Z1205/220

Male. Manager at Hanson Bricks Ltd. b. 16.04.1948 SIDE A (00 mins)Born in a brickmaker's cottage in Calvert, Bucks. Father was a shift-work oiler on the brick presses. Just one cold-water tap in house. Tin bath. (05 mins)Father progressed to be a fitter, then charge hand foreman and finally works engineer. Both grandfathers also worked in brickmaking. His mother also worked in Calvert brickworks during Second World War. His two brothers and three uncles worked at brickworks (his sister didn't). His wife works in Retech (Research Technology) in the brickworks laboratory in Stewartby. Childhood home ten miles from anywhere. Played out all day when not at school. (10 mins)Collecting birds' eggs, fishing in a reservoir, where a clay pit had been. (15 mins)Calvert also had a complex of corrugated-iron bungalows, of hoop-shaped construction, painted white. First job was as a policeman for 8 years, then he moved, in early 1970s, to work for London Brick and has stayed ever since (now Hanson). All his childhood mates and people he knew from surrounding villages worked there. Workers were also bussed in from a radius of 15 miles around. Included Italians, Poles and Belgians. There was little training and insufficient regard to safety. (20 mins)Workers needed to make their own make-shift protective gloves to prevent bleeding hands from handling bricks. Wages have improved over the years but the social side diminished. There used to be a thriving social life with a club at every works. The remaining one at Stewartby is now independent. There were also numerous sports clubs, all for London Brick employees. Christmas parties for worker's children. Foremen and supervisors were expected to organise social life, as well. (25 mins)Progressed from the press to blocking to being charge hand responsible for 30 workers. Lorry loading. Move to Ridgmont brickworks, formerly Marston Valley. Met wife at Calvert social club. Married and moved to Bedford. 130 smoking brick chimneys in Marston Vale in those days. (30 mins)You knew you were in Bedfordshire when you saw the chimneys. Now only three of the remaining 7 chimneys are used in brickmaking at Stewartby. (32 mins)End of Side A SIDE B (00 mins)Was in charge of over 100 workers when responsible for blocking - the stacking of newly-burnt bricks on the site. Moved up to Stewartby as relief foreman and got to know workers on all the sites. Became production foreman. Ridgmont brickworks closed as part of a necessary down-sizing, following shrinking markets for bricks. Ridgmont had a transverse arch kiln, as opposed to Hoffman kilns elsewhere. (05 mins)Use of forklift trucks. Good "family" atmosphere in works. (10 mins) Good workers/management relationship because they also shared a social life together. A setter would handle 18,000 bricks (1000 bricks weigh 3 ton) in an 8 ½ hr shift - a lot of weight to be moving every day of your working life. Supervising and managing is equally demanding but not in physical terms. Setters often earned more, through piecework, than their supervisors. Move from loose blocking of bricks to strapping the bricks was a major change in the handling of bricks and distribution. (15 mins)As Production Manager he is responsible for seeing that all 230 men, including supervisors and section managers are working effectively and efficiently. Looks back fondly to his period at Calvert when he was among people he knew as a child. Increasingly hard for Fletton bricks to conform to environmental requirements. Ironically, they get more complaints from the knew people living in the Vale about smoke pollution (with only 3 working chimneys) than what they did when there were scores of chimneys spewing out. Bit un earlier times, almost everyone who lived in the Vale worked in the brickworks or had relatives who did and were therefore more sympathetic. (20 mins)The future of the Fletton brick production at Stewartby is more rosy than it was in the late 1990s. Hanson sold off its De Simple brick yards which rivalled Fletton products. In 2002 they put another 6 presses on at Stewartby and the third chimney fired again. Since he joined London Brick he has seen a gradual downsizing. Now wit has bottomed out and they are gradually climbing back up again. He would like to see Stewartby carry on in its present (2002) form rather than a new soft mud works being built. (22 mins)End of Side B ORIGINAL INTERVIEW 55 mins

26 March 2003

From: 1945 To: 2003

item

Hanson Brick Limited,
London Brick Company

manager, brick worker, water supply, World War Two, brickmaker, Itters Brick Company, birds, eggs, fishing, policeman, Italians, Poles, Belgians, HEALTH & SAFETY, Leisure, wages/conditions, Christmas, chimneys, pollution, ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES, plans, Buckingham, STEWARTBY, RIDGMONT, Calvert Green