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M.B.Wild & Co Nechells

  • Thread starter Thread starter O.C.
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Hello Kim welcome to the forum Nuffields wasn,t in Nechells it was sited in Common Lane Washwood Heath as a journey man electrician I worked there on several occasions never got to no many of the people who worked there though. Dek
 
dek carr said:
Hello Kim welcome to the forum Nuffields wasn,t in Nechells it was sited in Common Lane Washwood Heath as a journey man electrician I worked there on several occasions never got to no many of the people who worked there though. Dek
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Ok, thank for your reply .Regards Kim.
 
My Dad, Frank Taylor was a Designer Engineer at M B Wild from before and during World War II until, I think the late 50's or early 60's. I believe he was involved in the design of this bridge as my brother has detailed drawings of this and of other items produced by the company during the war. I was interested to see Di Poppit's name - I clearly remember Dad talking about Harry Poppit. My brother has inherited a lot of Dad's drawings, etc. and is attempting to piece together MB Wild's involvement in the war effort. At the time we knew no details and even my mother (now 101) has no knowledge of exactly what was produced by the company during this period.
 
Hi- having just discovered this site ,I can tell you that my Grandfather , my Father and Uncle and my wife all worked for M.B.Wild at both Argyle St. and Wharton St. I have an inscribed gold watch given to my grandfather on completing 33 yrs service in 1947. I do know that they made tanks etc. during the war years which were all lined up along Wharton St. before despatch.
 
Welcome to the Forum, Frank - and Janet too.

I don't seem to have mentioned it before in this thread but I have a page on my website giving a bit of information about Wild's and, especially, a lot about the father of a Forum member who worked there. It can be accessed HERE.

The page contains links giving further information on the Company's WW2 production.

Chris

PS. The link to information about the assault bridge doesn't seem to work any more (and I can't correct the page at present). But there seem to be other references to this product on the web, including this one: https://www.thinkdefence.co.uk/2011/12/uk-military-bridging-equipment-assault-bridging/
 
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Having read the threads regarding the history of MB Wild & Co Ltd, it brought back many fond memories of working and knowing Harry Poppit, it was this man's skills and expertise that gave me the knowledge to succeed in engineering, he took me under his wing and everything he taught me has stayed with me until this very day, he and his brother in law Harold Roe had so much knowledge and I have so much respect for them as with all the staff and workers.. I started at the company in 1965 as an apprentice draughtsman and marvelled at all the old drawings of war time machinery they produced, plus seeing the hundreds of wooden pattens from the early years gave me a great insight into the scope of this company's products and achievements, and with the detailed explanations from Harry Poppit I understood how everything was built... Thank you Harry. and god bless you..
 
With regards to Bren Gun Carriers mentioned early in the thread, my father in law was employed in cutting up ex military vehicles, just after the war had ended, somewhere in Aston. He told me that the best vehicles to cut up was the Bren Gun Carrier, because apparently, the driver and passenger seats could not be removed, and it was discovered that on cutting the metal holding the seat, all sorts of money which dropped out of soldiers pockets over the time the vehicle was in service, and small objects were found under the seat. So as soon as these vehicles came into the yard for cutting up, all the lads would rush to be the first to start cutting up the front seat area, he told me that the money found under the seat, paid for their beer at lunch time!

Smiler
 
Di.Poppitt said:
I'll do that later today Crommie. O0

Talking to Brian my husband, he remembers going into Wilds during the war, and seeing The Bren gun Carriers being engineered. He tells me that when one was finished they would take it out on test. It went along Argyle Street, into Wharton Street, and down Cuckoo Road, completing the block. They were on caterpillars, so the noise must have been memorable.The whole factory was proud of the fact that the first order went out To El Alemain.
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Hi, Di!
My dad, Albert Verdun Williams, started work at Wild's in 1937 and eventually joined the Home Guard under Harry's command. It was my dad's first proper job. He was from Merthyr Tydfil, South Wales. He was employed at Wild's until he died, 64. My mom arrived around 1941 from Newcastle Upon Tyne with a lot of other Geordie girls to work in the factory. I started working at Wild's in 1960 at 15 years of age. My sister, Linda, worked in the office around 1967/8. It was a great place to work with a good, happy workforce. Your dad, Harry, was a smashing bloke and dedicated to the company.
Ivor
 
I worked at Wild's straight from school in 1969. I served my apprenticeship for 5 years. I loved working there. I left in Jan 1977 and went to work on a gold mine in West Africa, where MB Wild had installed man riding winders. I worked there for 4 years and when I returned, David Lewis offered me a position with them again. I accepted and worked for them until 1988 when they hit very hard times and eventually closed. I travelled to many countries during my time with them and loved every minute of it. I would love to meet up with former employees who knew me.
 
Welcome to the Forum, Mike. I hope that any member who was at Wild's at that time will respond. And do please let us have further memories of your own.

Chris
 
I have quite a bit of information online about Harry Pollitt who was Works Manager up to 1984. There's a link to it in my post #36 above. It's safe to click on.

Chris
 
Mike O'Shea said:
I worked at Wild's straight from school in 1969. I served my apprenticeship for 5 years. I loved working there. I left in Jan 1977 and went to work on a gold mine in West Africa, where MB Wild had installed man riding winders. I worked there for 4 years and when I returned, David Lewis offered me a position with them again. I accepted and worked for them until 1988 when they hit very hard times and eventually closed. I travelled to many countries during my time with them and loved every minute of it. I would love to meet up with former employees who knew me.
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afternoon Mike , I remember you from our time at M B Wild. Had some good times there and it was sad to see it slip under. Hope you and your family are well.
 
I would love to know if anybody remembers my father , Geoff Harris , my grandfather Bill Harris and my great Uncle Tommy Harris, they all worked at wilds in the 50's and 60's , I have heard many stories over the years about Harry Poppett. I also met a chap named Trevor ( maybe Trevor West , who had represneted MB Wilds in African for many tears ? Please get in touch.
 
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