumps is a too frequent occurrence, and as all makers of machine tools favour various types of pumps and mounting this can be quite a problem in itself. It is advisable to have a portable motor-driven unit available to put into operation with any machine while the repairs are carried out.) It is: not possible to obtain similar types of pump in some cases, so a reliable type of pump should be chosen and the mountings altered to suit the pump obtained. This can prove to be a really costly job in the first instance, but if a spare pump is kept in stock future hold-ups will be greatly minimised.
Major BREAKDOWNS.
These often occur through the operator not reporting faulty limit stops of knock off dogs for the various traverses, or again through taking off stops to gain another 4" of travel, and using the power traverse in- stead of winding the last bit by hand, thus
causing a jamming up of the slides.
The operator should be prepared to give a correct account of the causes leading to the breakdown as this is one way of pre- venting a similar mishap at some future date.
All major breakdowns should be invest- igated for the above reason, and it is to the operator's advantage to co-operate as, while his machine is down, his bonus is down also.
PREVENTIVE MAINTENANCE.
Fair wear and tear can be covered in most cases by obtaining details of the parts required as opportunity arises, and seeing that the parts are to hand before the actual breakdown occurs. The parts can then be fitted without any lengthy hold-up of the machine. A close check should be made of tolerances on all drawings, to avoid mistakes when the time comes to fit the parts to the machine. A knowledge of the different steels and the planning of opera- tions of all work in progress is also necess- ary, as, for example, it is too late to drill a hole in a hardened shaft when it is com- pleted.
A card index system giving the drawing numbers of replaced parts along with a correct Plant Record giving the Serial No. and Plant No. of the machine is required for the correct ordering of parts or for obtaining drawings of parts previously made.
The Maintenance Foreman should judge by experience the amount and type of spare parts to be maintained in stock. For example, Scrolls, Pinions, and Jaw Carriers for Chucks or any wearing parts for mach- ines such as Clutch Rings, Ball Bearings, Phosphor Bronze Nuts and Screws for Tool Post Slides to obviate avoidable hold- up in production for any length of time.
It will therefore be seen that the Main- tenance Engineer in his own small way has a variety of subjects to cope with and a number of people to please, for which he requires a reasonable temperament and a certain amount of tact in carrying out his duties to the satisfaction of all concerned.
If variety is the spice of life, then the Maintenance Engineer should live to be ninety-maybe !
Page { 14
Page 28
During the early part of the war I was in the aircraft industry and my firm was responsible for building all the Spitfires and all the Wellingtons that were ever produced. - We were all very proud of that.
In May, 1940, the Germans invaded the Low Countries, Mr. Churchill became
Prime Minister and he immediately appointed Lord Beaverbrook as the first Minister of Aircraft Production.
At that time there was in the Midlands a magnificent factory which had been de- signed and built to make Spitfires. In May, 1940, it was not completed although it was, even then, actually producing Spitfire wings and a number of minor com- ponents.
Within 48 hours of his appointment the new Minister of Aircraft Production came to the sensible conclusion that all Spitfire manufacture should come under one
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2 U4 _
unified control. - No grass was ever allowed to grow under his feet and at 11-40 a.m. on May 24th, 1940, he 'phoned to ask how soon I could take over this new factory.
I happened to be in the middle of a rather
important meeting at Weybridge at the time, but said I would clear that up in the next 20 minutes and leave at noon. At precisely 12 o'clock I was stepping into my car when I was called back to the tele- phone ; it was Lord Beaverbrook checking up to find out if my promised departure time was being adhered to. I mention the point because it was so typical of "The Beaver."
His instructions were short and to the point. "Costs don't matter, systems don't matter ; nothing matters except the max- imum number of Spitfires you can put into the air in the next five weeks."
So off I went, fired with ambition to
[en in
)
Page 29
ik :
produce Spitfires from this new factory ; but the plain truth of the matter was that it was literally months off production. I don't mean that anyone was to blame, it was just that the crisis had caught us much too soon. It took me thirty-six hours to weigh up the situation and formulate plans and I then rang the Minister to tell him he would get no Spitfires from the Midlands for some time, but by amalgamating the production with that of the Supermarine Works (and using the trained men at the parent factory to assemble the aircraft) he could depend on an additional 90 Spitfires in the next five weeks- that is, by the end of June, 1940. This, I may tell you, was a very important contribution and, incident- ally, we kept our promise.
On the following day-a Sunday-I had a further brainwave. Half-a-dozen of my own men were with me and they were told
what I had in mind. The workers were largely untrained and because they had never produced an aircraft there was an almost total lack of enthusiasm throughout the factory-due mainly, I think, to the fact that they could not "see"" the finished Spitfire resulting from the thousands of bits and pieces they were making. (They were a grand crowd really and proved themselves over and over again, but at that time they were quite "green"" to aircraft work). - I said, ""Now, we've laid our plans, the fulfilment of which is our duty to the Nation. But in addition, I am going to put another ten sets of parts through the shops-we'll build a few additional Spit- fires and I'll get our star Test Pilot to fly them over the Works during the lunch hour so that our people can see what Spitfires really can do. What is wanted here is enthusiasm and when they see a Spit. "doing it's stuff,"" we'll get it.''
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Ten in June
My advisors, quite properly, told me that it was impossible to get ten additional Spitfires from that factory by the end of June, to which I replied that I never ex- pected to get ten, but if we started with ten sets of parts we might perhaps get four extra Spits.-the best I could possibly hope for was six.
A few days later the first of these air- craft was in process of erection and was actually flown on June 6th. That was No. 1.
I should explain here that these extra machines had not been mentioned to the Minister-it was just a little private gesture of our own which might, or might not, come off. But nothing ever happened in the aircraft industry that The Beaver did not know and he conveniently decided to forget our promise of 90 extra Spitfires -no doubt he felt confident we would give him these-and to judge our competence by the result of our little private venture. In true Beaverbrook fashion he stretched it to the limit and decided that if we pro- duced the extra 10 (not 4 or 6 mind you) by the end of June, we could continue to control the new factory-otherwise he would give it to someone else ! It was quite obvious that, irrespective of the ability of any particular firm, the right thing from the Country's point of view was to have all Spitfire production under one control . ...so, by hook or by crook, we had GOT to produce those 10 extra Spitfires by the end of June.
Well, the days went on and by June 20th we had flown three machines but there was no sign of the other seven. They were in bits and pieces all over the factory, but assembly had scarcely commenced.
At that time there were 52 men in the Erecting Shop and the night the third machine was flown I called them together and told them that somehow or other we had to complete another seven machines in the next ten days. I said "From now until the end of the month you are on duty 24 hours a day.'" One lugubrious voice enquired when they were going to eat and/or sleep and the answer was "You are not going to eat or sleep, you are going to work 24 hours a day-or as near that as it is humanly possible to do." (They were, of course, paid for 24 hours a day, including all overtime, night-shift and
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Sunday allowances, but that was merely a matter of playing fair with them ; it was not an incentive.)
From then on those men worked as never before in their lives. I tried, quite unsuccessfully I'm sure, to give the im- pression of also being on the job night and day, but as a matter of fact I had a bed in my office and after a final round of the shops about midnight I was generally com- fortably in bed an hour later and could be back on the job again at 8-0 a.m. after a good night's sleep. But each morning found those poor devils looking more and more washed out ; their faces were drawn and grey and unshaven ; their eyes were bloodshot and they drooped visibly. Altogether they were in pretty bad shape, but their spirits never failed. The worst of them I used to pick out, give them my - personal chit to the canteen and tell them to go and rest in some unfinished part of the factory for a few hours. (In those days there was no .shortage of food and arrangements had been made for good meals to be available at all times.) Others found an opportunity to rest for an hour or two during the night but every one of those men worked magnificently and was just as keen to achieve the target as I was myself. By the end of the month you never saw such a weary washed-out crowd . ... but by 6-0 p.m. on June 30th we had finished and passed through test flights seven Spit- fires and the others were coming on. Soon after 8-0 p.m. we flew the eighth and at 9-40 p.m. (it was getting dark then), we flew the ninth. f Then everyone was crowded round the tenth machine and, believe me, everything that could go wrong in an aircraft went wrong in that Spitfire! When we tested the undercarriage the hydraulics wouldn't work ; the cowling (hand-made of course) wouldn't fit and oh-it was the same with every component.
Now a Spitfire in its finished state is a very small aircraft, and not more than four men can comfortably work on it at the same time ..... and there were 52 men hanging around that machine, each itching to get his own fingers on it. At many stages the Spitfire should be left for A.I.D. inspection-but the A.I.D. Inspectors never had that machine to themselves for
Page 31
may
_- Midland - Spitfire
Ten in June
a minute ; they had to do their job working between legs and arms and over shoulders, but they did their job nobly and at 11-30 p.m. the machine was ready for flight test and the. A.LD.. ''stretched a point'" and wired it away then so that we were able to include it as June production. The Test Pilot . was standing by but we had no facilities for night flying and, though everyone was eager to see the job properly finished and flown, I was not going to risk the Pilot's life and the machine itself for the sake of our own honour and glory so the men were told that the machine had been accepted as complete and we had achieved what we set out to do ; THEY had done the impossible and I would pay all bets there and then. (I should explain that I had a pound bet with every man on the job and a whole list of 10 - and 5/- bets on detailed operations that I had contracted during those hectic ten days-and, I may add, that never did a man loose bets more cheer- fully than I did that night). That precious tenth machine was test flown at crack of dawn and was waiting R.A.F. collection a few hours later. I won't say it was the best Spitfire ever turned out, but it was another Spitfire to fight the Hun and, God knows, we needed every one then. At 9-0 a.m. on July lst I walked into the Minister's office in London-feeling pretty tired and maybe not too friendly- and said, "Well, you got your ten." He picked up from his desk the official "return of aircraft produced during June" and pointed out that the figure from the factory was seven. Pointing out that the official return was made up to 6-0 p.m. I added rather sourly
An embryo sportsman who was going to India was told by two friends to be sure not to miss the tiger shooting.
"It's not difficult,"" they said. ''You hide in a thicket at night ; when the beast arrives aim between its two eyes shining in the dark. It will fall as if struck by lightning." On his return, they asked how many
-tigers he had shot.
. at all,"" he replied sadly,. become much too clever. - They now travel in pairs, and each one closes
an eye."
that while for people sitting in Government Offices in London the day might end at 6-0 p.m., for the poor devils in factories who had to build his blankety aircraft, the day and the month finished at midnight- and at midnight he had got his ten, and with that I turned on my heel and swept out. At that moment I was not disposed to further conversation, though the Beaver and I both enjoyed recalling the incident later-much later ! I have mentioned above that in this particular effort I had half-a-dozen of my own men with me-men who could not have been rewarded by money-so after leaving the Ministry I went along to Dunbhills and bought half-a-dozen cigarette lighters and had "Ten in June"" inscribed on each. These were given to my col- leagues as a personal momento of one of my most interesting experiences and to my great delight they later presented me with a similar lighter and with the same in- scription. I have used this continually since-and I should just hate to lose it. One other little sequel also gave me enormous pleasure. On June 30th a year later I was visiting the same factory (it had settled into steady production by then and I paid only periodical visits) and was told that the Convenor of the Shop Stewards wanted to see me. When he came along it was to present me with a magnificent silver cigarette box inscribed with my name and in commemoration of '"Ten in June." It had been subscribed for by the workpeople in the shops who had been there in June, 1940, and who were still there-no newcomers were allowed to contribute ! I was, and still am, terribly proud of that box.
LickED ! A rather simple-looking Cockney evacuee stopped before a blacksmith's shop on his way home from school and eyed the doings of the smith with much interest. The brawny smith, not disposed for such curiosity, suddenly held a red-hot iron under the young lad's nose, hoping to make him beat a hasty retreat. "If you'll give me half-a-crown, I'll lick it,"" said the lad. The smith took a half-crown from his pocket and held it out. The simple- looking youngster took the coin, licked it, and walked away whistling.
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Wheelabrator showing sand in shot handling plant at rear. (Note dust catching bags at left are for the air shot blast and not for the Wheela- brator). f
DEVELOPMENTS AT
By C. J.
f Jac/éaana I
WALKER
As part of their equipment for modern- ising the foundry, while improving working conditions, Messrs. P. R. Jackson & Co. Ltd., have recently installed an interesting machine which is capable of shot blasting castings up to a weight of 25 tons. This machine is an airless Wheelabrator type manufactured by Tilghman's Patent Sand Blast Co. Ltd.
This plant consists of a large closed cab- inet provided with a power driven rotating table and is complete with suitable power driven elevator gear for circulating the abrasive, together with a complete exhaust system consisting of fabric screen dust arrester and an exhaust fan capable of changing the atmosphere of the blasting compartment several times per minute.
The cabinet, in which the actual work is done, is a chamber 18-ft. square by 8-ft. high and houses a 15-ft, diameter rotating table driven by a 2 h.p. motor through a worm reducing gear (made by Park Works) at a speed of 1 revolution in 4 minutes. The table is arranged to reverse automat- ically so that it can oscillate over a distance up to one-eighth of its periphery. The table is mounted on ball and roller bearings and is supported by suitable steel beams. All driving mechanism is arranged outside
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the chamber and is protected from abrasive action.
Three '"Wheelabrator""' wheels 19% in. diameter, are incorporated, each running at a speed of 2,250 r.p.m. and capable of discharging shot at high velocity and del- ivering 250-lb. of shot per minute. Of the three wheels, two are suitably mounted in a fixed position on the roof directly over the table whilst the third, or side wheel, is supported in framework from a truck mounted on the roof of the cabinet with arrangements made to afford a variation of 3 ft, in the location of the centre of the wheel in order to obtain the most effective blasting distance from castings of varying dimensions. ie The blasting chamber is provided with . large swing doors in the front, fastened by means of single action wedge type bolts to form a sealed joint when the doors are closed and the machine in operation.
To facilitate loading, a slot is provided in the roof of the chamber 3 ft. wide and extending beyond the centre of the table. This slot allows the passage of the sling from the overhead travelling crane to position the castings on the table. The slot is closed by means of a counter- balanced door to prevent the escape of abrasive during blasting.
Page 33
Comes _ A
For the collection and return of the abrasive, two steel hoppers are fitted be- neath the perforated floor of the room, each leading to the boot of a totally closed bucket elevator system. At the top of each elevator a motor driven rotary screen removes large pieces of foreign matter, which would foul the action of the wheel, from the reclaimed abrasive material and discharges them, together with such sand as is elevated with the abrasive, through separate pipes to collecting bins. Each elevator then discharges the useable abras- ive on to a belt conveyor which carries the
' Interior of Wheelabrator room showing 15 ft. rotary table loaded with 14 ton shot-blasting pinion.
The important problem of the dust, is covered by an exhaust system to remove effectively the dust created during the blasting operation,. A complete dust exhaust system is provided and the chamber, hoppers and elevator casings are directly under the action of this system. The exhaust is provided by a 22 in. steel plate exhaust fan driven by a 35 b.h.p. motor through vee ropes at a speed of 1,300 r.p.m. and has a capacity of 9,800 cubic feet per minute at 8-in. static water gauge. Incorporated in this exhaust sys- tem is a fabric type screen, totally enclosed
Roll Pinion as air shot blasted. Note sand remaining in roots of teeth
shot to a main storage hopper situated over the cabinet and which feeds the three Wheelabrator wheels. Each wheel is designed with "on"" and "off"" abrasive control in order that one, two or three wheels may be in operation at the time.
Roll Pinion as shot blasted in Wheelabrator sand is completely removed
dust arrester of sufficient capacity to remove all created dust and discharge the clean air to the atmosphere outside the building. The dust, having been filtered from the exhaust air by means of the specially woven fabric screens, is deposited in the hoppers
+
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Developments at P.R.J.
from which it is removed in suitable con- tainers. To clear the screens, a suitable vibrating attachment is provided. As regards the electrical equipment, each Wheelabrator wheel is driven by a 15 b.h.p. Klosd motor, the two bucket elevators each being driven by a 2 b.h.p. totally enclosed, reduction geared motor and the conveyor by a similar 2 b.h.p. totally enclosed motor. The table is also
Jottings from
LATE Hours. The Londoner had taken a farm job in the country. Next morning the farmer entered the lad's bedroom and shouted :
'"Half-past four, young man."
''Blimey, guv'nor !' said the Cockney, as he rubbed his eyes, " 'aven't you gone to bed yet ?"
mea
"And is his Lordship incognito ?"
"Well, no, sir, I don't know as I'd say that-but he has certainly had a few."
If we remember rightly, when the Animals left the Ark Noah urged them to be fruitful and multiply. One Sunday the old gentleman, going for his afternoon stroll, came across two little snakes, sunning themselves: on a bank. "Hello," said Noah, "where are the kids ?" "Ain't got replied one of the snakes., ''You see, we can't multiply 'cos we're adders."
'"Hm," said Noah, "I hadn't thought of that."" Then he wandered into a neigh- bouring wood and came back carrying half a small tree. "Make yourselves a log table,"" he exclaimed, "and then you'll be able to multiply by addition."
driven by a 2 b.h.p. motor. - The total horse power involved on the plant is there- fore 53 b.h.p. While the exhaust system, is powered by one 35 b.h.p. motor. The control gear for the machine consists of a 7-motor control panel, embodying push button starting device. Both electrical and mechanical controls to the shot supply are situated near the machine for conven- ience in starting and stopping the plant.
the Journals
An office manager was telling how a girl came in to apply for a job and when asked if she had any particular qualifications or unusual talents, stated that she had won several prizes in crossword puzzle and slogan writing contests. sounds good"" the Manager told her, "but we want somebody who will be smart during office hours." "Oh," she explained brightly, "this was during office hours.
Before he went into the Army he had been a "'tackier'"' in a mill, and on his first leave he tackled various little tasks around the house. One bright morning, the missus came home from shopping to find him busy up in the attic. "*What art doing up there, lad ?" she asked. '"Painting mangle for thee, lass" replied the dutiful husband. "An' a rare job I had to get the dom thing up those stairs an" all," '"'An' why did tha haul mangle all up there, tha daft fool ?" "Ee lass ; paint were up here."
*"*That man makes a living tapping." "A dancer, eh ?" '"No, no ! House-to-house canvasser."
PARK WORKS COMFORTS FUND
It was decided by the Work's Committee to close the above fund from the end of the year, 1945.
Will all returning Forces personnel please call and collect accumulated balances that are awaiting them at the Personnel Department.
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We are sometimes inclined to overlook achievements within our own organisation. Propinquity lends disenchantment, to misquote an old adage, for as a race we are all too prone to praise our neighbour and talk loudly about the achievements of those who have done other things-some- where else.
This little story is an attempt, in some measure, to rectify this. And yet, you see, already the fatal poison of understatement, the present fashion of our Island Race, is coursing through the lines of this page. I cannot help it ;. it': is inbred. . But I promise you to try, as I go along, to call a spade what it is, neither in British fashion "a garden trowel," nor in Americanese "a cubic yard bucket excavator."
Of course, you all know that it wasn't until 1939 that the first David Brown Tractor, in the glory of its hunting pink, saw the light of day. The Royal Show in 1939 at Windsor saw its debut. It is true that before then much had been happening ; there was our experience in the manufact- ure of those Ferguson machines at Park Works ; since 1937 we had collected together a small band of enthusiastic technical people who had worked on the development of our new machine ; but few of us-for memories are short- remember that when the war began there was little in the shape of organisation. Such tractors as were being made were at Park Works as the Meltham Mills factory did not then exist, save as the shell of a building full of redundant textile machinery.
Since then? 6,500 Agricultural Trac- tors, 2,000 Industrial Type Tractors, 400 Petrol Crawler Tractors, 110 Diesel Crawler Tractors, 9,500 Agricultural Im- plements, 10,000 Tank Transmissions, 125,000 spare gears for gearboxes, half-a- million Aircraft gears and components,
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R. Birney
6,000 Aircraft Hydraulic Pumps .... I think that's enough of cold statistics, but after all, I did promise to call a spade a spade.
''How did all this happen ?" you may ask. First of all, it would be churlish not to acknowledge our debt to the close-knit reserves of the David Brown organisation which lay behind this effort. But let me remind you that since 1941 the Tractor Company has been quite independent from the rest of the Group. The Tractor Company was spawned by Park Works by a species of nuclea fission, to use a modern simile. (Let us not speculate whether the division generated atomic energy of a destructive force). Many of its personnel came from the original organisation ;~much of its technique was learnt there ; but the period of adolescence is passed.
Rivalry between the factories comprising the Group is not basically a bad thing. As one of those who has sat on either side of the fence and-I think I can say-rested for a time insecurely on its top, I feel qualified to let slip some indiscreet remarks. Those at the older organisation tend to consider those at the younger as a loose- knit bunch of upstarts who cannot make up their minds. It was not until I joined that rough band of pioneers that I realised that an organisation of 2,800 cannot be created during a period of intense strain without misfits and mistakes. More too, in a younger organisation, new ideas were more freely tolerated and could be tried out. The fixed and immutable routine of a great organisation was seen to have its disadvantages and even weaknesses. At the risk of boring you, therefore, let me interject here a plea for mutual understand- ing of each others problems.
After all, we at Meltham buy Park Works products-quite a lot of them-
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Meltham 1939-45
and in the future we could use more of them, but we have to sell them, in our Tractor, in a hard and uncompromising world where the seasons do not wait for man.
So during the war we grew up. Many of our Farmer friends, individually sat- with their machines, wondered, if it was as good as it seemed to be, why they did not see more of them. But had it not been for the tenacity of Mr. David in 1941, our Tractor side would have gone to the wall altogether. History would then have been able to record another failure against the not inconsiderable list of famous manu- facturers who had had the temerity to build a British Tractor, The issue to those that guided our National affairs in those days, seemed simple. Our agri- cultural Tractor might be good and much needed by British Farmers, but our gear- boxes were not only good but an irreplace- able component. After all, Tractors were available from America under Lease-Lend, Tank Gearboxes with controlled differ- ential steering were not. It does not take a mathematician to evaluate this equation at Tractors equal naught.
Fortunately, however, there is more in these things than the cold logic of figures. Permission was given to maintain a mini- mum production of Agricultural equip- ment provided only that there was no deflection of our resources from the production of our specialised war products. And that, Mr. Farmer, is why you had to wait so long for your David Brown and the improvements we have constantly sought to put into it.
And what of the R.A.F. machine ? Its history has been chequered. In 1940 a quick conversion from the standard tractor was called for, to give a tracked vehicle with a powerful winch and, mutually with M.A.P., we produced one. Unfortunately it suffered from insufficient pre-natal care. It was-in more senses than one-a bastard. But the R.A.F's. ideas-in those days-were somewhat immature. They then decided that it was not a track machine that was wanted at all, but a wheeled one, so we had another go ; this time with more success, All the tracked vehicles were converted and we set to work on a steady programme of construction. Now, when
War contracts come cancelling down, an autumnal drift of leaves from the tired Ministries, this contract remains firm. Whether by good fortune, good advice or some inate cleverness at Meltham-do not ask me to say which-it is a machine which is perfectly suited for the job, and wherever the R.A.F. is found it is replacing its British and American rivals. Some have even found their way to Australia.
I must not pass by without referring to our Diesel tracklaying tractor, poor ewe lamb. It was conceived and born in the heat of the battle of Britain, but hardly had it begun to crawl, when Lease-Lend dealt it a fatal blow. "Bulldozers," "Scrapers" and ''Dozers"' of all description powered by American crawlers of mechanical sound- ness and world-wide reputation came flooding across the Atlantic. This was one of the projects which had to be sacrificed in the holocaust of 1941.
Recently, these two war babies have been out in peace-time paint. The R.A.F. model decked out in hunting pink, and furnished with a pulley for driving a threshing machine and the "D.B.4" also gay in our national colours, have been astonishing the pundits and even the conservative farmer at the National Insti- tute of Agricultural Engineering at Askham Bryan. Who knows what brilliant careers lie before them ?
The history of the Tank Transmissions is no less interesting. Well before the war began, discussions were developing at Park Works around the problem of heavy gearboxes for Tracked Vehicles, so that when the war arrived, some projects were in hand and a certain amount of manu- facturing facilities had been got together.
Later, the site at Meltham was utilised as a dispersal and expansion centre and complete new shops were constructed there. Although the manufacturing centres at Park Works and Meltham, now hard at work on the old "Meadows" T.34 box for the Covenanters and the "Wilson" steering units for the A.12 "Matilda," were under the control of Park Works, a separate section was brought into being. As the centre of gravity of the production facilities gradually was shifting to Meltham in February, 1941, the detailed managerial control, as the "Gearbox Division" of
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Meltham 1939-45
@ 40 B.H.P. Tractor Assembly Line.
© Tank Gear Box Machine Shop. Page 122
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Meltham 1939-45
David Brown & Sons, found its way there too. Later in the same year, the upheaval took place, and David Brown Tractors Limited, the organisation as we now know it, emerged. The three divisions, "Tractors," *'Gearbox"': and "Aero" who were operating independently, were effect- ively merged under the ownership control and management of the new Company, and many of the services, such as Purchas- ing, Design, Tooling and Maintenance, were amalgamated. It was just about at this time that the Tank Transmission Programme really began to swing. If the 1940 days were the times of maximum individual endeav- our-the original H.4 Box for the Churchill the first true Merritt-Brown controlled differential steering unit, was put into production from drawing-board through prototypes to first production model in five months-194l1 and 1942 saw the development and creation of facilities for the mass production of Merritt-Brown Boxes for Churchills, Cromwells and a host of others. During 1940 and 1941, Meltham carried single-handed the burden of the Gearboxes for the Churchill programme and was the sole producing unit of this vital component. In 1941, on top of our "H.4" production, we were asked to under- take the task of becoming the largest single producer of the "Z.5" series of Trans- mission for the speedy, hard-hitting Cromwells. To achieve this, 110,000 sq. ft. of requisition space at Scarbottom Mills, nearby in Meltham, were added to the already expanded Meltham Mills factory. But this was not all. In view of our in- timate knowledge of the Merritt-Brown box, we were called in by the Ministry of Supply in September, 1941, when the "2.5" Cromwell programme was being cast, to advise them cf what manufacturing facilities might exist elsewhere in the country to produce this gearbox. In two hectic months of travelling from North to South, from Glasgow to London, of plan- ning, checking and calculating, the pro- gramme was hammered out. Expansion programmes, involving hundreds of mach- ine tools and costing millions of pounds, were produced in all-night sittings. Truly it was a case of "by guess and by God." Fortunately the Almighty was on our side.
Out of this service to the Ministry grew our parentage of the "Z%.5" Transmission programme when it finally emerged. At one time, six illustrious names joined us in our Group ; Leyland, Morris, Standard, Armstrong Siddeley, Dennis and E.N.V. To these we had to feed technical "know how" drawings, instructions, information: For them we had to plan raw material programmes, standardise stampings and billets, and control the flow to where it was most needed. (Here I may add that ''controlling the flow"" smacks just a shade of poetic licence. Getting steel in those days was like squeezing the reluctant life- blood from a fast cooling furnace. In those days you will remember, Jerry was still firing and blasting our cities. Our sources of supply of vital items was always duplicated and on many occasions, the value of this was apparent ; from the nerve centre at Meltham, we were able to switch and direct the supplies to the waiting machines).
Our reward did not come tangibly. In 1943, as Parents of the "Z.5" programme we had another problem. The finding of storage space for completed boxes. Trans- missions at least were not the bottle-neck of the Tank programme.
Before we leave the Tank Transmissions, however, it may be of interest to those who have never experienced one, to know a little about them. Few realise that each box contains 44 gears, weighs # of a ton and has as much work in it as 14 tractors. A Tank Transmission not only provides a change gearbox for the Tank but also a steering mechanism. - The cunning part of the Merritt-Brown lies in the fact that it actually steers the Tank whereas all other Transmissions skid them round.
But no word has yet been said about the Aero Gear Division. Its original history was much the same as that of the Tank Gear Section and like it, in 1941 became incorporated into David Brown Tractors Limited.
At one time in 1940 it too was the sole volume producer of certain components in the Merlin engine, then the power unit of the Spitfire.
In days to cdme, history will add lustre to the past and embroider with imperish- able fame the epic deeds of 1940. There
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Meltham 1939-45
Tank Gear Box Machine
Aero Gear Machine Shop. Page 124
Shop.
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Meltham 1939-45
will be many claimants for the place where history was made. The beds slept in by Queen Elizabeth bid fair to outnumber the ten thousand oaks now said to be ing, where the gallant King Charles hid in his desperate flight. Let us, therefore, record for posterity our impertinent claim that had a bomb, guided with unusual Hun precision, struck our factory, the war had been lost. (I fear my enthusiasm has carried me into the "bucket excavator" class).
I think the Aero Division however, can be proudest of its record of production schedules maintained and low percentage of work spoiled. For here, in spite of hair line accuracy of work, a very high propor- tion of women were employed. To the engineer and supervisory staff, is due considerable credit for their success in tooling up, organising and controlling such precision work with green labour.
All these then, have been our achieve- ments in the past, of which we have a right to be proud; But what of the future ? Our special war-time techniques are no longer fully required ; we shall have to rely in ever increasing measure on our normal commercial product-of tractors and their implements-for our existence.
After 1943 when the pressure of creation and expansion had begun to slacken and the programmes showed signs of running- if not on oiled wheels at least with some semblance of conviction-the Management began to turn more of their thoughts and a greater percentage of their research and engineering personnel towards the problem
Appointments to
Two appointments to the Board of David Brown Tractors Ltd. are announced. Mr. J. Whitehead becomes General Man- ager with a seat on the Board and Mr. F. B. Marsh is also appointed a director. Mr. Marsh joined the David Brown group in 1936 and was actively associated with development work at Park Works. After experience in technical sales he became controller of the general engineering division until the outbreak of war, when the urgent demand for tank transmission gears led to the establishment of a new production department under his direction, which became the parent organisation for heavy tank transmission throughout the country.
of the technical development of our agri- cultural products, and we began to over- take-in design improvements-some of the teething troubles inevitable with products such as ours.
Serious thought was given to basic developments in Agricultural Engineering. By the early part of this year some of this
research work began to appear shyly in the -
product. With much sounding of trumpets and much dislocation of the production programme, the VAK 1a series of Tractors arrived. These were a great improvement on their forbears, and were greeted with enthusiasm by our long suffering distrib- utors. One of them ringing me up one day in a voice tinged with surprise bit into me with a two edged sword **You know this NEW tractor of yours is GOOD." Such words of encouragement are salutary. Our implements too began to improve and newcomers have joined the old favourites.
Much development and research is now going on. It is premature to disclose just what but we face the future with confidence. During strenuous years we have hammered our organisation on the anvil of experience ; many ugly problems lie ahead, neverthe- less, they are less formidable than those that are solved and lie behind.
Let us look back on our achievements with pride but not with complacency, using them as a source from which to derive power for the future. We are the youngest of the David Brown Organisation. Who knows, we may yet be the most famous ; but it will be no small task to surpass our forbears.
Tractors' Board In 1941 this department became part of the tractor factory at Meltham, and Mr. Marsh was appointed Commercial Manager.
Mr. Whitehead has had considerable experience of large business concerns at home and abroad and has been with the organisation a number of years, during which time he has taken part in the re- planning of several of the larger firms in the Group, including the Penistone foundry. He has been personal assistant to Mr. David Brown and recently acting General Manager of David Brown Tractors, Ltd.
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Ploughing Match
Mr. David Brown referred in glowing terms to the achievement of the English farming community in feeding the nation during the war years when he presented the prizes to the winners of the Tractor Ploughing Class at the National Farmers' Union (Huddersfield Branch) Annual Ploughing Match at Deighton, on Saturday the 29th September.
The match was staged in conjunction with the West Riding of Yorkshire War Agricultural Executive Committee and the Technical Development Sub-Committee. The major award in the Tractor Class was the David Brown Challenge Cup for which there was a keen competition amongst the record number of entrants.
Mr. Brown, who was introduced by Mr.
L, S., M. Daykin (chairman of the Plough- -
ing Match Committee and chief ground steward), congratulated both the com- petitors and those who had organised the event on the very fine show that they put up. It was, however, only typical of the great job the farmers hade done in feeding the nation both in this war and the last.
It was interesting to see how industries were now beginning to take notice of agri- culture in this country. It had taken the war to make people realise the tremendous possibilities of agriculture and to realise that we could not have a prosperous Britain without also havng a prosperous agricultural industry.. His company had found the farmers not only willing, but anxious to assist them in every possible way to manufacture the products required. Not only had they been helping the farmers to acquire implements and tractors, but they had also founded a new industry in this district. Prosperous industry and prosperous agriculture went hand in hand.
Mr. David Brown presenting awards at Ploughing Match at Deighton.
Gala
The damage sustained by the Sports Field from debris and machinery washed on to the ground during the disastrous Holme Valley flood last year made it im- possible for the Social and Sports Club to hold their Annual Gala in 1944.
The event was, however, revived on September 1st last and the large attendance of employees, their wives and families and the general public indicated that the un- fortunate interruption had not affected the popularity of the event.
During the afternoon a sports programme for children and adults created much interest, whilst the Children's | Fancy Dress Parade attracted many entrants of both ingenious and attractive standards.
The comic Cricket Match between Hobson Hirst's XI and Hugh Sykes XI provided great amusement, and other attractions included Professor Land with his Punch and Judy Show, a treasure hunt, comic clock golf, etc.
Nora Bray's "Follies on Parade"" pro- vided an excellent concert during the
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Tractor Notes
evening followed by dancing in the Assembly Hall. Mr. David Brown's absence abroad precluded him from taking his usual interest in his employees' activities, but the event was attended by Mrs. David Brown, Mr. David Brown, Junior and Miss Angela Brown.
At Buckingham Palace The congratulations of Meltham Mills are again extended to Mr. Hildred Bastow, - who gallantly plunged through the whirling water and debris to switch off the high tension current when the works were in- vaded by the Holme Valley flood on Whit Monday last year. Hildred's courageous conduct earned for him the award of the B.E.M. and he attended the Investiture at Buckingham Palace on 23rd October to receive the medal from His Majesty the King.
D.B.T. Orchestra The high standard set by last season's appearance by the D.B.T. Light Orchestra was fully maintained by their September Concert, when they were supported by Michael Grant, the B.B.C. vocalist. An innovation has been arranged for November, when "Tom Jones'" is to be presented in conjunction with the choir of Meltham Parish Church. Orchestral Concerts are now in the process of arrangement for 1946.
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Eyes front! at the Children's Fancy Dress Parade at Meltham.
Club Concerts
With the return of the shorter days, the week-end concerts provided in the Club Lounge are becoming increasingly popular, and Secretary Ambler is reported to be investigating the possibilities of installing Elastic Walls. In addition to the appear- ance of local artists, the visits of notable music hall acts are warmly welcome, the one difficulty being that it is not always possible to provide long notice of such attractions.
Sandy Lane at Meltham
The high light of recent lunch time entertainments in the Assembly Hall was the recent visit by Sandy Lane, the popu- lar Yorkshire comedian.
Sandy caused endless merriment with an entirely new version of his ''Dame"' act, followed by a quite nevertheless enjoyable, character study.
Our best thanks are due to Mr. Lane for his kindliness and we trust that it will not be long before we again have the pleasure of according him a warm welcome to Meltham.
Cricket Club repeat Championship
Congratulations to Vincent Gallagher and his lads on their achievement in repeat- ing their 1944 success by finishing the 1945 Season at the head of the League table.
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Tractor Notes
D.B.T. Players
Described by its author, Noel Coward, as a "comedy of manners," the D.B.T. Players' presentation of "Hay Fever" at- tracted three crowded audiences to the Meltham Mills Assembly Hall on 13th, 15th and 16th October.
Continuing their policy of engaging different producers in order to provide playing members of the Society with as wide an experience as possible, Mr. J. Berry-well-known for his long and successful connection with the Hudders- field Thespians-had excercised a great deal of care in all branches of the present- ation of the farce and we look forward to seeing more of his work on the Meltham stage.
Marjory Snape (nee Pearson) is deservous of special commendation for her excellent portrayal of the character of Judith Bliss- the "past her best"" actress endeavouring valiantly to effect a successful return to her more popular days. David Bliss, her novelist husband, was convincingly played by Leonard Craven and his parental handling of their irresponsible children (Phyllis Quarmby as "Sorrel" and Raymond Lane as caused almost as much merriment as his ill-fated affair with Mrs. Myra Arundel (Marie Wrigley).
Charles Hull was cast in an entirely new role as Sandy Tyrrel, an amateur boxer, Hubert Taylor gave his usual polished performance as Richard Greatham, Joan Dawson, a newcomer who is likely to be more prominent in forthcoming produc- tions, made a winsome debut as Jackie Coryton and Kathleen Bedford made good use of her limited opportunities in the part of Clara.
The Notes in this section were con- tributed by Mr. B. Williams.
eno e ee neenee
Foundation of new Chess Section
At long last the "intellectuals'" have won the day and succeeded in forming a Chess Section of the Social and Sports Club. Although the initial membership is natur- ally small, there is a surprisingly large interest in this pastime and the founders are very confident of a speedy increase in their numbers.
The Tractor by **'Pennine" Ships that have sailed for many years And never let us down, Relied upon precision gears Well made by David Brown.
In peacetime and in war, they stood The test of time-and sea. The craftsmanship that made them good Helped win our victory.
In war, production turned to tanks, Tractors, and world-famed gears. A grateful government sent thanks To Brown's in those war years.
For many enemy cities knew. The bombs that we sent down, And "bombing-up"' to bomber crew Meant "Tractor, David Brown."
Came peace again, and re-construction ; Time to think of sheep and cows, And still-increasing food production With tractors, implements and ploughs.
Those wartime tanks are smelted now ; Re-cast by willing hands, The sword in deed becomes a plough For use in many lands.
Pacific isles, in sun and shade, And farms on Norway's hills, Rely on tractors craftsman-made By Brown's at Meltham Mills.
You'll find them round our countryside ; Sturdy-standing every test. You need can say with pride '*The cheapest is the best."
The best is good enough for you ? Then there's no cause for frown, The only one to see you through Is made by David Brown. Admiral Sir Andrew Cunningham was aboard his flagship in a Mediterranean port when a cruiser made a sloppy job of tying up to her berth. The cruiser's captain, dreading the message he knew would come from his commander-in-chief, was relieved, if puz- zled, when it was delivered. It consisted of the one word "Good." } Fifteen minutes later the captain was interrupted in his bath with a supplement reading - **To the previous message please add the word 'God.' " A genius is a man who shoots at some- thing no one else can see, and hits it.
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Page 46
Accurately generated internal and external teeth enable us to guarantee a very high per- centage of contact in any position.
P. R. JACKSON & CO. LTD. SALFORD ROLLING MILLS, MANCHESTER.5.
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eeping
Sports Clnb Notes We reproduce photograph of our Under 18 years old team who last year won the
**Norton'' Cup.. These youths had a wonderful season and only just failed to complete the double. This season most of the boys will again play and we are looking forward to them having. another successful season. It should be of interest to youngsters at other of the Group works to mention that the boy, second from the right in the front row, 16 years old Geoffrey Pawson, is also a signed amateur member gijthe famous Huddersfield Town Football ub.
The senior side have opened their season, and this year owing to the Works League not functioning, we have been admitted to membership of the Hudders- field & District League.
Neither cricket team have this year gained any trophies. The Central side-
photograph of the "pro'' 3d.-lost in the final of the "Holden" Cup Competition and although they only lost one league fixture they failed to force home a win on no fewer that 6 times, which of course lost them 12 points. Shelley, this seasons champions, did not meet our team in the league games but we were the only club to inflict on them a defeat, for the whole season, and that was in the Semi-final of the Cup Competition.
The Association side opened very well but calls to the Central League side did not give them, in most of their games, a strong enough team.
The Annual K.O. Cricket Competition was won for the second year in succession by Turning Dept. Their opponents Heavy Engineering-gave a wonderful performance and a few of the "Turners" were more than pleased when the last over was called. Heavy Engineering team lost ground after the twelfth over-up to then Turning Dept. had only scored 34 runs. At the end of 20 overs they had made their
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Park Works Notes
total 124-Duncan Mitchell once again being the "saviour'' of his side by scoring over 60 not out. "These left handers !" General Engineering scored 117 in 20 overs
Once again the club provided excellent prizes and these were presented to both teams by Mr. N. Crombie.
The Ground Committee apologise to members for the unsatisfactory state of the ground this season, but there is no doubt that the coming year will show vast im- provements.
Congratulations are accorded to Messrs. Herman Beaumont and Herbert Hunter, the two persons responsible for the work done on the "Griffin"' Bowling Green dur- ing last back-end, which enabled the club to offer to members a Bowling Green which proved a great success. It can be stated here with confidence that next season those members interested in Bowling will be more than satisfied.
The recent Vegetable and Flower Show attracted a good entry and the Committee extend to Mr. J. E. Beaumont their thanks for his work as Show Secretary, and also thank those who assisted. The Show, which was well patronised by visit- ._ ors was opened by Mr. J. Milwain.
Don't be surprised if in the next issue you read that the unbeaten Darts Team of one of the "Group'' Works has been heavily defeated by those few who are members of our Works Dart Team. Yes ! Our lads have taken up the challenge.
Messrs. Smith and Pearson again expect to report another bumper entry for the Billiards and Snooker Competitions which they are organising.
The bottom portion of the field, used during the war period by the Home Guard, is to be re-levelled and soiled, and we are very pleased to say that the cost of this work will be borne by thecompany. On behalf of the club members we wish to say a big Thank You to Mr. David Brown for this encouraging gesture. J. Livesey.
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Retirement
We have to record the re- tirement of one of the longest serving employ- ees of the Com- pany in Mr. Arthur - Mann who commenced work at Chapel Street in 1893 and - remained there until 1896. He rejoined the | Companyat Park A Works in 1909 ' where he has worked until the present time. Throughout the whole of his career he has been one of the stalwarts in the Pattern Shop. His Father, the late Mr. William Mann, was also with this Company and with other members of the family their total service adds up to approximately 100 years. *'*Contact'' expresses the feeling of all his colleagues in wishing him a long and happy retirement. Births To Mr. W. Adams (H.E.D.0.) and Mrs. Adams, a son, Anthony Michael. To Mr. J. Pirric (H.E.D.0.) and Mrs. Pirrie (formerly Miss H. Thornhill, H.E.D.0O.), a son, John Neville Roger. To Mr. R. Pyrah (Estimating) and Mrs. Pyrah, a daughter, Elizabeth Ann. To Mr. J. P. G. Rhind (Industrial Eng.) and Mrs. Rhind (formerly Miss J. Crossley, Invoice Dept.), a daughter, Joy Catherine. f To Mr. F. S. Everest (Head Office) and Mrs. Everest, a son, David Anthony. Marriages Miss M. Avison (Works Eng.) to L/Cpl. A. Ellis (R.C.S.). Miss C. M. Batty (Sec. to Financial Compt- roller) to Mr. G. Underwood. Mr. A. W. Drabble (J. and T.D.0.) to Miss J. M. Westrip (J. and T.D.0O.). Mr. F. Holmes (J. and T.D.0.) to Miss S. Haley (B. and S.D.0.). Miss J. Hinchliffe (Research) to Cpl. A. Wilkin (R.C.S.). Mr. W. Iredale (B. and S.D.0.) to Miss - _J. M. Bircumshaw. Miss A. Lane (H. E. Order Office) to Mr. K. Reid (Heavy Eng.).
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Park Works-Keighley Notes
Retirement Sister H. Blanshard who was in charge of the First Aid Station, has retired after twenty-five years service and would like her many friends to know that her address is now **Bryancliffe,"' - Hunger- ford Road, Edgerton. Her intention was to retire a few years ago but with the exigencies of wartime she decided to continue
until the cessation of hostilities. During this latter period she was
responsible for the organ- isation of A.R.P. facilities that were regarded as a model and extensively copied. Our illustration shows Mr. A. Sykes presenting Sister Blanshard with a cheque which was suscribed for by many employees as a mark of esteem. Congratulations To Mr. F. Townsend (J. and T.D.O.) on his recent vocal success as a Carrol Levis "Discovery." Congratulations to Sister Forsyth on winning the Industrial Nursing Certificate of the Royal College of Nursing. We regret to have to record the following which have occurred since our last issue :- Deaths J. A. Brown (Area Office Manager- Scotland). A. Knight (Inspection). E. Thorley (Worm Gear Fitting). J. H. Windle (Welding). Died on Acrive Service T. Batley (Heavy Machine Shop). F. Wood (General Office)
Births To Mr. Arthur Gilling (Gear Cutter) and Mrs. Gilling, a daughter. To Mr. Irvin Lockwood (Maintenance) and Mrs. Lockwood, a son. To Mr. Victor Lownds (Tech. Engineer) andsMrs. Lownds, a son, on 20th Feb., 1945. To Mr. Hubert Sykes (Buyer) and Mrs. Sykes, a son, on 6th June, 1945.
To Mr. Herbert Wood (Gear Cutter) and Mrs. Wood, a son.
Congratulations to the following on the occasion of their marriages :- Mr. P. M. Borrill (Centre Lathe) to Miss Doreen Dyson. Mr. L. Kenworthy (Fitter) to Miss Violet Wood. Trip On Sunday, 19th August, an enjoyable time was spent by all who went to Scar- borough by bus. We left Huddersfield at 8-15 a.m. and arrived in Scarborough at 11-30 a.m. As no provision had been made before for meals, each one made their own arrange- ments, but had no great difficulty in finding accommodation. The weather left much to be desired, but in spite of this, the party which numbered 24 were able to go out and see the places of interest. It was gratifying to note the effect the sea air had on everyone. Owing to the traffic restrictions, we were compelled to leave Scarborough at 6-30 p.m. and during the journey home there was some very fine singing, in which everyone tested to the full their vocal chords. (Where was Carroll Levis ?) We arrived back in Huddersfield at 9-45 p.m. and so ended a perfect day, for which we were grateful to a careful driver and to Mr. A. Ridding and Mr. A. Gilling, who made all the necessary arrangements for the trip.
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Page 50
R. Jackson Notes
Congratulations to Mr. Gilbert Shaw on attaining his 65th birthday on November 22nd. It is now 47 years since Mr. Shaw started work with the organisation in East Parade. Since then 30 years have been spent in various works in the David Brown organisation, the last 11 years being with us at Keighley.
Our congratulations to Mr. Garrety (V.T.L.) on gaining a lst prize in Pom Dahlias, and 2 seconds in Lettuce and Eggs at the Park Works Show. Well done !
To Mr. W. Judd (Machine Moulder) and Mrs. Judd, a son.
Weddings Congratulations and best wishes on the occasion of their marriage to :- Miss D. Holliday (Gen. Office) to L.A.C. P. Sweatman, S.E.A.C. Miss E. Leatherbarrow (Pattern Shop) to L/Bomb. T. Mercer, S.E.A.C. Mrs. E. Lilley (Telephonist) to Corp. R. J. Williamson, U.S.A.
Deaths We regret to report the following deaths : Mr. G. Hartley (Maintenance). Mr. W. Nixon (Fettling Dept.). Mr. J. Owen (Pattern Shop). Mr. T. H. Palmer (Coremaker).
Bowling Section On Saturday, June 2nd, a grand after- noon and evening was spent at Messrs. Taylor Bros. sports ground, the event being our Staff Bowling Handicap. The weather was very kind, although at times there were signs of rain, however, this did not damp the spirits of the contest- ants, who were straining at the leash. The preliminary rounds were quickly over, and with them a few of the likely favourites dropped out. During the re- maining rounds a few remarks were heard something like this, "Who's the fellow with the blue suit on?"" "I thought he never played bowls," ""What handicap has he ?" With these remarks gradually diminishing, it was noticeable that the semi-final and final were greatly enjoyed by the unsuccessful players. At this stage we give the names of the heroes who plodded along to victory.
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The winner of the handicap was G. Butler (Production Dept.), the runner-up was F. Jones (Sales). The semi-finalists were E. Monk (Drawing Office) and J. B. Sutton (H.M.F.) (Buying Office). The presentation of the prizes was per- formed by our General Manager, Mr. Seaman, also Mr. Walker, Works Manager.
We must record the unstinting efforts made by the committee, Messrs. Norbury, Sykes, Gibson and Ludlow, to make this | afternoon a success.
P.R.J. v. Penistone, at Penistone
The day arrived, Saturday, July 14th, and with it a party of enthusiastic bowlers who were ready for anything.
After several attempts to locate the transport to take us to Penistone, we eventually arrived at Penistone overdue. After a visit round the works, tea was par- taken of, then on to the arena.
The result, well we pass over that, and
leave it to our hosts to comment upon it.
After the match a subdued, but not downhearted, party returned to Manchester leaving our best wishes and thanks to the organisers and canteen staff for an en- joyable afternoon and evening.
P.R.J. v. Penistone, at Manchester
Again the awaited day, September 15th, arrived with the teams and spectators full of vim and vigour and one could not help noticing the keenness of both teams waiting for the commencement, but alas, this did not materialise until we had made a tour of the works. Tea, which was thoroughly enjoyed, was partaken of in
_ the canteen.
After the final callover by Mr. Seaman and Mr. Hancock, we proceeded to Taylor Bros. Sports Ground, ready for the fray.
As the game proceeded, it was noticed that the Penistone team were not comfort- able about the way things were going, but this made them more eager, but alas, the outcome was never in doubt, there being a victory for P. R. J. 118-84.
After the main match, one could see bowls whizzing here and there, and a stranger would have thought a cricket match was in progress or an exhibition in a pin alley, casualties nil. :
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P. R. Jackson Notes
Personality portraits at the Penistone - Salford Bowling Match.
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Page 52
P. R. Jackson-Penistone Notes
As the light failed, the green became its - natural self, and one could hear loud laughter from a nearby parlour, also re- marks such as, "What's yours ?" "How did you go on ? " "'Same But alas, all good things come to an end, and a cheery goodbye was given to our visitors, with the hope that this would not be the last of such enjoyable occasions.
Thanks are due to Messrs. Taylor Bros. for their kindness in allowing us to use their green and facilities at Barton Lane.
Victory Celebration
The announcement of V.E. Day created a good deal of excitement and this prompt- ed discussion in the works as to appropriate celebration. A Committee was formed composed of representatives of the various sections, who got to work with a will and programmed a "Victory Gala."
Messrs. Taylor Brothers, Trafford Park, kindly loaned their Sports Ground at Eccles for the occasion, and Races, Sporting Events, Competitions and Enter- tainments were planned to the last detail.
All children of employees up to school- leaving age were invited to tea and their entertainment specially catered for. Trans- port arrangements were made for getting the 350 children from the works to the ground and back again, and the only © requirement for a really successful day was good weather.
At last the day came but what a crushing blow we received from the Clerk of the Weather-he must have been celebrating himself and forgotten to turn off the taps. The weather was simply atrocious and rain followed rain all day long.
In spite of this the Gala proceeded according to plan ; the children had their 'bus ride and the employees turned up in reasonably good numbers despite the down- pour. All the youngsters congregated in the large refreshment Marquee, and sang lustily to drown the sound of the beating rain on the canvas.
They were also entertained by a conjuror whose mysticism not only reduced them to dead silence but even had some of the executives gaping open-mouthed in wonder.
Between showetjs most of the races were run, and the kiddies were eventually
Page 136
returned by 'bus back to the works, tired out and stuffed with cakes, ice cream and lemonade.
Though the weather had been against us all day it was agreed by all that the efforts had been worth while and the success of the outing was supported by the lusty cheering of the youngsters.
Congratulations to the following on the occasion of their marriages :-
Mr. A. Abraham (M. A. P. Supt.) to Miss Graham. Miss Broadhead (Moulder) to Mr. Barker. Miss Darlow (Cranedriver) to Mr. Butcher. Miss K. Deane (Tacklehand) to Mr. Lampshire (Coremaker). Miss M. Denton (Coremaker) to Mr. West (Moulder). ; Miss Edgley (Cranedriver) to Sgt. Mans- bridge. Miss Evans (Cranedriver) to Pte. Morrison. Miss H. Fretwell (Coremaker) to Pte. Charbonneau, (Canadian Army). Mr. W. Fitzpatrick (Bronze Spinner) to Miss B. James. Miss M. Garnett (Coremaker) to Mr. O'Connor. Miss J. Hanson (Inspector) to Mr. Fretwell. Mr. C. Hodgkinson (Patternmaker) to Miss Roebuck. Miss L. Howard (Records Clerk) to Mr. Walton. Miss Jones (Cranedriver) to Mr. Newton. Miss Mirfin (Clamper) to Pte. Stead. Mr. J. Neil (Chargehand) to Miss Hamilton. Miss D'Orleans (Ratefixer) to Cpl. D. Jones, R.A.F., (late Ratefixing). Miss Oxley (Grinder) to Mr. J. Crossland (Closer). Miss M. Platts (Core Progress) to Mr. Penistone, (Chargehand). Miss B. Robinson (Ormig and Documents) to Pte. I. Worms (Canadian Army). Miss I. Robinson (Pattern Painter) to Mt. Hinchliffe. + Mr. D. Ross (Patternmaker) to Miss Turton. Miss D. Shaw (Accounts) to Pte. A. Dyson. Mr. E. Spenceley (Ratefixer) to Miss F. Hill (Coremaker). Miss E. Stead (Tacklehand) to Mr. Mitchell.
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Penistone Notes
Miss D. Vaughton (Ormig and Documents) to Cpl. P. Palmer. Miss J. Vaughton (Bronze Stores) to W/O Crawshaw (R.A.F.). Miss Walmsley (Dresser) to Mr. Swaby (Heat Treatment). Miss Whiting (Moulder) to Mr. Wragg.
Mr. J. Wood (G, S Moulder) to Miss Kaye.
Births
To - Mr. -K. Bottom and Mrs. Bottom (Telephonist), a son. To Mr. Bramall (Accounts) and Mrs. Bramall, a son. To Mr. Burrows (Fettling Shop) and Mrs. Burrows, a son. To Mr. G. Hadfield (Chargehand M.A.P.) and Mrs. Hadfield, a daughter. To Mr. N. McGowan (Laboratory) and Mrs. McGowan, a son. To Mr. C. Schofield (Coreshop) and Mrs. Schofield, a daughter. To Mr. E. Spenceley (Machine Shop Fore- man) and Mrs. Spenceley, a son. To Mr. G. Townend (Bronze Dept.) and Mrs, Townend, a daughter. To Mr. L. J. L. Baillie (Spectrographical Laboratory) and Mrs. Baillie, a son.
Deaths We regret to have to report the following which have occurred since our last issue :-
Mr. H. Allenby (Closer). Mr. J. Holmes (Clerk). Mr. G. Jubb (Labourer). Mr. O. Walters (Labourer).
Letter
The following letter has been received from Gnr. J. Woodland :-
"I feel I should write and thank you for
. the works magazine "Contact"" which I
have been receiving from you all through the war and I must say I have found it very pleasant reading and also it has kept me in touch with my old workmates.
In the last "Contact I received I saw the name of one of my very best friends and workmates listed killed on Active Service
over enemy territory, Fred Barnett. I am
sure his old workmates will be very pleased to know I have visited his grave often in Belgium. He is buried in a lovely part of the country in a graveyard well cared for
by the Belgian people. That won't bring him back to us I know, but it is great to know he was buried so well by the Germans. I would appreciate it a lot if you could possibly find space for this letter in your next "Contact'' as I am sure his old work- mates will pleased to know where his body - lies at rest.
Wishing you and all my friends at Penistone Works the very best of health for the future and I hope to be back amongst you all very soon." f
Annual Gala
The War Comforts Fund Gala which has become an annual event at Penistone was held this year on Saturday, 11th August.
Unlike the previous year, the weather was really brilliant and a record gate was taken, more than 2,000 programmes being sold.
The children had a royal time on the waggonette, donkeys and swings and the many sporting events for the youngsters as well as the "big children"" proved most attractive. For those not so nimble there were numerous side shows including bowls darts, treasure hunt, etc. The Punch and Judy show was very popular as was the physical culture display, given by Mr. W. Hunt and pupils. The display given by the Boy Scouts and the crossing a rope bridge erected by them was an attraction welcomed by young and old alike. There were many entries for the Baby Show and the Fancy and Comic Dress competition proved a difficult task for the judges in awarding the prizes.
The Refreshment tent was in great demand and proved a most welcome. retreat for a refresher in such brilliant sunshine. In the evening the Gala was wound up with a Whist Drive and Dance which also attracted a record attendance.
The total proceeds amount to £137 7s. 5d.-indeed a most satisfactory result. The thanks of the Committee are heartily recorded to everyone who assisted in any way in making the event such an outstand- ing success. 3
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Retirements We must first record the retirement of our Secretary and Director Mr. P. Wardle who had given 49 years of con- tinous and exemplary service to the company. Mr. Wardle joined the com- pany in 1898 as a clerk and after about four years was appointed Secretary by the late Mr. William Muir. Outside his business career he made equal distinction for himself. At one time he was Chairman of the Prestwich District Council, and was also for many years a Justice of the Peace. We wish to extend to Mr. and Mrs. Wardle our sincere good wishes for the future, and wish them good health and happiness in the years to come. We also wish to extend the same hearty good wishes to Mr. James Wolstenholme (Turner) who retired at the age of 70 years this last month.
; Births To Mr. and Mrs,. A. Carter (Turning Dept.), a daughter, Elaine. To Mr. and Mrs. J. Goodrick (Leading Hand, Pattern Shop), a son, Carl Bryan. April 15th, 1945. To® Mr.: and: Mrs. J. (Works Engineer), a son, James Alan. Oct- ober 13th, 1945.
Marriages Mr. Frank Stuart-Cole (Heavy Div. Fitter) to Miss Elsie Gloag. November 3rd, 1945. Mr. A. Driver (Draughtsman) to Miss Marie Owen. 'Miss Isobel Wall to Fus. Fred Nuttall. June 18th, 1945. Mr. C. Ardern (General Office Staff) to Miss D. K. Hudson.
Bowling Handicap The Bowling handicap proved a great success and we offer our congratulations to Mr. Walter Stringfellow (Stores) who very ably carried the competition. Great rivalry was shown due to the fact that a number of the personnel from Huddersfield had entered the competition, and vowed to relieve us of the cup. Mr. Crossland proved the most likely challenger from Huddersfield but admitted his defeat in the semi-final to Mr. Jack Perrin.
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Blackpool.
Works' Picnic The works' picnic to Blackpool was held on September 8th and everyone thoroughly enjoyed the trip. Lunch was provided by the Canteen and tea was obtained in Unfortunately, we were not blessed with holiday weather but the high spirits of the company made the whole affair an outstanding success.
Weddings Congratulations and best wishes on their recent marriages to :- Mr. R. Lowe (Capstan) and Miss Gladys Barnes. Mr. T. Harris (Copper-plating) and Miss Audry Childs. Miss A. Horsham (Gear-grinding) and Mr. E. Baker.
Births To Mr. W. Cruddas (Gear-cutting) and Mrs. Cruddas, a daughter. To Mr. G. W. Neal (Gear-cutting) and Mrs, Neal, a son. To Mr. A. H. Hopkins (Grinding) and Mrs. Hopkins, a son.
Deaths f We regret to have to report the following: Mr. S. H. Downton (Chief Inspector) who died in Connaught Hospital, Walthamstow, on June 4th, and Mr. A. C. Williams (Time Office) who died following an operation at Northwood Hospital. © River Trip The Thames River trip from Richmond to Chertsey on Sunday, September 2nd, arranged by Mr. R. G. Hibberd (Turning) and Mr. F. H. Marels (Drilling) proved very enjoyable, and all concerned apprec- iated the tea which was served on the return journey.
Darts Team The C. J. Fitzpatrick darts team who are competing in the North West London Factories Darts League, played their first match in September against Messrs. Triplex Glass Ltd. away from home, resulting in a win for our opponents. Up to press, six matches have been played of which we have won two and lost four. Our highest scorer in these matches is Mr. Riches (Grinding).
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--<
|
msait"
l
Having now vacated our temporary premises at Western Avenue and being fully installed in our new and modern factory on the North Circular Road, we have increased facilities for the supply of Gears and Gear Units for every
industrial purpose.
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wet
ciate s.
supplied complete or cut from
customers'
Industrial Gears of every type
machined - blanks
GEAR COMPANY LOCKWOOD HUDDERSFIELD
,,,,,,,,