Thinking back to when Phil Reilly’s visit just before Christmas, our talking got back to the days when we worked together at W.H.Williams.
When we buit our depot at Green Lane Industrial Estate it was what they now call ‘A Green Field Site’. In so much that building of any sort had never existed there before. After the Battle of Nevilles Cross on the outskirts of Durham between the Scottish and English Forces in the 14th or 15th century the fighting progressed to an area described as Butcher Race more or less where our premises were to build. The English had sent a General called Race and he had overseen the butchering of the Scottish Army.
When we built the first phase of the development because of an agreement we were made to agree to by Durham County Council and Sedgefield District Council who were at that time the owners of the land we had to employ Architects, Quantity and Quality surveyors and Structual Engineers together with an approved Main Contractor as a condition of the sale of the land to us. A reletivly simple job was made more complicated by their silly rules, like breaking a nut with a sledge hammer, but as we had sought a suitable site for about five years and planning being turned down several times the councils considered they were doing us a favour by allowing us, a transport company move into what they considered was Durham County’s premier industrial estate that was to be a show piece illustrating the ‘New North East’.
A company called Wearmouth Construction was appointed by us to carry out the development, and building. Obviously part of that work was securing the site with aecurity fencing, gates etc and Wearmouth appointed a company from Manchester to carry out this work, Although Wearmouth had quality engineers appointed by us supervising and inspecting their work I was there several times a day as was my dad and we both saw the fencing gang of six, what in those days would be described as Irish Navies come along to do the work.
Phil was one of that gang, and we watched as the fence as it progressed was a much better illustrater of the area of land we had bought than ever you could find on any plans. As I say probably since the world was formed the most any of the earth had been moved was the debth of a farmer’s plough and here were these six Irishmen, who had agreed and were paid a fix price by the fencing contractors for their work digging with picks and shouvells making the deep holes to put the fence posts in and then mixing by hand the concrete to fix them in place. What they encounted was solid stone in most places and the work was horsework and took about three to four weeks.
On another thread people are arguing about the RTITB training levies MOTEC etc and it was this time when this was going on and as part of our agreed training plan that got us out of paying the levy and obtaining quite lucrative grants I had agreed to train 24 people who had no driving licence up to HGV class three over a twelve month period, and Dad had asked these hard working Irish where they were going after they finnished our work. It was then agreed that Phil Reilly and another would join us as trainee drivers and go through our training course.
In the event Phil passed his car licence and failed his HGV, and stayed with us as a porter, then small van driver to eventually take up the possition of Removals Warehouse Manager (As opposed to Mail Order Warehouse Manager.)
Phil is now 67 and retired, He was telling me the story that his next door neighbour’s patio needed relaying and he agreed he would do it for her. Her neighbour’s parner was asking if he was getting Readymix, as there was a largish area to concrete. ‘No’ said Phil. ‘I will see to it’ He went to a local builders merchant and collected some gravel, sand and cement and was then asked when was the concrete mixer coming. ‘Its here already’ he said and when asked more he explained that he was the concrete mixer.
Watching recently six men standing as a machine was gradualy lowering paving stones in place as they ‘ made the IMPROVEMENTS! to Bishop Auckland market place’ I couldn’t help but think to myself that a good pavier would have laid twice as much on his own. Like on this thread says about roping and sheeting No one could do it today. What has gone wrong no one works anymore,