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Welcome

Westwood Works 1903-2003

Baker Perkins in the Community

A culture of involvement in the local community permeated every part of Westwood Works, the management giving employees every encouragement to spend time and effort, both inside and outside company hours, in getting involved in many facets of local activities. Many examples of such work will be found throughout this website including the charity fund-raising events shown in Gatherings, many of the Sports Club Activities and the Christmas Parties for disadvantaged children. A number of employees worked in local politics as Local Councillors, some having the honour to become Mayor of Peterborough, others serving as Governors of local schools. The schools/industry interface was of particular interest to the Company and initiatives such as "Trident" and "Young Enterprise", both of which introduced to schoolchildren concepts and experience of the world of work, were enthusiastically promoted, with Careers in Engineering and "Young Engineer of the Year" also being strongly supported.

Senior managers and Directors played a part in many other aspects of Peterborough life. Sir Ivor Baker and Sir Franklin Braithwaite served as Vice-Chairmen of the Peterborough Development Corporation while other senior managers were prominent in the local Professional Bodies Group and other similar activities too numerous to mention.

Much effort was also put in on behalf of charities, both in terms of organising fund-raising events and from regular donations from wages. The following images indicate that these activities were a long-established feature of the culture of the organisation.

1938 Hospital Fund Raising Carnival at Alma Road.

After passing through local streets, the procession ended up at the Baker Perkins Sports Ground in Alma Road. It is understood that the Carnival Queen was Dorothy Larman, sister of Jack Larman - ex-Fitting Shop Foreman.

1967 onwards

Corporate Donations to Charity

In common with most major UK corporations, Baker Perkins made annual donations to charities on top of actively encouraging its employees to get involved in working within the local community as illustrated above. Such donations were required by the companies acts to be published in the annual report and accounts of the Group. In 1978, Baker Perkins Holdings donated a total of nearly £34,000 to some 142 different charities. Much of this was directed at organisations concerned with the welfare of young people with £3,000 going to various children's charities and youth organisations and over £6,000 to a number of educational organisations, including Project Trident - a provider of work experience for school students. The first priority, however, was to those charities whose aims could be of direct or indirect benefit to employees or the communities in which group factories operated.

Local Radio

It should come as no surprise that Baker Perkins also invested in supporting the setting up of a local radio station - Hereward Radio. The company was represented when the radio consortium was first started in 1975 and, in 1979, invested £37,000 - holding just over 8% of the share capital. The perceived benefits - "the provision of a valuable service to the community in news, information, education and entertainment" - were very much in line with the Company's aims and accepted responsibilities.

Mayors of Peterborough

A number of Baker Perkins employees have served with distinction as Mayor of Peterborough. These include:

	G.A. Smith (who disliked being photographed and is the only Mayor without a portrait in The Town Hall) 1958/59: Mayor
	Frank Mackman 1968: Mayor
	Jack Farrell 1974: Mayor
	Murdoch Charteris 1974: Deputy Mayor 1979/80: Mayor
	Thomas Gray 1967: Deputy Mayor 1981/2: Mayor
	Geoff Ridgway 1991: Mayor

Peterborough Magistrates

The Magistrates Courts for the Soke of Peterborough were in the Sessions House (now a restaurant) in Thorpe Road. These closed in 1978 when the Queen opened the new Peterborough Courts in Bridge Street. Baker Perkins employees who have served as magistrates include:

Special Constables

Honours

A number of Westwood employees received Honours from the Queen for their contribution to the Company, the industry or to the community at large. Among these were:

It is possible that we have missed someone, if so we apologise and would appreciate being notified.