Bedfordshire Archives Service Catalogue
  • Reference
    Z1205/099
  • Title
    Male. Managing Director (Automotive Engineer) of Millbrook Proving Ground b. 24.12.1943 Side A (00 mins)Born and raised in centre of Sheffield. Father was shopkeeper: off-licence and groceries. Remembers grandmothers. Straight-laced one claimed to be teetotal but would drink crème de menthe ("that there peppermint stuff") (05 mins)7 days a week family shop opening. Early morning start; late night finish.Moved into suburbs when sixteen, then to outlying village. City life on the streets when a child. Little traffic. No playgrounds. Majority of men in steel industry or cutlery. Smoke from coal fires permeated everywhere. (10 mins)Everything was filthy. Net curtains were grey. Wasn't until the era of smokeless fuel came in that he realised they should be white. When he was 14, father died. Only child. Untypically for that time and place, his parents were keen for him to be well-educated. He attended a Technical Grammar School. (15 mins)Very strict boys' school with very high standards. No litter in the school. Targeted boys towards building and mechanical engineering professions. Did "A" Levels. (20 mins)Reflections on the comfort of working in a community with clear rules. Made great friends at school he still has. The school disappeared during the moves to comprehensive school education. After school, studied at Liverpool University. Then post-graduate diploma (no M.Sc. awarded then) at Cranfield Institute. Started work as graduate apprentice with Vauxhall Motors in Luton. Reflections on Bedford and its multicultural population. (25 mins)Involvement in local committees regarding economic regeneration. Vauxhall graduate automotive engineers of his period are now in the top jobs around the world. (30 mins)After training and experience in various aspect of the firm's work, in 1968 he spent two years in the United States of America, in Detroit, with General Motor's, Vauxhall's parent country. (32 mins)End of Side A Side B (00 mins)While has was there, Martin Luther King (black American human rights leader) was assassinated. Race riots occurred and he had to leave town. Enjoyed a high standard of living there. (05 mins)Later, enjoyed learning about the American way of life. When he returned to England, Millbrook Proving Ground had been constructed by Vauxhalls. He started to work there, introducing the US knowledge from 30 - 40 years of testing and developing cars. (Only other proving ground in Britain was the Motor Industry Research Association's, at Nuneaton.) (10 mins)In 1988, Millbrook Proving Ground formed itself into a limited company and began to offer services not just o Vauxhall but on a global basis. Millbrook is one of the top international proving grounds. Claims to be a good landowner, having planted 300,000 trees, for security screening, and having environmental policies. (15 mins)"Good neighbour" policy. Staff of 450, plus 2-300 from other companies on site, and daily visitors ranging from 20 or 30 to occasionally a thousand for special events. Considerable input to local economy through wages. High security of site, necessary because of industrial spying on new car development. (20 mins)Examples of espionage at other proving grounds. Example at Millbrook, when a micro-light aircraft was used to photograph a secret car on test. Outline of types of activity undertaken. (25 mins)Accelerated techniques used to test corrosion on vehicle bodies and other factors. Reducing tail-pipe emission pollution. Work on alternative fuels. Promotional work to motor trade when new models launched. (30 mins)Future will include more virtual reality simulation. Reflections on changes in local countryside since decline of brick industry. (32 mins)End of Side B Continued on CS099C2 SIDE A (00 mins)Changes in Marston Vale (continued) - landfill. Reflections on improvements over 20 years in the effects of landfill. There used to be numerous complaints regarding smells, flies and litter. Effects of closure of brickworks. A few modern apprenticeships at Proving Ground. Final greening of landfills desirable. (05 mins)Biggest change in his life was taking the management of the Proving Ground into independence from Vauxhall as a limited company. Reflections on his first contract negotiations with General Motors over a multi-million contract in the U.S. (10 mins)Plans for retirement in area. Regards himself as very fortunate in his chosen career and present job. (15 mins)End of Interview Original Interview 75 mins
  • Date free text
    88 February 2002
  • Production date
    From: 1940 To: 2002
  • Level of description
    item
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