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Drop Stamp - Birch Rd - Witton

Does anyone remember a young Irish man by the name of Jimmy?. He lived about four doors from us and dad introduced him to the job. Jean.
 
I think Kenny was shocked to think people remembered him enough to chat about him on the forum!. Hi Baz.
 
sorry so long in replying had a few problems health wise but sorted now i started work there in 1956 as a die miller but did not like getting burnt by the hot swarf so moved onto the diesinkers bench and it was there i met the great joe weetman who taught me everything about diesinking and drop forging and because he taught me so well i was never allowed to leave the bench and my progress stopped as a diesinker .when joe was promoted his place was taken by ken (apple)partridge so called because of his rosy cheekswhen he was a boy, he was a great help in my development as a diesinker . when i reached 21 i left Halladays because the management would not give the money i thought i was worth.i moved to Deritend drop forge where because it was piecework i learnt to work at a faster speed to earn ymoney .After about six months i returned to Halladays because i missed the camaraderie off all my friends and workmates. It was more like a second home than a place of work- amongst other things we used to do was breed tropical fish in an underground air raid shelter, in the early days of the fifties when everybody c ycled to work sometimes your bike would vanish only to be found later hanging from ceiling in the forge. will write more soon hope it brought a smile to you more to come and photos i hope
 
Nice to see you back John. I hope your health is continuing to improve ? Looking forward to more stories, and photos. Take care.
 
Thank you for your best wishes the picture you published of your dad the man sitting by him is George Hartley and your dads nickname was ADA .If it was some bodys birthday in the stamp shop they would decorate his hammer with flowers and plants from the nearby River Tame .every dinnertime we would play football in nearby Salford park ,usually the old ones versus the young ones ,but that stopped when they moved the river to make way for Spaghettie junction.There were a lot of characters at Halladays who had strange nicknames. In the stamp shop there was Caggy and Beef Bonner ,Spingheel Jack (Reg Morris) a lovely man,and Tater Smith who was the money lender and was the first in a long line of of the Smith family to work in the stampshop over the years,also tubby leach who used sit outside at dinnertime eating jellied eels . Amonst the managing directors was Mr Hulbert who looked and acted like a mill owner,he was followed by Mr Barford who was always perfectly dressed and a gently spoken man,i must also mention Bill Payne who made replica in his spare time and was always coming into the toolroom for parts to be made for his flintlocks and pistols ,another two people i would like to mention are Bill Jennings who could remember the number of every stamping without having to check his records, and Ken Commander who did the wages and helped us with our crosswords and now works on the Severn railway. Also for Bazz M i do rember your dad we used to call him James Bond because when he came into the toolroom he would stand at the door and light up a cigarette.. before he did anything else but he was a very nice man i think you lived in the flats by the library.will write some more when i can remember
 
Nice to read your post again John. You're right about my Dad, he always smoked, and you're also right about the flats by the library. We lived in Queens Tower (the one in the middle). Its great hearing about the old mans workplace and colleagues. Look forward to your next post. Cheers.
 
Hello everybody back at last problems now sorted ,Hope you all had a good christmas. Halladays had some bad times in the latter yearsespecially in the sixties when we were in recession in the forging industry and again in the eighties.It was eventually bought by four directors and managers in1986 with the promise to the workforce of :when we do well everyone will do well :, but of course things are never that simple,before they bought the company it was like a family concern and suddenly it was them and us. Halladays were the best at at producing forgings that other forges said could not be made and Halladays always proved them wrong,itwas at Halladays that the con rods for rover 2000 were made amongst other notable customers were Rolls Royce Jaguar JCB and Ramnas who made anchor chains for oilrigs and ships . I worked with many of the (LADS) for over forty years it was like a band of brothers sadly many have gone to the great forge in the skies.On a lighter note BazzM i used to clean the staircase windows in all the blocks in Grt Lister street and Cromwell street to supplement my wages. one question why are you living in Beith my brother lives in Montrose and jean you might like to know it is Kens birthday Feb 19 Thank you for letting me share my memories with you i will try to put photos online when i find how to do it
 
A pleasure John and have enjoyed your memories. I might even give Ken a bell on his birthday. Take care. Jean.
 
John. Great to see you back. I enjoyed your last post about Halladays. Regarding my move to Beith, it all came about from a blind date about 40 years ago. A friend of mine had a female cousin that lived here, and one day he said that she had been in contact with him, and invited him up for the week-end, and as he had never been to Scotland before, he asked me if I fancied the trip too. I told him I'd go, but didnt fancy being a lemon being there with him & his cousin, so he said he would ask her if she had a mate that could make up a four-some. And that my friend is the short version of how me and my lovely wife got together. She eventually came and lived with me in Brum, but each time we travelled back up to Beith to see her parents etc. I fell in love with the place, and people, and I eventually mentioned moving up here, and the rest, as they say, is history. Just to add another little twist to this in that I see you mention to Jean that Kens birthday is 19th Feb, which just happens to be mine too. Great talking with you again John. Look forward to more info on Halladays.
 
Morning Bazz. My brother is going to have a sort through is old photo's as he thinks he may have one of dad at Halladays but it may be the one I have posted.
 
Morning Jean. That would be great. And if it is the same one, at least thank your brother for me for making the effort. Hope you are keeping well Jean ?
 
Its strange you moving to scotland my father moved to birmingham from newcastle because no work in north east only down the pit and his father forbade him to go down the pit so he came down to work at SS Jaguar in Coventry but lodged in Nechells where met my mother but he grew homesick for newcastle and went home and the M/D of jaguar went to newcastle and talked him into coming back .I have talked to people who knew him in his early years and said he was one of the finest sheetmetal designers they had ever seen ,eventually he married my mother in1939 and was called up into the RAF and sent to France and then to north africa so i did not see him till i was five years old ,he was a bit disappointed when i was born two weeks early as my mother was going to newcastle two weeks so i would have been born a geordie named Hughie after his football idol .But he was a great dad and he loved Birmingham almost as much as Newcastle when we crossed the tyne bridge he had tears in his eyes,Joe weetman my boss and mentor at Halladays knew my father for years told me i must have inherited his skills because he reckoned i was the best diesinker he had ever seen something i am very proud of.
 
Hi BazzM @ jean I have put photos online under john davison album i think you wil have to see if i have them right ,I have found out lately that the three directors each recieved £100 hundred thousand pounds each when Halladays closed and when you think we were told we would receive uor full entitlement in my case in the region of 28 thousand pounds on the day we finished we were handed a letter saying that they had no money to pay us sowe had apply to labour office and we received £7500 instead and when you think i grew up with the chairman namely Brian Benton and the day we left not one came to say goodbye
 
Thats terrible John. What a way to treat good, honest workers, that kept the company alive for years. Absolutely disgusting.
 
sorry Bazz they are on there try going on to my profile john davison i know they are on there somehere all sixteen of them if you cannot find them i will get my godson who is fourteen to try and put them in a message thanks for looking
 
Just had a look John. Thanks for posting . Very sad when I think of what the place was like when I used to go there with my Dad (as a kid). You have some great memories there.
 
I will ask around surviving members if they have any photos i could borrow and post them online Christine who in the office with your dad has any photos i could send you no promises but i will try nice to know you have found them
 
Hello Jean @Bazz Had a phone call yesterday from Lil Partridge yesterday morning telling me Apple was rushed into Queen Elizabeth with an anuerism in his aorta and they said he might not survive the operation that was last week and that she said he had come through it ok and could be home next week
 
John thanks so much for that information. I shall phone Betty and George to let them know but I am sure they will also have received a call from Lil?. I am glad he has come through it OK John. Lil's mom Mrs Diglet lived up the road from us and was burgled by the same chap the same evening. Jean.
 
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