Z1205/196

Male. Mechanical engineer at Cranfield University. b. 28.08.1923 SIDE A (0 mins)Born in Bedford. Father and mother from London. Father had taxi and taxi repair firm in Leyton. He moved to Bedford to live with a brother/sister when ill and subsequently joined a Bedford engineering firm, Motorail Ltd. in Elstow Road, making small locomotives for South African mines. Interviewee did his 7-year apprenticeship there. Later joined drawing office. Paternal grandfather worked in London East India Docks. (05 mins)Remembers, as a boy, visiting the docks with his grandfather. Mother's parents lived in Stratford part of London. (10 mins)Childhood trips to London. Father offered job in engineering at London Brick Co. (15 mins)Father worked as mechanic on all the large machinery of the brickworks - "navvies" extracting clay and the production machinery. Up to 80 lorries lined up at 6 each morning to get loaded with bricks for distribution. His family lived at No.36 (one of the first 50 built in Stewartby village) Stewartby Way. How the roads were numbered, then later named. Remembers the foundations being dug for the Village Hall and seeing it built. While travelling on school bus to Wootton form Stewartby, a brickworks lorry hit the bus and the splintered windscreen cut his face, requiring 28 stitches. He recovered. (20 mins)Saw the Clubhouse being built and Sorts Field. Duke of Kent visit to Stewartby in 1935 and works outing by train to Clacton. Parlour and Non-Parlour-type housing. Socials - music, dancing, games, food - each month in the village hall. Before the village, Rousbury Manor Farm was there. Mr. Hook, the farmer. Use, as a boy, to go stoking at harvest time there. (25 mins)Gadsden family band. Building of works canteen. Social and Sports Fund. Father was founding member of Bowls Club. LBC would employed men in the works who were good sportsmen, from elsewhere in the country, in order to strengthen their works sports teams. A swimming pool was built for the worker's families and had good water polo teams and swimming club. (30 mins)Sir Malcolm Stewart and Lady Stewart attended the annual Sports Day and the swimming galas. (32 mins)Ends of Side A SIDE B (00 mins)Enormous changes at brick works since he was a boy. Computerisation. Great reduction in labour. Privileged life in Stewartby village. Before the building of Stewartby Village, the hamlet there was Wootton Pillinge, with just some stone houses, a farm and a village post office. Then LBC built the shop, which later became the part of Bedford Co-op. LBC gave the local authority the bricks to build Stewartby School. Children went to Marston or Wootton schools before then. Attended Stewartby school for one, last term. (05 mins)Stewartby Modern School had the latest facilities. Once he left school at 14, he went to Bedford School in the evenings to study engineering. Learned how to use vernier gauges and micrometers, measuring to ten thousandths of an inch. (10 mins)3 nights a week evening classes. After ending your apprenticeship, you spent two years "improving". He had gained a Higher National Certificate in Mechanical Engineering by then and got a job as a young mechanical engineer at Cranfield. Shilling a week pocket money out of 14 shillings (70p) a week. Keen tennis player and athlete. (15 mins)Spent all day on Sundays doing homework. In last two stages of study, attended 4 nights a week, 7-9.30 and be at work at 7.30 am. the next day. Father showed him how to take a car to pieces, label the parts and put it together and get it working again. When he went to Cranfield College of Aeronautics, there were just 39 students doing advanced aeronautical science. (20 mins)Worked with the Chief Draughtsman on design, under the Resident Engineer. Worked on wind tunnels design. The Aircraft Research Association tunnels at Thurleigh grew out of the work he did at Cranfield. Spent 9 years in the Engineering Dept. Was invited to lecture in the Work Study School. Became a member of the Institute of Management Studies. (25 mins)Consultancy work. One of the students at Cranfield designed the Hovercraft models. The biggest change in his life was getting married. (30 mins)As a young man he spent his spare time playing sports and never thought about girls. Never had alcohol until he was in his late 20s. Led a sheltered life. Took Dorothy, his wife to be, to a Cranfield presentation ball. Wished he had been able to go to university when he was a young man. (32 mins)End of Side B Original Interview 45 mins

28 January 2003

From: 1920 To: 2003

item

Cranfield College of Aeronautics,
Motor Rail Ltd,
London Brick Company

engineer, mechanic, apprenticeship, village halls, brick worker, lorry driver, road safety, Leisure, bands, swimming, Sir Malcolm Stewart Trust, computers, Stewartby Middle School, wind, manager, University, London, South Africa, STEWARTBY, WOOTTON, CRANFIELD