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Turner Brothers Toolmakers

Bolton said:
My name is Brian Bolton and Freddie Barlow was my boss.
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Hi Brian dd remembers you from Turners.Dads 91 now and I'm trying to get him to think about his time at Turners, only his memory is'nt to good but this is helping. I hopr to be posting more in the next few days so keep an eye out.
 
carolandsteve said:
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Hi Brian dd remembers you from Turners.Dads 91 now and I'm trying to get him to think about his time at Turners, only his memory is'nt to good but this is helping. I hopr to be posting more in the next few days so keep an eye out.
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Hi Carolandsteve,I knew your dad when he worked in "B" dept.Following all the upheavals at Turner's in the 1970's he came to work at a company called Maurice Tool Co. Ltd. which was at that time based on what was then known as Kings Norton Factory Centre. It would have been in the mid seventies when your dad came to work there and they was a number of ex Turner Bros. people there. Some of the names that might jog his memory Bill Smith ex chief draughtsman, Les Lloyd ( Pobble) apprentice centre foreman,Alf Marson, ex tool try-outs,George Levassuer ex Jig-boring forman,Charlie Mould ex "B" Dept manager, Brian Seymour ex machine tool fitter ( tangent benders ) in "A" Dept. Maurice Walker was the MD and he was ex. Turner's, Carbodies, Coventry and Fisher and Ludlow Castle Bromwich. Your dad left and went to work at Wilkins and Mitchell where he was again reunited with ex Turner's men, Trevor Hobday being one of them. I think other than money it was the distance he had to do each day, Great Barr to Cotteridge.

Give your dad my regards.
 
Hi CarolandSteve, can you ask your dad if he remembers Fred Timmins who worked there, he was a great piano player. Thanks
 
carolandsteve said:
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Hi Brian dd remembers you from Turners.Dads 91 now and I'm trying to get him to think about his time at Turners, only his memory is'nt to good but this is helping. I hopr to be posting more in the next few days so keep an eye out.
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I remember I started in the pattern makers shop which was just down from G shop. The pattern makers had a young lad working for them named Bernie Bott. Ben Whittaker (who was one of the directors) went into the social club one day and there was Bernie Bott playing snooker so Ben sacked him thats how I got an apprenticeship there. In those days H shop was the best shop to be in and thats where I ended up. I made die casting tools and plastic mould tools, the leading hand was Ernie I cant remember his surn
 
hi,carolandsteve,my name is dave thompson, fred barlow was my mentor when i came off the apprentice section along with charlie skinner.we worked on next benches opposite harold allsop.he was a great example to follow.
 
hi caroland steve.i left turner's in 1966 but if fred remembers try albert mansfield cyril johnson jimmy wheeler bob price billy beckett brian finney,i saw keith mannion not long ago,he told me fred was still well.re dave thompson.
 
Hi Dave, Yes I'm still around. Yes, you are right about the canteen. I'd forgotten about that, so were does that leave the planning office? could it have shared the top floor with the drawing office? Perhaps someone may remember. I see you came from HTS too, you left a couple of years before me. but you name does sound familiar. must be from Turners.

Goffy
 
Goffy said:
Hi Dave, Yes I'm still around. Yes, you are right about the canteen. I'd forgotten about that, so were does that leave the planning office? could it have shared the top floor with the drawing office? Perhaps someone may remember. I see you came from HTS too, you left a couple of years before me. but you name does sound familiar. must be from Turners.

Goffy
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Hi Graham, ground floor was "A" Dept. then going up was "B" Dept. then Canteen, then Planning Office and top floor Drawing Office
 
Thanks Mike, I was right, but I had forgotton the canteen floor. Only went in there a few times, pie and chips I think, On the subject of food, Do you remember a radial driller in "K" shop named Leach, He brought stew for lunch occaisionally in a covered basin, This I used to take over to the hardening shop for him were it was put on top a furnace to keep warm, it smelled great when I collected it for him at lunchtime. I think the hardening shop was inside "A" shop but can't put any naames to it.

Goffy
 
Goffy said:
Thanks Mike, I was right, but I had forgotton the canteen floor. Only went in there a few times, pie and chips I think, On the subject of food, Do you remember a radial driller in "K" shop named Leach, He brought stew for lunch occaisionally in a covered basin, This I used to take over to the hardening shop for him were it was put on top a furnace to keep warm, it smelled great when I collected it for him at lunchtime. I think the hardening shop was inside "A" shop but can't put any naames to it.

Goffy
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Was "K" dept. once "D" dept. Graham ? if so I only recall Joe Haynes the AEU convenor , when "D" dept was broken up in the mid 60's I was transferred down to "G" dept. I think you are correct with the location of the hardening shop but where exactly in "A" dept I cannot recall. A name of Bill springs to mind but I recall when I was in Inspection dept. Wilf Ayers used to do the hardness testing, can see him now with his huge belly; winding up the shaft on the Rockwell Tester.He used to pop up to the Cabin in Old Square for a few pints of draught bass every lunchtime ( dinnertime in those days) and on his return back to work he used to smack hid lips and say " just like wine". I will try to require about the hardening shop as my Best Man was Brian Seymour, you may remember him he worked for Reg Eagles in "A" shop on the Tangent Benders;he is still alive and kicking.
 
So very interesting to read all this thread, about an"Iconic" Birmingham Co, I almost feel I know some of the chap's/chapess's mentioned and so nice some still with us.
paul
 
m.humphreys said:
Was "K" dept. once "D" dept. Graham ? if so I only recall Joe Haynes the AEU convenor , when "D" dept was broken up in the mid 60's I was transferred down to "G" dept. I think you are correct with the location of the hardening shop but where exactly in "A" dept I cannot recall. A name of Bill springs to mind but I recall when I was in Inspection dept. Wilf Ayers used to do the hardness testing, can see him now with his huge belly; winding up the shaft on the Rockwell Tester.He used to pop up to the Cabin in Old Square for a few pints of draught bass every lunchtime ( dinnertime in those days) and on his return back to work he used to smack hid lips and say " just like wine". I will try to require about the hardening shop as my Best Man was Brian Seymour, you may remember him he worked for Reg Eagles in "A" shop on the Tangent Benders;he is still alive and kicking.
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Mike, "K" department was on the ground floor underneath "D" department and was run by Harry Oakley, Originally "K" department was situated in Weaman Street, there was still a tryout press in Weaman Street while I worked in there. Some time after I moved up to "D" department both "K" and "D" amalgamated to become the new "D" department under Joe Oakley. What happened to the toolmakers and machinists who worked in there when we moved down to "G" department I do not know. I do remember Reg Eagles and Brian Seymour rings a bell. It was a luxury to have a hardening shop like at Turners, when I left for Timings I had to do my own.

Goffy
 
All I can remember Graham was the new building across the road from the main entrance which I knew as "D" dept. After leaving the Inspection Dept. I went to work in the middle shop in the old building where John Scott was the leading hand. I worked on the shaper, universal millers. On the shapers I remember Frank Wylie, George Hemesley and Sid, whose surname escapes me. On the benches were Ray Potter, Micky Garside and Pete Resuggan. The labourer and sweeper up was Sammy Mann, father of Johnny Mann, the ex boxer and trainer of Johnny Prescott. John Mann worked in the plumbing dept. I eventually went to work with George Wilson on the top floor and Joe Oakley was the boss there then. Some of the names I remember there are Les Killeen, Alf and Arthur Law, Jackie Dafforn, Jeff Whale, Mick who bought one of the first Skoda's in this country which was a two stroke I think. The first bench was occupied by a name I can't remember but he was a short bald headed man. I worked with him on the forming tools for the wing flaps on the TSR2 I also worked downstairs with Peter Snape on rubber tools for the formers which were fitted eventually to the wing flaps. If I have got the right building there were I think two Keller machines in there also as well as big radial drillers. Another chap in there was Harry Mole who always seemed that he would fall over when he walked.
 
Michael, As you describe it is just as it was, the names and everything. When I moved up to the middle floor of "D" (this may have been the point when it was amalgamated) I started on the lathe under the watchfull eye of John Scott, I then moved onto the vertical miller with a Welsh chap named Emmerson, Bill I think, After a while I moved on to the surface grinders which, if I remember were on the top floor, with Brian Colbourne and Frank Hough, I also moved onto the bench on the top floor and can remember quite a few faces but the names escape me. The short bald headed man you mentioned, wasn't that Reg Perry, had a small mustache. We call this the "top floor" but wasn't there another floor above in the older part of the building used by the pattern makers. It was from that point we were all shipped down to "G" shop when each department became self contained with its own planning and drawing office. You remember John King, he came from "K" shop, he was doing two years national service when I started and used to call in to see us when on leave, in full uniform.


Goffy
 
Yes Graham you are right with the name it was Reg Perry and he was on the first bench on the top floor. The surface grinders you mention were in the old part of the building but on the same level where, I can remember that for a fact because whilst I was on nights I made myself some parallel strips which I still have to this day albeit a bit tarnished. The pattern shop you mention was above the second floor of "G" dept. I recall well that they had to lower their dustbins to street level with a small electric hoist and one day the bin fell off and landed on Peter Yates Anglia, a 105E model.He was not well pleased. I do remember John King he had a brand new Hillman Minx in the early 60's. Concidentaly an Aunt of mine who lived in Rubery had a neighbour named Resuggan (a good Cornish name) and they were related to Pete, I remember him going to work at INA Automation in Minworth but it seems he emigrated to the USA and did really well.
 
I started there in 1962. All us young lads started in the shop above the main press shop in weamman street. Does anybody remember Dave Mason, Keith Harrison ,Ernie gregory, Tommy Jones, Maurice Jones. I remember the labourer who used to stand there on his brush, while one of us distracted him anther one went behind him and lit his brush, with all the oil and suds about it went up with a great whoosh.all great fun.
 
hi dave ed
what year was that arnie edwards worked at corbetts my two younger brothers worked there for donkeys years ;
i will ring my one brother now lives in tamworth he contacted my daughter a couple of times this week to asked how i was alive or dead an and her for my contact number and address ;so i will get my daughter to make the arrangements ; best wishes astonian ;;
 
hi bolton,i remember ernie gregory he worke on the balcony ,when we were on the apprentice section we used to see how far ernie could smoke his cigarette in his mouth without the ash falling off .dave thompson
 
Hi Astonian,

As far as i can recall Arnie Jackson worked at Henry Corbetts from the fifties through to the seventies.

Regards
Dave Ed
 
hi dave;
hope you are well; as i am myself ;
thanks for getting back to me ; spoke with my two brothers roy and dave ;
and they most definately remember very well indeed they laughed when i mentioned his name ;
old arnie ; its a small world aint it ; they both started there many years ago
dave started first ; then he got roy a job ; there ;
roy worked around the corner in phillips street at savekers for years then got redundant he was a polisher there ;
have a nice day ; dave ; best wishes astonian ;;
 
Does anyone know anything about Rowland Emett's time at Turner Brothers during WWII, or have a copy of the wartime souvenir brochure with the aircraft illustrations?
 
My dad, Pat Richards, was at Turners for many years. His bench was against the windows to Cecil St. He later was transferred to the Apprentice dept. His best friend there was Harold King. I loved the Christmas parties when I was a kid. Magical.
 
Hi everyone, I've just joined as we found mention of Turners in Cliveland Street. We have occupied 82-84 for over 30 years now and have uncovered many interesting little items over the years, our top floor would have been an old stove enameling shop, we found a bricked up complete forge on the first floor (donated to Black Country Museum) and our cellars still have blue brick steps going down into the earth floor, I believe this part was a pub back in the 1800's ?

Sadly we also watched the 5 storey part (adjacent to New Town Row) have a fire and then demolished, the demise of West Bros over the road from us, Soho Pool Warehouse going up in smoke and now most of Cliveland Street is earmarked as student high rise accomodation, we're still here though.

Birmingham Tin Box started in Ormond Street, Newton back in 50's, moved to Park Road, Aston 63 & then to Cliveland Street 1978 if you go to https://paint-tin.co.uk/aboutus.htm there are some interesting old photographs.

We found this website from a customer of ours who used to work at Turners.
 
Hello and welcome, it is so nice as well as sad to read your post. The photo's on your link are brilliant just what we love on this site. How wonderful for you to find these interesting gems, including the forge you donated to The Black Country Museum. It is a pity Birmingham doesn't have such a museum for these long lost treasures. I hope you business continues and prospers.
 
i have just come across this thread, I was the last indentured apprentice at Turners, being told three times I would be made redundant. Started in 1968 a few months in the buying office with Reg Harrison. Apprentice section under Pat Richards, Les Lloyd etc. Press shop tool maintenance with Tommy Astles Jones & Winky Wells followed by H dept jig boring/grinding with Arthur Stevens (what a character he was) finally ending up in the grinding department before redundancy in 1976. Graham
 
Hi Dave, I have just joined this forum and seen your post. I worked in "B" department for a short while under Charlie Mould. He then left and Dennis Hare took over. The foreman was Freddie Barlow. Some years later I left Turners to become manager of another toolroom and I employed Freddie Barlow as a foreman until he eventually retired. I left the UK to run the toolroom of Nissan in South Africa.
 
Interesting,my mother (now 91) worked at Turners during the war,& then after until 1952.Her maiden name at that time was Mould.
 
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