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Post Office Factory. Fordrough Lane

R

Reg Neal

proper brummie kid
I worked at this Factory from the time I left school at the age of 14 years.Started in August 1940 and attended the in house Engineering School. Unfortunately this was cut short when the Blitz started in earnest, the factory was badly hit in November 19th and 21st. H Block was destroyed and so was G Block. I worked there until my call-up came in December 1944 and I finished up in the Artillery in the Far East. Came home in 1947 and went back to Garrison Lane Factory. Would love to hear from any contempories of those far off days.
In 1940 I worked in the Machine Shop, at one time on the Auto Capstans under the watchful eye of Bill Watts,at other times under Jack Daniels, The Shop Foreman was Jack Clark known as Nobby by the adults but addressed as MR CLARK by us boys. I was paid 3d an hour and worked a 48 hour week for 12/6d. There must be someone out there that knew some one
working there. Give us a shout please.
 
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My father, Tom Bingham, worked there all his working life until he retired in about 1980. He worked at Fordrough Lane I think most of the time, but did have to go to Garrison Lane sometimes. During the war he worked somewhere in London for the Post Office as he was never called up. He started at Fordrough Lane from the age of 14 which would have been about 1932.
 
Hi Reg, Type "Garrison" Lane into search at the top of the page and you will find relevant threads, i started there 1943, my name is Len Copsey. Len.
 
Hi Reg

My Mom Hazel Atkins and her friend Pat Powis worked at Fordrough Lane and I think at Garrison Lane too. She retired in 1980 - I think the Post Office became British Telecoms? My brother David Atkins also worked there when it was the Post Office and played for the football team. He would have left around 1968 I think.
 
My mom and myself worked at Post Office Fordrough Lane in the offices in the 70's and then moved to Arley Road Saltley when it became BT.
 
i too worked at the lane on cable section again 70,s, moved saltley and short spell in offices before they closed it down
 
Reg Neal, When i was at the factory, the Foreman was Albert Wadley other names i recall, Arthur Eke, Dorrington, the Timmins brothers, "Sailor" Brown, Bluck & Stagg, i had left before 1947. Len.
 
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Dear Reg Neal - I worked at the Post Office Factory Fordrough Lane from 1953 to 1991, which was obviously some time after you left.
However I have set-up a website for ex-staff and I'm sure you will find my photograph gallery page of interest because there are a number of pictures that date back to before WW2 and, there are some photos of the damage inflicted on the factory by the German Bombers.
The website can be found at;-
https://www.supacog.webs.com


I also knew Albert Comberlack he was the Assistant Foreman to Eric Hatton when I worked in the Model Shop at Fordrough Lane in 1959/60.
Arthur Eke was the First Aid Leader at Garrison Lane throughout the 60s & 70s also at that time Tommy Bingham was the foreman of the Rack Shop at Garrison Lane.
Regarding David Atkins - I can only remember a chap named Billy Atkins who played for the Post Office Stores Football Team in 1956.

A book titled - Post Office/British Telecom Factories 1870 -1994 was published in 2008 - which contains quite a few photographs and gives a good description of the contribution the Factories Division made to the success of both the Post Office and British Telecom.

I hope this is of some help and I would be pleased to hear from you if you wish to contact me on - [email protected]

All best regards, Ernie Coggins.
 
Gillian Atkins said:
Hi Reg

My Mom Hazel Atkins and her friend Pat Powis worked at Fordrough Lane and I think at Garrison Lane too. She retired in 1980 - I think the Post Office became British Telecoms? My brother David Atkins also worked there when it was the Post Office and played for the football team. He would have left around 1968 I think.
Click to expand...

Hi Gillian, I remeber a chap called Billy Atkins who worked in the factory at Fordrough Lane and he played in the Post office Stores Football Team in 1956 - could this be another relative ?
Regards, Ernie Coggins
 
Dear Ernie

My father was the Thomas Bingham you mentioned. He worked all his working life for the Post Office at both Fordrough Lane and Garrison Lane. During the war he worked for the Post Office in London. I cannot remember exactly when he retired, he took early retirement when he was just turned 60 I think. Unfortunely, he passed away when he was very young at 68. I am glad that I have found someone who remembers him.

I will look at your web page at your pictures.

Regards
Christine Jones
 
Hi there, no David wouldn't have been old enough to have played in 1956, he would have been 11. I think he has a press cutting, I'll email him and ask him if he's still got it. :)
 
col h, that is a super pic of the Fordrough Lane site, the name Government stores puts i think pre WW2, later known as Post Office Factory. Len.
 
Len - the Bluck you remember was probably my father, John I believe he worked at Fordrough Lane before being called up in 1946. In 1949 he married and joined my Mother's family business, Leslie Adams Coal Merchants which he ran until 1966. Dad passed away in 1969 i'm afraid so I can't ask him for any more details
 
Hi Christine, the retirement age as always been 60 on the Post Office, many do stay on over that age because they cant afford to live on the
PO pension alone and have to wait five years for their State OAP.
When the bill went through parliment to split Telecomms and the PO, our
union people were there every day to make sure the age was not raised to 65. I did 42 years in the PO,at Birmingham, Burton , and then Derby
Bye for now Bernard.
 
LJCB, The man named Bluck i remember worked at Garrison Lane c1943, he worked on repairing the cast iron phone box`s used at that time, he could have transferred to Fordrough Lane, i was called up for N/S c1947 but had left the Post Office before that year. Len.
 
Dear Reg,

I worked at Fordrough Lane from 1953 to 1991 you may find information about the people you are looking for or the history of what happened in the factory after 1940 on the following website;-
https://supacog.webs.com

All very best regards, Ernie Coggins.
 
I worked at the Post Office Factory from 5th January 1953 until 31st March 1991.

I still meet a number of ex-colleagues at various times in the month and feel it is important that as many ex-factory empoyees are aware of our meeting places just in case they wish to renew acquaintances.

The Federation of Post Office and BT Veterans meet at Bordesley Allotments, opposite Daniels Road School on the First Wednesday of each month at 10.00 to 11.30 am coffee, tea, biscuits and social events. Come along and meet friends from the Factory, Supplies Depot and Offices all welcome, the more the merrier.

The Marlborough Veterans Lunch Club meet at the Wheatsheaf Pub, Coventry Road on the First Wednesday of each month at 12 noon. Good company and a good carvery at very reasonable prices. Everybody welcome especially wives, girfriends and Sweethearts.

For more detail visit our dedicated website - https://supacog.webs.com

Regards Ernie.
 
Hi Col h, Superb picture of the 3 Blocks. They were lettered B, A, and C, from the left. The Machine Shop occupied the ground floor of B Block and all the rest was Stores. The whole site was interconnected with tunnels for stores and Air Raid Shelters. One UXB fell between B & A Block. The photograph waqs taken from the opposiote side of the road, although there is no indication of the Council Houses that were built there. I worked in the Machine Shop all through the Blitz and joined the Army in '44.
Reg Neal.
 
lencops said:
Reg Neal, When i was at the factory, the Foreman was Albert Wadley other names i recall, Arthur Eke, Dorrington, the Timmins brothers, "Sailor" Brown, Bluck & Stagg, i had left before 1947. Len.
Click to expand...
Hi Len,
Could the Dorrington you remember have been Fred? He was my paternal grandfather. I'm sure I was told that he was awarded an MBE or suchlike for 40-something years at the PO factory but I don't know where it was. He died aged 96 sometime in the mid-1970s so he would have retired in the 1940s. His wife was Ethel and they lived in Woodwells Rd (Alum Rock) for many years.
Cheers,
Stan
 
Hi Stan, Fred Dorrington was his name & he was working at the Garrison Lane factory when i started in 1943 at 14yrs old, he worked on the telephone cable adjusters which tensioned the cable between the telephone pole & the house, office, factory etc it had a quick release so the Linesman could work on it, Fred sold bags of apples, pears & tomatoes for 1/2d or 1d according to the amount in the bag, it was mid WW2, our wage (my pals & i called ourselves slaves not workers!!) was 10s/6d per/wk basic for working 48hrs which included Saturday morning, after a a year it rose by 1shilling, they had strange type of piecework system which was not very lucrative. Len.
 
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Tap Wrench/Clamp made by me in the the metalwork school at Fordrough Lane 14/15yrs old, used for British Association 0/BA to 8/BA size taps, we Junior Fitters had to attend 2 mornings each week we also made a thread die holder, small set square & a vee block, i night a week we were given 2 slices of bread and Jam + a mug of tea in the Fordrough Lane canteen and then went to Malborough Rd School, Bordesley Green for maths, mechanical drawing etc from 6pm-8pm and air raids and the blackout was in force. Len. (Every worker had round brass circle with a number on, as you can see mine was 2053. Len.)
 
Hi Len, I started at Fordrough Lane in August 1940, check No:1022. I attended the training classes as you did but did not go to Marlborough Rd. We did all our lessons at F/L, I still have my Tap Holder, made under the guidance of Jimmy West. I did that from the August until the big raids in November 19/ 21st when all of F Block (where the School was) was destroyed and G Block went up too, and that was the Canteen gone.That was the end of my instruction and I spent the next 4 years working and learning in the Machine Shop to be a Fitter. Worked for Jack Daniels, Wal Green, and later for Bill Watts on the Auto Capstans. In '44 the War Office caught up with me and a few others like Johnnie Powell and Albert Dean and after various adventures we reappeared in Jan. 47 as Fitters. I stayed until August 55 and flew into the wider world of Engineering. My first Foreman was Nobby Clark and you had to get a large brass strip as a Pass to go to the Canteen for a cuppa. All the best . Reg Neal.
 
Hi Stan, I knew Fred Dorrington quite well, shared a small workshop at Garrison Lane for about 5 years, he would eat a whole Spanish Onion every day, claiming the it prevented colds, smelled the shop out,but it seemed to work. He was awarde the MBE about 49/50, i was at the ceremony which was carried out in the Machine Shop at G/Lane by the then Lord Lieutenant of Warwickshire Willoughby de Brooke. We switched off all the machines for 10 minutes. We were all there, Johnnie Bluck, Jo Moon, Timmins, Alf Ridge, Tommy Harrison, Alan Jarvis.... I could go on. I knew two of Freds sons, I have forgotten the name of the youngest, but saw a lot of Norman who for a numberof years was running the Maintenance Dept with Jack Daniels. Fred lived in Woodwells Road his gateway had a privet arch right over. He was a very skilled Fitter.
Reg Neal.
 
Hi Len,
Grandad selling fruit and veg rings true. He also kept bantams in the back garden for eggs. Even after retirment he had a few sidelines. He worked part-time at a hardware shop cutting keys till he was over 80. It was near the Pelham and I think it was called Parkins.
Cheers,
Stan
PS Thanks for your memories.
 
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