Joe Pennington at Ferryhill Workmens Club.
10 hrs · Ferryhill ·
Will all my friends on Facebook please repost this even if you did not work for W H Williams, A reunion has been organised for Saturday 18th of march at Ferryhill club starting at 12 noon in the small lounge, please pass this on as we couldn’t get hold of everyone from last year.
Message from Joe Pennington
Just a reminder Williams transport reunion is next Saturday 18th of March at Ferryhill Working Men’s Club starts at 12 noon
I have just received the sad news that Colin Watson died 1 April 2017 at 3.00PM
It was the very early 1960s (Possibly 1961 or1962 that Colin commenced working for us)
He had trained as a Joiner and came along long before the Introduction of HGV licence and soon settled down as an lorry driver.
Colin was the last driver we had to drive our last Petrol Bedford SB HTH882 doing a 1300 mile South West round trip then 12 years old before we sold it . The first new van he was allocated was VPT 828F a Bedford SB Marsden Pantechnicon and was allocated a new vehicle every three or four years.
Leaving for about a year in the mid 70s to work abroad self employed installing sprinkler systems in industrial buildings, he soon got homesick and returned. Eventually he was offered promotion into the traffic office where he stayed a year till restless feet and the thrill of the open road led him to return to driving and he decided to take and pass his HGV Class 1 test and we allocated a new Leyland Lynx tractor unit (The first of three we were to regret buying) After about 1 year driving and continually breaking down with the Lynx we had puchased a second hand Atkinson Borderer with a Gardiner Engine, and Colin was given this for a week or so whilst the Lynx was waiting for parts (Under warantee) Colin was so impressed with the Atkinson that he asked if he could continue driving it as it was so much better than the Lynx, Where upon he modified the cab by adding a sleeper bunk. Towards our final years before we closed Colin suffered the first of several heart attacks and was off sick for quite a long time, and DVLA suspended his driving licence. On returning to work he was given a company car and given the job of supervising our depots of London, Sheffield,and Wellingborough, and our sub contractor depots of midsummer Norton, Edinburgh and Lampeter. Part of his duties was standing in for the depot managers when they were on holiday. Colin must have had the most understanding wife in the world because we expected him to return home on a Friday night and start mid Monday morning to allow him time to get to which ever depot he was working at, but Colin thought nothing of staying over the weekend to ensure he got the work up to date and on one particular occasion he was at Wellingborough for about 4 weeks (without returning home) when we had needed to terminate the depot manager’s employment and Colin holding the fort until a replacement was appointed.
One thing I will always remember Colin for was advise he gave me as a 17 year old in 1964.
I had just passed my driving test about 1 week earlier and we were moving an elderly couple from Bishop Auckland to Kidderminster. As they both had stopped driving they asked when we quoted for the removal could we supply a car and driver to take them down leaving the house as soon as our van was loaded and getting them there as quickly as possible so they could collect the key of there new home. I was given the job. I looked at the map to get a good idea of which roads I had to take and saw I needed to pass through Birmingham. So I asked Coin was there a ring road I should take. Colin’ s reply was ‘The name Ring Road says it all. It means it goes round the city and every road into and out of Birmingham crosses it.And what happens where it crosses? There are sets of Traffic Lights’ Asking him what to do then I was told simply go right through the centre. So there I was passing through the centre of Birmingham with two non driving strangers in the car with me at the age of 17 years 2 weeks. Thank you Colin!
I don’t think there were many funerals of ex-employees that Colin missed so I hope we have a high turn out for his, I will put on here the date and time when it is announced
What a lovely tribute to someone who was a valued employee.
Nice memories.
Colin Watson funeral is on Thursday 13th at 2.45 St Andrews church Spennymoor the reception is in Tudhoe cricket club
LR Man:
Hi Carl,Not sure if I have put this one on?
Mark
Thanks Mark,
I haven’t seen that one before.
Carl Williams:
LR Man:
Hi Carl,Not sure if I have put this one on?
Mark
Thanks Mark,
I haven’t seen that one before.
While talking, Mark, you have no photos of any of our vans in Courtaulds livery. We had quite a few & yet no photos have turned up, or the trailer in Fisher Price, which looked like a big toybox
How many remember The Rolls twin tub washing machine & the advert above & its Spennymoor connection. Well almost Newton Aycliffe connection. Many Spennymoor people in the 50s and early 60s worked at Tallent Engineering Newton Aycliffe.
Charles Colson, by all accounts was a Dyson type designer and had designed the Hoovermatic Washing Machine and Hotpoint also had their twin tub, which both sold for about £150 each.
John Bloom was a character that had been involved in several business ventures & decided he could become the housewife’s friend by making a twin-tub washing machine, selling direct to the public & by cutting out shops he could ■■■■■ the cost and make them affordable to families that had no hope of ever owning an electric twin-tub.
Colson bought Tallent Engineering at Ayclife which became part of the Colson group & designed a machine almost identical to the Hoovermatic. Tallent is now famous for making Car components for companies like Ford but I don’t know what they made before the washing machine but we had worked for them long before that so when the Washing machine production started we got the job of transporting them.
John Bloom had bought an old company that was almost bankrupt called the Rolls Razor Company (Rolls name of quality) and so the twin tubs were called Rolls Rapide & Rolls Superb. He rented warehouses London, Manchester, Bristol, Edinburgh, and Birmingham and set about recruiting self- employed salesmen. The requirement was they had a car big enough to hold a washing machine. They were given a washing machine, a name & address who had asked for a free demonstration, and told to go & sell & then come back for another machine. They were paid on results. No sale no money.
Bloom splashed adverts in News of World, & all the popular Sunday Newspapers. Talents were turning the out as quickly as they could and usually when our vans pulled up with a load all the salesmen were waiting to put them in the cars & going out selling. & so not many went into the warehouses.
I remember dad telling me that Hardy’s the Spennymoor furniture shop were Hoover agents & one day he was talking to the Hoover rep & him saying it wouldn’t last long as they would break down & dad asked him why. ‘It’s their motors. They no good’ He was horrified to hear the Rapide at 39 guineas £39 +39 shillings (£40.95) had the Hoover motor & the dearer 59 guineas (£61.95) had the Hotpoint motor.
Hoover’s first reaction was to bring out the Hoover 69 selling for £69 which was exactly the same machine that they had been selling for £150.00 except no top over which was just a curved bit of Formica.
Bloom & his Rolls Company took the market and were selling as quickly as Talent could make so in retaliation in October 1962 the Retail Trade Retailers association launched a £100,000 campaign to combat direct selling. Hotpoint immediately pledged £10,000 towards the campaign and other manufacturers followed suit. This was known in the media as the Washing Machine War.
That’s when Tallent & our problem started. Bloom & Rolls went bankrupt, owing Tallent engineering a fortune. Fortunately Talents were our customer but for a while it looked like they might also go down, but somehow they pulled through. The machines they had ready for delivery had the Rolls label taken off & three stars put on where the rivets had been & sold off through shops Mostly Coop). So successful was the operation they continued for some time making more & selling as Three Star
Tallent Engineering remained one of our customers till we finished in 1986. We delivered gas fires they made for a company called Robinson Willey, but by that time there main involvement was making car parts & now are by far the biggest manufacturer on Aycliffe Trading Estate
Carl Williams:
Carl Williams:
LR Man:
Hi Carl,Not sure if I have put this one on?
Mark
Thanks Mark,
I haven’t seen that one before.While talking, Mark, you have no photos of any of our vans in Courtaulds livery. We had quite a few & yet no photos have turned up, or the trailer in Fisher Price, which looked like a big toybox
Hi Carl,
Sorry, but I don’t think I have any photos of any of your vans in Cautaulds livery. I remember when I was about 10, going to down Southampton in one of your Leyland Laird’s in Cautaulds colours, for part of my school holidays with Aunt and Uncle. I also remember the Ford Transit panel van, it really suited the two tone green!
LR Man:
Carl Williams:
Carl Williams:
LR Man:
Hi Carl,Not sure if I have put this one on?
Mark
Thanks Mark,
I haven’t seen that one before.While talking, Mark, you have no photos of any of our vans in Courtaulds livery. We had quite a few & yet no photos have turned up, or the trailer in Fisher Price, which looked like a big toybox
Hi Carl,
Sorry, but I don’t think I have any photos of any of your vans in Cautaulds livery. I remember when I was about 10, going to down Southampton in one of your Leyland Laird’s in Cautaulds colours, for part of my school holidays with Aunt and Uncle. I also remember the Ford Transit panel van, it really suited the two tone green!
Thanks Mark,
Did you read the post I put on about the Rolls Washing machine & Tallent Engineering. I don’t know whether or not you knew but your dad worked at Tallents as a toolmaker when he first came up from Southampton to Spennymoor before he joined Thorn. I seem to remember him saying he had served his Apprenticeship with Thornycroft
Tallent I used to deliver steel plates from Hounslow in the 60s When I worked for Smiles for Miles, The good old days, Regards Larry.
Yes Carl, very interesting about the Rolls Washing Machine & Tallent Engineering. You are right, my dad did work for Tallents when he first moved up from Southampton, but I don’t know much more, other than he did his National Service at Catterick.
Cant believe you just put on about twin tubs was talking to my neighbours yesterday about them she had a Coloson think mine was a Hovermatic which I kept in the bathroom as had no room in the kitchen for it but loads in the bathroom
animal:
Cant believe you just put on about twin tubs was talking to my neighbours yesterday about them she had a Coloson think mine was a Hovermatic which I kept in the bathroom as had no room in the kitchen for it but loads in the bathroom
Hi ange I must be psychic
hi carl,
My father worked for John Bloom in the early sixties. We had a machine delivered by one of the salesman and after talking to the salesman dad applied for a job with the company. This move took him out of the pit into a clean and well paid job.The vehicle allocated to my dad was a high top ford thames 400e van and during the school holidays I would go with him on his deliveries, sitting for hours outside private houses waiting for householders to arrive home. recall when the company went bust the receivers Cork & Gully took years to wind the company up.John Bloom I believe is still alive and living in Marbella Spain.
IAfter the RAF, he initially worked as a salesman for a company selling Dutch-made washing machines door-to-door. After a while, he decided to start his own company and tried to buy machines from the Netherlands. With little money or credit this was difficult, but eventually he made a deal with a factory in Utrecht. He advertised them under the name “Electromatic”. They were twin-tub machines with a washer and separate spin-drier, priced at 39 guineas (equivalent to £40.95). This was about half the price of shop-bought machines.[2]
In 1958 Bloom placed an advert in the Daily Mirror offering home demonstrations of washing machines. This generated 7,000 responses via postal coupons. Bloom’s unorthodox marketing, direct sales to the public and low prices quickly gave him 10% of the market taken from the main manufacturers Hoover and Hotpoint. He was soon selling 500 machines a week, financed largely through affordable hire purchase agreements.
Bloom then realised that he could cut overheads by manufacturing in Britain. He did a deal with the then moribund Rolls Razor Company to make 25,000 twin-tub washing machines. He later merged the two companies, becoming Managing Director with a majority of the shares.[2]
In early 1962 he formed an alliance with the Colston company, expanding into dishwashers. In September 1962 he took over sales of the Prestcold Refrigerator business and immediately the newly named Rolls Prestcold cut prices to half of those sold by retail outlets. In retaliation in October 1962 the Retail Trade Retailers association launched a £100,000 campaign to combat direct selling. Hotpoint immediately pledged £10,000 towards the campaign and other manufacturers followed suit. This was known in the media as the Washing Machine War. A Rolls washing machine is featured in the Science Museum London in the “Birth Of High-Tech Britain” Section.
He then moved into holidays with an exclusive deal to market the country of Bulgaria in the UK. He sold a two-week all-in holiday at £59, once again cutting out travel agent retailers and reducing the price by more than half. The Bulgarian Black Sea coast was warm and sunny and littered with modern functional hotels. Bulgaria was a communist country and part of the Soviet bloc. It needed western currency and was prepared to sell Bloom cheap hotel accommodation and food in return. Later, after the washing machine collapse, the Royal Arsenal Co-operative Society formed Balkan Holidays with the Bulgarian state-owned tourist organisation.
The company was listed on the London Stock Exchange in mid-1962 at $3.50 and double later that year. By the end of 1963 Rolls-Colston was selling over 200,000 machines a year.[3] However it was running out of people to buy the machines.
Great thread.
Love your reminiscing Carl. Great family firm.
Ceetee (Oh dear, my iPad wants to change you to cemetery!). What an interesting post. I remember Rolls going bust and John Bloom saying ‘Rolls was never a blue chip stock.’ Or something similar. I didn’t realise he had been deliberately undermined by the establishment!
At least he was trying to create something, unlike Jim Slater, of similar vintage Slater Walker, who pounced on cash poor, but asset rich companies and proceeded to strip them to enhance his and a certain Tory minister’s personal fortunes to the detriment of those who worked there.
Yes, I’m a Tory, but some people have no scruples!
John.
Buzzer:
Hi Carl saw this and wondered if this is how your company got established ha ha, cheers Buzzer.
Not quite but perhaps a little bit better
Horse & cart in 1919
First Ford T wagon 1920 with solid wheels Left Hand Drive from America.
second Ford T 1921 with balloon tyres RHD
third Ford T 1922 with tyres more like todays.RHD
I have seen photos of Ford Ts with solid tyres but what balloon tyres were like I do not know but not too good to drive (so I was told)