Dave Budrey remembers the Tool Room

I worked in the tool room after my stint in the light machine shop.  At that time the foreman was Ray Howse and toolmakers were:-

George Dickerson & Bryan Kemmett – Cutter grinder’s; Keith Bullock – Miller; Bert Halnon and Chris Bosley – Centre lathes; Jack Price – Borer; and Bob Walsh in Heat treatment.

Prior to the tool room I spent a few weeks in the tool stores with Lionel ‘Dilly’ Trenfield sharpening drills mainly.  He did coach me in First Aid so that I won the First Aid competition that year and had the cup presented by, I think the Lord Lieutenant of Gloucestershire.

I also worked in Jig and Tool Design under Dennis Meredith and with Godfrey ‘Ollie’ Cromwell.

We didn’t see Dennis that often, as I recall.  A lot of his time was spent doing voluntary work for a a local Production Engineering Federation/society(?).

At that time, somehow I was elected to attend an Apprentices’ Conference at Keble College in Oxford, run I think by the Engineering Employers Federation.

Four days with Geoffrey Morton, and that is where I heard the stories about his time in the Palestine police and the ransom on his head offered by the Stern gang.