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Lucas Formans Road Sparkhill

G

Grace

Guest
Lucas factory

Hello hmld,
Have a look under "Reference Books" . I obtained my copy of "Lucas in Birmingham" and it's great, well worth the money. :D Christmas parties, wonderful. Still have my tiny silver locket given to me at Formans Road Christmas party in the 1950's.
 
Seems to me that Lucas' made batteries which may be a reason for destroying the buildings if they were involved in this product. There may have been lead contamination involved which is a serious health hazard. It seems to me that staying at one company for a lifetime of work (even if that is possible these days) is not the way to go unless you are doing very well there. Move around if that is possible. Broaden your experiences. Try different things. The ability to tackle a variety of jobs is valuable in this day and age. You don't need a gold watch to look at when you retire. In fact you don't need a watch at all. I don't have one. Maybe it's different now but the ability to be versatile has always been an asset.

I was going to ask what batteries the UK cars use now; then I remembered.
 
Hi

just to let you know Jackie Hill's web site has now in
Carl words a bostin site of Forman's Road.
Jackie Hills work is important and all the help you can
give her on Memories Photo's Sports Day's of the
Lucas Empire will be used.
Little written about Forman's Road Sparkhill.
I lived at 156 Forman's Road for a while and spent
18 month's there in Work Study.(ouch)
Just hop out of bed and into the Office.
One day I forgot my Lunch and I had a Phone call
over the Tanoy asking me to go to Reception while I was on
a study. There was Nan in reception bawling me out you forgot
this like everything else you do. Good old Nan I thought
the truth alway's hurt. That was Nan straight as a Die.

Mike
 
Do you know the man in the photo not sure if its Formans Road or Girling
Angela1.jpgAngela 3.jpg

I'm told his first name is Albert and work for Lucas around 1940as
 
I'm new to this forum, but one has to start somewhere.
My Dad was a long serving employee of Joseph Lucas, Formans Road Division. He served over 40 years with them. His name was George Douglas Spencer, but most called him Doug . He was head of the design office battery division for most of his latter years and one of his claims to fame was the Lucas battery filler. He also designed a special battery to fit into Prince Charles's A40 pedal car so making it battery powered.
He retired from Lucas's in 1959 and enjoyed nearly 30 years of retirement until he died aged 92. He was at the time the oldest Lucas pensioner on the books.
Having served four years in France in the first world war, it was even more remarkable that he lived such a long life. He and my mother were married for 65 years and had four sons me being the youngest.
I wonder if there is anyone alive today that remembered my Dad.

Alan Spencer (Bikeral72)
 
Re: Newby first post

Hi Alan and welcome to the forum.
Your dad must have had some great stories to tell, nice to see some on the site.
There is a thread about Lucas's, if you type Lucas into the search box on the right top side of the forum page, you will see the link, your dad may already have been mentioned on there.
Where did your parents live? - there may be folk who remember them from home as well as work.
Sue
 
Re: Newby first post

Thanks for that Jennyann, I will troll through it and see if I can find someone I know.
 
During the sixties my wife and I lived in Acocks Green, and she worked at Lucas Formans rd, Barbara Parker was her name, anyone remember her?
 
During the sixties my wife and I lived in Acocks Green, and she worked at Lucas Formans rd, Barbara Parker was her name, anyone remember her?
Hi my is Barbara Parsons ,And as a child in the 60's . I lived with my mom and Grandparents in Francis Rd. Acocks Green. My Grandad "Charlie May" worked at Lucas Formans rd for 40 yrs retiring in 1973, my Nan "Ruth May" worked at another Lucas. And I'm pretty sure my mom Doreen May worked at Forman's rd for a short while after leaving school. I will ask her tomorrow. My mom was born in 1940 and I was born 1960.
 
Lucas Forman road football team.jpg
LUCAS Formans Road Football Team (Battery Dept)-Inter-departmental Cup Winners 1931-2.
My Dad Billy Spiers (bottom left cross legged) worked in the battery die-casting dept at Formans road from (well at least 1931) until he retired in 1975 (Became a shop steward in later years). He played for Lucas' (not just Formans Road) until well into his 40's (so the 1950's) and captained the team for some time. Not all inter-departmental of course but against other (mainly industrial) firms.

Can't remember the name of the amateur league they played in but over time -as I had to accompany him certainly from the age of about 8 - I must have visited just about every amateur football ground in Birmingham and the Black Country.
 
Hi
My Aunt Nancy, worked at Forums Rd, and my Grandad worked as a night watchman at Forums Rd. His name was John Henry Harwood. Anybody remember them? They use to live on Norman Rd Accocks Green. My Granmother use to arrange visits during the war to see children who were evacuated. She continued to arrange day trips for her neighbours and friends by collecting old newspapers for the evening mail. Anybody remember her? her name was Maude Harwood.

Astonboy
 
I used to work in the battery factory at Formans Road, for a while, I remember Mr Cooke and a George Atkins. From there I move d to Shaftmoor Lane when Lucas's started the early computer Punch Card System. My Brother Joe Thompson worked on one of the Assembly Lines. Not sure whether it WAS BW3 OR 4.
 
Hi
My Aunt Nancy, worked at Forums Rd, and my Grandad worked as a night watchman at Forums Rd. His name was John Henry Harwood. Anybody remember them? They use to live on Norman Rd Accocks Green. My Granmother use to arrange visits during the war to see children who were evacuated. She continued to arrange day trips for her neighbours and friends by collecting old newspapers for the evening mail. Anybody remember her? her name was Maude Harwood
Astonboy

My Nan and Grandad both worked at Lucas , Grandad was at Formans Rd. Their names were Charlie and Ruth May and were also from Acocks Green. 77 Francis Rd. I grew up in Francis Rd too. I will ask my mother Doreen for you. She was born 22 Nov 1940 (terrible day for having a baby). Her first job when she left school was also at Lucas's. And I will look for some of Grandads photos and get back to you. Cheers Barbara
 
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