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GEC WITTON WORKS

There was a tunnel leading from the main building under the road to the switchgear works in the old days. Off to the right of the main building a ways was Witton Kramer where the big electro magnets were made. Did a stint in the machine shop at the back of there with Percy Lawly and Fred, as an apprentice. It's all gone now.
 
Rupert,
do you remember Nigel Steeley Who was in charge of Witton Kramer in the 60s.
Every time the Tame flooded that tunnel had 6ft of water in it, we had to get to the wages dept by the road, I worked in Relay shop for 18 months after a spell in E.DO, Which was on the top floor of the addmin block in the pics.
I also worked in Rotating plant sales for a time,then went on to Large Turbo Gen Sales/Contract dealing with the Genorators that were being made in the LARGE TURBO SHOP, built in the early 50s, now just a memory like most of the Witton estate.
Very happy times.,
One thing I can say is that WE WERE SOME OF THE LAST TO LEAVE Witton estate working for C A PARSONS/NEI.
 
Many thanks Dollyferret for the GEC Magnet Club pic's, it would be about 1947 as a student at Deykin Avenue that we practiced running the Relay-race around that ground, we were getting ready for the Schools Athletics at the Alexandra Stadium Perry Barr, wish I could run like that now, still - I'm lucky to get about so not complaining.
Happy days, Eric Clayton
 
Gec Magnet Club

These are two Pics of GEC Golf Club at the Magnet grounds you can see Xprlair in the back ground onone of them. The other is of the Snooker Room in the Magnet Club during a Switchgear inter-departmental game.
 
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Gec Switch Wembley 1957

This photo s of the GEC Switch coaches out side the Yew Tree Brookvale road ready to go to Wembley for the VILLA - MAN UTD Cup Final 1957.
I bet you know how WON!
ASTON
 
GEC Stationary

Any one remember the Witton Stationary, this is a sheet of internal note paper used to send messages round the factory & offices.
 
Office Retirements

Those were the days of many a good man had to retire,These pics are of the Retirement of Mr A.T DAVIS Cost dept Large Rotating Plant Div; WITTON. Late 1960s
Presentation by Mr FRANK KROUSE M.D.
Gifts Presented by Mr ALF COUTTS LTG Sales & all work mates
Unknown switchgear progress office retirement?
 
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Works Retirements

This is an unknown works retirement in GEC HIGH TENSION, WITTON.
My Dad is on the far right (Bill Jenney) he was in the Switch Progress Office at that time,
Any one know any of these ?
 
This photo was sent to Rod and myself a few years back by Jill Hogan,
I cannot remember if Jill's ...mother/grandmother or any other relative was on the photo....
 
more G.E.C. Photos

These are 3 more Photos from my late Fathers Album taken in the 1950s of his time in Switch Progress Dept; WITTON. If any one can put names to faces please let me know.
Regards ASTON
 
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More G.e.c. Pics

These pictures are from my late Dads days in Switch Progress Dept;
1st: faces that I remember are TED PAINTING,BUNNY GREEN,TOMMY HUGHES.
2nd:CHRISTMAS. TOMMY HUGHES, BILL JENNEY(My Dad),DEREK MATTHEWS(My Cousin),FRED TAYLOR,FRED WILLIAMS,RONNY CAROLL,JOSIE BAYLIS,ARTHUR SUTTON.
3rd:RONNY CAROLL'S leaving presentation.

If any one came add any names to faces please let me know.
ASTON
 
G.e.c. Witton Moulded Plastics

This is just on of the products made at WITTON MOULDED PLASTICS ( WMI ) in Electric Ave, there were many more such as phone cases, light fittings, plugs etc; all made from BAKALITE? The staff were made up mainly of female workers.
 
G.e.c. Witton Kramer

WITTON KRAMER: Who are now part of the BROOK CROMPTON Manufacturing Group, started life at the end of the 1908 in Bath, Somerset.when John B Kramer founded Kamos Ltd.He was a pioneer of small electric drilling and grinding machines, electric lifting magnets and monorail hoists.
In 1909 he came to Birmingham to join his business with the General Electric Company at Witton. Here under the name Witton Kramer Electric Tool and Hoist Works he manufactured on a much larger scale than hitherto; products now also included separator magnets, brakes,clutches and solenoids.
During World War 1, Mr Kramer, who was born and grew up in pre-war Germany,worked closely with several branches of the British Goverment. He was engaged to develop the Sir Percy Scott Electro-magnet mine and the Kramer Kapp Detector was tried in connection with trench signalling experiments.
After the war he resumed his private research work, resulting in the descovery of the use of weaker radioactive substances for medical use, meanwhile production continued to grow at Witton, primarily of large lifting magnets, solenoids, brakes and clutches, cranes & hoists, electric hand drills, grinders and a wide range of photo-electric equipment.
Although Mr Kramer retired from the now well known Witton Kramer in 1939, their efforts in World War 2 were massive.The full scope of their experiments and product developments are too vast to name, butmajor products included mine detectors, magnets to immobilise the clocks in tme-delay bombs and slip ring columns for guns and radar towers. However, the importance of this work is clearly underlined by the personal visit of General Montgomery who came to the Witton Kramer works on 9th March 1944 to inspect the production layout and address the workforce on the importance of thier work.
After the war during the 50s, 60s and 70s, Witton Kramer continued to manufacture the core products brakes,solenids, clutches,magnets photo-electric equipment, and expanded theranbge with new product development,including PMA,PMDand MTWK brakes following the amalgamation of AEI English Eletric, Witton Kramer took on the new production of Perigrip Brakes and Trustors from other parts of the new group.
During the company rationalisation programme, the Witton site became redundant and it was necessary to moveWitton Kramer.In 1984, the commercial and engineering departments together with the brake and thrustor production moved to GEC small machines factory at Blackheath. Production of large lifting magnets was transfered to Magnet Electical repairs Ltd (now Cegelec Electical Services Ltd) at Swansea.
In the 1980s and 90s, although the company offered a wide range of brakes and trustors, growth was only slight compared to the that of the boom industries of the period, such as elecronics and computers.
The GEC small Machines company was sold to Hawker Siddeley in 1989, which in turn was bought by BTR in 1991, who merged with Seibe to form the Invensys Group. WITTON KRAMER IS NOW PART OF BROOK CROMPTON, AN Lindeteves-Jacoberg company.

So ends the story of a great company born ON THE WITTON ESTATE.
 
Gec Xpelair

This is a copy of one of the old GEC WITTON xpelair fan manuals of which GEC made millions in the works based just over the canal on the magnet club road. Later to become central stores.
 
dollyferret, the picture of yours showing the front door of the GEC Admin; Block has a story, When I joined the GEC as an Apprentice in 1957 the story we were told about the round feature under the wings over the door, was that if the Germans had won the war that is were the swastika would have been put, this was due to the company being founded by Mr HURST A GERMAN BY BIRTH.As a young lad straight out of school this fascinated me and all my fellow Apprentices.
 
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