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Turner Brothers Toolmakers

Stevens said:
To all the ex Turner brothers people, I'm sorry to say my grandfather Victor Stevens who worked at Turners for 54 years unfortunatley passed away on 19/05/11. He was cremated yesterday at Lodge Hill, Birmingham.
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Sorry to hear about the loss of your grandfather, I am sure Victor will always be remembered by all ex Turner employees.
May he Rest in Peace.
 
Goffy said:
Sorry to hear about the loss of your grandfather, I am sure Victor will always be remembered by all ex Turner employees.
May he Rest in Peace.
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Just catching up on my messages after a weeks holiday and very sorry to hear of Victor's passing, one of life's true characters and one who will not be forgotten, I echo Goffy's, words may he Rest in Peace.
 
Mike I am not sure. I have just visited his daughter in Canada and she asked if I could find info on him. I will ask her and perhaps come back to you. He lived in Park Road Hockley.
 
I do know someone who would know him but he is on holiday until tomorrow and he does not have a mobile but I will contact him at the end of next week.There is a chap I worked with at Turners who posts on here and his screen name is Goffy, he may have more info.
 
Hi, Carolina Hi, Mike, Just read the latest posts, the name Fred Timmins rings bells loudly for me, but like Mike I am unable to remember were he worked in the company. When I left Turners I worked for a company called Timings Tools, but I am sure I can remember another company around, Birmingham, I think, called Timmins Tools. could that have anything to do with Fred. Sorry I can't be of more help.
 
Hi Goffy no unfortunately. Timmins Tools wasnt anything to do with him. I will wait on my cousin to see if I can get more info. Thanks Carol
 
Hi Mike and Goffy, u nfortunately my cousin doesnt know which department her dad worked in but his best friend was Bert Jinks.
 
I don't suppose anyone knows the names of the Turner Brothers, it's a long shot but my Great Uncles had a toolmaking factory in Cooksey Rd Small Heath in the 1920s. We've never been able to find anything out about it or them. My cousin's late Dad remembered taking their dinners round to them as a young lad. Our Granddad died of also a toolmaker died of TB in 1918, I don't know how much contact they had with the family after that.
Any info would be good. Thanks
 
Hi all
Have just been reading the posts regarding Turner Bros. My dad, Les Seale, and his three brothers - George, Bernard and Clifford - all went to work there as apprentices straight from school. Sadly, my dad and his younger brother, Clifford, both died in 2007 but the elder two brothers are alive and well aged 89 and 85. I'll show them this thread and see if they have anything to add.
Regards to all
Carol Seale
 
Barbinoz said:
I don't suppose anyone knows the names of the Turner Brothers, it's a long shot but my Great Uncles had a toolmaking factory in Cooksey Rd Small Heath in the 1920s. We've never been able to find anything out about it or them. My cousin's late Dad remembered taking their dinners round to them as a young lad. Our Granddad died of also a toolmaker died of TB in 1918, I don't know how much contact they had with the family after that.
Any info would be good. Thanks
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I know the one brothers name was E Frank Turner, his first name was a closely guarded secret, the other brother was only known by his knickname of "Shaggy" but Frank had thrown him out in the early days.
 
Goffy said:
Im afraid I am stuck on "Bert Jinks" any ideas Michael ?
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The name seems to ring a bell Graham but I am running out of sources to ask, the only person I am still in touch with is Brian Seymour. He used to work for Reg Eagles in A Dept. making the tangent benders and other machine tools, he moved down to G shop in the mid sixties making drilling jigs for the Austin Maxi engines, the one project was a six station transfer drilling line which was manufactured as a sub contract job for Archdale.
I will get in touch with Brian to see what he knows.
 
Dollymixtures said:
Hi all
Have just been reading the posts regarding Turner Bros. My dad, Les Seale, and his three brothers - George, Bernard and Clifford - all went to work there as apprentices straight from school. Sadly, my dad and his younger brother, Clifford, both died in 2007 but the elder two brothers are alive and well aged 89 and 85. I'll show them this thread and see if they have anything to add.
Regards to all
Carol Seale
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The name Les Seale rings a bell for me Carol, any idea what dept. he worked in and what years.
 
Thanks Mike, like I said it's a long shot, this factory sounds like a big place.
My Great Uncles were Joseph William (1890) and George Fredrick (1896), just for the record!
Interesting thread anyway!
 
Hi
My uncle, George Seale, remembers there being three Turner brothers - Frank, Billy (William) and, he thinks, Fred - who he said was always known as "Shaggy". This would have been in the 30's and 40's. Not sure whether the original location of the factory might have been in Small Heath. I've got another uncle who is 85 and he may know something else about the origins of the factory. Will let you know if I find out anything else.
Carol
 
Thank you for that! I don't think mine are the same Turners, I'm sure if their factory was such a large concern my Dad or his brother would have mentioned it.
Back to the drawing board! ;o)
 
A Turner Brothers advert scanned from the British Industries Fair catalogue dated May 1949. There are many famous Birmingham firms listed in the catalogue.
Quite an interesting advert for a Birmingham Contract Toolmaker.
turner_bros.jpg
 
What a great old advert I would love to see more maybe a new thread. It my fathers old firm listed Smith Bros & Webb from Sparkhill.
Thanks for posting the advert Oldmohawk..
 
Barbinoz said:
Great Ad! Nothing like blowing your own trumpet! LOL
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Turner Bros. used to do an amazing calendar every year in cartoon style, each month was a caricature of the staff in any of the particular departments and were also in full colour.Unless you were a customer the chances of receiving one was remote, however I had a contact in the Despatch Dept. who used to work a little magic for me. My one wish is that I had kept one of the many I obtained.
 
Hi Wendy,
I had a look through the 500 plus pages of the catalogue and saw no mention of the firm you mentioned. It must have been costly to exhibit with a stand at the BIF. The Turner Brothers ad was amusing maybe one of the brothers had a sense of humour.
I found one other amusing ad and will put it here for now, I had to look at it for some seconds before I saw it's message. Most of the other adverts in the catalogue are factual. If anyone mentions a firm and wants to see an ad, if it is in the catalogue I will upload it to the Image Host and point them to it.
oldmohawk
Wilcox_and_Lines.jpg
 
Thank you so much for looking for me. The latest ad is brilliant who would connect gardening to manufacturing....hmmm maybe a message there for today!!!!
 
my oldest school friend, who sadly passed away a couple of years
ago , started in the Toolroom straight from school, Roy Pash, did
anyone know him? He then went to the Rover toolroom. Bernard
 
m.humphreys said:
Hi Goffy,
I am new to this forum but have been sat for some time reading this thread.You are corrct on the departments but the larger part of "B" shop was where all the British Timken tooling was made. Charlie Mould was the manager in that shop. The lift man I think was named Jack and he had a club foot AFAIK.
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hi my name is dave thompson freddie barlow charlie skinner and i were mainly responsible for the manufacture of tmken tools.
 
Turner Brothers Served my apprenticeship there 1963-1968. I finished up in H department. Dennis Hare was my boss. Other apprentices were Dave Mason, Roger Parr, Keith Harison. Had some great times there, at the christmas parties
 
Freddie Barlow is sitting downstairs eating piece of carrot and walnut cake at the moment. Dad has only seen this history of turners today and I am going to get him to relay some of the stories I've heard over the years. I would go with dad to work when he had to visit the night shift and spend time on the shop floor playing cricket with the men. They made a wooden cricket bat and for the ball removed one of the ball weights of the top of the fly press. Never hit it very far.
m.humphreys said:
Graham, another one I remembered from D shop is Derek Lowe, I also found some photo’s, one is of Billy Knight, one of Colin Aspinall and Martin McDonald and one taken by the British Clearing press which has George (Ginger) Evans, Teddy Griffin and Mac bedding a tool in, there is a setter on the pic also who’s name at the moment escapes me.I can’t recall the name John Lander, might recognise him though.I spent quite a bit of time with Alf Marson on tool tryouts in 1965, also I had an accident whilst remaking a New Holland tool which had come from Lemarks and I was away for a couple of months with the injury. Whilst you were at Timings, was there a guy by the name of Terry Smith there? He used to work in G dept. when I first started work. You probably remember Micky Cattell, he went to work at Victoria Precision and he did quite well too. I did meet up with Trev Hobday at Wilkins and Mitchell in the late 80’s also there was Freddie Barlow ex. B shop. My brother had a similar path to you in design but he moved on from Tool and Special Purpose Machine design at Wilmot Breeden Tyseley and finished up designing industrial gas systems mainly for gas rig, transportation and storage installations. A very worthwhile as he travelled widely and spent lots of time on the North Sea rigs.
As you say toolmaking has come a long way in 50 years and many of the traditional skills of the toolmaker has gone with the advent of the CNC machinery.
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