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George Ellison and Tufnol

This 1921 Engineer extract is for sale on eBay. It's labelled as a Birmingham Switchgear Works. In the write up attached to the photo extract the eBay vendor has called it "Allison's". Surely this is Geo Ellison's factory ? Viv.

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hi viv we had bill switchgears on aston lane perry barr...i believe ellisons also made switchgear but would not know for certain if the the photos show ellisons

lyn
 
You should note that old Engineer issues are available after free registration at Graces Guide at https://www.gracesguide.co.uk/The_Engineer_(Bound_Volumes)

I am sure many will appreciate that advice Mike.
Ebay always seems to me to be 'mugsville'. I know much of the large scale railway models usually are overpriced and frequently incorrectly described. One word seems common to a lot of what is advertised and that is 'rare'.
 
Amazon is a minefield for reprints. If you look up, say Birmingham (I often look at new books on that subject though unfortunately this also brings up the alabama Birmingham), and you will see hoards of books which are reprints of old texts, I think printing immediately before purchase) and over 50% are available free online from some source, but are priced at £25-45
 
Ellison’s Insulations changed their name to Tufnell Ltd in 1944, but my Dad who was still working there in the 1960s/70s continued to refer to the company as George Ellison’s. I expect most former Ellison’s employees did too. Viv.

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My father Wilfred Barr worked at Ellisons for over 40years and retired in 1970, he was an electrical fitter and he always came home stinking .... l know he worked with tufnol and his cowgown was always reeking of something....l enjoyed reading the history of about tufnol and ellisons and remember the x'mas parties for us kids also l do remember the exibition in 1944 at perry bridge l got to sit in a aeroplane there (l'm showing my age now).....l know in the main entrance was a big oil painting by a dame somebody... l think it was of a worker working on a switchgear well my dad was in it to....wonder what happened to it after they pulled the buildind down...Brenda
Hi Ive been sorting out my mothers-Molly Farrington old photos.She worked at Ellisons as a blue print tracer- tracing engineering plans. She stareted there about1940 when she left school age 15years. I found a photo of the works netball team she started. Molly the married a Gerald Clayton. I remember her tracing plans at home in the evenings
after we had gone to bed. It was very detailed work using fountain pens pencils( sharpened to a block point with a knife) set squares, a large wooden easel, compasses and triangles. I'm not sure how long shecworked for Ellisons but she always talked fondly of it and was proud of the netball team.

I wondered if any other employees had mentioned it to their families.
 
Here we have two business activities which produced a world beating product. George Ellison started out producing electrical switchgear in Paris in 1898 and subsequently made great advances through the later development of a reliable electrical insulation material, 'Tough Phenol' later named 'Tufnol' (or Synthethic Resin Paper). It even had a place in components for a variety of military equipment and during WW2 the Ministry of Aircraft Production took control of the Tufnol factory.

My interest in the company is because my dad was employed by Geo. Ellison when he came out of the RAF. He was an electrical engineer with the company. I remember going with him once to visit a client in North London. I never understood what he was actually there to do or what his job was (being very young and technically incompetent!) but he gave me a brilliant understanding of the London underground tube map which would prove to be invaluable in later years! I vividly remember the smell of the resin on his clothes as well as the generous Christmas parties, complete with the 'real' Father Christmas arriving at Wellhead Lane on his sleigh.

Here's a photo of George Ellison's premises at Wellhead Lane built in 1916. Across the road the Tufnol factory was built.

Also attached is a summary of how the company progressed over time and my favourite GE advert. Viv.

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I am often reminded in some way that it is a "small world" in which we live! Your post and the following one were a blast from my past, as my father, Gethin Davies, also worked at Ellisons, (I'm guessing, at about the same time!), but is was an unlikely meeting with George Ellison himself which got him the job! Dad was a teenager, originally from an isolated small village, and later, a slightly larger town, in the Conwy valley in North Wales, but was well known as a brilliant young footballer as he played away matches all over North Wales. During one such match, at about the same time as he was due to leave school, he was noticed by a scout for Stockport County football club, and a subsequent offer was made for him to join the team. His father had much to say, along the lines of the fact that footballing careers often finished early due to injury (no physios in the early 1930s) and the need for a steady job to fall back on....... A solution was eventually found however, since my grandfather had connections within the electrical engineering industry - his grandfather and uncles had been instrumental in the development of hydro electric power in North Wales, and he had served an apprenticeship at "Metro Vicks" in Manchester, before returning home to work in the family business, The North Wales Power and Traction Company. Dad was duly taken on as an apprentice at "Metro Vicks" and was able to board with an uncle in Manchester. A while later, an offer followed to play for Everton, which was where Mr. Ellison, who was a director (chairman?) on the board of Aston Villa Football club, came to watch his team playing an away match. Very quickly came the offer to join the team in Birmingham, but again my grandfather stepped in to say that it was unviable as Dad hadn't finished his apprenticeship....... Back came a response from Mr. Ellison: the apprenticeship could be completed at Ellisons, Dad could play for Aston Villa (and the Ellison Switchgear football team) and suitable accommodation could be found with a Welsh family in Perry Barr. Within a very short time, Dad had packed his bags and headed for Birmingham, where he finished his apprenticeship and threw himself into football and city life, but it wasn't to last long: during a home match, Dad was injured and tore ligaments in his knee, for which there was no effective treatment at the time. He walked with a limp for the rest of his life, but kept his job in the test department, becoming Chargehand, and travelling all over the country to supervise new installations of Ellison equipment. Over this weekend, the horrendous weather reminded me of the week (I think in the early 1960s) he'd set off, by train, for Scotland to check an installation, which should have taken 3 or 4 days, and ended up stranded by the snow in a 4* hotel for 3 weeks, with all expenses paid! Meanwhile, my Mum was fretting at home that Dad wouldn't have sufficient clothes and she wouldn't have any housekeeping money, but Ellison's sorted both problems for her! Likewise, when Dad's friends from North Wales came for a city weekend and wanted to see the Villa play, Ellison's sorted it! Co-incidentally, my Mum, Betty Aston, also worked for Ellison's, as a bookkeeper in the offices, and she hated having to go down to the factory floor, because there was a chap in the test room who "wolf whistled" after her - I dare say that's not allowed these days! When he caught the same bus as her, travelling to Handsworth, every night for months, she eventually discovered he lived in the opposite direction! A couple of years later, she married Gethin from the Test Room!
Another post to follow about how Dad, with help from Ellisons, in the 1970s, renovated the wartime switchgear and wiring in Manod Quarry, Ffestiniog - the place where all the art treasures from the National Gallery were stored to protect them from bomb damage during the Second World War.
 
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I am often reminded in some way that it is a "small world" in which we live! Your post and the following one were a blast from my past, as my father, Gethin Davies, also worked at Ellisons, (I'm guessing, at about the same time!), but is was an unlikely meeting with George Ellison himself which got him the job! Dad was a teenager, originally from an isolated small village, and later, a slightly larger town, in the Conwy valley in North Wales, but was well known as a brilliant young footballer as he played away matches all over North Wales. During one such match, at about the same time as he was due to leave school, he was noticed by a scout for Stockport County football club, and a subsequent offer was made for him to join the team. His father had much to say, along the lines of the fact that footballing careers often finished early due to injury (no physios in the early 1930s) and the need for a steady job to fall back on....... A solution was eventually found however, since my grandfather had connections within the electrical engineering industry - his grandfather and uncles had been instrumental in the development of hydro electric power in North Wales, and he had served an apprenticeship at "Metro Vicks" in Manchester, before returning home to work in the family business, The North Wales Power and Traction Company. Dad was duly taken on as an apprentice at "Metro Vicks" and was able to board with an uncle in Manchester. A while later, an offer followed to play for Everton, which was where Mr. Ellison, who was a director (chairman?) on the board of Aston Villa Football club, came to watch his team playing an away match. Very quickly came the offer to join the team in Birmingham, but again my grandfather stepped in to say that it was unviable as Dad hadn't finished his apprenticeship....... Back came a response from Mr. Ellison: the apprenticeship could be completed at Ellisons, Dad could play for Aston Villa (and the Ellison Switchgear football team) and suitable accommodation could be found with a Welsh family in Perry Barr. Within a very short time, Dad had packed his bags and headed for Birmingham, where he finished his apprenticeship and threw himself into football and city life, but it wasn't to last long: during a home match, Dad was injured and tore ligaments in his knee, for which there was no effective treatment at the time. He walked with a limp for the rest of his life, but kept his job in the test department, becoming Chargehand, and travelling all over the country to supervise new installations of Ellison equipment. Over this weekend, the horrendous weather reminded me of the week (I think in the early 1960s) he'd set off, by train, for Scotland to check an installation, which should have taken 3 or 4 days, and ended up stranded by the snow in a 4* hotel for 3 weeks, with all expenses paid! Meanwhile, my Mum was fretting at home that Dad wouldn't have sufficient clothes and she wouldn't have any housekeeping money, but Ellison's sorted both problems for her! Likewise, when Dad's friends from North Wales came for a city weekend and wanted to see the Villa play, Ellison's sorted it! Co-incidentally, my Mum, Betty Aston, also worked for Ellison's, as a bookkeeper in the offices, and she hated having to go down to the factory floor, because there was a chap in the test room who "wolf whistled" after her - I dare say that's not allowed these days! When he caught the same bus as her, travelling to Handsworth, every night for months, she eventually discovered he lived in the opposite direction! A couple of years later, she married Gethin from the Test Room!
Another post to follow about how Dad, with help from Ellisons, in the 1970s, renovated the wartime switchgear and wiring in Manod Quarry, Ffestiniog - the place where all the art treasures from the National Gallery were stored to protect them from bomb damage during the Second World War.
A wonderful story and piece of Birmingham History!
 
Viv, thank you for your reply, the name dame laura knight sounds familier but the copy you posted is'nt the one my father was in.....the painting had no women in it just a man in the foreground i think his name was george harris and my father was in the background.....l can see it in my mind as dad had a photo of it also a signed letter of thanks for posing but where they are now l do'nt know...maybe l'll brendado some internet searching and come up with it..the picture l mean...brenda
Was wondering if this was Dame Laura Knight’s painting referred to in Brenda’s post. This painting shows Ellison’s engineers working on switchgear, probably around WW2. Wonderful record of the work. Viv.

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Viv, thank you for the picture, that is the painting i was talking about, l do have a black and white photo, of the painting and i am so pleased to see it colour, my father Wilfred Barr is in the background. this has really made my day and will save and show my grand children, once again thank you. Brenda
 
I’m glad it’s the one Brenda ! I like Laura Knight’s work. Someone might be able to tell us exactly what your father was portrayed doing. I wondered if he was working from the blueprint laid across his machine ? The two engineers in the foreground have a blueprint too. So perhaps they were all working on newly developed circuits. Viv.
 
That is some serious electrical distribution gear. The coloured strips under the front fitters arm, red, yellow and blue indicate 3-phase equipment (further explanation not relevant here). The big metal H frame would have been an assembly jig, designed to locate everything in the right place, and the insides would have been removed to be installed somewhere.
The coil behind the box the fitter is sitting on is interesting, a coil that tight would have taken some serious bending.
my father Wilfred Barr is in the background.
A wonderful record to have, but not enough in the picture to guess at what he is doing. No rolls of electrical cable nearby, so whatever is in the box is heavy duty, possibly a smaller version of whatever the foreground people are doing. The braced stance looks like he may be filing something to achieve a perfect fit.

They would all have been skilled workers, working from blueprints is a pointer to that.

Andrew.
 
As Brenda said earlier on this thread, the painting was called “Switch Works”. A little more info. The painting was commissioned by Ellison Ltd in 1945 to commemorate the end of WWII. Laura Knight was approached by several companies offering commissions for similar works to commemorate the end of the War. (Don’t think she did others, although could be wrong). “Switch Works” is oil on canvas.

It’s unlikely the painting is in the hands of Tufnell - after all the years of change from the time of Geo. Ellisons. It has in the relatively recent past been offered for sale at Christie’s, so it’s now most likely in private hands.

Viv
 
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