This is the second of our Quarterly Newsletters and you will note that quite
a lot has been added since the last Newsletter was distributed – the
result of a fairly comprehensive re-examination of the boxes of material in
my garage as part of getting the paperwork ready to hand over to Archive Services
at Peterborough Central Library.
It was never my intention, nor within my competence, to carry out a financial
or strategic analysis of the Group’s performance, I will leave this for
future historians to make what they will of the available information that
will be stored in the Baker Perkins Archive. However, it should not be forgotten
that this Archive and the record contained in our two websites is based on
an incomplete collection of the Company’s paperwork – unlike the
resource available to Augustus Muir at the time of his penning of “The
History of Baker Perkins”.
PLEASE NOTE; WITH THE CURRENT LEVEL OF INDEXING THROUGHOUT
THE WEBSITES, IT IS NOT ALWAYS POSSIBLE TO CONNECT THE BLUE LINKS PRECISELY. PLEASE
SCROLL UP OR DOWN FROM WHERE THE LINK TAKES YOU TO LOCATE THE NEW ITEM.
Recent BPHS Activities
The “Industrial Heritage of Peterborough Exhibition” Organising
Committee
BPHS has been involved in two significant activities recently –
The new items added since the last Newsletter can be accessed as usual via
the blue links. If you are able to add to these records, we would be pleased
to hear from you. They include:
Paul
Pfleiderer – often claimed (incorrectly) to be the inventor of
the “Universal” mixer
- acted in around 1880 as the London agent of Werner & Pfleiderer,
selling a range of bread-making machinery.
Long before Frank
Perkins started his diesel engine company in Peterborough,
a Perkins
Engine CompanyLtd, was established at 19 & 21 Queen
Victoria Street, London EC.
Members of the WP & P
Sick Fund were well looked after by their colleagues.
F.W.
Ihlee’s motor car - “Mercial” – made
at Westwood Works - might have been the backbone of a new Peterborough Bus
Company – but the deal fell through – why?
Like their Prime Minister, the ladies who worked at Westwood
in WW2 had – “nothing to offer but blood, sweat
and tears”. Violet Shorey was a typical Blood
Donor in WW2.
Perhaps at first sight becoming a Firewatcher seemed
a good move. Cyril “Jimmy” Butler
found one of the snags – click HERE and
find – “Fire Watchers”.
One of the “Women
at War” at Westwood - Nora (Pearson) Sharpe - looks back with fond
memories and leaves us with a poem.
The Company suffered another grievous
blow at the height of their war effort with the death of Allan
Richard Baker, its Chairman. Here is
the Tribute paid to him by E.H. Gilpin at the memorial service held at Westwood
Works in October 1942.
In December 1944, a Stand
Down Parade was held at the Cricket Ground, Peterborough, for members
of the Home Guard.
Junior
Meal Ticket – Employees under the age of 18 enjoyed subsidised
lunches in the Westwood Works Canteen.
The “Forum”– the
number of bodies representing Staff and Works had grown by 1954 to the point
where means of communication between all the representative bodies was needed.
In the early 1960s, a Suggestion
Schemewas instituted with the aim of improving the efficiency
of the manufacturing operation.
An example of the “Yellow
Peril” market intelligence report produced by the market Research
Unit – part of the Marketing function of Baker Perkins Holdings.
The “missing” member
of the Group Marketing Services team has been identified asPhyl
Sugden.
Clock
Cardswere a feature of the start and finish of every shift/day.
They came in three colours.
As part of Apprentice
training, Jim Deboo would organise visits to other engineering
and/or industrial companies. In 1949, a party of apprentices witnessed
a ship
launching at Wallsend. The writer recalls
visiting a coalmine in Leicestershire –does
anyone else recall a similar trip?
Three ex-apprentices from the 1954/55 intakes met
up for a Reunion recently.
John Gilbert handed over his complete collection of Apprentice
Test Piecesto BPHS for safekeeping.
Another Apprentice
Test Piece – A model compressor made by Brian Rush
and Keith Edis
Old
Cricket Photos – Where and when were these taken? Between
the Wars? At Willesden? Look at the pavilion roof. Any ideas,
please?
Bedewell had
its own Sports Club. We are currently researching the history and activities
of the Bedewell Sports & Welfare Club. We would be pleased to
receive any relevant information.
New Material
After nearly eight years working on this project, new material continues to
surface. We had a call this week from Mr.Briggs of Crowland who, after seeing
a letter sent by BPHS to the local newspaper, remembered that he had some Baker
Perkins material in a barn on his farm:
Baker Perkins Ltd – Register of Indentured Apprentices.
Baker Perkins Ltd – Register of Completed Student Apprenticeships.
Despite having been hidden away for nearly twenty years, the three Apprentice
Records books are in good condition and will form part of the Baker Perkins
Archive in Peterborough Central Library. More information and extracts from
these books will be featured in the Autumn BPHS Newsletter.
Cry for Help
Comments on or additions to any of the new items mentioned above would be
very gratefully received. In particular, answers to the questions indicated
in red would be welcomed.
BPHS Virtual Books
A new page has been added to our first virtual book – “Bits
and Pieces”. This features the Company Seal.
Other pages are being considered and we are hoping to gather sufficient
items connected with the Baker
Perkins Fire Brigade.
Those of you who have already logged onto this feature will have noted
that it takes some time to load. This problem has been addressed and a new
version is now accessible HERE .
Work on our virtual book – “Baker Perkins at War” continues
but is constantly interrupted by matters family and personal. We hope that
it will prove to be worth waiting for.
DATES FOR YOUR DIARY
BPHS Activities in 2011
As last year, BPHS will have a stall at the Fun
Day at Itter Park – Sunday, 21st August, 11.00am to
5.00pm. We hope to see our old friends - and make some new ones.
Plans are still active to locate a commemorative plaque on the site of
the old Sports
and Social Club in Alma Road. As has previously been reported,
earlier plans had to be put on hold as development of the facility currently
occupying the site of the old Clubhouse fell foul of the Government’s
spending cut-backs. You will be kept informed of any progress.
Planning has begun for the next BPHS
Reunion. On the understanding that the majority of ex-employees
who have attended previous events appear to be in favour of holding a
Reunion every two years, the next one will be in early October 2012.
OTHER
BPHS Subscriptions
Many thanks to those of you who have renewed your BPHS subscriptions for 2011/2012,
your continued support is greatly appreciated.
Work in Progress
The next Newsletter (Autumn – 2011) will draw on yet another trawl through
our pile of back copies of “Group News” and “Contact”.
Over the last eight years, the Group newspapers have been an invaluable source
of information but I for one will not be sorry if this is the last time that
I make their acquaintance.
Link
The Summer issue of Baker Perkins, Paston’s house magazine is attached.
We hope that you continue to find this of interest.
Best wishes – Dick, Margaret and James Preston and the BPHS
Committee.
August 2011
POSTSCRIPT
Alan Hill, BPHS Committee Member comments: “I think this clearly shows how far back in time
Dick is prepared to go for information for the website”.
