• Welcome to this forum . We are a worldwide group with a common interest in Birmingham and its history. While here, please follow a few simple rules. We ask that you respect other members, thank those who have helped you and please keep your contributions on-topic with the thread.

    We do hope you enjoy your visit. BHF Admin Team

Birmingham Battery & Metal Co Selly Oak

Hi everyone have just joined the Forum after searching for info on the Battery, fascinating stuff reading some of the posts in this thread. My Dad, Ian Watkins was a metallurgist he worked in the Laboratory from the late 50’s until he was made redundant around 1988/89. I really don’t know much about the place as Dad never talked much about it though I still remember the names of some of his workmates, Harry Kay was his boss and I remember a chap called Victor Gumbley who used to visit our house every now and again and someone who he and his work colleagues used to refer to as Mad Derek.

The many accidents and injuries to the men who worked there is something I remember very well someone mentioned in an earlier post an explosion during the mid 70’s I remember this happening as Dad was called into work the afternoon this accident occurred, if I remember correctly a chap was indeed killed after a furnace exploded. On another occasion probably around 1963/64 and on a far more personal note Dad was involved in a very serious accident whilst he was walking through one of the casting shops someone had a hose pipe and was cleaning something when water splashed into a molten billet of copper the end result of that was that Dad suffered severe burns to his lower legs, feet, face, neck and for a period time it was thought he may lose his sight in one of his eyes, he spent a couple of months in Birmingham Accident Hospital. Fortunately Dad eventually made a full recovery with minimal scaring. Dad is still with us today though still doesn’t talk much about his former work place. So sad they pulled the entrance building down, Dad once told me there was supposedly a preservation order on the chimney as it was one of if not the tallest chimney in Birmingham it would have made a fitting tribute of the men and women who once worked there if it had survived.
 
As an aside, the Birmingham Battery & Metal Co was an off-shoot of the Hafod Copper Company in Swansea, which produced copper plate for covering the hulls of wooden ships (hence the expression 'copper bottomed' to imply something as very safe). I don't think B'ham Battery ever made copper for marine applications, however. The word 'battery' in the company's title comes not from anything to do with electricity but from the 'battery' of hammers used to produce copper plate. I still wonder how there weren't even more serious accidents and fatalities at that place....and I was only an occasional visitor. Still, as any old foundryman will tell you, molten metal has to be treated with serious respect, or else.....

G
 
My uncle was Fred Grosvenor he passed away about 6 years he only ever worked at the battery he went into the war in 1939 and went back to his job at the battery in 1945 when the war ended
 
Have been talking to Dad earlier about the battery, yes Big Gee a great many folk were under the impression that they made batterys or related products, though Dad said they did make products for the Marine and more so ship building industry's copper tubes in particular. So true about the dangers these men faced in doing their jobs, don't think the conditions would have been tolerated in this day and age. Would love to see some pictures of the place but non of the links seem to work.

Stuart
 
Hello you wonderful people. I've been reading this thread with great interest, partly because I used to live just across the way from the Battery and partly because once again I'm planning a book. (www.anniemurray.co.uk)
I would love to know more about this place form anyone who can recall or has been told any details. Certain things in particular.
- more about the processes going on the factory and what exactly they were making and how
- the nature of more serious accidents there. I don't suppose this changed all that much but I am looking here at the late 1950s. Life changing if not actually fatal accidents. The place sounds extraordinary and I'm guessing that like some other businesses, the arrival of Health & Safety culture may well have been one of the things that finished it off. Not having ever worked in a place like that, I would really like to know what some of te jobs entailed and hence the accidents - of any of you know?
All good wishes,
Annie
 
Hello Annie. Hopefully members will be able to help you.

As far as the products are concerned Grace's Guide is useful (that is if you're not already familiar with it). Here're a couple of links

https://www.gracesguide.co.uk/Birmingham_Battery_and_Metal_Co
https://www.gracesguide.co.uk/Birmingham_Battery_and_Metal_Factory

Must say I was very surprised to discover they never actually made batteries !
For general info a link to an urban explorer's images before the Selly Oak site was demolished

https://www.28dayslater.co.uk/birmingham-battery-and-metal-company-selly-oak-01-03-2009.t38355

Good luck with the book ! Viv.
 
Thanks so much Vivienne - that's certainly a start - really good of you. I have watched the film before some tme ago but it will be good to do so again.
All best wishes,
Annie
 
Fascinating Thread, and a book in the process!

Reading through the comments a couple of things jump out for me. One is the general acceptance that safety conditions were lax and many accidents occurred, and this refers to recent times. The Company began in 1836, so the record could be much worse!

The other is the mention in Grace’s Guide of a Robert Lloyd Gibbins who joined the Company in 1899 and was the 3rd generation of his family to manage the Company. A 4th generation followed.

Now this chap lived at Laughern Hill, Winchenford, Worcs......
 
Last edited:
Nice Pedro. Wouldn't be enough to retire on (!) but would have been a welcome extra in 1914. Whenever I see images from this period I always wonder if the men went to war (and survived). Possibly these men were either too old (well in 1914 at least) or would have been in exempt occupations. Viv.
 
Nice Pedro. Wouldn't be enough to retire on (!) but would have been a welcome extra in 1914. Whenever I see images from this period I always wonder if the men went to war (and survived). Possibly these men were either too old (well in 1914 at least) or would have been in exempt occupations. Viv.

There are a couple of reports of Staff who died in action, I will go back and look for the names.
 
The clip included is from 1956. It is interesting to note that there seems very few accident reports in the Press from 1836 to 1956!

Note the firm was previously in Digbeth, and must have moved out to Selly Oak at some point. Was the building purpose built?

The mention in Grace Guide of Robert Lloyd GibbIns as 3rd Generation...it looks like he was preceded by Thomas until 1908 and William until 1933. As Thomas came in to the firm in 1899 there must have been others involved in the years from 1836.

[Wikipedia says Thomas was in Co in 1850...]

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Birmingham_Battery_and_Metal_Company

Both Thomas and William left legacies of over 225K, with donations to many hospitals (albeit a small part of total).


DC22CCC7-7B36-4FD3-9827-4E21BD50A141.jpeg
 
Last edited:
9EB67AA4-B175-4613-8111-9A7B0906EF1C.jpeg

The site also adds...”The company fell into difficulty in the 1980s and closure became inevitable. The Selly Oak site was redeveloped as the Battery Retail Park.”

But from the Birmingham Post 2009...

“......And the remainder of the business, including the part that worked in the Far East, is trading again under the control of former sales and marketing director David Jackson as Thomas Walker Global. Mr Lomer’s bid, which also involved former directors Vic Ensor, Adrian Goodman, Jon Norton and Emma Kelly, was backed by the Thomas Gibbins trust, a Victorian charity set up to support ex-workers of the company in its early years, when it was known as the Birmingham Battery and Metal Company.”

https://www.birminghampost.co.uk/business/finance/thomas-walker-trading-again-after-3944596
 
Thank you so much for all this - it's fascinating. Really good of you to take the trouble. One of the things I really need to know (can explain why if anyone's interested!) is about the kinds of accidents. I'm looking at the late '50s, pre 'Elf and Safety - various mishaps have been mentioned on the thread but I really need a deeper knowledge of the exact nature of the work (being a useless desk individual who has never done this sort of thing ) and the kinds of accidents. There are mentions of spills, explosions etc tbh it needs to be something pretty bad.:eek: It can't have been called the 'blood tub'for nothing! I'm guessing Health and Safety was one of the large nails in the firm's coffin?
Thank you all once again,
Annie
 
The Company, at least up to about 1956 seems to have been a good company to work for, so what changed? The only accident I can find is the one below. However Birmingham papers and not covered from that time, although any major accident would have made the national press.

November 1958 a 15 year old boy was killed by piece of metal which flew 25 yards from a 1,000-ton press...Jury verdict death by misadventure, with recommendations.

7ft high wooden screens backed with steel had been erected to protect the men and prevent another accident.
 
Annie
Am not an expert but would think most of the worst accidents would be severe burns. Hot metal can be nasty, but hot metal if there are traces of moisture can be explosive, where the water evaporates explosively and sends the metal everywhere.
 
Just what happened to the Birmingham Battery and Metal Co Ltd. (BBMC) ?

Looking back through the thread it seems that, with the mention of redundancies, that the factory stopped producing around 1989/90, however the BBMC was not disolved until November 2012, with just two directors. What happened during those last 20 odd years?

The accounts are available online for the years 1986 to 1994 but with a charge, and the rest can be accessed. I am not commercially minded so my interpretation may be way out, but here goes.

I do not think that Health and Safety had any influence on the closure, it seems to me to have been market forces. For May 1990 the is a title “Special resolution of alteration of Memorandum of Association” and this could indicate a point where the BBMC was maybe saved from liquidation, not probably as a going concern, but for the Company Name and its assets that remained?

For 1995 the Registered Offices are at Neville House, in Hagley Road, being also BI Industrial Ltd. a firm that was incorporated in July 1990, and have BBMC as a dormant subsidiary. It looks like BBMC had owned 100% of Bromsgrove Foundries Ltd, Birmingham Battery Engineering Ltd and R White Engineering Co Ltd, all dormant companies.

It seems that the BBMC remains dormant until it is disolved in 2012. BI Industries become part of a parent corporation, BI Group in Coventry, a corporation for international Engineering companies. This in turn is part of an ultimate controlling party of The National Industries Company SAK, incorporated in Kuwait!

The BBMC owned land and part was developed in the 1990s as Bradley Retail Park. Was the Company kept on for the land that remained? On part of the land the BBMC had a licence from around 1967 to landfill inert industrial and household waste. Last input being 1987.
 
Hi everyone have just joined the Forum after searching for info on the Battery, fascinating stuff reading some of the posts in this thread. My Dad, Ian Watkins was a metallurgist he worked in the Laboratory from the late 50’s until he was made redundant around 1988/89. I really don’t know much about the place as Dad never talked much about it though I still remember the names of some of his workmates, Harry Kay was his boss and I remember a chap called Victor Gumbley who used to visit our house every now and again and someone who he and his work colleagues used to refer to as Mad Derek.

The many accidents and injuries to the men who worked there is something I remember very well someone mentioned in an earlier post an explosion during the mid 70’s I remember this happening as Dad was called into work the afternoon this accident occurred, if I remember correctly a chap was indeed killed after a furnace exploded. On another occasion probably around 1963/64 and on a far more personal note Dad was involved in a very serious accident whilst he was walking through one of the casting shops someone had a hose pipe and was cleaning something when water splashed into a molten billet of copper the end result of that was that Dad suffered severe burns to his lower legs, feet, face, neck and for a period time it was thought he may lose his sight in one of his eyes, he spent a couple of months in Birmingham Accident Hospital. Fortunately Dad eventually made a full recovery with minimal scaring. Dad is still with us today though still doesn’t talk much about his former work place. So sad they pulled the entrance building down, Dad once told me there was supposedly a preservation order on the chimney as it was one of if not the tallest chimney in Birmingham it would have made a fitting tribute of the men and women who once worked there if it had survived.
Hi there Stuart,

I worked with your dad in the lab at B'ham Battery from about 1972/3 to 1981 when I got made redundant. There were four of us on shifts Mornings/Afternoons/Nights & a Day Shift. There was Les Bevan, Bill Bevan, me (Malcolm Robinson) and your dad. We had a few guys on sample preparation for us Billy Hands, Alf (I can't remember his surname) and Martin (Big Sid) King. Harry Kaye was our immediate boss and George Taylor the overall boss. I used to have some photos of the lab somewhere and an article in the 'Battery Magazine' about us and our job. There were certainly a lot of 'mad' people their, particularly on the casting side. I was sorry to hear you dad had been injured and glad to know he recovered. I can remember him telling us he used to try and get on the afternoon shift before your holidays so when he got home you could all pile into the car (usually a Ford Escort as I remember) and drive to your destination through the night so you and your dad could go fishing first thing in the morning. Please give him my best regards. Malcolm Robinson
 
Annie
Am not an expert but would think most of the worst accidents would be severe burns. Hot metal can be nasty, but hot metal if there are traces of moisture can be explosive, where the water evaporates explosively and sends the metal everywhere.
In respect of the accident that happened at B'ham Battery in the late 1970s, at that time I was working in the laboratory there. I am not sure what the 'official' verdict was but as far as we were made aware by the guys working on the Refinery the accident was caused by damp sacks and wet swarf being put into a furnace. When the furnaces are switched off as they cool a thick crust of slag initially forms over the top of the molten metal. We were told a load of wet sacks with wet swarf in them were thrown into the furnace before it had sufficently cooled down. The weight of the sacks broke through the slag crust and they sank into the molten metal. And as you said, the water immediately evaporates (like water in a chip pan) and the furnace exploded. From memory there was at least one fatality and several injuries.
 
Back
Top