• Welcome to this forum . We are a worldwide group with a common interest in Birmingham and its history. While here, please follow a few simple rules. We ask that you respect other members, thank those who have helped you and please keep your contributions on-topic with the thread.

    We do hope you enjoy your visit. BHF Admin Team

Wilmot Breeden Limited

In 1963 the members decided to do the "Three Peaks" - Ben Nevis. Scafell & Snowden - in one weekend.
It took a lot of organising. We asked the company if we could borrow a suitable vehicle and eventually we were allowed to borrow a Landrover from the Rover company.


We had our 5 minutes of fame by appearing on television on the programme Midlands at Six and piece in the Birmingham Post -See below. The picture is in rather poor condition.
View attachment 148441 View attachment 148442 Birmingham Post 2 Sept 1963

Regards from Redruth

Arnold
Arnold, "Dined out" for ages on this story. I was one of the drivers, on the Snowdon-Birmingham leg, and I appeared in the TV news programme on the Monday evening. I have never before seen the newspaper cutting. If I remember correctly the only motorway at that time was M6 from Gailey, did we call it the Preston by-pass?
 
Arnold, "Dined out" for ages on this story. I was one of the drivers, on the Snowdon-Birmingham leg, and I appeared in the TV news programme on the Monday evening. I have never before seen the newspaper cutting. If I remember correctly the only motorway at that time was M6 from Gailey, did we call it the Preston by-pass?
Hi Jim I couldn't remember if you were on this trip or not. I seem to remember that the M6 motorway went from north of Stafford to the Scotland border but I may be wrong.

Regards Arnold
 
Theoretically -providing there are no delays or closures - it is possible, I believe, to drive from Newton Abbot in Devon to a point in SW Scotland non-stop.
 
. I seem to remember that the M6 motorway went from north of Stafford to the Scotland border but I may be wrong.

Regards Arnold
It was 1970 before the M6 was built over Shap. Stan Whitehead, who you will remember, went out of retirement to work as a civil engineer on this stretch.
 
Theoretically -providing there are no delays or closures - it is possible, I believe, to drive from Newton Abbot in Devon to a point in SW Scotland non-stop.
The longest I have driven non-stop is from Kidderminster to Redruth. My friends and I had gone to visit the Severn Valley Railway for the day. From where we joined the M5 just north of Worcester to where the A30 becomes single carriageway just north of Truro I did not change gear. I'm not saying how fast I drove!

Regards Arnold
 
I was an apprentice at WB 1959-64. I was a member of the Catana Club which used to organise expeditions to N. Wales and similar areas for climbing and walking, usually camping or sometimes stopping at Youth Hostels.
In 1963 the members decided to do the "Three Peaks" - Ben Nevis. Scafell & Snowden - in one weekend.
It took a lot of organising. We asked the company if we could borrow a suitable vehicle and eventually we were allowed to borrow a Landrover from the Rover company.

The two main problems were the roads and communications. There were no motorways in Scotland in those days and no mobile phones. We had a climbing team of 5 which included me: a team of drivers and some others to put up tents and do the cooking.

We has to set out in the early hours of the Sat morning and it was mid afternoon before we arrived at Fort William to the for the climb up Ben Nevis. On returning to the car it was straight back south to the Lake district for a few hours rest and then up Scafell Pike. Back in the car for the journey to the foot of Snowden. We returned from that climb in late afternoon. For communications we had sussed out the nos. of telephone boxes in Lake district and at Snowden.
We stopped at tel. box in Scotland to make the arranged call and it was still a manual exchange and the operator asked for the No. The exchange was Onich. How do you pronounce that?

We had our 5 minutes of fame by appearing on television on the programme Midlands at Six and piece in the Birmingham Post -See below. The picture is in rather poor condition.
View attachment 148441 View attachment 148442 Birmingham Post 2 Sept 1963

Regards from Redruth

Arnold
I remember that Arnold; I was one of the drivers. I was going on holiday to Scotland that week and volunteered for the leg from Sterling, (I think), to Ben Nevis and back. I drove there in my A40, parked in a lay-by and slept the night on a camp bed in the back. Next morning I cooked bacon and egg, the smell of which almost caused the postman to ride his bike into the ditch.
You arrived shortly after and we swapped drivers. The LandRover was a development model and required enormous pressure to operate the clutch.
I think it took you about three hours to run up and down Ben Nevis but I might be wrong. I remember thinking that I was glad it was you and not me!
Happy days
 
I remember that Arnold; I was one of the drivers. I was going on holiday to Scotland that week and volunteered for the leg from Sterling, (I think), to Ben Nevis and back. I drove there in my A40, parked in a lay-by and slept the night on a camp bed in the back. Next morning I cooked bacon and egg, the smell of which almost caused the postman to ride his bike into the ditch.
You arrived shortly after and we swapped drivers. The LandRover was a development model and required enormous pressure to operate the clutch.
I think it took you about three hours to run up and down Ben Nevis but I might be wrong. I remember thinking that I was glad it was you and not me!
Happy days
Development model in this case means developing your muscles in your left leg! The thing I remember about the vehicle was an electrically heated windscreen which was probably a recent innovation then. Were you the one who made the phone call from Onich?

Arnold
 
And another! Virtually every British car roads today carries some components Wilmot Breeden.
 

Attachments

  • Screenshot (359).png
    Screenshot (359).png
    399 KB · Views: 11
Noticed this WB Coronation trinket box on a Facebook story.
 

Attachments

  • Screenshot (386).png
    Screenshot (386).png
    418.3 KB · Views: 9
  • Screenshot (387).png
    Screenshot (387).png
    212.7 KB · Views: 9
Development model in this case means developing your muscles in your left leg! The thing I remember about the vehicle was an electrically heated windscreen which was probably a recent innovation then. Were you the one who made the phone call from Onich?

Arnold
I might have made the call but I think there were three of us in the box at the time and it could have been any one of us.
I was no longer an apprentice when this trip occurred. I seem to remember that someone dropped out as a driver and I was recruited at the last minute - possibly by Pete Doyle.
I don’t know if you would remember me. Here I am few years earlier, with Miles Breeden, receiving an award for turning up more often than anyone else, an honour I shared with John Hack. Perhaps you remember John?
7BEFACD6-1A71-425F-B572-0BCB3DDCE720.jpeg
Dave
 
I might have made the call but I think there were three of us in the box at the time and it could have been any one of us.
I was no longer an apprentice when this trip occurred. I seem to remember that someone dropped out as a driver and I was recruited at the last minute - possibly by Pete Doyle.
I don’t know if you would remember me. Here I am few years earlier, with Miles Breeden, receiving an award for turning up more often than anyone else, an honour I shared with John Hack. Perhaps you remember John?
View attachment 157853
Dave
Is that Don Kettle in the background? I know the name John Hack. Keen footballer?
 
I think he was a sprayer …his parents my Nan and grandad lived on ammington road number 32
Can't say I remember him, long time ago. He would have been able to fall out of bed straight into work. I lived just round the corner in Stockfield Rd. Also I had an aunt and uncle whose surname was Leek, they lived in Shirley.
 
Can't say I remember him, long time ago. He would have been able to fall out of bed straight into work. I lived just round the corner in Stockfield Rd. Also I had an aunt and uncle whose surname was Leek, they lived in Shirley.
Blimey small world With the name leek …he used to work at the tannery with his grandad in ammington road also
 
The book "Coop in Birmingham in the Black Country" just says that the factory was acquired in 1920 for cycle production, went inti prams in 1923, and that the factory also made toys and stacking furniture
Cheers . Seems that we are around that area what did Wilmott Breedon and Churchill make.
The book "Coop in Birmingham in the Black Country" just says that the factory was acquired in 1920 for cycle production, went inti prams in 1923, and that the factory also made toys and stacking furniture
 
Cheers . Seems that we are around that area what did Wilmott Breedon and Churchill make.
Wilmcote Breedon made the bulk of the door handles and other chromed items for the bulk of the British motor car industry, a major competitor during the 60s came in the shape of Fry from Wolverhampton, who I think andk as it is 60 years ago, took Ford away from them on both price and quality (Please correct me if I am wrong). W.Canning had a massive investment in plating eqpt etc in both.
Bob
 
Back
Top