BIRMETALS AS I SAW IT (1954-1968)
Introduction
During my employment at Birmetals I worked in many production departments throughout the factory and some of the offices. I hope those who read my observations and experiences will be able to reflect upon their time of employment. Some, I am sure, will have conflicting opinions so I trust you will correct me to set the record straight. Please remember I am reflecting upon occurrences of nearly 40-55 years past!!
Situation
I am unaware of the exact reasons for the establishment of such a comprehensive large specialised factory as Birmetals.
Those who have been employed at the factory will be well aware of its isolation and large size considering it was built around 1937/39. I wonder, was it inspired by government policy to develop military build up due to the rise of power by Germany. The factory seemed totally geared up to produce raw materials especially for the aircraft industry.
It would be known, I presume, as a “shadow factory” well out of the way of aircraft attack as would occur if developed in the accustomed city suburbs. The buildings were very well camouflaged.
Strangely most of the heavy processing machines were of German manufacture and I believe installed by German engineers.
Due to the factory’s isolation and potential work force of, I believe often around the 1000, employees were bussed in from Black Country towns such as Blackheath, Oldbury, Tipton, Rowley Regis and Halesowen. To accommodate large numbers of coaches arriving in Clapgate Lane a large road-side car park was established beyond the factory gates. Cycle sheds were provided for those who had the energy to pedal to work, maybe from Harborne, Bartley Green, Quinton or Northfield. Those who could afford travelled by car but sadly the distinction between staff and works personnel still prevailed which meant that staff could park their vehicles with more security within the confines of the factory fence.
As was the norm in those times, works employees had to clock in and out, whilst staff workers simply arrived. In general the work day commenced at 6:30am ending at 4:00pm. Staff usually started at 8:40am finishing at 5:30pm.
Casting Shop
The casting shop was a huge high building set on its own site, separated by a long straight internal road from, the rolling mill, extrusion mills, tube mill inspection dept., despatch and laboratories.
Harry Whymper was the manager of the department with Cliff Hollies his general foreman. Dick Mills was in charge of heat weighing (establishing the composition and content of metals to be added to a furnace for a known alloy) and delivery of scrap, clippings, billet ends and virgin aluminium ingots to a furnace was organised by Jack Brown. Magnesium furnace feeding followed the same procedure.
All melting furnaces were oil fired, holding furnaces used for pouring aluminium alloys into slabs or billets, were electrically heated. Aluminium alloys were melted in large brick lined furnaces fired with several oil burners. They had a capacity of 8-10 tons. Magnesium alloys, whether melted in E shop or M shop, in steel crucibles holding somewhere around 400Ib to 1000Ib respectively.
Charging furnaces was by manual labour which always resulted in copious amounts of sweat! The metal charge was simply tipped by the side of the furnace, depending on its nature, would be shovelled or larger pieces thrown in my hand. Aluminium ingots were a little easier to handle. These would arrive at the furnace door on trailers, each ingot being placed on a special hollow spoon shaped charging rod. This rod was directed, via a roller on the mouth of the furnace door, to a selected place on the hearth and gently tipped off. Ingots weighed approximately 56 Ib.
Great care had to be taken charging an empty furnace with ingots. They had to be carefully stacked in a formation allowing maximum melting potential from the oil burners, either directly, or reflected from the refractory lining bricks. Where possible, furnaces would be charged with lighter scrap metal which was allowed to melt. This bath of molten metal would then act as a cushion for the charging of heavier pieces. At all times splashes of molten metal were hazards. Badly corroded pieces, if large, would explode in a molten bath.
Once a furnace load was molten addition of alloying metals was possible as prescribed on alloy schedules supplied by Dick Mills. These additions would include silicon, manganese, copper, magnesium all in recognised alloy form for aluminium. Magnesium alloying metals would include aluminium, beryllium, zirconium, manganese.
Both aluminium and magnesium alloys were cast into slabs or billets. Billets were made in sizes 92mm, 145mm, 220mm, 295mm and 395mm. Aluminium slabs, were, as far as I can recall, up to 42 inches wide by 9 inches thick. Those of magnesium were somewhat smaller maybe 24x7 inches. Lengths of slabs and billets were dependent on the final sheet or extrusion specification.
Slabs and billets were produced by the direct chill casting process to a length of about 20ft, depending on the casting pit into which they were lowered. Magnesium castings were poured directly from the crucible whilst aluminium was poured from an electrically heated holding furnace with a tilting mechanism. Holding furnaces held about half of a main oil fired furnace capacity, this enabled a furnace to be recharged so that melting times were a minimum. It was while in the holding furnace that aluminium alloys were degassed by a proprietary product called hexachlorethane.
There were four or five casting stations available each capable of being changed by the means of a different table top having various mould types. The machine comprised a deep pit filled with water and a central ram on top of which a platform of steel was attached. The ram was lowered during casting and raised on completion to discharge the product.
Table top moulds varied according to the shape required i.e. slab or billet, large or small. A table would contain two rows each of say 92mm billet size copper moulds, there would be about 6 per row. Larger size products would be few in number, there probably being only two for the very large slab sizes. The copper moulds projected perhaps 9 inches below the surface of the table top, mating up with an insert, or stool, fixed to the mobile ram. Liquid metal would be gradually poured into these moulds via launders (asbestos lined feeder) which by careful control with asbestos inserts an operator could adjust the flow to fill each mould, at the same time allowing the ram to descend. The outsides of the copper moulds, projecting from below the table, were copiously sprayed with water thereby ensuring the metal had solidified before being lowered into the pit. On completion of the cycle the table top was removed and the remaining castings hauled out by chain pulled by overhead crane.
Slabs and billets were then cut to length according to requirements of the final product. Slabs were always surface machined to remove the slightly rough cast surface. For high quality extrusions billets were occasionally surface machined in lathes. Swarf from such sources would be recycled in furnace batches. Care was needed to correct the analysis of some alloy swarf since segregation of certain elements occurred to the outer skin of the slab or billet, giving a different figure compared with the whole mass.
Certain cast products were subject to macro examination. This required 1 inch cross section samples to be taken across a billet/slab. Following surface facing the macros would be etched in caustic (Al) or acetic acid (Mg) to reveal shrinkage cracks or entrapped flux and debris which may have occurred during casting. All cast products were carefully identified by stamp numbering; this number would follow the complete production process.
The United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority (U.K.A.E.A.) were most particular about the quality of material used for their fabrication, so all of the magnesium alloys involved would be macro etched and examined by lab technician Charlie Higgs. X-ray examination, when necessary was overseen by Dennis Wiley.
Finished slabs and billets would be transferred from the casting shop using standard trailers pulled by small tractors or flat bed Lister vehicles. The same means of transport was then used to transfer process scrap back to the casting shop for recycling. It was often said that many atoms never left the factory!!
Rolling Mills
The manager of the rolling mill was Jim Lowe, the only person’s name I can remember.
There were two mills used to initially roll slabs to a more manageable product. The larger, known as the B.D. mill (breaking down) consisted of a complex of roller conveyors, flying shears, edge trimmers, slitters and coilers. The smaller mill was a simple machine handling smaller slabs, mainly magnesium alloys. On rare occasions this mill was used for producing checker plate with two main patterns. Rolls were machined with a mirror image of a triangular pattern made up of half inch dia impressions or a simple three lined stripe. In fact they are the types of checker plate seen on commercial vehicle floors and around gantry stairways. These were cold rolled on to pre rolled plate.
In all instances slabs were rolled hot being heated in electric furnaces for specified times and temperatures. Furnaces were of course adjacent to the mill used.
Aluminium slabs were rolled under copious amounts of suds lubricant. For flawless bright finished sheet, fixed scrappers were used on the rolls to eliminate build up of debris.
Rolls were in the order of 4ft diameter and 8ft wide. Surfaces of rolls were periodically re-ground to restore the surface to prime condition. The much specialised roll grinding machine was set well away from the resounding thud of metal as it was progressively rolled down. The foundations for the grinding machine contained a hard rubber barrier to eliminate the effects of vibration.
With the advent of aluminium alloy beer barrels a strong alloy was required for the main body, while pure aluminium inner lining, being less corrosive, was needed for the inside. This was achieved by simply adding a thinner pure aluminium blank to the rolling slab surface, pre heating the assembly as one and then rolling the entire package together. Under the consequent heat and pressure, fusion of the two mating surfaces was assured. The customer would then press the resultant compact into a barrel.
Reduction in size of a slab by passing it to and fro between ever closing rolls to a thickness of 0.375 inch would require maybe 15 passes. This product could then be cut into blanks of a size suitable to produce single sheets or wound into one large coil. In both cases it was usual for annealing prior to further processing. The smaller rolling mill was only able to go on to produce blanks.
To form even larger coils several would be butt welded together in a machine which held prepared ends together. An electric discharge from a large condenser would provide sufficient heat to promote welding when the coil ends were forced together. Facing off of weld excesses would follow. This welded joint was discharged when the finished sheets were eventually rolled.
The subsequent welded larger coils were processed by rolling in a specialised mill which had coiling and uncoiling facilities either side of the main rolls. These coils would, as a consequence, have many hundreds of feet at say a finishing thickness of perhaps 0.064 inch. An oil lubricant was used during the rolling process. Stray oil around the machine became very slippery under foot.
Sheets of aluminium were required in different degrees of hardness to suit customers’ fabrication needs. Hardness values were denoted as either, soft, ¼ hard, ½ hard or hard. The soft option was simply obtained by annealing the sheet, whereas the intermediate to hard requirements were manufactured by one of two methods. The first method was produced by “temper annealing”. Sheets rolled to their final gauge in a fully hard condition would be placed individually on a slow moving conveyor within a furnace set at a specific temperature and driven at a set speed. By adjusting either condition, sheets could be tempered to a range of hardness.
The alternative method was called “temper rolling”. Here, sheets were fully annealed at a gauge marginally greater than the finish required. The sheets were then rolled to their finished gauge having a hardness related to the amount of reduction they had undergone. An annealed sheet reduced 10% from its starting gauge to the final one would be less hard than one reduced 15% to its finished thickness.
The main difference between these two methods of rolling was the elongation value of the metal when stretched. Temper annealed material would be more ductile than the temper rolled. Customers therefore, had a wide choice to suit their needs.
On the arrival of a new coil rolling mill a factory building had to be built. The new Sendzimir mill far outweighed the efficiency of the older large roll coil mill. This new mill had 2.5 inch diameter main rolls, backed up behind, both top and bottom work rolls, by a cluster of about 10 slightly larger ones. These backing up rolls provided support for the small diameter work rolls, saving them from bending under load. To offset the bending tendency in the traditional large diameter rolls they were ground with a convex camber.
A second much slower, work intensive, method of obtaining sheets in both aluminium and magnesium was by single blank rolling. This simply needed a blank of suitable thickness and size to be reduced and extended by passing it between two large rollers. On emerging, the material was directed by hand over the top of the rollers where it was again despatched through slightly closer rollers. Rollers were adjusted up or down either by electric motor or by swinging on a 10ft diameter wheel, at the mill side, which was connected to a series of cogs. If needed, sheets would be annealed part way through the sizing process to obtain the required degree of hardness.
If sheets had to have a superior finish, then as processing went on, each sheet was separated from its neighbour by brown paper. Also at the blank stage it was possible to pickle in caustic soda to remove debris thereby enhancing sheet surface.
Single sheet rolling was often used to obtain properties in the material not possible by the coil process. Wider sheets could also be produced.
Magnesium alloy slabs were suitably preheated and rolled on the smaller of the two breaking down mills. Butt welding of rolled length was never done. Generally, orders were far smaller with blanks being used to obtain a final sheet. More often than not, blanks would be pickled in acid to provide a clean starting surface.
A smaller section of the rolling mill was devoted to production of specialised small and narrow coils of aluminium alloys. Here, machines were far smaller and dealt with coils of maybe 15 inches wide. And 0.1 inch thick. These smaller coils were produced from larger ones which had been slit into say 3 coils. Small coils were reduced in thickness by passing from one coil drum, through rolls, and onto a second coil drum. Paper maybe interleaved between the coils to reduce blemishing.
Venetian blind strips were rolled in this department. These were developed from wide coils from which they were slit to width.
Where appropriate, samples for mechanical testing were selected, prepared into standard shapes and sent on to the laboratory.
Extrusion Mills
Two extrusion mills existed at the factory. The smaller no. 1 mill managed by Reg Box and the much larger no. 2 mill managed by George Newton with Cyril Noakes as foreman. Both mills dealt with magnesium and aluminium alloys, no. 2 mill handling the larger diameter billets.
All billets were pre heated in electric furnaces adjacent to each extrusion press. Furnaces were in the region of 40ft long, pre heating times and temperatures depended on the metallurgical structure of the finished product. One special induction furnace was operated in no. 1 extrusion mill to preheat 145mm aluminium alloy billets. This was a very compact machine and relied on induced heat, produced by surrounding wires, into the billet within its core. Time for one heat cycle was about 1 minute.
The principle of extrusion relied upon the force of a hydraulic ram, operating in a strong heated steel cylinder of a similar diameter, forcing a preheated inserted billet metal--through a die of shape required, into a long length of product. During the flow of metal within the billet most of the outer cast skin would collect close to the ram and at a set percentage thickness, compared with the original billet length, this would be discarded and recycled.
It was possible to extrude a multitude of profiles, from simple flat strips to glazing bars. More complex dies were manufactured to create hollow section extrusions such as ladder sides and rungs to multi-hollow sections like helicopter blades. Depending on the die design hollow sections were produced with either self weld structures or a coherent form. The former method of extrusion could result in minor faults within the welds, whereas the later method was not liable to any problems.
Once extruded, lengths were processed in an adjacent fettling section to ensure they were straight. Simple shapes were lightly stretched, complicated sections were straightened by hand methods and deeper profiles stretched and twisted straight in rotating head machines.
Lengths of extrusions were then cut to desired length by various hand operated electric saws.
Certain aluminium alloys, i.e. those with high copper content, had their properties increased by a special heat treating process. This involved the immersion of the extruded section into a bath of liquid sodium nitrate set to a specific temperature. After a set period this was withdrawn and immediately quenched into a cold water bath. From there it was treated in an electric furnace at a comparatively low temperature to make full use of metallurgical changes which increased alloy strength. Fettling and cutting to size followed this procedure.
Depending upon customer requirements and specification, samples were taken for mechanical testing and/or macro examination. Macro examination required full cross section samples to be etched thereby revealing any metal faults. The United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority required additional tests such as grain size measurements and ultrasonic testing. This was essential for their products were, in the main, used in the core of atomic reactors.
Tube Mill
This department, I believe, was under the management of George Newton.
The basic product for the tube mill was extruded mainly in No. 2 extrusion department. These would often be called the “shells”. Internal transport would convey them to the tube mill.
Processing would commence by forming a reduced diameter nozzle on one end of each tube, thus enabling it to pass through the tube reducing die, where it could be clamped on by a pulling device. To keep the tube wall a desired thickness, a plug, suitably fixed to a long rod, would be inserted within the tube, with the plug fixed in the die aperture. To arrive at a finished tube of desired inside and outside diameters die and plug changes were needed after each draw pass.
Intermediate annealing of tubes may have been required especially to arrive at specific degrees of hardness. Degreasing was often needed in trichlorethylene vapour to remove lubricants required for the drawing process.
A cheaper, but not necessarily stronger, tube was made from rolled strip. This process required the strip to be drawn through formers which progressively curled the strip into a tube. Most of this tube was used for T.V. aerials.
Tubes were straightened in machines with sets of almost opposing concave rollers. These rollers were set to take out minor kinks at the same time driving the tube forward. Some of the smaller tubes maybe straightened by slight stretching. Tube lengths were finally cut to customer requirements.
A much specialised order manufactured in the tube mill was one for a company called Wright Rain. They supplied irrigation systems. In the early days large drawn tubes of approximately 4 inches diameter were manufactured having cast aluminium couplings welded to tube ends. Later a method using formed flat strip was developed. Here flat rolled strip was progressively drawn into a tube form through dies. Whilst the tube was drawn through its last former an overhead welding system completed the joint. High pressure water testing followed to reveal any weaknesses.
Press Forming and Forging Department
This was a small facility set aside the No. 2 extrusion mill; again George Newton was the manager.
There were probably three presses, orders being fairly specialised with few customers. By far the largest customer was the U.K.A.E.A. whose orders were for thousands of components, of magnesium alloys, for atomic reactor cores. Amongst some of the items produced were end cap fittings to seal in uranium rods held in cans extruded in No. 2 extrusion mill in magnesium alloy called Magnox. A cup and alternate core spider fitting was also made. These screwed into the end caps providing support for the cans when placed in the reactor one on top of the other. The spider configuration used with other components kept the assembly vertical. A very strict customer requirement was to have a certain grain size and metal flow pattern. Those were developed by the Birmetals’ laboratories where production samples were routinely checked.
Fabrication Department
This was a small outfit producing fabricated sheet and extrusion into various shapes by welding.
Tool Rooms
Manager Bert Stringer was in charge of this very important department. Here the dies were designed and produced for extrusion mills. These designs could be very complex needing knowledge of the shrinkage of metal after extrusion and how to create enough bearing within the die face to ensure metal flowed in a straight line. Thin section metal flowed slower than thicker parts so by increasing the die bearing face in a thick cross section then its speed of extrusion could match that of the thin.
In conjunction with the tool room Ray Amphlet managed an office where the complete measurements of a customer’s extrusion shape were drawn. From this the circumference and cross sectioned area were calculated. These figures took into account the very small details of fine corner fillets. These values were used to estimate the cost per foot length of any one product. I imagine correlation tables were used where the figures encompassed die costs, extrusion costs, fettling cost. I suppose a small cross sectioned area with a large circumference would, therefore, be a more costly item.
Printing Plate
A small, one man operated department, manufactured magnesium alloy printing plates, I believe they were for a firm called Dow. The operative was John Wheatley.
Magnesium alloy sheets about 4mm thick, 70cm wide and 1mt long were coated with a photographic emulsion. This was exposed to a desired image which was “fixed”, this being resistant to further treatment. The whole plate was then placed horizontally in an acid bath where unprotected metal was etched away leaving the resistant image standing proud in relief. Finished plates could be used for printing in the flat state or plates rolled into a cylinder drum as an alternative method.
This printing plate venture suffered many problems and as a consequence failed to establish itself and as a profitable line.
Maintenance Department
A factory using such heavy machinery was always struggling to keep production on target – both mechanically and electrically.
Mr Ripley was the head mechanical engineer, head electrical engineer, Mr James, were completely different characters!
Engineers were responsible for changing the huge rolling mill rolls as delicately and as fast as possible. Various pumps and seals for extrusion presses needed attention as did items like the numerous overhead cranes, both electrically and mechanically. Replacement parts if not available, would, where possible, be made up in the engineering workshop.
Instrumentation, measuring furnace temperatures, was a continuous and full time job. Details of time and temperature were recorded on purpose made paper cylinders. These were stored for future reference so that after months details of manufacture could be established if customers requested so.
Inspection and Despatch
George Linekar was manager of the inspection department.
There were many requirements regarding the inspection of finished products. At the highest level Ministry regulations had to be adhered to, down to the lowest where a product was only given a cursory examination as its use was of little significance.
Generally inspection could include finished size, surface quality, mechanical test results, chemical analysis figures, X-ray, ultrasonic and grain size.
Satisfactory end products would then be sent to the despatch department. Surface damage was a constant problem; therefore, wooden crates were the best option. These had to be kept to a minimum due to cost and extra weight for transit. High quality water resistant paper was often used, this helped stop scratching and corrosion. Some sheets were coated in an oil film if the customer wished. Export items required clearance papers.
A high proportion of deliveries were made by Birmetals’ own transport fleet.
Laboratories
These were housed in a conglomeration of assorted buildings, nothing like the new laboratory block built in 1966-67.
The technical director was Cyril Smith having Brian Burke and Harold White as managers.
There were four main laboratories but work in each overlapped.
The metallurgical laboratory was involved with the structure of alloys when put through a production process. Assurance was needed to know that the production programme so devised was reproducible every time. Brian Burke was the manager.
During the early years in the development of atomic power stations the laboratory was almost entirely immersed in metal research. The structure and flow of metal in forgings, including grain size, were of paramount importance, as was the finished grain size in extruded can material. Tens of thousands of these units were made, supplying such stations as: Wylfa, Dungeness, Hinkley Point, Bradwell, Berekely, Sizewell, Hunterston and a reactor in Japan.
The detailed metallurgical reports to the U.K.A.E.A. were compiled in the laboratory with photographs of the micro and macrostructures taken by either Angela Godwin or Jeff Webb. These were often prepared by apprentices Jan Campbell, David Kind, and Alan Parr under the supervision of Brian Burke.
Harold White was in charge of the mechanical and non-destructive testing lab together with the surface treatment lab which was run by Fred Fox. Harold White also ran the Production Control Lab.
This lab was involved mainly with the processing of materials, ensuring the observation in the factory, of working procedures such as slab/billet pre heat times and temperatures, rolling mill, extrusion mill and casting shop production.
It was also responsible for macro inspection of cast slabs and billets together with macro sections from extrusions. Charlie Higgs was responsible for obtaining and correlating results.
A major section of this lab carried out mechanical testing of sheets and extrusions to confirm that results correspond with those of customers’ requirements. Bernice Evans was one of the main operatives in this section. The non-destructive side of this lab was run by Denis Wiley.
The chemical analysis laboratory was managed by Eddie Gale with Jim Hodges his assistant manager. Here they analysed casting shop furnace samples to ascertain if correct elements were present. The samples were of a standard flat topped mushroom shape about 4 inches long and suitably identified to a prescribed batch. This cast number would follow process production to its conclusion. The flat surface of the cast would be machined in order to provide a suitable surface to enable spectrographic analysis. An arc would be struck from a carbon rod to the prepared surface. The properties of elements in the arc would then be assessed against a standard. The machine was kept in a dedicated clean room.
Further chemical analysis would be obtained from the cast sample by obtaining swarf after drilling. This swarf would be carefully weighed on balances and processed to a dedicated chemical analysis directive. One element at a time would be evaluated by thus method.
The smallest laboratory was the surface finish one. Here the emphasis was on product surface finish and corrosion resistance. Routine samples would also be taken for anodising assessment.
On a lighter note one of the characters of the laboratories was cleaner Fanny Booton. She ran a catalogue club. After her work was done she would be seen around the factory taking orders.
General Stores
A very comprehensive well run general stores was situated on a site furthest away from the casting shop. The stock was extensive, from steel sheets and angles, nails, chemicals, welding supplies, hand wipers (every worker had a hand wiper!) moleskin gloves (actually they were made of thick cotton), swarfega etc. etc. The stores was responsible for “goods inwards” ordered by the buying office.
Office Block
This building was the first to be seen on approaching the factory along Clapgate Lane. It stood behind large well kept lawns, very imposing.
The usual offices were located there, accounts, wages, time and motion study, buying, sales, drawing office, chief electrician, board room, M.D office for Mr Jordon.
Canteen
A purpose built canteen situated alongside the main thoroughfare of the factory, supplied lunches and snacks.
Lunch break was only 30mins so naturally there was a rush to get in the queue. Clocking in was required after lunch leaving little time to eat.
Although staff did their best to prepare good meals sadly they were second rate. I can recall having mashed potato, cabbage and tough beef three days running set in a mass of dried gravy. Dinners appeared to be “plated up” for days in advance. There was no selection.
Three canteens existed. The works canteen with large white enamel tables and benches either side. A staff canteen with small tables, chairs and tablecloths and then a green room for dictors and managers.
As the factory was built in the country, next to a working farm, in the early days fresh milk was delivered in churns by pony and trap.
On one occasion the works canteen was host to “Workers Playtime”, a relic of wartime entertainment. Harry Worth, a comedian amused all for 30mins.
Planning Office
This department was managed by Billy Harrison. Here the detailed customer requirements were established on working procedure agendas called lot tickets. These documents started with the creation of the cast slab/billet right through to the final despatch of the product. Details were taken from these tickets for piece work payments by clerks in small offices set in each manufacturing department. This was known as “clocking on”. When not on piece work, due to reasons of metal transfer or break downs, a period called “clocking off” was established. This period would allow workers “day work” rates which did not affect their piece work times.
Apprentices
In my time of employment at Birmetals, apprenticeships were considered to be the most satisfactory way of training future generations of qualified workers.
Birmid Industries maintained large and well catered for apprenticeship schemes. At Birmetals this was overseen by the personnel manager Captain Harrison.
There were two schemes involved. One was the well known general apprenticeship where the student had one day at college per week with four days working at his chosen subject i.e. mechanical or electrical. Time at might school would also be needed. The second type of apprenticeship was the “sandwich course”. Here the student had three months full time at college for the first three years. This was followed by six months for the last two years. In between full time college attendance students worked their way round the factory departments.
In both schemes H.N.C. qualifications would be possible. In the sandwich course H.N.C. certificates were aimed for in metallurgy and production engineering. In addition more time could be allocated to attend the University of Aston for passing examinations leading to Institute Membership of Production Engineering and Metallurgy.
Several apprentices were given the opportunity to attend the Outward Bound School at Aberdovey for 28 days. These courses were designed to develop self confidence and discipline with emphasis on personal endurance. Activities included sailing, mountain walking and climbing, athletics and parade ground drills.
Other Interests Provided by Birmetals
Opposite the main factory gate stood a large playing field area complete with pavilion. This was known as the Percy Prichard Playing Field. I still don't know who this was!
Here the cricket pitch was kept to a very high standard, providing inter-departmental matches for employees. A football pitch was also available. The original sports pavilion was replaced by a splendid new building. This provided changing rooms, showers, and a full sized snooker table.
At one end of the playing field tennis courts and a .22 calibre rifle range were provided. Selly Oak Institute was available for badminton, netball, at Bartley Green Grammar School for Girls and I heard of the formation of a male voice choir. Sadly not all activities were patronized, many falling by the way side.
I have a copy of Birmid News of April 1959 which includes a photograph of the firm’s football team. I can only recall the face of Clive James.
Every year, usually in July, a Birmid Gala was provided. This was quite a spectacular affair set on Birmetals’ playing field. It included tight rope acts side shows, craft tent and athletic events.
The athletics included all the well known field events with handicap systems in the 100yds and 220yds based on the previous year’s results. It was a great day out for all employees.
Many hundreds usually attended the gala but sadly, I believe, at the 1959 gala fighting broke out between certain factions resulting in police involvement and I expect the end of future galas.
It was about this time, due to the lack of support, that the Birmetals’ Social Club building was closed down.
It was not too long after I left Birmetals that, due to country-wide unrest, strikes prevailed leading ultimately to the closure of the plant. It was subsequently pulled down and the site given over to new premises.
I hope those of you who have had the inclination to read my account will find it of interest and perhaps feel you could correct some of my observations.
As I said at the beginning this was about 40-55 years ago!
