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Turner Brothers Toolmakers

Hi dave just been veiwing the pics you posted of turner brothers, i was a friend of a lad who lived in the house next to turners, i lived in cecil st, i remember me and my sister getting run over just outside turners and we was taken into turners surgery waiting for the ambulance to arrive, luckley i only suffered a broken collar bone, we also used to go to the xmas parties there, fond memories indeed, do you remember how we used to race down the hill in the photo on our home made gokarts:grin2:
 
Hi Oldun.

If you were a friend of Arnie's then it stands a good chance that we know each other. Sadly Arnie passed away a few years ago from Leukaemia. I lived next door to Arnie in a flat above West Brothers.

Regards

Dave.
 
Hi dave sad to hear about arnie, and yes we must know each other where did you live?
 
My father, Arthur Barratt, worked at Turner Brothers for about 30 years, up to the late 60s / early 70s. I remember some of the names featured in this thread. In fact Jack Hartland was my mum's younger Brother. He emigrated to Australia and died some years back. Tommy Isles was also a good friend of my dad, and a regular visitor (with his wife Doris) to our house in Shard End. The attached photos were taken from one of Turner Brothers' sales brochures. That's dad working on a tool for a gas cooker panel.
 
:DLooks like I've found my next building to explore!!! This place looks amazing, but like most of our historical places, it's probably being part used(ground floor) by a small company that doesn't maintain the building, and the rest will clowly fall in on itself. I'll go have a look I think!!!
 
Hi Virusman, Should be some exploring, during the times of Turner Bros the main building was, correct me if my memory is failing, the bottom floor was mainly "A" department, containing Large vertical boring machines, planers, and other larger machinery, also housing the Heat treatment room and also probably most visited, was the Surgery with usually a couple of nurses on duty, (I remember going into there for my medical health check at the age of eighteen, incuding the "cough now" test, overlooked by one of those nurses. anyway back to the building,
The second floor was "B" department, up there was the mould shop, and spark eroder, Les LLoyds apprentice section was there on a mezanine floor, and I think the optical grinders were somewere there too.
The third floor was devoted to the planning office, and other offices of which now I cannot remember.
The Top floor, this was the drawing office, the most important peice of the jigsaw as far as I am concerned,
Serving all 4 floors was a lift which was always manned by an operator, the name of this gentleman during my time there I cannot remember.
There are many nooks and crannies to be explored, and please let us know if you find any evidence of the original Turner Brothers existance.

Goffy
 
I always intended to take a walk down Cliveland Street sometime, but now thanks to "Google Street View" I can from my own armchair. I can still remember the buildings where I worked. Thanks Google.
 
Goffy said:
The second floor was "B" department, up there was the mould shop, and spark eroder, Les LLoyds apprentice section was there on a mezanine floor, and I think the optical grinders were somewere there too.
The third floor was devoted to the planning office, and other offices of which now I cannot remember.
The Top floor, this was the drawing office, the most important peice of the jigsaw as far as I am concerned,
Serving all 4 floors was a lift which was always manned by an operator, the name of this gentleman during my time there I cannot remember.
There are many nooks and crannies to be explored, and please let us know if you find any evidence of the original Turner Brothers existance.
Goffy
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Hi Goffy,
I am new to this forum but have been sat for some time reading this thread.You are corrct on the departments but the larger part of "B" shop was where all the British Timken tooling was made. Charlie Mould was the manager in that shop. The lift man I think was named Jack and he had a club foot AFAIK.
 
dek carr said:
Welcome to the forum I knew a M Humphreys from my youth are you from Nechells. Dek
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Hi Dek, I am not from Nechells I was born on the border of Bournville and Cotteridge and now live in Great Barr. My name is Michael and I was an apprentice at Turner Bros. from August 1958 and remained there until October 1967.
 
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Re: Turners

My best friend at school Roy Pash was an apprentice in the toolroom at Turner Bros, he must have started about 1944 when we both left Yardley Wood SB, sadly he passed away three years ago, he also worked at Land Rover in Solihull Bernard
 
Re: Turners

Hi Michael, You were working at Turners at the the same time as me. did you ever work
in "D" department after it had moved down the road over "G" department,
we had an Humphreys working there but I can't remember his first name. he
drove a light green Ford Prefect (side valve)

Goffy
 
Graham Joinson said:
Here you go Goffy, here's the photo's i promised! i just hope they load up o.k.
The football team, top row, left to right: Trainer? Jackie Gormley, Jack 'Joey' Whale, Ron Eggington, Ray Howard, Ernie Row, David Betts.
Front row: Freddie Allcock, Frank Harris, George Joinson (Captain) Vic Drumm, Bert Bentley.

Turners Dance 1942 at the 'Crown & Cushion', Perry Barr. This was held in the top ballroom.
Click to expand...

Hi Graham, Your picture of the football team is a little before my time at Turners, but I see Bert Bentley
in the line up, He went on to be manager/sales director at Timings Tools in Brownhills, thats were I went
when I left Turners, and he was my boss there till he retired. sadley he passed away a couple of years ago.

Goffy
 
Re: Turners

Goffy said:
Hi Michael, You were working at Turners at the the same time as me. did you ever work
in "D" department after it had moved down the road over "G" department,
we had an Humphreys working there but I can't remember his first name. he
drove a light green Ford Prefect (side valve)
Goffy
Click to expand...

Hi Goffy, that was me 1955 Prefect reg.no. LUJ 497 with white go faster stripes.I worked in "D" shop before moving down the road to "G" shop, car was eventually sold to Albert Downes.
 
Hello Michael, I thought it might be you. You also fitted an air horn to that car
was it a wolf whistle I can't remember now. I had a blue A35 van with
with side windows at that time and my bench backed onto Geoff Whale.
You may remember me, Graham is my name.

Goffy
 
Goffy said:
Hello Michael, I thought it might be you. You also fitted an air horn to that car
was it a wolf whistle I can't remember now. I had a blue A35 van with
with side windows at that time and my bench backed onto Geoff Whale.
You may remember me, Graham is my name.
Goffy
Click to expand...

Hello Graham, the air horn was a wolf whistle. Geoff Whale was next but one in front of me, I had Albert Sharp's bench behind me then Dave Warren was in front of me then Geoff. I bet you are Graham Fenton?
 
Michael, You are spot on. I'm glad someone remembers me. when we first moved to the floor above "G" dep't I had a bench at the far end close to the stairs up to the pattern shop. Behind me was Paul Shuttleworth, remember him ? but I think we all had to move around when an office for planning and DO was added to the floor. this was when all departments were treated like seperate companies.
Some names I remember from that floor, along with yourself, were Geoff Whale, John King, Alf Law and his brother ?, Ray Potter, Trevor Hopday, I'm sure you can remember many more. Oh yes there was our chargehand George Lester. and I think our foreman was still Joe Oakley but I think Jack Dutton was around a lot or was he from downstairs ? When we were short of work in the toolroom I used to help out on the grinders downstairs, Frankie Howe came from "D" as well.

Goffy
 
My original bench was in the same area as yours and I do recall Paul Shuttleworth ( Zoonie ) he was the nephew of Les who was the Chief Inspector.I think Alf Laws' brother was called Arthur, a tall thin guy who suffered with a stomach ulcer.I don't remember Joe Oakley being down there, Jack Dutton was the forman in "G" Dept. but then got promoted to manager when the new "D" Dept. was created. I can remember Trevor, Geoff,John,Alf and Ray. I can see faces in my mind but cannot put names to them but there was Jack Dafforn, Billy Knight,Norman Ashby, Roger Colbourne amongst the ones I can put names to_Once during a quiet spell Jack Dutton took me up to the try-out Dept., just up the road from "G" shop. I was just 21 and I remember Jack Dutton introducing me to Uncle Alf ( Alf Marson ) who was the try out man.Once jack had gone Alf said to me,"while you are here you should learn something, so when the toolies are here on a try out keep your eyes and ears open and your mouth shut" very true words.
When did you leave Turners' and what did you do afterwards? I stayed in tooling and presswork all my working life mainly in management roles after 1972 until I retired a couple of years ago.I left in 1967 and only had four jobs after Turners' I feel sad that much of our trade has died in this country but much like so many industries have gone also.Still I suppose that is what they call progress.
 
Michael, you certainly have a better memory than me. I do remember all those you mention, I could see their faces but never put a name to them, and "Zoonie", would you believe it ! Im not too sure about Rogers surname but you are probably right, there was a Brian Colbourne, working with Frank Howe on the grinders in the original "D" dep't. Alf Laws brother was Arther and he did suffer with his stomach. I too have been in Press Tools all my working life too. I left Turners in 1965 and after a couple of years moved into Press tool Design, from the drawing board, to the use of CAD.
Back to Turners, were you there long enough to meet a John Lander who worked in "G" dep't after I left ?

Happy days Goffy
 
Graham, another one I remembered from D shop is Derek Lowe, I also found some photo’s, one is of Billy Knight, one of Colin Aspinall and Martin McDonald and one taken by the British Clearing press which has George (Ginger) Evans, Teddy Griffin and Mac bedding a tool in, there is a setter on the pic also who’s name at the moment escapes me.I can’t recall the name John Lander, might recognise him though.I spent quite a bit of time with Alf Marson on tool tryouts in 1965, also I had an accident whilst remaking a New Holland tool which had come from Lemarks and I was away for a couple of months with the injury. Whilst you were at Timings, was there a guy by the name of Terry Smith there? He used to work in G dept. when I first started work. You probably remember Micky Cattell, he went to work at Victoria Precision and he did quite well too. I did meet up with Trev Hobday at Wilkins and Mitchell in the late 80’s also there was Freddie Barlow ex. B shop. My brother had a similar path to you in design but he moved on from Tool and Special Purpose Machine design at Wilmot Breeden Tyseley and finished up designing industrial gas systems mainly for gas rig, transportation and storage installations. A very worthwhile as he travelled widely and spent lots of time on the North Sea rigs.
As you say toolmaking has come a long way in 50 years and many of the traditional skills of the toolmaker has gone with the advent of the CNC machinery.
 
Hi Michael, Yes I remember Derek Lowe, I think had a lot to do with the scouts. The other names you recall bring back lots of memories. I would be really interested to see your photos, perhaps you might be able to post them on the forum.
I did know Terry Smith, both at Turners & Timings, he left to work for Belcots when they started up, I nearly went myself but Timings would not let me go. last I heard he was company Manager.
Trevor Hobday, I met with him on my travels many years ago, but I cannot remember where.
Another name I recall was John Rhodes, he worked on our floor in G
After I started my own Design Company, I designed tooling for several of the main Toolrooms around the Black country, even had a customer in Hull. and they were all totally into CNC & Cad produced tooling, which in turn takes all responsibility out of the toolmaker hands and firmly into the designers. the motto of many of these companys was "Right First Time" which left no room for fiddling with developments, even the Shaped forming dies and punches are 3D machined from 3D surface models which are all part of the design package. and as you must know, with the onset of ISO 2000? Toolmakers are not allowed to use, I think, more than a couple of their own tools at a time, but use company tools to guarantee consistant quality. They can't keep any stock anymore, all materials are ordered individually for each tool, and that includes screws,dowels and other fittings. So Toolmaking as changed enormously over the last twenty or so years.
I see from your website that you are into steam railways, Last train I travelled on, apart from the Strathspey Steam Railway last year, was by steam to LLandudno back in 1959.
Just had a message pop up in front of me "anyone remember Knocker Griffiths", I remember the name well, but can't say if he worked in "G" shop. Yes he does I think you have replied to that one
 
Michael, Thank you very much. I'm blown away with those pics, Colin, I knew him from way back in "K" shop, The press that leaked oil, yes I remember lying under there blueing and grinding getting dripped on with oil, do you remember the jacks we put under the ram for safety, I wonder if they would have ever supported the weight of that one. George Evans I remember, not to sure about the setter and Teddy Griffin rings a bell. Finally how could you forget Billy Knight, and the benches, I've never come across anything like them since. The whole setting in that one pic, brings it all rushing back to me, the windows, the cast iron pipe, the lamp, it feels like yesterday. Thanks again for posting the pics, I'm sure that other readers of this thread will benefit from a glimpse into the everyday life at Turner Brothers.
 
Hello.
Fantastic reading all the old memories and looking at the photo's. My late father, John Scott, worked at Turners from 1940-1965. I would love to hear from anyone who remembered him or if he features in any photo's.
Regards
Rob.
 
I worked with a John Scott for a while in D dept. in the early 60's. It was in the old part of D Dept. on the first floor which was more or less a small machine shop with shapers and millers and a few bench hands.There is a way of finding if the man I worked with was your father. the John Scott I knew had quite a nice win on the pools whilst I worked with him.
 
Hi Mike.
Nice to see your response to my earlier post, yes indeed, my father did in fact have a nice win on the pools in September 1964 and the following year (when I was 2 years old) he left the trade and he and my mother bought a newsagents shop in Alum Rock where they lived and worked until retirement in 1988. He always spoke with great fondness of his years at Turners'. Sadly he passed away in 1991.
Regards, Rob.
 
Rob, when I knew your father I think he was a leading hand which was a sort of a step up to chargehand.I remember him as a very helpful man as I was only an apprentice when we worked together and I certainly picked up some tips off him. I do recall that he was very worried at the time of the Cuban missile crisis and he really thought it would lead to a nuclear war but as history tells us it never happened.I do have a recollection of him leaving Turners
 
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