The Maintenance Department

Back row, Roger Langston, Dave Moore?. Front row, Alfie Russell, Henry Savage.

Henry Savage, Dave Moore, Don Keyse. Norman Bidmead.

?, Alf Critchley, Don Keyse & unidentified females!

George Simpson, Arthur Aperley Jack Sysum, Henry Savage, Dave Moore, Ray Price, ?, Don Keyse.

?, Percy Taylor(Light Machine Shop), Dave Moore, Henry Savage, Fred Taylor (Brass Foundry), Steve Naude.

Henry Savage, ?, Monty Blunt (Foreman), Ray Price, ?, Alf Critchley, John Lewis, Chris Hemmings, Don Keyse, Arthur Aperley, George Simpson.

Henry Savage, ?, ?.

George Simpson, Henry Savage, Dave Moore, Arthur Aperley, Chris Hemmings, Don Keyse, Alf Critchley, Jack Sysum, Monty Blunt.

George Simpson, Henry Savage, Arthur Aperley.

Alf Critchley, Jack Sysum, Monty Blunt.

?, Henry Savage.

Ray Price, Alf Critchley, ?, Don Keyse, Henry Savage, Arthur Aperley, George Simpson, Jack Sysum

These 12 photographs are published by courtesy of Mrs Gillian Thomas, the daughter of the late Henry (Jack) Savage.

If they rekindle any memories of the Maintenance Dept for you, or if you can name any of those unidentified or point out any errors in those named, then please click on the words Add a comment about this page below.

Author

By John Davis

Page added

06/12/2015

Comments about this page

Glad to see pictures of my grandfather, Jack Sysum. My dad was really pleased to see the photos of his father.
Ed: We are pleased that you managed to navigate your way to the right pages and were rewarded with photos that your family recognised! Many thanks for adding your comment. John B
By Sue Sysum (17/03/2019)
Hi, Thank you for the photos. Alfred Critchley was my great grandad.
Ed: Hi Neil, thanks for the identification. Glad you find the website and photos interesting! John B
By Neil Critchley (02/04/2017)
Henry Savage’s car was a Triumph Mayflower. When I knew him in the sixties he had another unusual car, an Austin Metropolitan.
I remember working with Alfie Russell for one weekend on an extrusion press at Henry Wiggin’s in Hereford.
Saturday, we went in Alfie’s immaculate A35 van, a very sedate journey!
However Sunday, we used a works Mini van the then current phrase ‘who do you think you are sir, Stirling Moss’, comes to mind!
By David Budrey (26/12/2016)
Hi John! Looking at these pictures I remember pretty well all of them, they were a good bunch of guys. I remember Jack Sysum looking after the heaters in each of the departments around the works and also him being responsible for the Tellus 27 oil line that ran around the fitting shops. If you needed the oil tank filling up on the press you were building so that you could test it, Jack was your man.
Don Keyse worked with Bill Dowdswell, Harold Longney and Bill Moseley on the spares bench in Hyd 2 when he left the maintenance dept. Don used to come in for quite a lot of leg pulling from those three, but none of it was ever personal or unpleasant! I can still hear Billy Dowdswell calling out to Don….Keeeyseeee, to which Don very often would reply….owcha go there skiddaay( or something like that).
The picture of Henry Savage and two other men features a car now long forgotten, an Austin Mayfair if I’m not mistaken?
I think Steve Naude worked in Hyd 1 when I was in the early days of my apprenticeship, then I think he went into the offices and eventually left the company(?)
I hadn’t known that Alfie Russell was on the maintenance gang until I saw him in the first picture, I only remember him being a fitter in Hyd 1 and then an Acceptance Engineer. I went on a job with him and Bob Harding to Crittall Aluminium once, 1973 I think, only for a few days and we stayed in Braintree in Essex in The Nags Head, funny the things or names you remember! Maybe Braintree was where the factory was, I can’t remember that though!
When I lived in Churchdown in the 1960’s, Monty Blunt lived around the corner in the next road, but I didn’t really know Monty.
Great to see all those old faces again!
Chippy Aston
By Graham Aston (10/05/2016)