Cotton’s Of Loughborough ‘Looking Back In Time’
Dennis Powdrill
I DEDICATE THIS BOOK TO THE MEMORY OF MY DEAR WIFE CECILIA MARY
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COTTON’S OF LOUGHBOROUGH ‘LOOKING BACK IN TIME’ by Dennis Powdrill First published: November 2012 © 2012 Dennis Powdrill © All photographs, illustrations, etc., remain the copyright of the individual contributors. ISBN 978-0-9571027-0-5 For more information regarding our other publications, please visit our website: www.loughboroughheritage.co.uk Published by Panda Eyes Publishers Ltd., Loughborough, Leics. Printed by Dovecote Ltd., Loughborough, Leics. LE11 5DF Tel/Fax: 01509 218414 Email dovecote.press@virgin.net
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS My gratitude and thanks to the many people who have made this book possible including: In alphabetical order
Eric BAILEY Brian BENTLEY Alan BLOOD Natalie CHABAUD (Charnwood Arts) Bill CLAYTON Peter CROOKS Tony FREEMAN John HARVEY Derrick HEWITT Eric MARRIOTT (M.B.E.) John NURSE
Les OSBORNE Travis PEPPER Brian POLLARD Alan ROBERTS (Hands & Lewis, Solicitors) Kevin RYAN (Charnwood Arts) Danny SHAW Barry STRONG George TAYLOR Joy WAKEFIELD (nee ATKIN) Ann WHITE
Bentley-Cotton (Sales and Service) Ltd. including: Bentley-Cotton Ltd. William Cotton Ltd. & S.A. Monk Ltd. Sileby. Bentley-Cotton Booklet (1865-1965) William Cotton ‘Planned Apprenticeship Training’ Booklet 1944 Leicestershire Records Office Loughborough Echo Loughborough Library (Local Studies) The Intellectual Property Office (Patents Office} The Abbey Park Pumping Station (Leicester) Woodhead Publishing Ltd. Cambridge. Knitting Technology by David J. Spencer
PRODUCED IN ASSOCIATION WITH CHARNWOOD ARTS ‘PEOPLE MAKING PLACES’ PROJECT With special thanks to Natalie Chabaud and Kevin Ryan
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CONTENTS
Preface William Cotton patents A tribute How it all began 200 years later Patent application 1864 How knitted loops are formed Shaping the garment A Sad Day The new owner The first catalogue 1892 My early years at William Cotton’s The foreman’s fellowship Anecdotes from the Pinfold Gate Works The quiet revolution Les Osborne recalls The derelict factory in Pinfold Gate The move to Belton Road The ‘E’ Model Series Intarsia Knitting John Nurse recalls Further anecdotes from Belton Road
VII IX 1 2 4 8 14 16 20 26 28 41 63 66 70 76 78 85 93 100 108 110
The Queen’s Awards The Fitting Shop inspection & test begin The C.R.P. The social side Fred Atkin retires The Alpha 400 Owen Thompson retires The Dublarib The Gemini 200 A time of change The Ace Long Service Awards The Orbit The M.B.E. for Eric Marriott Another acquisition A management buyout & further takeover Business for sale All known creditors The M.C-V The Jet 4-400 Looking back
112 114 116 116 141 145 146 149 150 154 155 160 162 164 167 169 170 171 173 174 175
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PREFACE William Cotton Ltd. was a company of world wide reputation which grew from the inventiveness and dedication of one man born in the locality of Loughborough. William Cotton built machines which became a name held in high regard in the hosiery industry and was esteemed for high quality products and leadership in the advance of hosiery production. The company initiated by William Cotton prospered upon the inventiveness of the founder supported by generations of Loughborough citizens. The company started with a workforce of five men and grew to have over 2,000 employees. Cotton’s became a major employer in the town of Loughborough and staff from the company travelled the world installing Cotton machines wherever straight needle bar knitting was manufactured. During its early years the workforce in Cotton’s was a close knit community. Neighbours at home shared benches at work. Sons followed fathers into the intricacies of parts manufacture and machine construction. Fathers, sons, brothers and uncles combined to provide continuity of labour and a feeling of family which expanded into the ethos of a larger Cotton family. Throughout its years of existence there was a pride in the company. Pride in its supreme position for innovation, pride in quality of workmanship and attention to customer satisfaction. The company was held in high regard throughout the world and never besmirched the name of Loughborough. This book is, amongst many other things, a reminiscence of a Loughborough lad who spent the major part of his working life, from apprenticeship to member of the senior technical staff, at William Cotton Ltd. W. Clayton. VII
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William COTTON Patents Number 11255 Date: 22/06/1846 Subject: Knitting Machinery.
Number 2309
Date: 16/10/1855
Number 1660
Date 11/01/1860
Number 1901
Date: 01/08/1863
Number 3123
Date 16/12/1864
Number 3280
Date: 16/12/1868
Number 1105
Date: 14/04/1870
Subject: Manufacture of looped fabrics.
Subject: Means or apparatus for connecting or uniting looped fabrics. Subject: Improvements in the manufacture of looped fabrics and in machinery or apparatus employed therein. Subject: Machinery or apparatus for the manufacture of looped fabrics. Subject:Apparatus for the manufacture of looped fabrics. Subject: Improvements in the manufacture of looped or knitted fabrics and in the machinery or apparatus employed therein.
The term Full Fashioned is used throughout this book when referring to ‘Cotton’s Patent’ type machines. This term was used by all of the major machine manufacturers. The term Fully Fashioned is used when referring to knitwear. IX
This book is a tribute to the skills, industry and dedication of generations of mostly local people who worked at Cotton’s. Cotton’s products were fundamental to the establishment of the knitwear industry throughout the world.
BORN 1819 - DIED 1887
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HOW IT ALL BEGAN In 1589 the Rev. William Lee, a graduate of Christ’s and St. John’s Colleges, Cambridge, whilst acting as curate (or vicar) of Calverton, Nottinghamshire, invented the first knitting machine. It was known as the ‘hand frame’. The machine was apparently a classic example of necessity being the mother of invention. Legend has it that Lee’s wife had to knit socks and stockings by hand in order to augment
The Origin of the Stocking Frame
From an engraving taken from the work of an Irish artist, which was printed and published in Ireland for the Members of The Royal Irish Arts Union. (1850)
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the family income. It was whilst watching his wife’s slow progress that Lee conceived the idea of forming knitted loops by mechanical means. Eventually after much thought and experimental work, and with the help of a local blacksmith, Lee fabricated a strange device. Crude as it was, it nevertheless produced a fabric which had a looped structure identical to that made by hand knitting: “William Lee and his brother James took their frame to London but failed to get Royal Approval from Queen Elizabeth I, believing it would throw many of her subjects out of work. Lee felt that he had no alternative but to seek in a foreign country the privileges he had been unable to secure in his own. Along with his brother James and nine workmen he removed to Rouen, France and set up his frames there. The French King Henry lV receiving him graciously in Paris and promises of support was held out to him. It happened unfortunately that the monarch was assassinated, and his successor Louis Xlll showed no interest. Lee was left in Paris with ruined hopes and empty pockets. His brother James hastened to the French capital to comfort and assist him, but when he arrived the ingenious creator of the stocking frame was dead and buried.” Extract from ‘A History of Nottinghamshire’ by Cornelius Brown (1896).
At the time of Lee’s death, his brother James was in charge of the machines. Soon afterwards James returned to England with his workmen. One of these men, a man named Aston, made an improvement to the original frame which enabled it to produce much finer stockings. Aston and James Lee began building the improved frames in large numbers. By the year 1640 stocking making had become firmly established in Nottinghamshire, Leicestershire and Derbyshire. More than a century passed before any further change was made to the little hand frame. From this time onwards many inventors contributed towards its gradual evolution. The frames were made to produce more than one garment at once, narrowing or shaping of the garment was introduced at first by hand and later by mechanical means. One of the major improvements adopted about this time was the addition of a rotating camshaft. This enabled the machine to be operated by steam or water power instead of manually. By degrees the stocking weaving frame became ever more popular and these contrivances, though hopelessly slow by modern standards, were the last word in mechanisation and proved to be the foundation stone of the knitting industry.
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200 YEARS LATER “William Cotton was born in 1819 at Seagrave Lodge, Sileby, Leicestershire. He left the village at the age of 15, and came to Loughborough to live with his mother Betsey, younger brother Charles and two sisters Ann and Betsey in King Street. This was close to the house in Factory Street, where he would live most of his life. William was apprenticed to Mr. B. Abbot who taught him Frame Work Knitting, probably on a William Lee type frame. He then went to work at the large merchant hosiers Cartwright and Warner on Nottingham Road, Loughborough. It was here that he followed the trade learnt during his apprenticeship.” (The Loughborough Herald & Leicestershire Gazette, Jan. 20th 1887)
This former framework knitters’ workshop in Duke Street Loughborough is little altered and provides a clear example of the intermediate stage in the hosiery industry, between working at home and the complete factory. A number of knitters would work here for the workshop owner, some heating being provided by the end fireplaces. (Grade 2 Listed) (Listed Buildings-Charnwood Borough Council) 4
An artist’s impression of Cartwright and Warner’s hosiery mill, Nottingham Road. This later became Towles hosiery factory on Queen’s Road before partial demolition after the closure in 1997.
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William Cotton left Cartwright and Warner’s in his mid twenties and went into partnership with Messrs. Harriman and Knight. Their establishment was then in James’s Yard in Loughborough Market Place. William patented his first invention, number 11255, on June 22nd 1846. It was also here that William made the first of his frames which was to make his name known worldwide. William went on to form a series of partnerships and became a warp-knitting manufacturer. Income from this allowed him to further develop his powered knitting machine and other inventions. In 1853 Cotton and Smith opened a factory in Factory Street. Here, hosiery was manufactured using machinery which Cotton had invented. During this period, October 1855, William obtained patent No. 2309. This was for the narrowing and widening of fabric, (shaping), whilst it was being produced. He introduced a number of changes to the knitting process undertaken on a hand frame and was granted letters patent No.3123 in December1864. This patent was for the ‘improvement of apparatus for the manufacture of looped fabrics’. The knitting head was rotated ninety degrees and the fabric drawn horizontally from the bed. In 1859, hosiery manufacturers Hine and Mundella of Nottingham, started manufacturing hosiery in works at No.25 Factory Street. This later became ‘The Nottingham Manufacturing Company’ (N.M.C.) They recognised the potential of Cotton’s invention and bought the U.K. rights for his 1864 patent. 6
Wm. Cotton’s original works entrance and manager’s house, Pinfold Gate.
A fire occurred in their Factory Street premises on Saturday, February 13th 1869 and in 1883 the ‘N.M.C.’ moved to Trinity Street. I & R Morley then occupied this factory until moving on to Nottingham Road in 1890. Cotton’s machines played a significant part in the success of both these manufacturers in Loughborough. It was to be some years later in the mid 1870’s that Cotton established his factory in Pinfold Gate. Eventually this employed 200 men, producing one hundred machines a year. These machines became known worldwide as ‘Cotton’s Patents’. The original machines were fitted with four knitting heads; later machines were manufactured in six, eight and eventually sixteen sections. A common contemporary expression said that Cotton had ‘turned the needles upside down’, well, almost. He went on to register many further patents. All of these have had a considerable influence on the knitting industry, both locally and internationally. The first frames to be released to the trade by these controlling companies were later bought by hosiery manufacturer Atkins Bros.
An artist’s impression of the William Cotton Factory in Pinfold Gate, Loughborough. Entered at The Stationers Hall. London May 1892
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PATENT APPLICATION 3123 - 16th December 1864
... THE PATENT THAT CHANGED IT ALL.
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One of the drawings that formed part of the application for William Cotton’s Patent ‘Specification No. 3123’ - 16th Dec. 1864. Drawn on Stone by Malby & Sons. Printed in London by George Edward Eyre & William Spottiswoode. Printers to the Queen. 1865. 9
NEEDLE
KNITTING HEAD
NOTE: Needle in horizontal position. As opposed to the vertical position in COTTON’S revolutionary Patent No. 3123 of 1864. (see page opposite) 10
YARN CARRIER
CATCH BAR
BEARDED NEEDLE SINKER SINKER BAR BASE KNOCKING OVER BIT SLUR COCK STRIKING JACK NEEDLE BAR and CAP
KNITTING HEAD
Extract from William Cotton’s drawing for Patent No.3123 (1864).
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Cross section of ‘Knitting Head’ for straight bar full-fashioned knitting machine. (Sinker/Divider Machine)
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KNOCKING OVER BIT
SINKER
DIVIDER
COMB PLATE
STRIKING JACK
A sample of knitting elements made in the Sinker Shop at Cotton’s.
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HOW THE KNITTED LOOPS ARE FORMED SINKER / DIVIDER MACHINE
Fig.1) The knitting cycle commences with the yarn carrier laying the yarn across the knitting head between the needles and sinker bar cover. Following closely behind the yarn carrier and travelling on the slur rail is the slur box carrying the slur cock. The face of the slur cock strikes the striking jacks which in turn pushes forward the sinkers. Fig.2) There is one sinker to every two needles, therefore the yarn is wrapped around every two needles. The jack springs apply slight pressure to the tails of the striking jacks to prevent the sinkers ‘flirting’ forward. Fig.3) The needles then move slightly forward towards the sinker bar presser edge releasing the tension on the yarn. This allows the short lengths of yarn to be equally divided by the dividers being brought forward by the catch bar up to the falling bar. The falling bar has a synthetic insert to cushion any shock. Fig.4) At this point the needles move downwards enveloping the yarn around the needle stems and under the needle beards. Continuing downwards the needle beards close on the presser edge of the sinker bar. This allows the newly formed loops to be ‘knocked over’ by the knocking over bits before passing through the old loops to form the next row of stitches. The needles then return to their original position. The catch bar then collects both the sinkers and dividers to restore them to their original position before commencing the next course. The carriers and slur cocks return in the opposite direction at the commencement of knitting the next course.
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KNITTING HEAD
Fig. 1)
LAYING THE YARN
Fig. 2)
SINKING THE LOOPS
Fig.3)
DIVIDING THE LOOPS
Fig.4)
PRESSING POSITION
Images from ‘KNITTING TECHNOLOGY’ by David J Spencer (ISBN 0-08-035912-4) Courtesy Woodhead Publishing, Cambridge.
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SHAPING THE GARMENT
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Fold
Fold Narrowings
Narrowings
Widenings
Rib Widenings
Widenings
Widenings
Rib
Back
Sleeve
Sleeve
Front
‘Making Up’ of Fully Fashioned women’s jumper (with saddle shoulder). 17
Note: National Telephone Number 6 (year unknown). 18
Right: Built in recess with insignia of the company, I & R M. This can be seen from Nottingham Road at the top of the building.
Former I & R Morley Hosiery Factory, Nottingham Road, Loughborough (opened in 1890). 19
A SAD DAY In the 1851 Census William Cotton is listed as a lodger living at the ‘The Peacock Inn’, 26 Factory Street, where Sarah Hudson was the publican. Ten years later in the 1861 Census, Sarah, her mother Ellen Haywood and William, still a lodger, were now living at the adjacent property Number 27. William died at 9 o’clock in the morning at No.27 Factory Street on January 13th 1887 of Chronic Hepatitis and congestion of the lungs, aged 68.
No. 27 Factory Street, Loughborough. 20
“DEATH OF AN INVENTOR - William Cotton, during his eventful lifetime the deceased gentleman has displayed a marvellous ingenuity in the invention of improved methods for the manufacture of hosiery, and, whilst raising himself to position of comparative wealth, has made for himself a lasting fame for the products of his inventive genius. The practical knowledge which the deceased gentleman had of the fabric proved of immense service, and ‘Cotton’s Patents’ are familiar to everyone engaged in the hosiery trade, and are commonly used in Loughborough, Leicester, Nottingham, and also in the Colonies and on the Continent. About a dozen years ago Mr. Cotton purchased a factory in Pinfold Gate, where nearly 200 men are engaged in turning out Cotton’s hosiery frames. Mr. Cotton was somewhat reserved in his disposition, but he was kind hearted and highly respected by his friends. The mortal remains of the deceased gentleman were interred in Loughborough Cemetery on Monday afternoon. The whole of the men lately in the employ of the deceased, numbering nearly 200, met at the factory in Pinfold Gate, and proceeded to the residence of the deceased in Factory Street. The coffin was of polished oak, with brass fittings, and was made by Mr. Johnson, undertaker. It was borne by Messrs. James Johnson, William Waters, W. Sykes, John Savage, John Carrington, Charles Collin, Thomas Start and Edward Hudson, eight of the oldest hands in the employ of the firm. The workpeople formed a procession, and marched to the cemetery followed by the hearse and coaches,
amongst the chief mourners being Mr. Charles Cotton, Mr. Joseph Haywood, Mr. C.H. Aldridge, Mr. J. Hands, Mr. W.J.Billson, Mr. F. Beck, Sergeant-Major Parsons, and others. On arriving at the entrance to the cemetery the employees formed a line on each side of the gate, and the remainder of the cortege proceeded to the church, where a short service was held. Subsequently the procession was reformed by the grave, prepared by Mr. Main, where the body was interred, the burial service being read by the Rev. A. Norman, curate of Emmanuel Church. The funeral arrangements were entrusted to Mr. Green, draper, High Street and satisfactorily carried out.” Extract from ‘The Loughborough Herald & North Leicestershire Gazette’. Thursday, January 20th 1887.
“On Monday, January 31st 1887, in the same month as William Cotton’s death, there occurred possibly the most disastrous and extensive fire ever experienced in Loughborough. The immense range of buildings in Trinity Street belonging to the ‘Nottingham Hosiery Manufacturing Company’, with most of the stock and a great quantity of valuable machinery, were totally destroyed. Its length was 170 feet, the height of the main part 70 feet, and the width 40 feet. The factory employed 360 people and was erected in 1880.” ‘The Loughborough Herald & North Leicestershire Gazette’. Thursday, February 3rd 1887.
The fire seems to have prompted the Town Corporation to purchase Loughborough’s first steam powered fire engine in 1887.
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William COTTON’S Headstone in Loughborough Cemetery.
Sarah Hudson died some five months after William on June 28th 1887, aged 84. They are buried together. The headstone describes her: ‘For many years his faithful housekeeper’.
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Copy of William Cotton’s death certificate. Johnathan Newbold of 9 Queen Street was present at his death and made his mark with an “X”.
Children of Harriet Bennett - later to be the beneficiaries of William Cotton’s will under the name ‘COTTON’.
Copy of the birth certificate of Ellen Bennett February 15th.1864. Born Pleasent Row, Factory Street, Loughborough.
Copy of the birth certificate of Ada Bennett March 17th.1867. Born Gregory Street, Loughborough. 23
William Cotton’s will, dated January 2nd 1882, appointed Joseph Hands of Solicitors, Deane and Hands of 42 Town Hall Passage, Loughborough and William James Tong, his nephew, and husband of William’s sister Betsey, a brewer of 30 Union Street, Burton Upon Trent to be both executors and trustees. The will stated that the company, or any part of it shall not be disposed of until his Clerk, Charles Henry Aldridge, who lodged at No.21 Leicester Road, had been offered the opportunity to purchase it. This was to be at a price agreed by two valuers, one appointed by the trustees and the other by the client. The figure agreed was £49,521 gross and the money from the sale of the company was to be invested into a trust fund. The annual income from this was to be used for the maintenance and education of his two daughters, Ellen and Ada Cotton, until they reached the age of 21. In the 1881 census Ellen and Ada had previously been referred to as boarders living with Sarah Hudson and William Cotton at 27 Factory Street, by the surname Bennett. This is further borne out by the birth certificates which has the mother of these two girls as Harriett Bennett. She was the spinster daughter of Henry and Sarah Bennett who lived at 10 Pleasant Row, Factory Street. It was here that Harriet gave birth to Ellen on February 15th 1864 and Ada on March 17th 1867 in the adjacent Gregory Street. The father’s name was not shown on either of the birth certificates. 24
Harriett Bennett died at the age of 30 on May 10th 1869. Local records show that the two young women, who had been listed on the 1881 census records as boarders at No. 27 Factory Street, continued to live there for a short time after William Cotton’s death. They then moved to a newly built house at 58 Park Road, where in the 1891 census, they were now listed as using the name COTTON. 58 PARK ROAD, LOUGHBOROUGH
One year later on January 18th 1892, at the age of 27, Ellen died in this house from complications following influenza. She bequeathed her entire estate to her sister. Ada moved to live at 61 Knighton Drive, Leicester. She died of a cerebral haemorrhage on May 4th. 1923 in Home Hospital, Princess Road, Leicester. She was aged 55 and left £75,129 to various friends and charities. The death certificate states that Ada a ‘spinster of independent means’ was the daughter of William COTTON, Hosiery Machine Builder (deceased).
Part of ‘The Last Will and Testament’ of William Cotton - January 2nd 1882. 25
THE NEW OWNER In 1891, Charles Henry Aldridge, now the Works Manager, purchased the factory in Pinfold Gate and shortly afterwards married Margaret Maude Atkins. She was 14 years his junior and the daughter of John Atkins. He was one of five brothers who owned the hosiery firm bearing that name in Hinckley. Charles and Margaret bought the Sketchley Hall estate (in Hinckley) in June 1892. They lived there for many years before it was sold by auction in the autumn of 1930, following the death of Charles in 1929 at the age of 79. Meanwhile, the ownership of Cotton’s had now been acquired by his son, Charles Travers Aldridge, or Travers, as he was to be known. Eric Marriott M.B.E., who started his apprenticeship at the Pinfold Gate works in 1936, remembers that Travers only ever visited the works before board meetings, when he would walk round the factory with his head lowered. Eric describes Travers to be “of portly build, having a ruddy complexion, hair swept back over his balding head and very rarely speaking.” On one such occasion, Travers saw a screw lying on the floor and demanded to know whose it was. One poor soul meekly replied, “It is mine”. The abrupt owner replied “NO! It is not, it is mine! Now PICK IT UP!” 26
It would appear that at one time Cotton’s had a band of musicians, workers who were imbued with musical talents. They were given to displaying their musicality upon all possible occasions. Payment for this service was always demanded in libations of beer. No matter what sort of engagement was being celebrated in or around Loughborough, Cotton’s band would appear, unheralded, unwelcome and unstoppable! Whenever the owner arrived at Loughborough railway station, presumably for board meetings, the band would be there to meet him. The band escorted him from the station to the factory in Pinfold Gate, all keeping in step to martial airs. Upon arrival at their destination, the band would continue to play until money for beer exchanged hands.
The words ‘Entered at Stationers’ Hall’ denotes entry in the copyright registers. The official records of copyright and legal deposits were administered by the Stationer’s Company from 1554 to 1923.
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THE FIRST CATALOGUE (1892)
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TERMS All machines are delivered free on road or rail at Loughborough, unless otherwise arranged. All machines are erected and got to work within a reasonable distance from Loughborough free of charge. Packing Cases for machines going abroad, or to a great distance, are charged at cost price, varying from ÂŁ4 to ÂŁ7. In quoting prices, I find it better to give the exact cost of the machine with all extras included, or if the rate per inch is preferred, the measurement across the jacks is taken and the following extra inches are charged for spaces between the division of jacks: PANT FRAMES HOSE & HALF-HOSE FRAMES RIB HOSE & HALF-HOSE FRAMES FOOTING FRAMES FRENCH FOOTERS WHEN REQUIRED FOR HALF-HOSE
4 at once 7 1/2 8 at once 13 1/2 8 at once 16 16 at once 25 1/2
6 at once 12 at once 12 at once 20 at once
inches inches inches inches
12 1/2 21 1/2 25 1/2 32 1/2
inches inches inches inches
12 at once 27 1/2 inches
8 at once 17 1/2 inches
MY TERMS OF PAYMENT ARE:
For Home Orders: Net cash One Month after delivery of the machine, or by special arrangement. For Foreign Orders: Half Cash with order, and balance at shipment. In all cases, Cash or satisfactory references with first order. Intending Buyers of Hosiery Machinery will do well to send me full particulars of the class of goods which they intend to manufacture, when I will please to estimate for the machinery with all appliances necessary. WILLIAM COTTON , LOUGHBOROUGH Copy of page from catalogue re-typed for clarity
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These machines received very special attention and have several patents and appliances which make them strong, serviceable and most useful frames. They are the original COTTON’S PATENT RIB FRAMES, with recent improvements and patents to bring them up to date. 30
This machine was constructed for making vests, sleeves, shirts, pants, military pants with ‘split hips’ and ‘twisted ankles’, also ladies pantalettes, combinations etc. 31
This machine was specially constructed for making Fully Fashioned Children’s Socks. 32
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Page from the order book 1906. Please note Line 19 - this machine is shown on the page adjacent. 34
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Workers at their benches in the Fitting Shop. Note: The unguarded Pillar Drill in the foreground and unguarded overhead belt drives.
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Operating Fly Presses in the Sinker Shop (year not known).
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Cast Iron nameplate from an early machine.
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Specification for machine No. 2991. 39 gauge 12 at Once Hose Machine. N.Corah & Sons Leicester - May 27th 1916.
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COTTON’S BECOME PART OF THE BENTLEY GROUP
During the late 1930s, the company came under the guidance of Company Chairman Mr. J. M. Derbyshire J.P. He lived at nearby Rempstone Hall, which he had purchased from The Carr’s in 1920. Since those early days much development work had been carried out and the modern machines had little in common with the old hand frames. It should be mentioned however, that there are two features of the old frames that are still incorporated in the machines of today. One is the method of loop formation evolved by the Rev.William Lee and the other is the movable needle bar invented by William Cotton. In 1939 with the advent of World War II, Cotton’s was not awarded much war work. On the other hand Bentley Engineering Group in Leicester was overwhelmed. The two companies decided to join forces. William Cotton Limited became a subsidiary of the Bentley Group, otherwise known as Sears Holdings Ltd. It was the beginning of the company that was to be known as Bentley Cotton. The factory now acquired plenty of war work. Amongst other things, it produced bullet presses, small vertical milling machines, Denham lathes, (for use in army maintenance units) and gear cutting machines, (made under licence from Peterman of Switzerland). Unfortunately, the ship carrying the latter machines, which the workforce had worked so hard to produce, was sunk in the icy waters of the Barents Sea en-route to Northern Russia. 40
THE APPRENTICE TRAINING SCHEME Messrs.Wm.Cotton, Ltd.
“The firm’s apprenticeship scheme is still in its infancy, but good results are already being shown and two boys are well on their way to securing the Higher National Certificate in Mechanical Engineering. Further study and examination may lead to entry to the Associate Membership of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers. Two departments - drawing office and training shop - are giving over to the apprentices, who receive practical training at the works and theorectical training at Loughborough College. Ultimately, when the firm is able to develop the 45 acre site already acquired, the apprentices department will have its own self-contained school. For the present, there is still available a number of openings for apprentices. In choosing boys to take the special apprentices course educational attainments are not all important, - initiative, ability and interest in engineering are the factors mostly taken into consideration. These and many other details of what the firm does to encourage and look after its apprentices are contained in an attractive ‘Planned Apprenticeship Training’ booklet recently produced.” Extract from Loughborough ECHO.
MY EARLY YEARS AT WILLIAM COTTON I left Limehurst School at the age of 14, like most of my friends, and was expected to find work and to start almost immediately. That was how it was, no work, no pay. Remember this was August 1944 and the country had been at war since 1939. D-Day, the invasion of Europe, had just taken place on June 6th and thousands of young men not much older than me were losing their lives in Normandy. I applied for a job at Cotton’s in Pinfold Gate, Loughborough and I well remember my interview with Mr. Crossen, the works director. The first thing he did when he met me was to shake my hand. Not all was what it seemed however, for if the palms of your hands were ‘sweaty’, then you did not get a job. You were deemed to have ‘rusty hands’ which would send the metalwork of the machines ‘red rusty’! I was offered a place as a student apprentice. At that time this was only offered to 16 year olds, normally from grammar schools and similar. The wage was fourteen shillings and six pence a week, or seventytwo pence, minus stoppages, of course. This was for working 5 days a week plus Saturday morning. Included in this package, was a condition that I attended night school for two nights per week at my expense, which was refunded for a 100% attendance record. Amongst other things, I learnt pattern making and foundry work. The college, which was later to become Loughborough University, then occupied
Dennis Powdrill
the area where Sainsbury’s supermarket on Ashby Road now stands. Saturday mornings were spent in classrooms at Cotton’s, where I was taught the basic technology of full fashioned knitting machines. At the age of 16 I was sent on day release to study for my National Certificate in Engineering at Loughborough College. During this time, I would work in all of the various departments of the factory.
Front cover of handbook
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So, looking back, the start day soon arrived and I reported to the Time Office, manned by Mr. Ambrose Clarke. I awaited the arrival of Mr. ‘Cis’ Spencer, the apprentice supervisor, who took me to the school drawing office in the training centre where I would spend the next six months. I was given a drawing board, a copy of ‘The Machinery Handbook’, (the engineer’s bible), together with drawings of a bevel wheel and pinion. I was told to calculate the addendum, dedendum and pressure angles of these gears. At the age of 14, I was terrified. I had no idea what Mr. Spencer was talking about and this is something I will never ever forget. It was only some years later that he told me that I had been given this task to occupy me, whilst he organised something for me to do.
Student apprentice Derek Buswell receiving instruction in practical draughtsmanship by Mr. ‘Cis’ Spencer in the School Drawing Office. 42
I was then moved into the training centre machine shop under the watchful eye of Mr. George Brown. It was here that I learned all the skills of operating lathes, milling machines etc. as well as fitting. This was to serve me in good stead later in my apprenticeship. As part of this training I had to make most of the tools that would be required later in my working life. These tools included, amongst other things, drill gauges, vee blocks, dividers etc. Items which will be familiar to readers who have worked in the engineering industry.
The author, student apprentice Dennis Powdrill at work in the training department. 43
A lecture by Mr. Pat McCarthy in the works classroom. Students attending include: Dennis Winfield, John Leake, Derek Buswell and myself. 44
I was then transferred to the main drawing office as a junior draughtsman, where I worked at a drawing board for the majority of the day. Before going home in the evening, one of my tasks was to file all the drawings that the draughtsmen had been using during the day into the cabinet drawers in the office. In charge of the drawing office was a gentleman named Mr. MacDonald who had previously worked at ‘Mellor Bromley’ of Leicester. Everyone called him Mr. Mac. He would always carry a 12-inch steel rule when he went on to the shop floor, just in case it should be needed. A quietly spoken, deeply religious man, he would stand in the Market Place on a Sunday evening with a small group. They handed out tracts and preached ‘the Word of the Lord’ to us young sinners who had just visited the cinema. It must be said, in fairness, that he did not try to impose any of these views at work. No food or drink was allowed in the office, although an unofficial task of mine was to quietly go to each draughtsman, take their order and cash for a bread roll or similar. Then, at the first opportunity, I would slip down the stairs, into the canteen, collect the food, put it under my white coat, and distribute it without hopefully being noticed. Looking back, I am not sure that Mr. Mac was unaware of this but he chose to look the other way.
Ray Blood (later to become a Company Director), Bill Mee (a college lecturer) and Shirley Hopkins, who went on to work on jet engine design with Sir. Frank Whittle. Beneath the drawing office in Pinfold Gate was a strong room, almost like a bank vault. In here were kept indexed albums containing photographs of all machines built from 1906 onwards, together with machine specifications. Old drawings made on card, linen or tracing paper, together with sample knitting elements from every machine that was despatched, were also kept here. These were often referred to should spares be required for the earlier machines. In 1956 these procedures were abandoned due to the standardisation of basic machines which were then being fitted with a range of varying attachments.
Some of the young draughtsmen who I remember from that time were Pat McCarthy, Herbert Brain, 45
Also, beneath the drawing office was the print room where copies of the drawings were printed and stored. The apparatus for transferring the image to light sensitive paper consisted of a glass cylinder, approximately 50 centimetres in diameter by 1½ metres high. In the centre of this tube was a bulb, possibly mercury, which travelled vertically up and down the tube. Muriel, the lady in the print room, would place the draughtsman’s tracing in position over the appropriate size light sensitive paper. She would place both around the tube and secure them with a wrap-around curtain. After switching on the machine, the light from the moving bulb would transfer the image to the paper. This was not the end; the paper was immersed in a tray of developing fluid, then to a tray of fixer before it was left to dry. The final procedure was to adhere the blueprint to a board and cover with a protective film and await issue to the shop floor. Continuing my training, I then went to work in the main machine shop. I was told that a lot of the new machines here were brought over from the United States as part of the wartime lease lend programme. Those that I remember, amongst others, were ‘Cincinnati’ and ‘Milwaukee’ milling machines and large ‘Le-Blond’ lathes. Previous machinery had been belt driven, being 46
connected to overhead shafting. Control of these early machines for starting, stopping and speed changes was realised by manually moving the belt from one size pulley to another. Whatever would ‘Health and Safety at Work’ officials say now? I do not know. Jack Wright was the superintendent; he was the only person who wore a white coat. This meant that he could be easily seen; but this was not to be as advantageous as I originally thought.
One of the bays of the machine shop in Pinfold Gate c1946. Note: Jack Wright (Superintendent) in white coat in the foreground. 47
‘Cherry’ Dickens at work on a planer, machining a set of main standards. 48
My first placement in the Machine Shop was on the planing section. The foreman was Bill Brewin (who was also the landlord of ‘The Bishop Blaze’ public house in Woodgate). This section was where all large castings, together with various rails for the main frame or carcass of the full-fashioned products, were machined. It was here that Jack Neal, a very quiet and patient man, taught me a great deal about machining. As a teenager operating a machine, it was not long before I wandered off to have a chat with one of my colleagues. Suddenly, out of nowhere, Jack Wright, the machine shop superintendent was either at my side, or more likely waving his arms in the distance, to let me know that I had been noticed away from my machine. Happy times! I must mention that on a visit to the works, when I was on leave from the R.A.F, Jack Wright was the only supervisor that went out of his way to come and ask me how I was.
Inspecting a machining operation on a Plano-Mill.
49
STUBBS clock, similar to the ones on the walls at Cotton’s.
It was during this period that I remember all clocks in the factory had to be wound up and adjusted to the correct time on a regular basis. A lady called Miss Stubbs, not unlike the television character Miss Marple as I remember, arrived to do this. Charlie Kidger, the electrician, would carry a long wooden ladder throughout the factory. He would set this up against each clock high up on the factory walls, thus allowing Miss Stubbs to climb to wind up the clocks. This practice continued until the factory moved to the Belton Road site. For many years the Stubbs family were jewellers and clockmakers in Market Place. They were entrusted with caring for many clocks in town including the Town Hall clock and the large clock in the tower of the Nottingham Manufacturing Company. The Stubbs family were once described as “Clockmakers to the Loughborough Corporation”.
Mr. Stevenson ‘Stevo’ drilling machine standards. 50
Inspecting Sinker profiles in the works laboratory.
During the early years of my apprenticeship, the full-fashioned machine build was at the far end of the machine shop on a block-tiled floor. It was here that I first saw Edwin ‘Peacock’ Spencer. He was sitting beside a cauldron of molten lead, into which he would immerse a ladle. Edwin poured the molten metal he had acquired in the ladle into a mould containing two needles. This method of holding needles continued until the introduction of the ‘B’ model, when needles were held in individual grooves or ‘tricks’ in the needle bar. The word ‘lead’ continues to be used for two needles on Cotton’s Patent type full-fashioned
knitting machines. ‘Peacock’, who lived in Hathern, brought a basket on the bus every day. It contained either a rice pudding or an egg custard for his lunch which he would keep warm by the stove that was heating the molten lead. Although food, clothing and many other items were rationed during the war, it was not until 1946 that bread was rationed. This continued until 1948. The reason for me mentioning this fact is that people working in engineering, and possibly other industries, were allocated an extra allowance, therefore I qualified for this.
Mould for casting pairs of needles into ‘Leads’
COURTESY OF ABBEY PARK PUMPING STATION LEICESTER
DENNIS POWDRILL
51
I then moved onto the inside section of the milling shop, where Tommy Brown was the foreman. His son Harold was a setter whilst his other son Robert was a skilled machinist. It was here that the ‘insides’ were produced. These were the element bars into which the knitting elements were fitted in the sub assembly department of the fitting shop. I was positioned in the middle of a production line. This meant that I could not leave the machine for a chat because I had to keep pace with the machinists on either side. This was a rather crafty move but it did not matter too much as I was only on each section for about 3 months. The needle bars of the hose machines were made of a magnesium alloy, ‘Elektron’. They had to be machined with extreme care, as overheating would cause it to ignite. Having seen one of the machinists ignite a fragment with a match, a labourer decided to collect the waste material from the shop floor into a carrier bag. He then took it home to use on bonfire night. Unfortunately, he chose the machine when it was cutting aluminium. Come November 5th he was not a happy man when he attempted to light the material he had so carefully collected and taken home. Joe Harrison was the foreman on the turning and grinding section. He, amongst others, was brought by bus from Leicester every day. This was because their factory had been bombed in an air raid on the city. It was on this section that I learnt to operate capstan and centre lathes, but I knew that this area was not for me. 52
Dick Berridge was the deputy foreman with special responsibilities for overseeing the automatic lathes and grinding section. At this time Pete Pascal was the setter of the autos and Mr. Barradell was the labourer on the section. He seemed forever to be sweeping up and removing the waste material created. It was on this section that Flo Smith from Shepshed operated a large surface grinder. I remember Flo, because she always had a nice smile and a cheerful “hello” whenever I passed her. My greatest respect was for Jack Harpham, someone who, at that time, seemed very old to me; although I am sure he was not. Jack used to make all the control screws and nuts. These would be 2 or 4-start acme threads, approximately 10 centimetres in diameter by one metre long. The one department that I hated working in was the hardening and heat treatment shop. Jack Harris was in charge and it was here that I worked with molten potassium cyanide. I also immersed various components into a bath of molten lead, this was done without any protective clothing at all. There was no such thing as ‘Health and Safety’ in those days, you just had to be very careful and use your commonsense.
The offices of William Cotton Ltd. in Baxter Gate c1946 (opposite Lemyngton Street). 53
During this period we had a new apprentice supervisor called Tom Pascoe. He came from the West Country and had a love for big motorcycles, although he himself was small in stature. He helped and advised the student apprentices to organise a dance at Loughborough Town Hall. Mr. Pascoe, for obvious reasons, held the drinks licence for the bar and a full dance orchestra ‘The Blue Stars’ were booked for the night. The event on September 29th 1948 was held in the Corn Exchange, now the Charnwood Theatre. It was filled to capacity and was a resounding success.
54
On December 13th 1946 Peter Fisher’s grandfather, Walter Fisher, retired from William Cottons after 58 years service. The presentation was made by Mr. J.N. Derbyshire of Rempstone Hall, Chairman of the Directors of William Cotton Ltd.. At this time Peters father Edwin (Ted) was the foreman of the toolroom.
Peter Fisher, Les Osborne and Dennis Powdrill at The Apprentices Ball 1948. 55
View of part of the main assembly shop from the works entrance in Baxter Gate. In the foreground are Dick Freshwater, Eric Marriott, Bob Blackburn and Walter Blackwell. 56
On January 8th 1948 there was an air of expectation about the factory. We were visited by film star Margaret Lockwood, who, in 1945, had starred in the highly successful film ‘The Wicked Lady’. In this she took the leading role of a nobleman’s wife who secretly became a highwayman, co-starring with James Mason. She was introduced to the workforce who were gathered in the fitting shop by the Bentley Group Chairman Mr. P.A. Bentley and was presented with a bouquet by Catherine Hemstock, the young daughter of Eric Hemstock. Catherine was later to become the wife of Brian Bentley, a finisher on the full-fashioned knitting machines. 57
David Spencer’s sub assembly and ‘insides’ section (knitting element bars) was on an upper floor within the main assembly. It was to be this section that I went next. David was a very strict disciplinarian; from the moment the start bell sounded at 7-30 a.m. he would pace up and down the fitting benches to ensure that everyone had started. Work continued unhindered until David left the department when the pace of work dropped considerably. At one end of the department was a flight of wooden stairs where Malcolm Nix worked on a surface grinder. At the other end was a goods lift where Colin Briers, brother of Alf Briers, the fitting shop foreman worked. A signal was given upon David’s exit and the pace of work certainly slowed down leaving time for a chat. Later, when the lift motor was heard to start or footsteps heard on the stairs, everyone would again commence work in readiness for David’s entrance. Often it would be a false alarm. It was said that David had been known to ‘hire and fire’ a worker in the same week if they had not completed the work satisfactorily. His nephew John Spencer, told me that out of the workplace David was a totally different person and was regularly seen having a drink in his ‘local’. He was a keen gardener and particularly proud of his prize-winning onions. David would often distribute surplus produce from his allotment to people in Hathern village where he lived.
58
Alf Briers was the foreman of the main assembly where I moved next. This building was a recent acquisition and had previously been showrooms and car repair workshops for local businessman Archie Moss. Unfortunately not long after its opening in the late 1930s World War II broke out. The building was commandeered by the army as a maintenance depot for its vehicles and never returned to its original purpose as a garage. It extended from the main entrance and offices in Baxter Gate, opposite Lemyngton Street, through to Pinfold Gate and, for its time, was very modern. It was after the vacation by the army that Cotton’s purchased it. Thereafter, anyone working there in the late 40s, until the move to Belton Road, always referred to it as ‘the garage’. It was connected to the old part of the factory in Pinfold Gate by a concrete ‘ramp’. My initial training here was with Cyril Spencer on the underwear or so called ‘Pant’ machines. Cyril was a very knowledgeable and meticulous person in everything he did. I remember he kept a notebook referring to all the minor details of various parts of the machine. This he would frequently refer to should a query or problem occur. It was not long before I wanted to work on the more modern ‘32 At Once’ full fashioned nylon stocking machines. This is where I met Ted Bacchus, a dapper little man who always wore a bow tie. He liked a pinch of snuff and a joke, sometimes they were rather naughty. Ted taught me a lot and we became very good friends.
Alf Briers had known me nearly all of my life, as I had lived almost opposite him at 32 Pinfold Gate for a number of years. This was a definite disadvantage since I asked no favours and certainly did not get any, quite the opposite. It was not until I returned from completing my National Service at the age of 23, that I was able to pluck up enough courage to call him Alf. On first doing so he gave me quite a look and I knew what that look meant. After that, I always addressed him as Alf. I certainly won’t share with you what he called me...
John Harvey
Notebooks similar to the ones referred to on the opposite page. 59
The final part of my seven-year apprenticeship training involved assisting in the installation of hosiery machines in customer’s factories. My first venture was with Eric Marriott at a local textile factory ‘Hanford and Miller’. This was located at the corner of Derby Road and Broad Street in Loughborough, where Sainsbury’s car park is now situated. The machine was a ‘32 at once 51 gauge Hose Machine’ capable of producing, as the name suggests, 32 fully-fashioned ladies nylon stockings at once. The departments where this type of machine ran were kept at a constant high temperature, something resembling a greenhouse. Any variations would cause problems with the precise settings of the machine. The shaped knitted blanks that came off the machine bore no resemblance to the finished stockings. They had to be joined along the ‘selvedges’ by ladies in another department within the factory, thereby creating the
familiar seam which identified a fully fashioned stocking. Note: ‘selvedge’ is a term used throughout the industry for the ‘self edge’ of the fabric. The stockings at this point would be white before finally being dyed the appropriate colour. After further finishing there was a final inspection before they were packed for sale in shops to grace the legs of many ladies. After a few more machine installations with Ken Barradell and Eric Jones, I finally reached 21 years of age. I was conscripted into the R.A.F. on August 27th, 1951 to serve my two years National Service. I entered as a direct entry Senior Aircraftsman (or S.A.C.) servicing ground equipment in the workshops and on the airfields. I immediately received a wage of four pounds four shillings a week (four pounds 20 pence) as a fully skilled tradesman. I always think that this achievement was due to the skills that I acquired during my apprentice training at Cotton’s.
32 at Once 51 Gauge Full Fashioned Hose Machine. 60
51 Gauge fully fashioned Nylon stocking blanks before seaming and dyeing. 61
MEMBERS OF THE HOSE MACHINE BUILDING TEAM c1955
Ted Bacchus - Larry Savage - Wilf Atkin - Wallace Barradell - Glyn Thomas - Frank Barker. 62
THE FOREMAN’S FELLOWSHIP
William Cotton Dinner (Date and venue unknown) Back Row: Middle Row: Seated:
** - ** - ** - George Barradell - David Spencer - Albert Barradell. ** - Charlie Lawty - ** - ** - Billy Millward - Wilf Atkin - Bernard Parrish Jimmy Wells - ** - ** - ** - Eric Hemstock - Cyril Parrish - ** . Tommy Clarkson - Alf Briers - Fred Atkin - Walter Crooks - Bill Cooper - Albert Sutton Benny Ford. 63
Members of William Cotton Ltd. (first four rows, left to right): Front Row: L. Harris _ S. Whittington _ A. Saffel _ H. Steel _ _ _ _ R. Blackburn _ R. Freshwater. 2nd Row: ** _ H. Brain - ** _ M. Lister _ P. Mc.Carthy _ S. Hull _ J. Tailby _ H.Vizard _ J. Wright _ T. Brown _ ** _ L. Brown _ **. 3rd Row: E. Fisher _ F. Atkin _ R. Pugsley _ ** _ ** _ A. Barradell _ A. Sutton _ P. Gibson _ J. Crossen _ ** _ D. Spencer _ ** _ W. Crooks _ J. Bowley. 4th Row: E. Cross _ W. Cooper _ A. Briers _ R. Baines _ G. Brown _ W. Brewin _ B. Danvers _ J. Harrison _ G. Tomlinson _ B. Ford _ L. Barker ** _ A. Nix _ ** _ E. Start. 64
Cotton’s ‘Foreman’s Fellowship’ Dinner c1955
L to R Seated: 1_ W. Crooks, 2_ R. Baines, 3_ **, 4_ Brown (Bentley Eng.), 5_ G. Wilders, 6_ W. Bentley (Chairman), 7_ F. Simms (Bentley Eng.), 8_ W. Cooper, 9_ G. Buswell (Bentley Eng.) 10_ B. Ford, 11_ E. Cross. Standing (numerically): 12_ C. Lawty, 13_ F. Stone, 14_ E. Bacchus, 15_ J. Wright, 16_ **, 17_ T. Clarkson, 18_ E. Fisher, 19_ B. Parrish, 20_ B. P. Cooper, 21_ S. Hopkins, 22_ E. Allwood, 23_ Perkins, 24_ J. Crossen, 25_ A. Laye, 26_ L. Savage, 27_ E. Marriott, 28_ T. Oldam, 29_ P. Gibson, 30_ D. Spencer, 31_ J. Bowler. 31a_ G. King, 32_ A. Wareham, 33_ J. Lynham, 34_ J. Harrison, 35_ G. Tomlinson, 36_ **, 37_ P. McCarthy, 38_ A. Sutton, 39_ A. Briers, 40 _ A. Barradell, 41_ E. Bagguley, 42_ B. Danvers, 43_ **, 44_ **, 45_ E. Start, 46_ F. Atkin, 47_ G. Hubbard, 48_ A. Cumberland, 49_ A. Nix, 50_ W. Brewin, 51_ C. Gibson, 52_ E. Hemstock.
The ‘Foreman’s Fellowship’ was a mystery to many people who were not members, believing it to be some sort of secret society. In truth, there was nothing secretive about it; senior staff, shop floor foremen and long serving members of the company were all invited to join. A dinner was held once a year at a local hotel and entertainment was provided by a comedian or singer. The group chairman Mr. ‘Bill’ Bentley occupied centre stage on the top table, together with the directors and members of the
Sports and Social Club committee. Cigars were always freely available after dinner on this table, before the inevitable round of speeches was made about how successful or otherwise the company had been during the previous twelve months. Once a year, visits to various large engineering companies were made. These included Herbert Morris, the local crane builders and English Electric, who were steam turbine manufacturers at Whetstone. The tours always ended with a first class lunch. 65
ANECDOTES from the PINFOLD GATE works.
Ambrose Clarke lived at No.53 Pinfold Gate. Part
of his job, as the timekeeper, was to sit in the works office to ensure that everyone was at work by 7:30 am. Every employee had a token stamped with his or her personal ‘clock number’. This token was placed onto a hook in the passageway leading into the works. Upon arrival, an employee would take their token from their numbered hook and place it into a chute that led down into Ambrose’s office. A large clock hung prominently on the wall behind Ambrose’s desk. When the clock displayed the starting time, Ambrose would pull upon a cord, which in turn moved a bolt, which locked the entrance door to the works. Late comers were deemed to have been ‘locked out’. Ambrose would then notify the appropriate foreman and, after a lapse of some fifteen minutes, he would arrive to listen to the latecomers’ excuse. If the foreman considered the reason valid, the employee would be granted entry but would lose fifteen minutes pay, which was known as ‘a quarter’. If the excuse was not good enough then the employee was banished until one o’clock, at which point it was advisable to be ‘well on time’. Being sent home resulted in the loss of half a day’s pay. Ambrose was a stickler for rules and ruthless in their observation.
66
My good friend Neville Gent lived at No.54 Pinfold Gate. This was the house next to Ambrose, but on the other side of the gateway, just a few metres from the works entrance. On Neville’s very first day at work after leaving school, he overslept, was late and subsequently ‘locked out’. Neville was instructed to return to work at 1 o’clock... ~~~~~
I recall that Bernard Parrish who lived at No.55 Pinfold Gate requested to have a stair rail fitted. Charlie, the works joiner, undertook the task but there was a problem. When Alf Briers, his neighbour at No.56 returned from work and went upstairs, his clothes got caught on the screw tips protruding through the wall. Charlie had used screws that were too long... ~~~~~ One
resident of the cottages had been drinking at his local. During the night it rained heavily. As was quite normal in the ‘40s, there were no inside toilets. In inclement weather full use was made of the chamber pot or ‘Po’ housed under the bed. During this particular night the window facing the street was opened and the contents of the ‘Po’ thrown into the street. Unfortunately, the ‘Po’ went as well, leaving him holding the handle.
Full evidence was on view to everyone who walked along the pavement to work the next day. Only local people of the area, who have remained loyally silent to this day, knew the culprit’s name... ~~~~~
An employee who worked on the nightshift parked his motorcycle in the gateway between house numbers 53 and 54. In preparation to go home at the end of his shift, in the early hours of the morning, he would rev the engine of his motorcycle. This was to the annoyance of the local populace. Surreptitiously, one night, one of the tenants poured sugar into the tank of the offending motorcycle. Sugar of course is known to damage petrol engines. The following morning the engine was very quiet, very quiet indeed. The offending culprit was apprehended and duly appeared in the magistrate’s court at a later date... ~~~~~ In the mid-1940s, the main offices were in converted cottages. These were originally the manager’s house, which was on the site now occupied by the Health Centre. These were being vacated in readiness for the move to the new offices in Baxter Gate. There was a surplus of screws and various small parts in the stores where space was needed. It was decided that the empty offices would be a good place to store this surplus. The move went ahead and many boxes of screws were carried to and stored in the recently vacated rooms. One of these rooms was directly
above a gateway. The chief electrician Ralph Baines, one of the few people who had a car in those days, always parked his car in this space. More and yet more boxes were stored. The weight must have reached into the tonnes because suddenly, the floor of the room above the gateway collapsed. Ralph’s car was crushed much to the amusement of all, except the aggrieved Ralph! ~~~~~
One tale I must tell involved two people, Walter
Hull, an ex-mayor of Loughborough, who was an ‘outside tester’, of the old school, and a young fitter called Kenny Spencer. Kenny had almost completed fitting the draw mechanism to the rear of a machine in the main assembly shop on a Friday afternoon. The draw mechanism was a rather large and heavy unit. It provided all of the machine linear movements, transmitted through a series of levers by large and heavy rotating ‘draw cams’. On arriving at work the following Monday morning, Kenny went to the machine to finalize the mechanism he had almost completed building the previous Friday. To his amazement it was not there. Bewildered, his first thoughts were that he had gone to the wrong machine. He decided he had to have a look around, but no, he was correct. It was some time before he was finally, but reluctantly, convinced by his workmates that he was totally mistaken and that he had not completed the work as he had thought. It was a total mystery to him. 67
It was some weeks later that the mystery was finally solved. Apparently, on the Friday, whilst in Scotland on a machine installation, Walter had had a nasty accident. Part of the draw mechanism, including the draw cam, had broken. He had promptly travelled down on the overnight train to Loughborough and walked, the considerable distance, from the Midland railway station to the factory. He then managed to enter the works, which were closed for the weekend and dismantled Kenny’s draw mechanism. Taking the replacement parts back to the station, Walter boarded the train back to Scotland. Here he fitted the new parts to the machine before getting it working again for the Monday morning. How he was able to transport the parts remains a mystery to this day. He was a man of slight build and certainly had no car. He did not inform anyone of the episode until he came back to work in the factory. I think Kenny must have been very relieved to find that he had not been mistaken as people had previously thought... ~~~~~
As mentioned previously,
Ted Bacchus 68
Ted Bacchus liked a ‘pinch of snuff ’, a habit that seems now to have almost died out in the U.K. For those not familiar with this pungent powdery substance it is derived from tobacco and
a sniff of it certainly starts you sneezing. One of Ted’s favourite little ruses which everyone knew about, but pretended to ignore, was as follows. Ted would have two small tins of snuff, one of which would be full for his own personal use. At a convenient time he would take a small amount out of this tin, on the end of a small steel rule, and place it into the empty tin. When colleagues, particularly Eric ‘Jotter’ Hemstock, asked for ‘a pinch’, they would be offered the almost empty tin from which, with great difficulty, they would be able to participate. Should the opposite occur, Ted would prepare himself before asking for ‘a pinch’ by pressing and keeping his thumb and forefinger on one of the large rubber buttons on his black work coat. By doing this he created large indentations in his skin, thus enabling a considerable amount of snuff to be gathered from someone else’s tin. After a polite ‘Thank you’, he would turn away, open the tin which he himself used, and deposit what he had just collected in there... ~~~~~
Wilf Atkin, was a fitter and brother of Fred, the
fitting shop superintendent. Wilf was often heard to comment that a gold watch was never presented to employees upon retirement. On nearing his time to retire it was decided amongst his workmates that this had to be put right. Eric Taylor made a large diameter wooden replica ‘watch’ complete with face and painted gold. It was presented to him on his retirement, amidst much laughter... (p138)
There were some strange superstitions at Cotton’s. Walter Crooks, who retired in August 1958, having worked there for 56 years, would never turn the machine for the first time on a Friday. He always had a very good reason why this could not be achieved, often staying late on a Thursday evening to avoid this...
Walter Crooks. 69
THE QUIET REVOLUTION At the end of World War II, and around the time that I started work, production resumed on the full-fashioned machines that had made Cotton’s a household name all over the world. I was told that the machines produced at this time were very similar to the machines built in the 1930s. Always referred to as ‘Pant Machines’, these were mainly used for the manufacture of men and women’s knitted underwear. The ‘finishers’, working on the fitting shop floor were the people who had years of experience and technical knowledge of full-fashioned knitting machines. If you were not one of this select group, then you definitely would not acquire this ‘know how’. For instance, as a young man, if specific settings were to be done, then you would be sent to the stores for a ‘long weight’, (wait), a ‘glass hammer’ or anything else, to get you out of the way. This practice continued until the student apprentice training scheme was introduced, but I will come to that later. When the building of the machine was completed, all the various mechanisms were thoroughly checked and operational. Everything was then co-ordinated together and it was time for the final and most important test. Cones of yarn, often supplied by the customer, would be used to knit test the machine. This was done by the finisher to the customer’s specification and satisfaction. If this could not be obtained, then 70
modifications to the knit cam profiles had to be made. These cams were removed from the machine and wooden cams temporarily fitted to replace them. In this way the finisher, using a fret saw and file, could readily develop the profiles for knitting fabrics to the customer’s satisfaction. The wooden cams were then sent to Edwin Spencer on the cam section. Here they were placed onto semicircular cast iron cam blanks and drawn around with a metal scriber. Holes were drilled along the outside of this scribed line. These allowed Edwin to break through the holes using a hammer and chisel, leaving a very crude cam profile. These blanks were finally placed onto cam-milling machines and profiled to the wooden masters. It was then a simple matter of replacing the newly profiled cams onto the knitting machine camshaft; a final knit test, and preparation for despatch. Almost! David Spencer, the foreman of the subassembly and inside section, arrived to stamp the machine number onto the template rail. For some reason, which I never found out, this number was preceded by the letters C.B. Eric Allwood, a draughtsman, would then make a simple but detailed drawing of the camshaft layout onto a long strip of paper. He would then draw around the profiles of the slur cock and draw cams.These were stored in the strong room together with samples of the
knitting elements. This practice dates from the early days of Cotton’s, for in the 1892 catalogue it is stated: “The numbers and particulars of the parts of the Machines sold are duly kept and registered at the Works; In consequence of the great variety of Machines made for special purposes, customers ordering parts, such as “Sinkers”,“Jacks”, etc. will greatly expedite the execution of their orders by sending a duplicate part of what they require.” This practice eventually discontinued with the introduction of later models. It was now finally time to dismantle and prepare the machine for despatch. Fitters, assisted by a group of labourers, performed this. One of the first tasks was to remove the large assemblies. Then the main standard bearing caps were taken off. This allowed the various operating shafts, complete with levers attached, to be removed. All parts were thoroughly cleaned ready for painting. Usually, fixed parts were painted one colour and moving parts another. This was to make the knitters aware of any potential dangers. All the parts were oiled to prevent rusting, before being loaded onto a lorry and transported to their final destination. Once at the destination, the reverse procedure took place. The large parts, assemblies and shafts, complete with levers, were carried to wherever the machine was to be rebuilt. In the United Kingdom it was usually the Cotton’s labourers that assisted the tester in doing this. Abroad, it was the responsibility of the tester to enlist the help of whatever local labour was available.
On completion of their tasks in Great Britain, the senior labourer would unofficially approach the works manager asking for a gratuity. This would often be given, particularly in the earlier years. The money rapidly ‘burnt holes in their pockets’ as they made to the nearest public house to make merry. At this point, it was then the responsibility of the tester to take full control, checking and setting every aspect of the machine, before finally getting it into a full production status. Sometimes he had to instruct the knitters how to operate the machine or ‘frame’, (the name used in the industry for machines of this type). In the late 1940s, with the new design of machines, transportation was either in one or two pieces by outside contractors. There was little need of the labourers for assistance during installation. These were the new ‘32 at Once Fine Gauge Hose Machine’ for the making of full fashioned ladies ‘Nylon’ stockings. With Europe in ruins after the war and what was left of the major German knitting machine builders, Kalio and Hilsher at Chemnitz, in then East Germany, the future looked well for Cotton’s. Unfortunately, an American company, ‘Reading’, was shipping a large amount of hose machines worldwide. These were far superior to the Cotton machines. About this time, a clever Italian gentleman envisaged knitting a circular tube of nylon and stretching this knitted tube over the form of a ladies leg. By heating the form, the fabric assumed the shape of the leg. Once the toe was manually closed, the stocking was complete. 71
One thing that fashion decreed was that stockings had to have a seam. To comply, a false seam was sewn onto the stocking. Within a short time women preferred the plain bronze, or suntanned look, whereon the seam was duly abandoned. Stockings made by this method were much cheaper than the full fashioned type. In pursuit of economy, ladies were content to abandon fashioned stockings completely. Alas, by the early 1960s fashion, in the form of the mini skirt, had arrived killing off all types of stockings. Ladies tights had arrived on the scene; the days of the full fashioned stocking were virtually over, as were the machines. Fortunately, Cottons had dragged behind in the engineering and technology exhibited by ‘Reading’ of the U.S.A. With this change in fashion Cottons were quickly able to respond. They abandoned hose
12 Section William Cotton Model UO/B 72
and underwear machines in favour of outerwear. A new outerwear machine was quickly introduced, which was the ‘UO/B’ Model. It was a completely new concept, from the design of the carcass through to all of the mechanisms. This was with the exception of the main operating control chain, which carried various types of studs attached to control the various mechanisms. Slowly but surely with these machines came a new breed of person. The new younger generation, like myself, was not afraid to share this knowledge. There were really no secrets anymore; the genie was out of the bottle. As always, fashions changed. People wanted knitted outerwear such as jumpers, cardigans, pullovers and children’s wear made in many different styles and various yarns such as botany, lambswool and in the more expensive cashmeres. The gauges of these machines varied from the heavier 6 gauge to the very fine 33 gauge. Whatever the customer demanded Cotton’s would provide if it was at all possible. The gauge of a ‘Cotton’ type machine was decided by the number of needles in 2.54cm or 1-1 /2 Imperial inches. Unable to build sufficient machines to meet the demand in the Pinfold Gate factory, Mr. Gardener, the managing director, sought a solution. He attempted to introduce a fair incentive scheme into the fitting shop to try to solve this problem.
After much consultation with representatives on the shop floor, a ‘gang or group system’ was agreed. Each ‘gang’ was given an agreed target figure to build their particular section of the machine. The scheme was based on a sliding scale dependent on the time taken. On achieving the minimum number of hours or target figure, two shillings and eight pence bonus per hour was paid. This translated to 13p, which was a large amount in the 1950s. In the first months the maximum hourly payments were paid, but with no real increase in production. Mr. Gardener soon realised another method had to be found. A consultant work-study engineer was temporarily employed to implement an individual bonus system. Dennis Storer trained alongside him and the individual piecework system was introduced; not only increasing wages but also production. This method of bonus payment was to continue for many years at the William Cotton works in Loughborough. I quote from a William Cotton sales brochure dated 1892: “The machines are built, and all parts are made, at the Original Works at Loughborough, which are the largest works extant employed exclusively in the manufacture and development of COTTON’S PATENT FRAMES, where the best material and workmanship only are employed and where piecework is not countenanced.” This was something on which Cotton had built his reputation, lost forever.
With the introduction of piecework the inevitable happened. The standard of workmanship expected from Cotton’s deteriorated and, for the very first time, inspectors were employed in the fitting shop. ‘Billie’ Mills was responsible for the main carcass and Phil Henson for the setting of the ‘insides’ or knitting element bars. Mature in years and with a wealth of experience it was just what was needed. Unfortunately, both men spent a lot of their time correcting other people’s faults, but it was a start. It was during this period that a new Managing Director Basil Cooper (or ‘B.P’), as he was known, was appointed. He had previously worked at the now defunct ‘British United Shoe Manufacturing Company’ in Leicester. He was also a friend of P.A. Bentley, the founder of the company that bore his name. I was told he was a very demanding man, although I personally had no contact with him as a young man on the shop floor. I recall him having a number of small metal boxes made. These were temporarily attached to the template rails at the end of the machines for people to deposit their cigarette ends in, no longer to be thrown onto the shop floor.
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Installation of one half of a William Cotton machine. Location and date unknown (It could be local and by the car and workwear it could be the late ‘50s).
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A William Cotton Full Fashioned Knitting Machine (one half) being delivered to Towles Ltd. Nottingham Road, Loughborough (c1963). The company installing this machine is Westfield Transport of Sutton in Ashfield.
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LES OSBORNE RECALLS from the PINFOLD GATE works. Shortly after finishing my apprenticeship, I was transferred to the general office to work under George Green, the Chief Accountant. It was here that I was introduced to the mysteries of ‘Double Entry’ book keeping, whilst at the same time studying for the Professional Exams of the Institute of Cost and Works Accountants at Leicester School of Commerce. I was able to commence right away in the first year. My Oxford School Certificate, obtained at Loughborough Grammar School, was sufficient to exempt me from the preliminary examination. I was therefore deferred from serving my National Service in the Royal Air Force until I was almost 24. It was here that I reached the ‘dizzy’ heights of Senior Aircraftsman, (Clerk Accounts). Upon returning to Cotton’s, after my demob in 1956, there were no vacancies in the General Office. I was therefore attached to The Sales Department. My immediate supervisor was Les Harris, who reported to Derek Buswell. We supplied spare parts on an urgent basis to manufacturers who were using our fullfashioned machines overseas. Normally we did not supply direct to our customer, but through our agents in that particular country. They would forward the required parts as quickly as possible to the customer. I particularly remember our West German agent, Martin Sammler, who was super efficient. The agents would order from parts lists in our 76
official catalogues. Some of the manufacturers were from countries, which were in those days, behind the so called ‘Iron Curtain’ and this raised all sorts of difficulties. One of my responsibilities was to continually update these catalogues and this often involved new pages being created. These were produced by laying out sets of small parts, together with the appropriate part number tags, onto large white sheets of paper before being photographed using a rostrum camera. This process took up considerable time and space in the office in which I worked. One of the most frequent things to be changed were tension and compression springs, of which there were many on full fashioned machines. When these were being laid out in preparation for photographing you could always rely on some ‘wit’ coming into the office with a well worn quip, “I see spring is here again”.
Pages from parts catalogue
I recall the exploits of Tommy Browning, who worked in the sales department with Les Harris. Tommy was employed as a progress chaser, always wearing a long black coat, completely unbuttoned. He was a character in his own right, dashing about, at the double, with clipboard in hand. His black coat flowed out behind, looking something like a demented blackbird. He had a colourful career. In the late 1940s he was owner and manager of the now demolished Regent Theatre on Southfield Road. At this time it was used as a roller skating rink, a popular venue for teenagers of that period. Tommy was so accident prone that he became quite well known for it. He was a legend in his time, being fully aware of it himself but unable to do anything about it. The most ridiculous occasion involved Tommy and Les Harris, when a new storeroom was being fitted with fabricated metal shelving and racks. The building where they were moving into had been a funeral directors, where amongst other things, embalming took place. The undertaker Tommy Robinson and his wife Mary had lived there before moving their business to the other side of the road on the corner of Aumberry Gap. This was a small road linking Pinfold Gate to Barrow Street. Les Harris and Tommy had stayed behind to assemble the shelving so that they would be ready for the following day. It was after nine o’clock in the evening when they had finished. Whilst Les. was washing his hands, Tommy emerged from the storeroom, where they had been working, and pulled the door shut behind
him. It was on a Yale lock, and locked itself with both their coats still inside the room. In their coat pockets were two sets of car keys and, more disastrously than that, the keys to the door he had just pulled shut. The property where they had been working was also adjacent to a small driveway which gave access to Cotton’s assembly shop from Pinfold Gate. It was quickly observed that an upstairs casement window was slightly ajar and that may be a way in. There was also a pickup truck conveniently parked under this window. Tommy suggested that if a ladder could be found in the works, this could be placed on the truck and rested against the window. Tommy would then climb up, enter through the window to retrieve the keys and unlock the door. This was the agreed solution. Two important things had not been observed; the driveway sloped slightly towards the road and the vehicle had been left with the handbrake off. A ladder was found, placed on the truck and leant against the window sill. Tommy commenced to climb it but, upon reaching the top, the pickup started to roll towards the road. He was left hanging on to the partially open window. Somehow the pair recovered from this dilemma and, at the second attempt, Tommy managed to climb into the room. After collecting their coats, they walked across the room they had previously been working in and Tommy discovered that the door key, that all the fuss was about, was in his trouser pocket, after all. It had been there all the time. This was just one of the many escapades that could well have come straight out of a Norman Wisdom film. 77
Former Works Entrance-Pinfold Gate (Now site of Walk In Centre}. L.H.S. door - Bicycle Shed, First floor - Joiners Shop, R.H.S door - Works Entrance & Time Office. 78
The derelict William Cotton offices and loading bay in Baxter Gate. Loughborough.
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View across what was the William Cotton Fitting Shop (see below) now called the Hospital Site.
Fitting Shop 1946
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Health Centre car park Pinfold Gate, located on what was the William Cotton Machine Shop (see below).
Machine Shop 1946
The original stone block Fitting Shop floor at the end of the Health Centre car park in Pinfold Gate, 2010.
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These Grade 2 listed cottages in Pinfold Gate owned by Wm. Cotton Ltd. were rented, many to employees of the company. Unfortunately, some of these were demolished along with the factory but the majority were saved and are now privately owned. 82
A view through a broken window of an almost demolished cottage in Pinfold Gate, across the former William Cotton site. In the distance can be seen what was the Odeon Cinema, now the Beacon Bingo, and the tower of the Parish Church. 83
SHEPSHED FACTORY ‘GUTTED’ IN £1m. FIRE
Loughborough ECHO 1st October 1965
The fire at George Braund Ltd. threw 550 men and women out of work. The factory is Shepshed’s largest employer of labour and one of the biggest hosiery firms in the Loughborough area. ONE WEEK LATER A FIGHTING ‘COME-BACK’ Mr.Reg.Hallam M.D. of Geo. Braund Ltd. said, “Knitting would begin at William Cotton’s premises in Baxter Gate probably within 10 days. And installation of a new plant within 1 month”.
Only one knitting machine was salvaged from the fire. Here the 16 section Bentley-Cotton machine, which suffered only water and smoke damage, is seen being moved into the Baxter Gate, Loughborough premises of William Cotton Ltd, who have offered Braund’s the temporary use of the building. Loughborough ECHO October 8th.1965
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THE MOVE TO BELTON ROAD A forty-five acre site was acquired on Bottleacre Lane, adjacent to what is now the Meadow Lane end of Belton Road. The eventual size of the factory built had a total floor area of 23,225 square metres (250,000 square feet), of which the assembly shop area was 9,290 square metres (100, 00 square feet). The 30.5 metres (100 feet) central span of the main assembly was the first section to be built and opened: whilst building construction continued on further bays either side. This was to allow production to be uninterrupted. Machines were built simultaneously on the two sites. Once the offices and fitting area were completed, the machine shop area was concentrated on. Finally the Baxter Gate / Pinfold Gate site was vacated and put on the market for sale. A special area was allocated in the machine shop for the heavy presses used for the manufacture of the knitting elements. These were in the ‘Sinker Shop’. Specialist toolmakers were in this department making the precise press tools required to enable the presses to stamp, out of sheet steel, the various knitting elements such as sinkers, dividers. comb plates etc. Two blind people, Patrick (Pat) Ellis and Dorothy Woodhouse, were employed in this area for the final inspection of knitting elements. They used special inspection equipment to enable them to carry out this very precise work without sight. Ray Greasley recalls taking Patrick to catch the bus to Mountsorrel every evening when work had finished for the day. After Owen Thompson - the sinker shop foreman - retired, Ray Greasley was promoted to succeed him, a position he maintained for many years.
Elements made of wire such as needles, fashioning points, jack springs etc. were mostly made by companies within the group, e.g. Hammonds in Havelock Street, Grudging in School Street, both of Loughborough, and Grieves of Coalville. An open day, to celebrate the opening of the first part of the new Belton Road factory, was held in 1956 and many machines were on display. At this time the total area covered only about 2,787 square metres (30,000 square feet), only about one third of an average football pitch. By 1961 the factory was enlarged further to 11,148 square metres (120,000 square feet). 1965 saw the completion of the build and the official opening on December 8th by Sir Charles Clore, chairman of the holding company Sears. This was attended by well known personalities in the world of business and finance, including several overseas industrialists. The combined assembly and machine shops had one large uninterrupted span. As many as 92 full fashioned knitting machines were erected simultaneously. They were laid out in echelon, which would allow the finished machines to be taken straight out for loading without interfering with the others. The new covered loading bay permitted even the largest 16 section machines, weighing 25-tonnes, to be moved off the factory floor. They were transferred onto specially designed road transporters, sheeted down and made watertight while completely under cover. A build cycle of 90 days allowed the machines to be built, tested and despatched most days 24/7, with the exception of the Christmas period. 85
An aerial view of the Bentley Cotton, Belton Road site. (c1965) 86
First phase of William Cotton factory, Belton Road, opened in 1956.
View of Bentley Cotton, Belton Road, from the main gate. (c1980) Observe the additional floor to office block. Later to be used as the Design and Drawing Office. 87
The main assembly at the Belton Road factory. This site allowed 92 Full-Fashioned machines to be built at any one time.
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Another view of the main assembly.
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The Bentley Cotton Drawing Office, Belton Road, Loughborough.
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Retirement presentation for Mr. Walter Crooks, August 1958. Walter Crooks worked at William Cotton for 56 years. Many of these years were spent installing Cotton’s machines in customers’ factories. Back Row: B.P. Cooper - ...?... - George Brown - Albert Wareham - Ernest Start. Walter Fisher (Rtd.) -Walter Crooks - William Bentley (Chairman) - Albert Sutton - Percy Gibson. 91
Loading facilities at the Belton Road Factory. Completed machines were positioned for easy running straight from the assembly shop onto specially designed transporters in the covered loading bay. This was large enough to accommodate even the longest 16-section models. And all sheeting down was carried out with full protection against the weather. 92
THE ‘E’ MODEL SERIES With the new factory came a new generation of machines, the ‘E’ Models. The replacement of the end controls by a central control unit, together with other design alterations, made this the ‘Bread and Butter’ machine for many years. One of the features that made this machine revolutionary was the design and development of an electronic card control unit. This dispensed with a large and unwieldy control chain which often went along the full length of the machine. This was the brainchild of Pat McCarthy and Derrick Hewitt. Pat designed the small mechanical unit whilst Derrick was responsible for the electrical and electronic side. The development of this went on behind closed doors, but not without its problems. This was cutting edge technology for the late 1950s early 1960s. A plastic card, measuring approximately 15cm (6 inches) wide and varying in length, was used. It had holes punched into it which controlled the machine to knit whatever size, shape and style of garment piece required. It sounds simple, if it works. On test, the counting system was erratic, miscounting at anytime for no apparent reason. Many late nights were spent watching oscilloscopes with members of electronics company ‘Bendix Ericsson’, but to no avail. Vic Oxborough, in the experimental machine shop, worked late and would always be available to make or modify any parts that would be required.
After another particularly exhausting day and a late evening, a decision was made to finish work. Vic was told to switch off the various machines for that day. As these were switched off, 'spikes' appeared on the oscilloscope: 'THAT WAS IT'. The cables that went along the length of the machine were acting as an aerial. They were picking up signals as machines were switched on and off, causing the miscounting. ‘Bendix Ericsson’ provided replacement shielded cables within less than 24 hours and the rest is history.
Card Control Mechanism. 93
The other major introduction to the ‘E’ model series was the variable draw designed by Ray Blood. This meant that, as the garment was shaped by either narrowing or widening, the stroke of the slur cock, which controls the amount of sinkers pushed forward by the draw lever, was automatically shortened or lengthened accordingly. The speed of the machine was thus decreased or increased proportionally. Speeds of 80 knitted courses per minute were achieved when fabrics were knitted on a narrow width. This considerably increased the rate of production.
Bentley Cotton Model AE 16 Section 21gg Full-Fashioned outerwear machine Mansfield Hosiery Mills, Trinity Street, Loughborough.
The ‘AE’ or Automatic ‘E’ model was the most widely installed machine ever built by William Cotton with high-speed knitting and fashioning speeds. The standing time between sets of garment pieces was only two minutes in every working hour. Sequential knitting of fronts, backs and two sleeves enabled garments to be made in sets. This avoided an imbalance of garment pieces in the manufacturing process.
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It also had a unique system of combined fully automatic rib transfer and welt turning, enabling welts to be shaped by narrowing and widening. Attachments were available for V-neck, independent fashioning, three-colour striping, drop stitch and lacing. The ‘AE’ was supplied from 6 to 33 gauge, in 8, 12 and 16 sections and knitting heads from 28 to 36 inch wide.
The ‘ET’ was yet another variation of the ‘E’ series. It offered a wide choice of tuck stitch patterning but could revert immediately to maximum production of classic garments. Pattern potential included two and three colour effects, pineapple stitch, vertical stripes and imitation rib effects. The machine could be fitted with attachments for conventional lace in conjunction with tuck and three colour striping with mechanism for odd course patterning. The Tuck mechanism was designed and developed at George Woodcock and Son’s of Hawick, Scotland. This company was part of the Bentley Group and worked closely with Cotton’s.
Model ‘F’ and ‘FT’ machines were designed to compete against ‘Scheller’. These were built on a lighter carcase as four and six section machines. They were specifically designed for the smaller factories. Both produced plain classic styles of garments. The ‘FT’ offered, in addition, tuck stitch patterning and automatic lubrication to all main oiling points.
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The ‘FR’ followed with fully automatic production of full-fashioned garments in rib stitch, fashioned collars, neck ribs, cuffs and borders. Stitch variations included 1/1 rib, half cardigan, full cardigan, half welt and rack stitch. All were possible with perfect selvedges. The machine could also knit roll welts or tubular fabric with selvedged open ends. Available in 4 ½ to 24gauge in 8 and 12 section 28” to 32” knitting head widths. This model, like many others, was fitted with a card control mechanism that could be fitted with long cards. Sequential knitting could be attained for a front, back and two sleeves, whilst allowing automatic change from one rib stitch to another in the same garment.
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The ‘H’ model was an ‘AE’ in construction. This machine had unique additional mechanisms for knitting garments, embodying a true cable stitch pattern. The fashioning machine was fitted with cable forming fingers that consisted of three vertically controllable sliders. Each contained three transfer points. Outside of these points, on each side of each finger, was a drop stitch point, also vertically operated. An additional bay on the machine carcass contained the control mechanisms. Up to six cables per garment piece could be made. These could be used either throughout the length of the piece or in different parts as the fashion design preferred.
The ‘ET/P’ was a special purpose machine for the production of three-dimensional garments such as swim suits with shaped bosoms and men’s pouched briefs. The men’s garments were revolutionary in being fashion-knitted. They were suited to the shape of the male anatomy and offered unique qualities of comfort and support. A French manufacturer patented the garment design and licences were available.
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The ‘CLASSIQUE’ was the latest design in the successful range of ‘E’ machines. It was designed for the high-speed production of classic full-fashioned knitwear, using Cashmere, Shetland, Lambs’ wool, and synthetic yarns. Optional design attachments included lace/cable and tuck. The machine was fitted with a new high performance draw mechanism and a simplified fixed carrier system, as originally fitted to the ‘AE’ machines. Hydraulic dampers replaced the clutch boxes to provide the machine with improved reliability over a 24 hour knitting period. The ‘EN’ gave full scope for the fashion designer as it embraced patterning in both intarsia and plated effects. Solid colour panels were joined with an invisible overlap. The five intarsia carriers (one available for plated motifs) provided the widest design latitude in asymmetrical as well as conventional shapes.
The ‘CLASSIQUE INTARSIA’ followed and was a ‘Classique’ adapted to utilise the vee-neck stop principle. The emphasis of the development of this machine had been to give a wide and flexible design capability using 6 carrier rods and 4 intarsia, plus 2 selvedge stops. Other facilities included 4-colour striping, plating overcheck, shogging wrap thread, lace/cable and tuck. Bernhard Altman of Vienna took delivery and, although excellent garments were produced, it was very limited in comparison with the ‘Scheller’. The machine was slow and not a success. Production was stopped after a short time. The Altman machines were the only ones built. With the ‘F.T. INTARSIA’, Cotton’s looked at the ‘Scheller’ who produced a very good ‘Intarsia’ machine and used the carrier stop system to some extent. The machine was a success and a number were produced and sold.
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The Bentley Cotton Classique Intarsia. 99
Intarsia garments.
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Dennis POWDRILL
Ann West outside the offices at the Belton Road factory. She is modelling a fully fashioned woollen high neck sweater, together with a knitted patterned waistcoat and matching fitted skirt. 101
Cotton machines at Richard Roberts hosiery factory, Leicester.
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Mechanic Eric Bailey at work on a Cotton machine at Towles, Loughborough.
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Knitting two garment pieces on one knitting head (probably sleeves). This made it possible to knit 32 sleeves at once on a 16 section Cotton machine.
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Knitting a garment piece, showing the narrowing of the fabric taking place (‘fashioning’).
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John Nurse recalls that this photograph was taken whilst on a boat trip, probably on a Sunday during an installation of Cotton machines in Athens, Greece. The photograph was taken by the late Bernard Hughes whilst travelling from the port of Peiraias to one of the Greek islands. John is not sure which island, but it would be during the late 1960s. 107
JOHN NURSE RECALLS Looking back at my time (and I’m sure many others feel the same) I did not appreciate what a wonderful place Cotton’s was to work at. A new modern factory with excellent clean facilities and good mates to work with, the few that are left are still all good friends. I remember the wonderful food in the works canteen and ‘May’, the tea trolley lady, with those delicious bacon and tomato cobs that melted in your mouth. My 37 years at Cotton’s were spent mostly travelling abroad sorting out customers problems, teaching mechanics and electricians and attending exhibitions. On my last count I had visited over 50 countries, some on more than one occasion. I visited France more than 20 times in one year and still never managed to master the language. I have many tales of my travels abroad but there is one that is foremost in my memory. I was working in Mexico with Stan Crackle and Don Middleton, installing new machines and updating others. The factory owner asked if we would like to come to his house for Sunday lunch. Never declining a free meal we all jumped at the opportunity. He picked us up at our hotel and he drove some way out of town, before arriving at a very large set of iron gates. To our amazement these gates opened as we approached. It was the entrance to a golf course 108
and his house was located near to two of the holes. It was a beautiful Spanish type hacienda. It turned out that, although he was American, he was one of the founders of the course. The meal was fabulous. The factory employed an Argentine chef and we sat outside, together with members of his family at a long table. At the far end of the table were a dozen or so bottles of wine, I’m not sure how many of these were drunk. After dinner, and being a keen golfer, I took a walk onto the course. Yes, you’ve guessed it, he asked if I played golf and would I like to play here. ‘WOW!’ I jumped at the chance. The game was arranged for the following Saturday. Stan and Don came to watch and, although they did not play, came along for the free meal afterwards. The day turned out to be wonderful. There were no worries about the weather and clubs, balls and shoes were provided. At frequent intervals around the course were watering holes, better known as bars. After the 5 or 6 hours it took to get round we were passed caring who won or lost the game. Afterwards I made the embarrassing mistake of offering to contribute towards the cost of the caddies. I was politely told that I could not afford it. One tends to only remember the best bits. It was not all good. You had to contend with and overcome many difficulties.
These included not speaking the language, loneliness, insect bites, stomach upsets, eating food you could not recognise, cold and dirty hotel rooms. Quite often I layed in bed at night saying to myself, “What the hell am I doing here?”. In saying this it was the best experience of my life and I would recommend it to anyone given the chance. I had one nasty experience after arriving back from one of these many trips. I was asked to test a machine, this involved connecting the control panel to the machine. Whilst in the process of doing this my hand was on the panel as I picked up the cables... BANG! I was electrocuted , unable to let go and shaking from head to toe. Fortunately, someone noticed what was happening and immediately switched off the power to the machine. I probably owe my life to his quick thinking. I was immediately taken to hospital for various tests and treatment to burns on my hand from the cables. The scars still remain to this day. After this I always made sure that the power supply was switched off before completing similar tasks. During the late 70s I was asked to join the Development Department. They were exploring the possibility of computerising the machines, revolutionary for the time. A university “boffin” was employed and I was to be his assistant. The idea was that I knew the machines and he was the computer expert. In those distant times they were not called computers but micro-processors and were specially built to our requirements. It was not until much later
that PCs, as we know them, were adapted to control the machines and became Pattern Preparation Units. The photograph below was taken of Bentley staff relaxing during an exhibition in Moscow. The year was 1966 and during this time three eventful things happened. England won the ‘World Cup’, U.K. Prime Minister Harold Wilson and also Premier Leonid Brezhnev of the Soviet Union visited the Bentley stand. We were asked to go to Kiev to inspect two Cotton machines which apparently hadn’t been heard of since being shipped there in 1959. Shown here at the exhibition on the back row of the steps, far left, is Eric Jones and in the centre at the front Tommy Hubbard.
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FURTHER ANECDOTES from BELTON ROAD
Albert Barradell must have thought himself something of a footballer. He never missing the opportunity of taking a running kick at anything lying on the fitting shop floor. This was noticed by someone who decided to teach him a lesson. What looked like an empty carton was placed on the floor in a gangway over a very heavy box of screws. Everyone waited, but not for long. Along came Albert, observing what he saw as an empty box. He gently trotted up to the target and bang. It really was bang. The box never moved, the air was blue and, luckily for the prankster, Albert never did find out who was responsible. Every morning May, the canteen lady, would wheel the refreshment trolley through the workshops. Likewise, every day Ray Wallis would buy a carton of fresh milk. When the carton was empty, he would fold the top over to its original position and gently place it on the floor. At some point during the day, when someone was walking by, Ray would jump on it, making a loud bang. One day a ‘Jester’ obtained a full carton of sour milk from the canteen, and managed to substitute it for Ray’s empty one. True to form, later in the day, Ray jumped on it and sure enough, the carton went with a bang. The sour milk was splattered everywhere, most of it on Ray.
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Tommy Hill, forever the joker, recalled that he had once found a dead rat in the works. Tying a length of cotton to it, he placed it hidden from view in the gangway alongside the benches where he was working. He didn’t have to wait long before his first victim Sandra, from the reception, came walking along. When she was close to where the dead rat had been placed, Tommy pulled on the cotton. The rat moved quickly in front of her and Tommy recalls that she got quite a fright. What words passed between her lips Tommy could not remember. I guess that has to be left to one’s imagination. When the various directors’ morning or afternoon
refreshments were ready and they were not in their offices, a sequence of events took place. Canteen staff notified the ladies at reception and a predetermined announcement was made over the works ‘Tannoy’ system. For the Managing Director, Mr. Ernest Start, this was the message: “Would Mr. Start contact extension ninety-nine please?” and likewise for Mr. Eric Cross, except that his number was seventy-seven.
Pat McCarthy and Betty Wilson in the Drawing Office would censor the annual calendars gifted to the company by trade suppliers. Any months showing photographs of naked or near naked ladies were quickly excised and committed to the waste paper bin. Hence some calendars in Cotton’s Drawing Office covered nine or ten months only. When a blank month arrived, one could only surmise.
The straightening of the long metal bars used on full-fashioned machines was very important. It was however, labour intensive and very time consuming. In the assembly shop a straightening machine was acquired. This consisted of a large set of adjustable rollers, somewhat like a smaller version of what would be found in a steel rolling mill. There were long steel tables either side where the steel bars would be placed before, and removed after the straightening process. Once between the rollers, the bar would travel at some considerable speed. There was an unforeseen problem that no one appeared to have noticed. There was a small opening between the steel tables and the rollers that everyone used to walk through, including myself, thus saving time. Sid Cousins was unfortunate to be walking through this opening just as a bar was moving along the tables at speed. He was in its path. The machine was stopped immediately but a long length of bar had already passed through his body and protruded out either side. An ambulance was immediately called and the medics decided that it would be too dangerous to attempt to withdraw the bar. This was cut through on either side of his body in situ before he was taken to Leicester Royal Infirmary for its safe removal. Fortunately the bar missed all his vital internal organs and it was not many weeks before he was back at work in his usual capacity. Prevention guards were immediately fitted so that an accident of this type would not happen again.
The heat treatment department at the Bottleacre site was remote from the main works. George Carter, an exRegimental Sergeant Major in World War II, worked in there. I always thought of him as ‘a hard man’ and I was about to be proved correct. Whilst immersing components which required hardening into a tank of molten Potassium Cyanide, the liquid splashed up. Acting quickly, George turned his head and received the hot liquid on the back of his neck, causing severe burns. George took the necessary action, self-administrating the antidote which was kept in a cabinet adjacent to the tank. He then casually walked through the works to the surgery to notify the resident nurse what had happened. This is when pandemonium broke out. I was obviously not privy to what happened next but he was soon in a Leicester hospital. Surviving, George later confided in me that with what he had suffered, if it ever happened again he would just sit down and die. I cannot recall if he ever went to work in the heat treatment shop again but he certainly continued to work at Cottons. We had two ‘fagmen’ in the factory, Gordon Dixon
who operated a ‘slotter’ in the machine shop and Herbert Dominy of the sub-assembly section in the fitting shop. They unofficialy sold cigarettes together with everything else that you could think of and, if they hadn’t got it, then they would get it. Trade was brisk most of the day and customers came from all departments, and I do mean, all departments. 111
1967
“A splendid team effort” was how Col. R.A. St George Martin, Lord Lieutenant of Leicestershire, described the achievement of William Cotton Ltd., in winning the Queen’s Award for Industry. He was speaking in the firm’s Belton Road works canteen when he handed over the emblem, gained for export achievement on behalf of Her Majesty. Export deliveries have risen steadily until they have reached 84 per cent of the total volume of business done. Today 34 countries use Cotton’s machines.Cotton’s impressive export programme was playing an important part in helping to solve the country’s balance of payments problem. “Guard this award jealously. Carry on the excellent work, maintain your outstanding work and continue to lead the world in your own field”. After the presentation receptionist, Miss Sandra Hire (22), presented bouquets to the wives of the chief guests.
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1968
The Lord Lieutenant (Col. Andrew Martin) presents the Queen’s Award to Mr. J.C.G. Wegerif. On the left are Mrs. Martin and the Mayoress (Mrs. Strachan) and on the right the Mayor (Coun.Dr.Alec Strachan)
Presenting the Queen’s Award for export achievement, the Lord Lieutenant of Leicestershire (Col. R.A. St G. Martin) said that they had become members of a select company in winning it for the second time. He warned, however, that there must be no “let up” as there was always somebody else to step in. “I know you will not do this because no one can make something which is 100 per cent perfect. You must have something to strive for.” Saying, “through your efforts you have gained for this country much needed foreign currency and shared in its future recovery. Your example shines brightly, not just in Loughborough, but outside”.
1969 The first company in its field to achieve a hat-trick of the Queen’s Award to ‘Industry of Export Achievement’, the Loughborough firm of William Cotton Limited was recently presented with the Award by the Lord Lieutenant of Leicestershire Col. Andrew Martin. Addressing hundreds of the firm’s workers in the works canteen, Colonel Martin urged them not to let up in their efforts to further the export achievements of their company and their country. Mr. Ernest Start M.D. said the award was of considerable pride to him and “I know this is shared by every member of the firm”.
1970
Cotton’s received the Queen’s Award for the fourth year in succession. “But it is a wonderful habit to have”’ said the Lord Lieutenant of Leicestershire Colonel Andrew Martin in making the presentation. The three previous awards were gained for Cotton’s outstanding export record. But this time it was gained for the company’s achievement in the field of technological innovation in the electronic control of knitting machines.
So it was the turn of the ‘backroom boffins” to have the limelight, said Col. Martin, who desribed it as “a very special day in the life of a very special company”. Mr. J.R. Duff M.D. presided for the presentation ceremony, and also present were the Mayor and Mayoress, (Alderman and Mrs. Guy Moss) and the Town Clerk (Mr. Arthur Usher). The award winning device was the Bentley Cotton electronic full-fashioned garment controller with punched card read-out. An advantage of a punched card control is that when a continuous card is placed on the machine, it knits a set of garment fronts, backs and sleeves in sequence, without intervention from the operator. The system of electronic control was invented by Cotton’s and this accounted for 85 per cent of the company’s output. On the Sunday, over 500 employees of the firm went to work - and took their wives with them. They were the guests at the company’s open day, held to enable employees and their wives to see all of the aspects of Cotton’s activities. Highlight of the afternoon for the ladies was a fashion show of garments created in Cotton’s Knitwear and Design Centre and produced on machines made in Loughborough. At the end of the afternoon 1,000 visitors joined the directors for tea in the canteen. The models were Ann Boss, Jackie Hallam, Dilys Thomas, Phyllis Friday, Susan Heeps, Margaret Belton and Gordon Argument with child models Angela Adam and Tracy Argument. (Extracts from Local newspapers) 113
THE FITTING SHOP INSPECTION & TESTING BEGIN Whilst all this was happening, demand was getting greater. Weekend working was taking place and nightshifts started in both the machine shop and in the main assembly. However, problems started to appear. Pressure to build more and more machines was relentlessly applied to Fred Atkin, the fitting shop superintendent. One of Fred’s favourite sayings, whilst talking out of the corner of his mouth, was “It’s got to go”. This was a phrase often jokingly repeated by men on the shop floor. It was pointless to tell Fred that you were waiting for a part before you could continue the build. He would go to the phone booth in the office to speak to Bert Pugsley, his friend and the machine shop superintendent. Glynn ‘Taffy’ Lewis, who was a progress chaser, had a remarkable memory for part numbers and it would not be long before he would arrive with either the part or news of when to expect it. Fred was soon back again to enquire with another of his sayings, “Now what’s your excuse?” and it was of no use trying to give him one. It was not long before complaints were flooding in both from the outside testers and, more importantly, the customers. Mechanisms had not been tested, parts were left lying within the machine to fall out later, screws were left loose and incorrect cams were fitted. 114
The list got longer and something had to be done. Ernest Start, the Managing Director at that time, and Eric Cross, whose responsibility was for outside installation, made a decision. An inspection and test section, totally independent of production and only accountable to Eric Cross, must be formed. About this time ‘Mansfield Hosiery Mills’ in Trinity Street, Loughborough were ‘head hunting’. Walter Blackwell, Phil Bowler and I were the three people they were seeking. News of this possible move got to the ears of Ernest Start. He told me that the ‘ITMA’ (International Textile Machine Association) exhibition would be in Basle, Switzerland, a year later in 1967. If I could fully test the machine and if it performed well in Basle, then I would be offered the position of chief inspector. I would head a team of inspectors to mechanically test all machines before despatch. It was a challenge I could not resist. Walter Blackwell, a member of the outside machine installation team, ‘testers’, as they were known, joined the inspection team. He had responsibilities for ensuring correct cams were fitted and that the machine would knit to specification. The roles were entirely different but in fact, we worked together very well. The other person that the Mansfield Hosiery Company was seeking was Phil Bowler. He did leave Cotton’s and worked there for a number of years.
It was my responsibility to fully mechanically test every completed machine before it was handed over to Walter for the final knit test. Prior to this, all stages of the machine build had been inspected and signed for. This was according to a series of written schedules carried out by a team of skilled inspectors and any faults rectified. Further faults, either identified on test or by the outside testers on installation, could be quickly traced back to the fitter and inspector responsible. Two inspectors, Sid Leeman and Arwyn (Wilf) Williams, were trained and fully mechanically tested the machines along with myself. A number of screws were still being left loose, eventually falling out in customers factories. To deal with this, a group of semi skilled men, known as screw-checkers, were employed. They were given the task of checking that all screws were tightened. During the completion of the mechanical test, yarn cones were placed on the bobbin boards at the rear of the machine. The yarn was then threaded through various eyelets, tensions and snappers, in preparation for the knit test. For a short time we had an apprentice attached to the department by the name of John Starbuck. He was very proficient at this task, as well as helping Walter on the knit test. Once completed, the yarn cones were removed and the knitting samples left on the needles as proof of what had been achieved. A written report on every machine was submitted to Eric Cross. He was the only person able to override the inspection department and to give authorisation for despatch against our wishes.
It was then the turn of the splitting team; this would involve disconnecting every coupling in the centre of the machine, effectively creating two halves. Meanwhile the packers, Sid Young and Ernie Ward who were part of the inspection team, would ensure that every part that was removed was boxed together with all the spare parts that the customer had ordered. Tommy Hill, Mick Calladine and others would do the job of splitting. Often they worked late or throughout the night, working what was called ‘a black un’. An inspector called Jack Harvey had, as I remember, a rather shrill voice. During this time he would always be around to give the machine the final ‘once over’ before it was sprayed with a rust preventative oil. The two separate halves created enabled the machines to be placed into two steel cradles by Westfield Transport of Mansfield. These were then rolled onto the special transporters in the loading bay to be taken and installed in factories all over the world. During this particular period, Cotton’s had an order book of two and a half years. Without a doubt, one of our biggest customers was ‘Mansfield Hosiery Mills’, later to become ‘Coates Viyella’. They had a large factory in Trinity Street, Loughborough. Once placed in the relevant factories sited all over the world, an outside tester would be sent to install the machine. This included rejoining, checking and resetting anything that had altered during transportation. Finally, the machine was put into garment production to the satisfaction of the customer. 115
THE C.R.P.
THE SOCIAL SIDE
The ‘CRP’, or ‘Combined Rib to Plain’, was the ideal machine for advanced knitwear manufacturing when operating within high labour cost areas. It was capable of producing, as the name suggests, a complete garment piece with yarn from the same cone for the panel and rib. This ensured high standards of quality and dye matching in the final garment. The ‘CRP’ eliminated the card controls of its predecessors whilst incorporating, what was then, the latest micro processor controls. This allowed garment shape and design to be modified by the use of a cassette. This pattern information was fed into the machine by a pre-programmed standard cassette tape, prepared on the ‘Apple’ pattern preparation unit. This system was easy for designers and technicians to understand, based on the same technology as was being used for the electro-mechanically-operated machines.
Life at Cotton’s was not all work and no play. There was a very active ‘Sports and Social Club’. 1949 saw members of the ‘Bentley Group’ travel by specially commissioned trains to Blackpool. In 1951 the group visited ‘The Festival of Britain’ on the South Bank of the Thames in London. The first ever ‘William Cotton Gala Day’ was held in 1961. Buses were provided from the Baxter Gate works to transport people to and from the event on the Bottleacre site. Many activities took place including fairground rides and Police dog demonstrations. The day was rounded off with a spectacular firework display costing £1,200. Les Harris and Les Osborne, who were both members of the sales and spares department, organised and ran the works lottery. Money raised from this was used for welfare and other social activities. One particular prize was a weekend for two spent at ‘The Waterloo Hotel’ in Blackpool. The first Christmas Party to be organised for the children of the employees was a traditional affair held at Fearon Hall. In further years this graduated to a visit to the Aladdin Pantomime at the Stanford Hall Theatre. This, in later years, progressed to film shows at the ‘Victory’ cinema in Biggin Street. This tradition carried on for a number of years before eventually the venue changed to the cinema in the Cattle Market, then called ‘The Empire’. Always finishing with ‘Santa’ giving every child a present.
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Every year ‘Cotton’s Ball’ was held at Loughborough Town Hall. It was one of the premier events of the town on the local social calendar. Modern dancing took place in the Corn Exchange, now the Charnwood Theatre; whilst in the Victoria Room upstairs there was Old Time Dancing. All proceeds from the dance were donated to Loughborough General Hospital in Baxter Gate which, at that time, was owned and supported by the people of Loughborough. 1965 witnessed the official opening of the new factory on Belton Road. From the mid-sixties onwards, annual outings took place for retired members. Such an event took place in June 1968 when between 90 and 100 people left the Market Place in Loughborough on coaches. The destination was a visit to the home of the Duke of Bedford at Woburn, with lunch and tea taken in the grounds. Another outing took place to New Brighton. Over 90 retired employees and their wives were invited but, owing to illness and other reasons, only 73 made the journey, the eldest being 80 plus. At New Brighton the sun was shining brilliantly and after lunch the party had a cruise on the Mersey on the ‘Royal Idris’. With a five piece band aboard many joined in singing old time favourites and to hear this was a tonic for the organisers. A vote of thanks to the Sports and Social Club was proposed by Mr. B.P. Cooper, a former managing director, who accompanied the party as one of the retired.
In 1978 a special train was chartered by the Sports and Social Club. About 450 employees, wives and children made the trip to London on a dry, but very cold and windy day. September 1979 saw another open day event, similar to that which had taken place in 1965. There was entertainment for young and old alike including lawnmower races, rides for children behind a tractor driven by Dave Higgs, and many other events. A further day trip to London was made by rail in 1979. In 1983 a team of runners travelled on two coaches to participate in the London Marathon, together with their supporters. Many small clubs were affiliated within the main ‘Sports and Social Club’. There was a William Cotton Theatre and Holiday Club, organised by Brian Bentley and Harold Clark. A Gardening Club with Norman Penney, as well as angling, motoring, football and cricket clubs.
Theatre & Holiday Club Savings Bank Book.
117
Success at Cotton’s 25th Annual Ball 1954. The 25th annual ball of William Cotton Ltd. was an outstanding success when held inLoughborough Town Hall on Friday evening.Over 600 dancers entered whole-heartedly into the celebration. To mark the Silver Jubilee a specially made iced cake was cut by Mrs William Bentley (wife of the Managing Director of the Bentley Engineering Group) assisted by Mrs Maurice S. Gardiner (wife of the resident director of Wm. Cotton Ltd.) and Mr Fred Atkin (Chairman of the Ball Committee). Another happy interlude was the presentation of a travelling clock
to Mr Atkin’s brother Mr Wilfred Atkin, for whom it was the fifteenth year as secretary of the Ball Committee. Basil Halliday and his Broadcasting Band played for modern dancing in the Corn Exchange whilst The Kingsway Players supplied music for old-time dancing in the Victoria Room. The party spirit was introduced early in the evening with the distribution of party hats. Amongst the guests were Mr and Mrs William Bentley, the Mayor and Mayoress (Ald. and Mrs D. Smalley), Mr E. Start, Mr Ralph Banes and Mr Charles Lawty. Loughborough Echo Friday 15th January 1954
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Cotton’s Christmas Party for Children 1954. Nearly 200 children were present at the Christmas Party arranged by William Cotton Ltd. in Fearon Hall on Saturday. This was attended by the Mayor and Mayoress, Councillor L.W. Hull and Mrs Hilda Simmons. Highlight of the party was the arrival of Father Christmas who presented each child with a box of chocolates, an apple and an orange. Mrs M. Dear, manageress
of Cotton’s canteen and helpers, organised the catering whilst wives and friends of members of the committee also helped to make the party a success. Entertainment was provided by Miss Beryl Clark (piano accordian), Mr and Mrs Len Walker and Mr Dennis Baker (puppet show), whilst the Milivory School Of Dancing gave a display of ballet. Loughborough Echo Friday 11th December 1954
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COTTON’S CHRISTMAS DINNER 1965 For the first time retired employees of Messrs. William Cotton Ltd., hosiery machine manufacturers of Loughborough, were invited as guests at the annual staff Christmas dinner in the works canteen. The event was organised by the Sports and Social Club in conjunction with the management. 36 pensioners attended, the eldest being Mr. Nat Harriman, who is 84. Mr. Ernest Start, assistant managing director, presided, and gave a special welcome to the ‘old boys’, saying it was hoped to repeat the invitation in future years. Ald. Walter Hull replied on behalf of the guests.
“The Oldsters” L to R: Albert Sutton, Ted Bacchus, Bernard Parrish, Tommy Clarkson, Ernest Start, Cliff Sherlock and Charlie Lawty. 120
Cotton’s Ball - Loughborough Town Hall - October 29th 1976. L to R: Eric Marriott _ Dick Brown _ Margaret Brown _ ** _ ** _ Mrs. Roberts _ Bob Roberts _ Jim York _ Thelma York _ Joe Swift _ Thelma Booles _ Ernie Booles _ Gordon Dixon _ Jack Basford _ ** _ Tony Freeman _ Janet Freeman. Seated: Mary Marriott _ Pauline Swift _ Jean Dixon _ ** . 121
A Day Outing (June 9th 1968). The annual outing of the Cotton’s Sports and Social Club retired members and wives. They enjoyed a visit to the home of the Duke and Duchess of Bedford. Lunch and tea was taken in the grounds and visits were made to the various attractions. Between 90 and 100 people left Loughborough Market Place at 9-30 a.m. 122
Senior Staff and their families on a day excursion (date and destination not known).
Left to right : Eric Cross _ David Spencer _ Fred Atkin _ Joe Harrison _ Pat McCarthy _ Jack Bowler _ Arthur Saffel _ George Brown _ ** _ Alf Briers _ Ted Fisher _ Bill Brewin Eric Pearson _ Alf Nix _ Len Brown.
123
Works outing to London, 1978. Loughborough Midland Station.
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Loughborough Midland Station, 1978. Centre rear: Travis and Jillian Pepper with Alice. Mary Marriott _ Thelma York _ Margaret Strong with Christopher and Katheryn _ Eric Marriott. 125
Ready to board the train to London, 1978. Pearl and Bob Parnell _ Barbara and Peter Parnell _ Danny and Sally Woodroffe with Susan. 126
Another works outing to London, 1979. George Taylor _ Travis and Jillian Pepper with Alice _ Dorothy Taylor. 127
Bentley Cotton Open day lawnmower race champions. L to R: Danny Shaw _ Roger Robinson _ Dave Clarke with Ferrari Trophy (owner of ‘Graypaul Motors’ and Ferrari Garage, Loughborough) _ Ken Smith _ Wayne Richardson (child) _ Bernard Richardson _ David Higgs and Fred Knight. 128
David Higgs giving 5p tractor trips on an Open Day (c1979). (In the trailer: Jennifer and Beverley Powdrill).
129
Bert Sanderson with the ladies of the Production Control Department upon his retirement, March 1971. Left to Right: Avis Heap _ Ann White _ Hilda Baker _ Bert Sanderson _ Eileen _ Ethel _ Gillian Van Ristall _ Eileen _ Maria.
130
Officials, guests and players of the Cotton’s Football Club in victorious mood at the club’s Annual Dinner and presentation evening at the Bull’s Head, Shelthorpe, (now MacDonald’s). One special piece of silverware on show was the Loughborough Charity Cup, won on May 11th 1981 at the Shepshed Charterhouse Ground with a 1-0 victory over Quorn, 131
London Marathon Team and families getting ready to board the bus to London L to R, back row: Nigel Wayment _ Ian Lorrimer _ Tony Coyne _ Bert Basset _ Sid Bruce _ Frank Blackshaw _ Sam Singh _ John Hartshorne _ Keith Richardson _ Margaret Wayment _ June Lorrimer _ Jill Bruce _ Jane Bruce _ Christine Flood _ Kevin Flood _ Adrian Bruce _ Dean Bruce _ Linda Hartshorne. Children L to R: Rachael Wayment _ David Wayment _ Sarah Lorrimer _ Clair Bruce _ Jason Lorrimer _ Adam Hartshorne _ Lindsey’Jo Hartshorne. 132
William Cotton ‘Road Running Team’ in preparation for the 1983 London Marathon. L to R: William Clayton _ Ian Lorrimer _ Richard Bassett _ John Hartshorne _ Tony Coyne _ Nigel Wayment _ Sidney Bruce _ Kevin Flood _ Danny Shaw _ Satinda (Sam) Singh. 133
CHRISTMAS AT COTTON’S (BELTON ROAD).
Kenny Woodroff _ Gerald Hawley _ Henry Morris _ Alan Bonner _ Harry Lakin
134
John Mc.Govern _ Mark Rowan _ Billy Greenwood
135
Eric Marriott (Chief Development Engineer) _ Peter Fisher (Design Draughtsman) 136
Ken Bryans _ Les Henson _ Keith Wing 137
Retirement presentation of a ‘Gold Watch’ to Wilf Atkin at ‘The Bulls Head’, Shelthorpe. L to R: Eddie Sutton _ Eric Hemstock _ ** _ Eric Marriott _ Eddie Howard _ Phyllis Atkin _ Frank Godber _ Wilf Atkin _ Brian Bentley _ Walter Blackwell _ Larry Savage _ Alan Cumberland.
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Retirement presentation of a radio to Bert Pugsley (Machine Shop Superintendent). L to R: Len Wood _ Joe Harrison _ Owen Thompson _ Walter Blackwell _ Blunsden Danvers _ Dennis Powdrill _ Cliff Sherlock _ Fred Atkin _ David Spencer _ Dick Berridge _ Bert Pugsley _ Dennis Storer _ Ken Simmonds _ Peter Wortley.
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Condensed version of agreement between William Cotton Ltd. and Fred Atkin upon his promotion to foreman, January 1st 1940. 140
Presentation of “Teasmade” by Ernest Start M.D. to Fred Atkin on his retirement (c1970). L to R: Walter Blackwell _ Ted Reynolds _ Joan Morgan _ Sid Hull _ Len Brown _ Dick Berridge _ Eric Jones _ Vic Oxborough _ Audrey Davis _ Ralph Banes _ Charlie Barker _ David Spencer _ Jess Simpson _ Tony Smith _ Albert Barradell. 141
Presentation of a watch by Wallace Barradell to Fred Atkin on his retirement (c1970). L to R: Tony Smith _ Eddie Sutton _ Terry Birkenshaw _ Ken Millward _ Alan Brewin _ Glynn Thomas _ Tommy Hill _ Peter Wortley _ Fred Atkin _ George Marlow _ Jimmy North _ Roy Henson _ Wallace Barradell _ Eric Hemstock _ Dennis Powdrill.
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Fred Atkin with Fitting Shop foremen (c1970). L to R: Arthur Reed _ Jess. Simpson _ Henry Chaplin _ Cedric Jennings _ Fred Atkin _ Charlie Barker _ Peter Wortley _ Terry Wallis _ Tony Smith _ Dennis Whitehouse _ David Spencer _ Eric Marriott _ Walter Blackwell.
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Upon his retirement, Fred was not finished with work. He and his friend, Bert Pugsley set up a small company, ‘ The Kegworth Light Engineering’. Sub contract work of all kinds was done for Cotton’s. Bert operated various machines, manufacturing small parts, whilst Fred was overseeing a number of retired former employees. This seemed to work quite well. I visited the company once and it really was quite amusing. Bert had recently had a heavy milling machine vice drop onto his foot. I cannot recall whether he had broken a bone or not, but his foot was encased in a plaster cast. He told me that on visiting the hospital a short time afterward, the nurse noticed that the plaster was very, very dirty. On enquiring why, he told her that he had been at work operating a machine. On hearing this he was severely chastised and told he must stay at home and not work. This advice was not heeded. On my visit, there was Bert working on the machine as usual, but standing on a ‘duckboard’ (raised wooden dais) covered with a sheet of white paper so as not to get the plaster cast dirty. The fitting area was equally amusing, a real (1) ‘Fred Karno’s Army’. Amongst others I remember there was Jimmy Wells, Ted Bacchus and Fred Millward, all well beyond retirement age. Even at this time of their lives they were not allowed to go to wash their hands until two minutes before finishing time, as was customary at Cotton’s. Fred’s retirement left a vacancy for a superintendent in the fitting and assembly shop at Cotton’s. 144
A much younger man, Peter Wortley, who had previously been a finisher and had no previous management experience, was appointed to this position which he completed successfully for a number of years. Peter Wortley I remember this posting did not go down well with certain foreman who thought that they would be in line for this position. I always believed that they did not give him the support that he deserved.
(1) ‘Fred Karno’s Army” a comedy group from the silent movies.
THE ALPHA 400 The ‘ALPHA 400’ was a small compact warp loom built in Loughborough. It was designed and developed by the late Frank Simpson at George Woodcock & Sons of Hawick, Scotland, for the high speed production of scarves. By presetting the electronic panel the desired scarf length was determined. After completing the scarf the machine automatically switched to cord type tassels and then repeats, leaving a suitable ravel section for cutting after each scarf. The machine speed was infinitley variable up to 360 courses per minute to suit customer yarn requirements. Two vertically opposed needle beds, each containing 72 (6 Gauge) and 120 (10 Gauge) latch needles, were fed by a single yarn guide bar. This was controlled in two planes by a cam mechanism.
MACHINE WITHOUT GUARDS FITTED
145
Owen Thompson on his retirement with members of the Sinker Shop (1978). L to R: Adam Fraser _ Alan Webster _ ** _ Frank Adcock _ Otto _ Ray Greasley _ Danny Shaw _ D. Allen _ Mr. Mathews _ Cecil Smith _ Dick Snaith _ Danny Woodroffe _ Stuart Walker _ Norman Spence. 146
Eric Cross, Owen Thompson, Danny Shaw.
After 30 years service in the Sinker Shop Owen Thompson retired. Tributes to his work were made in the works canteen by Sales Director Eric Cross in front of a gathering of fellow employees. Owen was apprenticed at the British United Shoe Machinery Company in Leicester before moving to Jones and Shipman, also of Leicester. He started work at Cotton’s as a toolmaker, later he became a charge hand and was finally promoted to departmental foreman, a position he held for 22 years. A ‘Teasmade’ was presented to him
on behalf of the company, a colour tuner and inspection lamp from the Senior Staff Association and a tankard from members of the sinker shop. A cheque was presented by Danny Shaw, the machine shop superintendent, on behalf of the members of the machine shop. Thanking everyone for their kindness, Owen said he had witnessed the firm’s ‘ups and downs’ over the years and was glad it was emerging from a difficult time. Little was he to know, when he made this statement, what the future held for the company in the years ahead. 147
With a shrinking order book, the race was on for new products. James Duff was the new M.D. and had a new outlook on the business. With the exception of the Design and Development Staff, effectively all Production, Sales and Commercial sections of the company were to be headed by people brought in from outside sources, with no experience of this specialised industry. In my opinion, this was a disaster and it turned out to be so. The first casualty of this change was the buyer Blunsden Danvers, always known as ‘Bernard’. He had always worked tirelessly with his assistant Lucy Barker sourcing and ordering supplies. Very rarely were materials not available when required. One Monday morning Bernard arrived at his office as usual to see a newcomer at his desk. Bernard was told that he was no longer in charge and that this newcomer was. Bernard was devastated and within a few months he had died, many think of a broken heart. On October 1st 1971, ‘Loughborough Echo’ reported that another 400 employees faced redundancy. This consisted of about 200 staff and ancillary workers, 120 engineers from the shop floor and 80 apprentices. A statement issued on behalf of the unions concerned said they intended to resist the redundancies “with all the means at our disposal”. Tony Jarram, secretary of Loughborough and District Junior Workers Committee, agreed to take on the position of shop steward. The firm’s apprentices staged a demonstration, adamant in their fight for the 148
right to work. Tony later stated that, whilst he was in the position of steward, none of the 105 apprentices were made redundant until the completion of their training. With very few new orders coming in it was a losing battle and worse was to come. In an attempt to generate sales, the drawing office staff at Cotton’s came under immense pressure to design further full fashioned knitwear machines . It was therefore decided to sub-contract design work to a drawing office at Mancetta near Atherstone, Warwickshire. This was for the design of a flat bed or V-bed machine, something that Cotton’s had very little experience of. A Scottish knitwear manufacturer had a great interest and influence in the design of this machine. The design team worked under the direction of Cotton designer Bill Clayton, supported by technicians Arnold Wright and John Hickingbottom. The machine was called the ‘VORM’. It was a single section machine for the continual production of knitted ribs. These were manually transferred to magazine bars from the needle beds for deployment on the large outerwear machines. It was not a success. With requests from the trade and further development, a machine capable of ‘doublings’, a process to increase the elasticity of a rib, was developed. Called the ‘DUBLARIB’ it was launched in January 1974. Manufacturers were invited from all over the U.K. to view this new machine, but with poor response. It was not reliable and sadly, with little or no sales, the ‘Dublarib’ was abandoned.
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THE GEMINI 200 It had been noticed for some years that the production speeds of multi-section full fashioned machines were incapable of being increased radically. The Bentley Board of Directors instructed the development of a two-section ‘back to back’ machine. This was to be a dual high-speed machine, capable of knitting at twice the speed of existing full fashion machines. In order to aquire a grant from the ‘Department of Trade and Industry’, the machine had to knit ‘cashmere yarns’ at 200 knitted course a minute for 30 minutes. A machine of the required specification had to be completed within four years and exhibited satisfactorily at the next ‘ITMA’ exhibition in Hanover in 1979. The design and development was undertaken entirely by William Cotton staff. They were assisted in the use of electronics by hardwear and software specialists recommended by the Department of Industry. Many innovative features were incorporated in the Gemini; all were the subject of long and deep discussion. Eric Marriott was responsible for the knitting motions. To assist speed, a new needle, sinker and knocking over bit were designed. New motion cams were evolved with compound cams included to replace follower springs. Drawing office designer Barry Strong brought a wealth of innovation, including a unique system of slur and carrier drive. 150
This eliminated all shock at the end of each linear motion. A new pneumatic system of yarn feed from the cone was designed without which knitting cashmere would have been impossible. Much thought was given to the name. Herbert Brain, a designer in the drawing office, eventually came up with a name that encompassed the machine,
‘Gemini’. The birthsign for the twins and 200 the speed of the machine, resulted in the name ‘GEMINI 200’. At the exhibition the machine in situ was covered with a very smart livery to prevent competitors seeing its secrets. The machine was evolved and produced to budget, on time and to specification. It was financially assisted throughout by the Department of Trade and Industry. It ran to great acclaim in Hanover and competitors were heard to say that Cotton’s was going to put them out of business. New technology had allowed the multi-section machines to be replaced by an infinite number of identical Gemini 200’s within a factory, all controlled from a central office. This was to be the last full fashioned machine designed and developed at Cotton’s but, by now, the markets had fallen off and the few orders available were for ordinary full fashioned machines. So unfortunately, the Gemini 200 never went into production. Cotton’s did not have the available money to do this and ‘Shima Seiki’ machines of Japan loomed on the horizon with their all singing, all dancing flat bed. In retrospect, this was the technology that Cotton’s should have concentrated upon. 151
Bernard Hughes at work on the ‘Gemini 200’.
152
The ‘Gemini 200’.
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A TIME OF CHANGE Circa 1975 and a new Managing Director was appointed, Cyril Atkinson, whose background was in weaving. With the full-fashioned market still in decline, V-bed manufacturer ‘Singer Alemannia’ of Creussen, Germany was purchased. The parent company ‘Singer’ had already ceased production and most of the workforce made redundant. A small team from Cotton’s was sent to recruit former skilled labour and restart production. The machines that had been produced there were mechanically controlled by a jacquard system. This was a series of cards with punched holes. Into these holes droppers would fall to operate the various functions required to create patterns in the knitted fabric. I was sent with a fitter called Walter Bauer, to learn how the machines were built. Upon our return, we were able to advise the fitters at Cotton’s about the various techniques used. In addition to these machines, and already at a well-advanced design stage, was a completely new concept of V-bed machine, designed by Herr (Jack) Trautner at ‘Singer Alemannia’. The only area that needed developing was the electronic controls. The attraction of this machine was the cambox specification of 2 systems, each capable of performing knit/tuck and miss in one pass of the cambox. This was an advance upon traditional V-bed machines of that period. 154
This machine was to be called the ‘ACE’ and was marketed by sales director, Brian Bliss-Hill. In an effort to get orders a sales campaign was launched. A lorry fitted out with an ‘ACE’ machine visited companies throughout the United Kingdom. Unfortunately, it had limited success. Nigel Barnet was the technician who accompanied the machine, explaining the technicalities and demonstrating the knitting capabilities to potential customers.
Fred Lukita, Cyril Atkinson M.D. and Alan Perkins (Sales) with the ORBIT weaving machine at an overseas trade fair.
William COTTON ACE Versatile flat bed knitting machine.
Photo: Dennis Powdrill
The ACE was an electronically controlled knitting machine designed to offer the knitter considerable versatility, with emphasis on easy to understand controls and operation. It effectively reduced the training time for knitters and technicians. Pattern information was fed onto the machine by pre-programmed standard cassette tapes, produced on the easy to use “APPLE� Pattern Preparation Unit. 155
Ken Thurman assembling a V- Bed cambox at Bentley Cotton, Belton Road. 156
Members of the V- bed section. Tony Marshall (Fitter), Eric Patrick (Chargehand), Grahame Deeming (Inspector), Ram Patel (Stores). 157
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DENNIS POWDRILL
ANNETTE CROSBY - Star of television programme ‘ONE FOOT IN THE GRAVE’. Taking a break for a photoshoot on location at Bentley Cotton, Belton Road. The film was set in Nottingham, and was about a worker in a hosiery factory and her adventures in the City.
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LONG SERVICE AWARDS In 1977 Cotton’s introduced a policy of giving inscribed gold wrist watches to all employees with 25 years service or over. Thirty seven workers qualified, with another seven at associated company George Woodcock and Sons of Hawick, Scotland. On Monday 24th July 1978, Mr. C.M. Atkinson, managing director of Cottons, made an announcement in the canteen: Sir Monty Finniston, Chairman of Sears Engineering, the Holding Company for The Bentley Group, had kindly “volunteered” to travel to Loughborough to make the presentations. When presenting the watches, Sir Monty commented that “HAPPINESS AND LOYALTY are two of the principal factors in any commercial enterprise”. The recipients, not all of which can be seen on the photograph, had a total of 1,335 years service, with an average of 30 years each. All are listed here together with the year that they commenced work: W. Wilson (1946), A.K. Smith (1946), C.E. Sutton (1948), E. Spencer (1942), C. Jennings (1947), R.E. Walton (1946), G.A. Miller (1947), J.W. York (1939), T.J. Pepper (1951), L.C. Spencer (1936), D.A. Briggs (1947), E.J. Patrick (1951), L.A. Stevenson (1949), H. Hulme (1946), A. Woodroffe (1947), G.A. Taylor (1952), R.W. Kirk (1947), K.A. Sharpe (1947), R. Hughes (1947), J. Nitsche (1950), G.Lewis (1949), S. Hull (1947), O. Thompson (1948), D. Powdrill (1944), E. Jones (1941), T. Green (1952), N.J.G. Gent (1940), E.W. Marriott (1936), S. Whittington (1947), L.A. Harris (1947), R.J. Brown (1951), W. Clayton (1944), R.N. Johnson (1945), B.C. Strong (1952), E.W. Booles (1949), Mrs. I. Bates (1949), E. Clelland (1930). Also present at the ceremony, which was followed by a buffet, were: Eric Cross (sales director), and Eric Kettle (personnel manager), together with trades union representatives. The seven members from George Woodcock & Sons Ltd. of Hawick were not present at the ceremony but did receive a watch. They were: D. Scott (1947), D. Blyth (1945), J. Ellams (1946), A. Keeney (1947), J. Scott (1948), E. Fish (1947), P. Hughes (1951). 160
SIR MONTY FINNISTON WITH LONG SERVICE GOLD WATCH RECIPIENTS and others (1977). Left to Right: Owen Thompson, Glynne “Taffy” Lewis, Stan Whittington, Edwin “Pym” Spencer, Eddie Sutton, Ernie Booles, Dennis Powdrill, Eric Cross, Don Briggs, Cyril Spencer, Eric Jones, Eric Marriott, Jim York, Travis Pepper, Iris Bates, Terry Green, Sir Monty Finniston, Les Harris, Neville Gent, George Taylor, Eddie Clelland, Eric Patrick, Sid Hull, Bill Gunn, Len Stevenson, Joe Bampton, Harry Hulme, Bill Wilson, Cyril Atkinson M.D. & Bob Kirk. (See opposite page for full list.)
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In Italy, an Italian called Signor Bonetti conceived a revolutionary idea for a weaving machine that could produce two lengths of fabrics simultaneously. In 1977, in the face of keen competition from American concerns, a newly formed company ‘Bentley Weaving Limited’ obtained the patent rights to begin producing and developing it at Loughborough. It was to be called ‘The ORBIT’ which, on trials, successfully produced fabrics 1.1 metres (44 inches) wide. 162
The ‘ORBIT’ system was suitable for the manufacture of surgical bandages, wall-covering materials, light household furnishings, and other materials for varied uses. It was shown at the ‘ITMA’ trade fair in 1979 at Hanover where it performed well and roused a great deal of interest. The trade was told that 1980 would see the release of a single sided 1.5 metre (59 inches) wide machine, with wider machines envisaged in the future. This of course never materialised.
One of the most significant features of this machine was the increase of ‘pick’ rate as compared to conventional weaving machines of the day. The Lancashire looms ran at the rate of 23 ‘picks’ per minute whilst the Orbit machine ran at the rate of 100 ‘picks’ per minute. 163
ERIC’S M.B.E. Eric Marriott had been part of the team that had pioneered the highly successful ‘CRP’ machine. Later he was engaged in the development of the revolutionary new microprocessor controlled full-fashioned machine, the Gemini 200. It was for this that the Queen awarded Eric the M.B.E. on the 31st December 1981. It was some time later in 1982 that the actual presentation was made by the Queen at Buckingham Palace. It was stated in the Loughborough Echo that ‘Eric had paid tribute to the ‘great team spirit’ at William Cotton Limited and that his M.B.E. was a credit to the whole firm’.
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Left: Mr Eric Marriott proudly displaying the M.B.E. he had just received from H.M.The Queen at Buckingham Palace in 1982.
Eric Marriott M.B.E. showing his award to John Exton at the Belton Road works. 165
In the same year that the company name was changed to ‘The Bentley Textile Machinery (Loughborough) Ltd.’ a competition was held. Employees were asked to submit designs for a new company logo. Barry Seward, a young man who worked in the Production Control Department, won this competition together with a £100 cash prize for his excellent design. It was not long before a small group comprising, amongst others, Les Harris, Eric Marriott and Bill Clayton met with the intention of forming an exclusive club. This was to be to be called ‘The Quarter Century Club’. This idea came to fruition. The criterion was that everyone who had worked at Cotton’s for 25 years or longer was eligible to become a member. Ties were acquired with the new logo embroidered on them. They were available to any member that wished to buy one. The original idea was to hold a club dinner once a year, but I have no recollections of this ever happening.
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Danny Shaw recalls that at about this time he was acting as plant engineer, which included responsibility for the boiler house. When operating the heating system on one boiler there was insufficient heat and draft to clear the exhaust to atmosphere. The result was that acidic smuts dropped over the rim of the chimney into the neighbouring garden. They burned holes in the washing on the clothes line and cabbages in the garden. The lady’s garden in question was a Hilda Bostock who was driven into a rage every time this happened. Danny was always sent to try and pacify her, an impossible task as she would often appear in the local press. On one such occasion, a television news crew was at her house recording an interview. Although Danny was invited to go to the house for the interview, he declined. The canteen was always a contentious issue. The directors had their own dining room, which was like a restaurant with silver service. Waitresses were in attendance, which most people were not aware of. One person in the works canteen was overheard to insist on having ‘director’s peas’, whether he got them or not I am not aware. One can only assume that these were fresh or frozen garden peas and not of the mushy kind. As far as the staff was concerned it became very complicated as to who could eat in the ‘staff canteen’. One example being, that a foreman with many years
of service working on the shop floor had to eat in the works canteen, whilst a new junior office worker could eat in the staff canteen from day one. This problem caused many harsh words and was never resolved. At one time Cyril Atkinson M.D. came up with a possible solution. Everyone was to dine in the large canteen, including Directors with opportunities for all groups to intermix and socialise over lunch. This was never likely to succeed from the beginning, particularly when important business visitors were at the works. One can only assume that they were taken to dine in hotels or restaurants in the vicinity as they were never evident in the canteen, and rightly so.
were not knitted. The patented doubling system had layout facilities for cable stitch designs. Speeds on this robust machine were attained of 60 courses per minute throughout all gauges.
ANOTHER ACQUISITION Cotton’s further acquired the textile machine division of F.N. (Fabrique Nationale, Belgium). Amongst their machines were the ‘RA2’ and ‘RA4’. These were designed to overcome the high labour cost of rib bar filling in the full fashioned industry. The machine acquired was further developed with the addition of a new drive beam to ensure efficient running with increased operating speed. The RA’s knitted body and cuff ribs were automatically transfered to magazine bars for use on the large full-fashioned machines. This offered a yarn saving, in addition to further significant labour savings, as roving courses
William Cotton Vee bed Knitting Machines 167
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THE MANAGEMENT BUYOUT In 1981 Bentley’s owners ‘Sears Holdings’, whose overriding interest was in retailing, footwear, betting and property, felt that textile machinery did not fit its profile as a high street retailer. It was no longer prepared to subsidise the surviving loss making engineering divisions of its business. On Christmas Eve it was disclosed that Bentley Textile Machinery (Loughborough) Ltd, formerly Cotton’s, had been bought out by three former directors of the company. These were managing director Cyril Atkinson, technical director Bill Clayton and financial director Bob Bruce. Cyril was quoted as saying that “We’ve mortgaged ourselves up to the hilt to secure the 55% equity stake in the company” and that “we are brimming with enthusiasm”. Sears kept the 28 acre greenfield site, which adjoined the factory to the nearby industrial estate, and held onto the factory building itself. Cotton’s leased just over one half of the 300,000 square feet works and it was hoped that the remainder would be leased out to other concerns. From April 1982 the new company was called ‘William Cotton Group Ltd’. It consisted of William Cotton Ltd, R.K. Machines, George Woodcock and Sons of Hawick, Bentley Alemannia Ltd. and Orbit Weaving Machines. In what now appears to be a last ditch effort to save or dispose of certain parts of the company, an idea was conceived to join forces with another company who could inject finance. It was hoped that production of one of the new machines
could be increased to meet world demand. ‘Cobble’ of Blackburn, manufacturers of carpet tufting machinery and ancillary equipment, showed an interest in buying the ‘Ace’ V-bed business. Staff interviews took place at Cottons in an attempt to secure the people they required to work for them. Unfortunately, all this came to no avail and the potential deal fell through. The factory was partitioned into four separate independently run units for the various products. It was not long however before the idea of separate departments within the company was abandoned and all the partitioning taken down.
A FURTHER TAKEOVER In I983 investment needed to finance the production of new knitting machines eventually came. Controlling interest was obtained by George Ferguson of Dostour Engineering, a holding company with a number of subsidiaries, including S.A. Monk of Sutton in Ashfield. Monk, who had similar interests in the knitting industry, was to work with Cotton’s in the building and marketing of the Loughborough range of machines. Unfortunately, the company’s decline continued before finally going into receivership on 13th September 1984. This was followed by a winding up order made on 19th November 1984 with a Liquidation Committee. 169
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Excerpt from a letter sent by Corporate Recovery Company ‘Deloitte & Touche’ dated March 25th 1996.
TO ALL KNOWN CREDITORS
After some considerable time, it was discovered the stock and work in progress estimated by the directors to realise £4.6 million had proved to be almost worthless. This refers to the winding up order dated 19th November 1984
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In 1985 the business was purchased by hosiery machine builder S.A. Monk of Sutton in Ashfield. This was followed by a move to much smaller premises on Kernan Drive, Loughborough. Whilst retaining the name Cotton, the company then became ‘Monk Cotton’. Sir David Alliance, financier and owner of textile manufacturer ‘Coates Viyella’, financed the take-over. It was during this period that ‘Dubied” of Switzerland moved in to occupy a bay of this unit. The inevitable happened and it was not very long before essential personnel were asked to transfer to S.A. Monk at Sutton in Ashfield. Most refused. Some time later the Kernan Drive operation moved to a much smaller site on Charles Street, Sileby. 172
The ‘M.C.-V’ was a full-fashioned flatbed rib machine with either 4 or 6 knitting heads, designed and developed during this period at the Kernan Drive factory in Loughborough. Much of the development of this machine, particularly features within the cam box, was completed by John Harvey. It had high production, an infinitely variable width, short single camboxes, superimposed simultaneous transfer, high quality single system knitting with one yarn, micro adjustments of stitch cams and new air yarn tensions. The single system cambox was particularly suitable for plain ribs, single jersey and racket stitches. Three track electronic selection of knit, tuck and miss and simultaneous bi-directional transfer were additional features. 173
The ‘JET 4-400’ was a further acquisition by S.A. Monk of internationally famous V-bed manufacturers ‘Dubied’ of Switzerland. ‘Dubied’ was also in decline and what remained of the business moved to Loughborough under the ‘Monk Dubied’ name. They had designed and developed a sophisticated single head V-bed machine in Couvet, which was renamed the Monk Cotton, Dubied ‘Jet 4-400’. This machine incorporated all the latest mechanical and electronic innovations. The 4 knitting systems, conceived for high speed knitting, made the JET4-400 a high production machine for rectangular knitted panels, but with an extremely high quality of knitting, The introduction of the variable stroke of the carriage and yarn carriers made the JET4-400 particularly suitable for knitting shaped, intarsia and fancy patterned garments. The simplicity of the interchangeable camplates (8 per machine.) was exceptional. All the cams were solid and the needle butt was subject to less contact. Additional features included a 16 yarn carrier striper on 4 double bars. All carrier blocks were identical. Yarn carriers could be left anywhere across the needlebed, avoiding selvedge yarn take up problems. There were optional Intarsia yarn carriers and a lateral presser foot mechanism, one type per system (round or flat). The mixture of different feet was possible. There were unlimited possibilities for putting feet in or out of action by individual motors, indispensable for shaped and fancy panels. 174
‘LOOKING BACK’ Working at the Cotton’s that I recognised finished for me in 1985. In 1990 I left my employment with Cotton’s after forty-six happy years. I completed my working life at The Department of Mechanical Engineering at Loughborough University, before retiring in September 1995. S.A. Monk went into administration in 1998, together with their acquisitions. The door was finally locked at Sutton in Ashfield on May 14th. 1999. The William Cotton name lives on with many machines still producing knitwear around the globe, but sadly, very few in the United Kingdom.
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It is a great regret that all of the knowledge, skills and spirit of Cotton’s of Loughborough has been scattered to the winds. This book will do much to acquaint the reader with a one time world leading company. Dennis Powdrill
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Dennis Powdrill was born at number 40 Woodgate, Loughborough in 1930. He is the only child of local hosiery workers George and Elizabeth Powdrill. He was educated at Cobden Street School and Limehurst School in Bridge Street, Loughborough which he left at the age of 14. He was offered a place at William Cotton in Pinfold Gate, in what was then, the newly introduced student apprenticeship scheme. At the age of 21 he was conscripted to spend 2 years National Service in the R.A.F. servicing ground equipment in the workshops. He returned to Cotton’s on demobilisation. Dennis spent the majority of his working life at Cotton’s, where he was employed in many and varied posts, before being made redundant at the age of 60. In this book, author Dennis Powdrill, recounts the history of Loughborough based William Cotton’s from the 19th Century until its closure.