Photographs of the 'Top Shop'

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• Hi Chippy!  I will help you fill in some of the names.  Bill Richings and Tony Griffiths (inward goods), John Browning, Harold Edwards, Charlie Sharpe (engraving), Les Phelps (in the little office repairing gauges and inspection equipment), Tony Francis and Len Bullock.  Ron Yardley in Hydraulic 1 and George Dalglish in the ‘Top Shop’. The inspection foreman was Brian Ryland. The Chief Inspector, as I recall, was Bob Mellowdew-Marshall.  John B

  By John Bancroft (26/09/2014)

• Hi Chippy!  Thanks for identifying some of the people. Very informative as usual. Hopefully, someone else may be able to add some other names to faces. Next to where Brian Capener is standing at the far end was the ‘Top Shop’ inspection department, behind the wire mesh.  As part of the apprentice ’rounds’ I do recall working in there for a spell. Did you ever spend time in any of the inspection departments?   

  By John Bancroft (25/09/2014)

• Hi John! Yes, I did spend some time in the inspection dept, both in inward goods and the main inspection dept next to Hyd 2. I remember two people from inward goods, they being Bill Ritchens(?) and Tony ????, a man with a severe problem with his neck which cause his head to be over at an angle. From memory, I felt at the time that Bill was a bit grumpy but Tony was ok, mind you when you are young your outlook is very different!

  I can picture in my mind a few of the inspectors in the main dept but at the moment I can only think of John ????? the welshman, Harold ????, then there was Charlie who did the engraving ( Rose in the canteens husband ?) I can’t remember the head of department’s  name but I can just about see his face in my minds eye.

  Chippy Aston

  By Graham Aston (25/09/2014)

• Hi John!  I am at last sending in my comment on the 3rd and 4th pictures on this page! In number 3 I see the one and only Reg Court standing behind a man whose face I remember but cannot put a name to. He looks like someone I met years later when I worked at Helepebs in Longlevens and his name was Len Ashmead, but I can’t be certain.

  In number 4 there is a man wearing a cloth cap standing behind his lathe and I think his name was George Jones and he lived in Pirton Lane, Churchdown and would sometimes stop at the bus stop where I would be waiting  and give me a lift into work. 

  Further along from George I can see Jim Spiers and right down at the end of the ‘top shop’ is that Brian Capener in what I would assume is a brown charge hand’s coat? I seem to remember Brian went on to be foreman of the heavy machine shop after Albert Dawe?

  On the left hand side of the shop and by the first set of multi spindle drills where Cyril Hurcombe worked is a capstan lathe and that was the first piece machinery that I worked on when I left the craft school in 1965. To the left of the drills you can see where there was a stairway that took you down to the heavy machine shop and the maintenance department. The ‘top shop was my first ‘port of call’ on my year long journey around the different departments at F&P, ending up in Hydraulic 2 as an apprentice fitter and tradesman. Chippy Aston.

  By Graham Aston (24/09/2014)