I started a five year student apprenticeship at Rugby, straight from school and home in Sussex in 1956. Competition for a place was strong. I believe there were 1,200 apprentices altogether at that time.
Accommodation was provided for the first year at Coton House, Churchover for student apprentices (I think only the old Bothe still stands), and at The Laurels, Dunchurch Road for graduates. Craft apprentices were housed in town. I paid £2 10s per week full board and that included laundry, TV lounge and use of workshop. My starting pay was the same and was matched by a Youth Employment Grant. The balance left just enough to pay for lunches and transport but not much else.
At Brownsover Road there was a dedicated apprentice machine shop beyond the iron foundry and drawing office in town. One day a week was spent at college. After six months we were released for spells in various factory departments. I spent time in Fabrication, where steel sheets for megawatt transformer housings were plasma cut, tacked then precision welded; Heavy machine shop, operating an Asquith lathe to cut steam turbine rotors; Controls, assembling contactors; Maintenance, servicing machine plant, the power house, motors, lamination punches, belting and lighting for the whole site; Research, on early semiconductor wafer technology for power switching. The works canteen at the far end of main avenue seated several hundred workers for a good cooked lunch but still needed two sittings.
A massed arrival
I remember the massed arrival of hundreds of employees mainly on foot or cycle at clocking in time, urged on by a wailing siren heard all over town, and often having to dodge between goods wagons shunting around the main avenue.
When things were quiet I used to go exploring all over the site, always stepping out purposefully so as not to be asked for identification. Places like the foundry, often full of choking smoke and fumes; the plating shop, good for re-silvering my mum’s ornate tray; the winding impregnation shop, good for dipping my leaking gauntlets; the underground tunnel network feeding steam heating from the power house to the whole site, good on cold days; and the scrap recycling yard where useful items often found their way into gadgets dreamed up outside.
A quick snooze
I can recall several amusing anecdotes from that time. A spell on night shift was endured in the machine shop, but there was rarely any work so I would slope off and hide in the overhead crane cabin for a quiet snooze. The dipped gauntlets were fine until it rained. Then the wonderful shiny gelatine coat dissolved and ran down all over my trusty 1937 350cc Royal Enfield.
When AEI took over in 1958 those on a mechanical engineering course were offered the choice of changing to electronics and I was transferred to AEI New Parks, Leicester. That apprenticeship provided an excellent grounding for a career in engineering, the hands on practical element and multi-disciplined skills acquired, providing a head start out in the real world.
We were presented with a bound copy of “BTH Reminiscences” issued in 1946 which I still have.
Comments
My father Douglas James Newman worked for BTH Rugby from 1939. Moved to Lincoln with AEI in 1957. He was in the research team during the war. After the war he was part of the team developing semiconductors. Does anyone remember him ?
I do recall a Newman who worked for BTH/AEI and later moved to Lincoln. He had a daughter Josephine and they lived on Bilton Road. My own father, Derrick Newman was also at BTH/AEI during the war and also worked in semi-conductor research post war.
My apprenticeship with BT-H Coventry – August 1955 intake (Check No 3299) set me up for a successful working life. Still proudly look after my Apprenticeship Certificate, Freedom of City of Coventry Certificate and B T-H machine training manuals.
I came across this article when I was searching for any contacts who might help me to find information, memories, reminiscences etc about BTH Willesden, about switchgear and especially about my father – A. (“Rox”) Roxburgh.
He served an apprenticeship at BTH Willesden – probably late 1920s. He stayed there as a draughtsman and continued to gain further qualifications for a number of years.
He also worked, at various stages, in Rugby and at Trafford Park.
I have very fond memories of the BTH Willesden children’s Christmas parties. There were train rides up and down the long drive, film shows of cartoons and other entertainments – plus delicious teas.
I also remember the horticultural shows in the summer – autumn? My mother always bought a bunch of large prizewinning chrysanthemums.
The later demolition of the site makes any reminiscences, photos, drawings (technical and otherwise) especially precious.
I’d love to hear from anyone who has similar memories.
I read with interest the letters from apprentices at the B.T.H. in Rugby. I dated one for a couple of years and he lived at Coton House and used to hitchhike into Rugby for our dates. I also worked at the BTH I left school at 15 and was placed in their typing school in the basement of the office building. I spent two months there, 8 hours a day learning to type. Two weeks in the typing pool (which I hated) and then was lucky to get position in Control Sales for the next seven years, Their training enabled me to get a good job in California USA in the Probation Dept. I retired after 32 years from that job.
It is interesting to hear about others connected to BTH and Coton House where we are planning to visit and stay in the hotel. I have received a copy of the Coton House cd of photos and at once recognised my sister on the Turbine dept. rag day float, and i think my brother too. The float was built at our farm in Clifton where we lived from 1949 to late 50’s and in 1952 my sister left school and went to work in the office at BTH, learning to type etc , she spent a lot of time in the factory giving out forms or what ever they were to workers she got to know, many of whom visited our farm. The 1952 float reminded me how wonderful it was when built in our big barn, i was five at the time, and watched my mother and ‘the girls’ sewing their costumes while the boys and my brother and father helped build the float, it was tall with pillars and lots of oriental trimmings etc, sadly on the day of the rag, the trailer was brought out and the long gravel lane to the Lillbourne road was over hung by tall hedgerow, and bit by bit the decorated float was torn apart…..Never the less it continued to Rugby but was almost devoid of trimming when it got there ,that did not stop the girls doing their ‘belly dancing’ which they had practiced a lot, it was all good fun i was on the float too and my sister….Margaret Corbyn is the one facing the camera dancing and possibly it is my brother sitting beside her. That photo on the cd was a lovely surprise, sadly she is now suffering memory loss but until two years ago could remember her years at BTH very clearly. It was with regret we had to leave Clifton it was due to the owner of our farm being killed while watching workers building the M1 nearby, but all our family have very happy memories of our time there.
Hi, I was a BTH apprentice at Willesden between 1954 and 1959. I started in the drawing office and knew Mr Roxburgh, who was then the chief engineer. Under Mr Roxburgh were many dept engineers and I was under Arthur Leigh. During my time I spent about 6 months on many sections in the factory, great experience. I qualified by attending day release at Willesden Tech with ONC and HNC. I moved to Switchgear Contracts under Philip Gaze. I secured three successive jobs, got the interview and appointments with the “magic words” I’m was a BTH Apprentice. I moved to Australia where I’ve lived since 1970 ultimately starting my own business “hands on” all credit to BTH and the start in life I got under Mr Roxburgh.
I have a book “BTH Reminiscences”. It was printed in 1946 to commemorate 60 years of progress. It addressed to Mr Shrimpton. I would like to donate it to someone. Any suggestion
Hi Sheila,
I would love to have your copy of the BTH book for my dad who was an apprentice at Rugby between around 1943 and 1951. He has many happy memories of his time there and will be 95 in a couple of weeks. It would be lovely to give it to him for his birthday. I hope I’m not too late as I have only seen this comment recently!
Thank you
Add a comment about this page