Mr G. Emmett Smith, Deputy General Counsel and
Assistant Secretary, Xerox Corporation, visited our
Plant on February 5. Here he is with
Mr A. J. Willitt, Manager, Engineering Services,
looking at the model made by Rank Xerox
apprentices of the original Chester Carlson
apparatus with which he demonstrated the
feasibility of xerography. Enlargements of the
original patents specifications, in which the
apparatus was described, can be seen on the wall
beneath the picture of the inventor This working
model, on display in the reception area of Design
Engineering, was on the Rank Xerox stand at the
lnovex Exhibition, held in Exeter last September
in conjunction with the annual meeting of the
British Association for the Advancement of Science.
Drive one way – the safe way
By the time you have received your copy of this
edition of VISION, it is quite possible that the new
one-way traffic routeing system and car parking
arrangements at Mitcheldean will be in operation.
When the old plan was introduced in January
1968, there were less than 2,300 people in our
Plant. Today, there are just over 3,000 of us –
which represents an increase of nearly 30 per cent.
This, together with the increased traffic bringing
materials to our site and taking finished products
away, has placed great and increasing pressure
both on the car parking spaces available and on
our road system.
The new plan increases the number of car parking
places available from 745 to 955 – an increase of
28 per cent. We can now park our cars with a
degree of ease and comfort.
As far as our road system is concerned, we have,
wherever possible, adopted a one-way system, in
the interests of the free movement of traffic and
the safety of individuals.
Although we have had no serious accidents on
our site, there have been a number of ‘near misses’
which are the cause of great concern. We have
an excellent safety record at Mitcheldean which we
must make every endeavour to keep.
To help us maintain and improve our safety
standards, the Continental road signs have been
used throughout. They are easily recognised and
the same as are now being used on the public
highway. There should be no problems of
recognition or misunderstanding. The risk of
accident should be greatly reduced, although we
must all continue to exercise care and discipline in
the observance of the rule of the road.
The new one-way traffic system and car parking
arrangements have been fully discussed by
Management and the Trade Unions and it is now
up to all of us to make our contribution towards
greater safety.
2
Deputy Director of
Production and Supply Operations
QUIET – ENGINEERS AT WORK!
With the removal of Production Engineering and
Tool Engineering Departments to Building 40, all
the engineering activities are now grouped
conveniently on the north side of the Plant site.
The main entrance to the new offices, which gives
on to the road between buildings 40 and 36, leads
straight into PED, while TED is on the mezzanine
floor above, the two departments being linked
by an open staircase.
Top picture. Production Engineering Department.
The door on the left leads into Central Records;
on the right (out of this picture) is the office of
Mr R. W. Mason, Chief Production Engineer.
The design of the offices follows the style recently
established at Mitcheldean, with low partitions
separating senior staff areas from the main office.
The accent is once again on noise reduction, which
is achieved by acoustic ceilings, wall-to-wall
carpeting, and telephones in which the customary
shrill sound has been replaced by winking lights
and a subdued ringing tone.
Bottom picture: Tool Engineering Department.
Also on this floor is the conference room and the
office of Mr J. Tester, deputy to Mr Mason.
Wr”
YOUTH
RINGS
THE
CHANGES
As a change from tales of the wondrous doings of
Rank Xerox adult personnel, here is a story of an
outstanding achievement by four daughters, a son
and a nephew of employees at Mitcheldean.
On Sunday January 14 at 4.45 pm, a band of
young hopefuls started to try to ring a quarter peal
on the bells of St. Michael Et All Angels Church,
Mitcheldean. The youngsters, all regular Sunday
Service ringers at Mitcheldean Church, were
attempting the quite difficult task of ringing 1260
changes. This called for three-quarters of an hour
of intense concentration on the part of all the
band, as a mistake by any one of them could lose
the attempt.
Much to their surprise and gratification, the
quarter peal was successfully completed at
5.30 pm and the young ringers had made a
landmark not only in their ringing careers but also
in the history of local ringing, for there is no
record of such a young band having rung a
quarter peal in this area before.
There is much criticism of young people these
days, but the fact that this effort is the culmination
of one and a half years’ training on the part of the
least experienced of these young people and even
more on the part of the others, shows that some
youngsters are prepared to work hard to attain
worthwhile skills.
They
planned
their
own
facilities
4
Ropes in hand, the young ringers pose in the bell
tower at St Michael & All Angels, Mitcheldean.
From left to right: Nicola Jordan, Susan Paton,
Graham Davis (at back), Rowland Smith,
Ann Brain and Nicola Paton.
The details of the quarter peal are as follows:
1260 Plain Bob Doubles. Ringers: Bell no. 1 –
Nicola Jordan, 11 years old (daughter of Pat
Jordan, TED) ; 2 – Nicola Paton, 12 (daughter of
Allan Paton, PED) ; 3 – Rowland Smith, 14 (son
of Mrs. Smith, Welfare): 4 – Susan Paton, 14
(Nicola’s sister) ; 5 – Ann Brain, 15, conductor
(daughter of John Brain, Reliability Laboratory) ;
6 – Graham Davis, 15 (nephew of Brian Davis,
Supervisor, 3600 Assembly).
It should be noted that the whole band are under
16 years of age and that the average age is 13 and
a bit.
Congratulations, youngsters, on a good effort !
Having planned so many new offices and areas for
other departments at Mitcheldean, Facilities
Planning are now themselves installed in new
premises. Their offices, located above the
unloading area in Building 40, is on two floors.
From the lower floor, which accommodates the
materials handling section, a staircase leads up to
the site layout and forward planning sections, with
the offices of Mr J. C. Henwood, Manager –
Facilities Planning, and Mr E. N. Moore, Forward
P a nning Engineer.
Working on
layout plans for
further projects.
‘SELL A PICTURE’ Competition
We live and work in an area of great natural beauty and individuality ; there are quite a
few talented amateur artists among us; and we have some expanses of wall in the newer
office areas that would be enlivened by a picture or two.
With this set of circumstances in mind, we have organised a competition for the best
pictures of the locality by Plant artists.
There will be a first prize of £15, a second of £10 and a third of £5. The Company will
also make an offer for those entries which it considers suitable for display in the newer
offices of the Plant (such pictures could include any of the non-winning entries).
A panel of three will judge the competition : Mr Clive Magern. art teacher and member of
the Gloucestershire Guild of Craftsmen ; Mr Derek Portman, Deputy Director of
Production and Supply Operations, and Mr Jeremy Henwood, Manager – Facilities
Planning.
The rules are as follows:
1. The competition is open only to
employees, or retired members of the
Long Service Association.
2. The pictures may be executed in any
medium – oils, water colours, pen and
ink, etc. – and must be mounted but need
not be framed.
3. The size of the picture (excluding
mounting) must not be less than
1 ft x 2 ft.
4. The subject must have some
connection with the locality, whether it be
a landscape, building of historical or
architectural interest or still-life study
(no portraits, please).
5. Competitors may send in any number
of entries but only one of the first three
places will be awarded to any one person.
6. Entries must be delivered to
Mr Henwood’s office in Facilities
Planning Department. Building 40, on
September 30 – not before.
Results will be announced on the
noticeboards as soon after that date as
possible.
7. While every care will be taken of the
entries, the Company cannot hold itself
responsible for any damage that may
occur to pictures submitted.
Addem’s
Lilemma
‘Every six months a chap feels he’d like to change
his car,’ said Duddem to his usual audience, who
were standing overawed as he leaned back
characteristically in his executive-type chair.
‘Good car, yours,’ said Dave.
‘VW’s better,’ said John.
‘Never sell an ASP*,’ said Rog.
‘You ought to rally in that,’ said Stu.
‘No, it’s got to go. Want something bigger,’ said
Duddem.
‘Haven’t got an addition coming ?’ queried Rog.
‘Hm – no,’ said Duddem. ‘It’s your turn Rog.’
(Laughs all round.)
‘What’s it worth ?’ asked Stu.
‘Vern said £250,’ replied Duddem, ‘and Wraggy
would like it : it’s no use asking Des because the
performance would scare him to death.’
(Exit Des smiling.)
Later – when the word had got around – the
subject was raised again.
‘Want to sell your “min” ?’ asked Bri.
‘Yeah, you interested ? Got three new tyres to put
on, a new exhaust specially made by Austins,
almost new 1100 engine and gearbox, 1968 body,
been serviced personally. Tell you what;
(Duddem leant forward confidentially) ‘don’t tell
anyone but I had Arthur this morning coming
down into Longhope. It was dead easy, and Ray
always gets over and allows me through. Do you
know, it took me only 12 minutes today,’ he said.
The gallery laughed.
Blimey !’ said Bri, open-mouthed. ‘It’s only 12
miles. What an average !’
‘Listen,’ said Duddem, drawing Bri away from the
now captivated audience. ‘I’d take that old banger
of yours in part exchange.’
6
Hs
‘Thanks all the same,’ replied Bri, ‘but my mate
wants the van.’
‘Pity,’ said Duddem, heaving an inward sigh of
relief.
‘Would you drop your price, with no part
exchange ?* asked Bri.
‘Well, maybe,’ said Duddem who was wondering
if he could buy Merv’s estate for about a ton.
The deal was gaining momentum and the
specialists were now taking an interest.
‘Sprayed with a vacuum cleaner,’ said Lionel.
‘Insurance will be too high,’ Roy told Bri.
‘Rather buy a Cooper,’ said Alex.
Frenchy Jim said : ‘Leave it alone’ with some
bitterness, having just saddled himself with a
clapped-out Herald.
Despite all adverse criticism, however, Bri decided
he’d have the car, arranged the purchase price and
asked to have it next day.
‘Right, I’ll have a word with the wife tonight,’ said
Duddem.
Next day Duddem was observed to take a very
unusual route across the office to Bri’s place of
work, either ignoring or avoiding members of the
previous day’s audience. What was up ? Several
pairs of eyes searched frantically around the office
for clues.
Their conversation concluded, Duddem left Bri,
the latter slumping dejectedly in his chair.
‘What’s happened ?’ asked Mike, who was working
just behind him.
Pathetically Bri turned around and, with a
suppressed sniffle, revealed all.
‘His wife said NO.’
*All spare parts. Non-specialists please note this
means a vehicle which has undergone spare part
surgery.
The lead guitarist, seen on
the left in this photograph
of the Jethro Tull group, is
22-year-old Martin Barre.
son of Lance Barre of the
Tool Room. Within 12 months
of coming to the attention of
the general public Jethro Tull
were voted Britain’s number
two group to the Beatles in the
Melody Maker poll and several
of their records have come
high in “the charts’. At the
time of writing the group
were embarking on yet
another tour of the USA.
Lance tells us that Martin
was training to be a civil
engineer but gave it up to
join the group. ‘He’s quite
a bright lad, despite his
unconventional
appearance.’ was
his comment !
rr-7,L
Yulft u .46 .. .
ACROSS
7 Noisy disturbance by a lion with
a high voice ? (6)
8 Stagger the mathematician. (6)
10 Little girls bowled over by big
men. (7)
11 Casting in casting other
materials. (5)
12 Indeed a friend in this. (4)
13 A noise I make with a frog in
my throat ? (5)
17 It always drops when you see
the light. (5)
18 Essentially female. (4)
22 Et- 24 Dangerously agile at the
BBC. (5 Et 6)
23 U 235 is 22, 24. (7)
25 Take the other side. (6)
DOWN
1 Et 4 The driver driven – no
change. (7 Er 7)
2 In front of the picture, but
behind everywhere else. (7)
3 Saucy frolic. (5)
5 Female-less males with horns. (5)
6 Used for house-warming in a
big way, from the sound of it. (5)
9 He is just out of this world ! (9)
14 Do this puzzle twice. (7)
15 The listener to uncook your
books. (7)
2
7,
17
10
./.
12
nA
19 20
22
24
3 V/ 5 6
v.
// 9
/,
r . / II
V V/ / r r
r
.
13 r ,/
.
1 ‘ / 7
X
V
7 f 15 v / 16
‘ Wf / 18 r nly 21 re
11123
r / /1I” r / r
]
y 25 / ,
X
v
by Paul Gregory
(Solution page 15)
16 Artic-artic-articulatory
de-de-defect. (7)
19 Fish in the Forest. (5)
20 The tides are out. (5)
21 Musical female monster ? (5)
7
OUR MEN IN AMERICA
Every year the Atlantic gets smaller and the number
of people at Mitcheldean who have been across it
gets larger. But there are still plenty who may
never go, and for their benefit as much as for those
who may before long be making their first visit,
we thought it would be interesting to get some
impresssions from the ‘residents’ – those engineers
who have gone out with their families and
actually taken up residence in the States.
First to do so was Ray Pyart, Design Manager,
New Products, who went over in April 1967 to
become established as Rank Xerox resident design
engineer at Xerox Corporation. His assignment
involved covering work at the main manufacturing
plant of the Business Products Group at
Webster. NY. where 20 per cent of the 1,050-acre
site is at present developed (one manufacturing
shop alone occupies 14 acres). He also had to
cover work at Xerox establishments in Pittsford,
Henrietta and Orchard Street, all suburbs of the
city of Rochester where Xerox Corporation has its
headquarters in Xerox Square.
‘My first task,’ says Ray. ‘was to list all the projects
about which I had to get background information,
and become familiar with the programme and
details. I was hoping to attend various technical
meetings: however, there were so many meetings
on each programme that I had to be selective.
Gyring up dt Xerox Tower in Rochester one night
(so the story goes) a passer-by said: ‘They must be
working late tonight, look at all those lights.’ His
companion replied: ‘No, only the top one is really
on, the rest are copies!’
‘One of the biggest problems I faced was that as a
member of Rank Xerox I was in demand to
answer various questions regarding our operations
and was expected to be an authority on all aspects
of the Company; to this end it was essential to be
kept up to date on the latest events at Rank Xerox.
The interest in us was considerable as many
Xerox Corporation employees, in addition to
holding stock in Xerox. also had invested in
The Rank Organisation and followed share prices
daily.
‘The co-operation of Xerox employees was
outstanding and I quickly became accepted as part
of the organisation and, with the assistance of the
Overseas Liaison group, became effective in
attending and participating in meetings.’
Work at Xerox starts at around 8 am, incidentally,
and breakfast meetings are not uncommon – Ray
recalls one conference which was scheduled to
start at 7.15 am.
As his stay was planned for up to six months, the
first necessity was to find an apartment to rent.
There were many available on a 12-month lease or
longer, but for a period less than that it was more
difficult. However, with the assistance of
colleagues at Xerox, Ray, his wife and teenage
daughter were able, within two weeks of arriving,
to move into an apartment in East Avenue,
Rochester.
The attractive main street in the village of Webster.
8
There was also the problem of arranging schooling.
When they left England, the Pyart’s daughter,
Wendy, was 15 years old and taking seven
subjects at Chosen Hill School in Churchdown,
preparing for ‘0’ level examinations. Having
settled in their Rochester apartment, they applied
for her admission to the local school, Brighton
High School, and an appointment was made with
a counsellor (a person specifically employed for
liaison between the school and the students or
parents).
At the interview, the counsellor asked which
subject she would like to take and was surprised
when seven subjects were mentioned. The
objective of the American educational system is to
study a few subjects and graduate in them; having
completed a subject, you then choose another one
to replace it, so you may still be starting to study
new subjects in your late twenties, depending on
how many you require.
Wendy was limited to three subjects plus a
recreational subject; with the selection of these,
her syllabus was selected by computer and a
print-out given to her. In order not to be behind
with the other subjects she was studying, she took
a syllabus for all of them for the remainder of the
term she was missing formal
school, she studied these subjects at home.
An additional difficulty was that the level Wendy
had reached in England meant that she had to join
a grade above her age group.
The City Hall in Toronto – which is about 150
miles by road from Rochester, travelling around the
western end of Lake Ontario.
The school hours came as a surprise. They
started at 8 am, lunch (usually peanut butter and
jelly sandwich) was at 11 am, and school finished
at 3 pm. The school bus came past the apartment
at 7.15 am and returned her home at 4 pm,
although it became a practice to get a lift from one
of the students who drove to school (the minimum
age for driving is 16 during daylight hours).
Another surprise was that the ‘uniform’ of the
school was non-existent, and about once or
twice a term the school would hold a ‘dress
down’ day when one could wear any type of
clothing on condition that 25 cents were paid to a
charity.
In August 1967, a month before Ray was due to
leave, his successor, Dennis Bendall arrived with
his family to stay for a year with Xerox
Corporation. Each succeeding resident’s stay was
similarly arranged to overlap. Sam Phillips, as the
first PED resident, went out in the spring of 1968,
so he and Dennis were able to help their
successors, Roger Pratt and Brian Lewis. settle in
and pass on to them some useful know-how
about life in the New World. Roger and Brian in
their turn did the same for Ron Boakes and
Sid Palmer who are our current engineers in
residence.
(continued on p. 10)
There were rides for the children on a husky-drawn
sleigh at this winter carnival held on Lake Honoye,
one of the five ‘finger lakes’ in the Rochester area.
9
Though operating out of Webster, all the resident
engineers found accommodation in Rochester
city or its outskirts, with the exception of Brian
who moved his family into the quieter village of
Webster. Now that the resident programme is
expanding, with representatives of not only
engineering but also planning, service, etc., and
people on special short assignments, Rank Xerox
people are tending to colonise in one apartment
complex in Webster so that there is more of a
family atmosphere.
And talking of family ‘atmosphere’, we heard that
there was a shattering moment for Brian when, on
his arrival home from work one evening, his wife
said : ‘We girls are going shopping tonight so
take care of the kids, won’t you ?’ (‘Women are
more independent out there.’ he confided somewhat
ruefully.)
Everyone liked the way most shops were open
until 9 pm during the week (some large stores and
supermarkets even stay open until 10 pm six
nights a week).
‘Even at their most crowded moments, we never
saw anything that remotely resembled the kind of
Bears do roam wild in New England; this one,
however, has graduated to a roadside trading post
where he gets his food the easy way. For just ten
cents, passers-by are privileged to fill a can with
peanuts which lie then pulls up by working the
rope along with his teeth. The snack over, he
returns the empty can in readiness for the next
nutcase.
10
scrum that one sees in Bon Marche on a
Saturday,’ said Roger. Purchases are loaded into
your car as part of the service in most
supermarkets, and one can forget what it is like to
trudge along, weighed down by a heavy basket
in either hand.
Life in America is, of course, geared to the car
(you’ve heard of drive-in cinemas but did you
know there were drive-in churches?) and one
tends to go by car for even the shortest distance.
There are often no sidewalks to walk on anyway
(in the US the ‘pavement’ means the road
surface).
Rank Xerox supplies all the residents with cars –
huge, powerful models by our standards – and the
roads are uncongested and straight compared with
those in England. Speed limits are universal: in
towns and villages the limit is about the same as
ours but on the open road the limit is generally
50 mph (it varies from state to state). It is only
on the American equivalent of our motorways,
reports Roger, where higher speeds are allowed,
and in general this is only 60 or 65 mph, with a
5 mph reduction after dark on some roads. These
same roads also have a minimum speed of
40 mph. These limits are enforced and few people
break them. Vast distances can be covered in a
day’s drive simply because one can cruise at the
speed limit all day – if one can stay awake!
With road travel so trouble-free one can go on
sight-seeing tours over far greater distances and
our residents have so far managed to make trips
into the neighbouring states of Vermont, New
For about six months in 1969 the American Falls
stopped falling, the water being diverted to the
Horseshoe Falls so that a geological survey could
be carried out.
Hampshire. Maine, Massachusetts (where there is
an old fishing port called Gloucester), and even as
far south as Washington with its White House,
and Virginia.
They have crossed the Thousand Islands bridge
and followed the St. Lawrence seaway up through
the Canadian territories of Ontario and Quebec.
They have visited Expo ’67 and its succeeding
exhibition in Montreal.
A trip to the Niagara Falls has become quite
commonplace. It is possible, we gather, to become
quite blasé about them, unless of course like
Brian you manage to see the American Falls when
they are not falling, or frozen solid, as Roger did.
Brian also managed to get to Chicago where he
met Ted Carlsen of the Bell & Howell Company.
Ted lived at Ruspidge in 1948 while assisting in
the setting up of GB Bell & Howell operations at
Mitcheldean.
The Americans are much better at organising their
leisure-time activities, and facilities for every kind
abound. Admittedly there is no cosy pub round
the corner, but there are plenty of restaurant/bars
which go on serving meals until the early hours;
there are cinemas which start their last show at
midnight. For the open-air types, there are parks
with barbecue facilities, camp sites and nature
trails – everything to encourage exploration of the
fascinating countryside. Swimming-pools are
thick on the ground, particularly in Rochester
where many houses and apartment blocks have
their own pools.
Americans have two great advantages – they
have plenty of space and their weather, in this part
of the country at least, is consistent, so one can
plan ahead with confidence.
From June to September in New York State it is
warm, humid, and relatively rain-free. January,
February and March often bring temperatures
down to -10’C or lower with a very heavy
snowfall, but since the air is dry compared with
that over here, -20 C doesn’t feel much colder
than a damp day just above freezing in England.
As soon as the clouds have rolled away there is
skating or toboganning or ski-ing. Local slopes
are floodlit so one can get in an exhilarating three
hours or so ski-ing after a day’s work in the office.
Asked what they missed most while in the States,
our men said : the English daily newspaper (Roger
had The Times sent out to him) ; the dear old
BBC (some used to tune in to Radio Toronto
which beamed out a transmission from London);
and cups of tea ! Sam’s first cup there wasn’t a
cup at all – the tea came in a narrow-necked glass
jar with a teabag floating on top and he didn’t
quite know what to do with it !
Some did find difficulty in becoming ‘acclimated’
(as they say in the States) to the variations in
temperature. High humidity in the summer and
many degrees of frost in the winter make air
conditioning and central heating highly desirable,
but on first entering public buildings, offices, shops
and even buses the contrast with the outside
temperature can be a bit shattering.
It is unwise to generalise about any nation,
particularly one spread over so vast a continent,
but one might be allowed to say that informality
is the very essence of life in the States. Everyone
gets on Christian name terms right from the start.
To their English visitors the Americans offered
unbounded hospitality and many personal
friendships have sprung up as a result.
It is a happy thought that, while improving further
the lines of communication between Xerox
Corporation and Rank Xerox at Mitcheldean, our
residents have at the same time helped in the
development of an even better understanding
between individuals on both sides of the Atlantic.
* * * * * * * * *
Going one better than Blondin who conquered
Niagara on a tightrope are those Mitcheldean
daredevils Roy Taylor, Brian Lewis and
Doug Brown, about to jump the Falls in a barrel.
Roy from PED and Doug from TED went out for a
short visit in 1969 and met up with Brian; this
gamble with death was doubtless in the nature of
an engineering test.
11
Supply Planning had
two parties; this one
was at the White
Hart. Ruspidge.
J. Davies
The apprentices held
their first Christmas
party ever at Castle
View Hotel, Kerne
Bridge.
J. Ingram
It was a first time too
for the Paint Shop
who celebrated at
the Court field Arms
Hotel, Lyclbrook.
R. Evans
PARTY
PICTURES
12
Spares Assembly
dined at the Manor
House Hotel,
Longhope.
R. Evans
Tool Room and Tool
Inspection joined
forces at the
Beaufort Hotel.
Raglan.
J. Ingram
Reconditioning
Operations had all
this paperwork at
their party in the
Social Centre.
A fine assembly of
knobbly knees
undergo rigorous
inspection at 3600
Department’s party in
the Social Centre.
J. Ingram
L. Laken
Dinner by candlelight
at Woodlands Guest
House, Ruspidge,
for Goods Inwards
Inspection, Stores &
Stock Control and
others from
Building 32.
13
Putting IYOUlin the picture
Engagements
Apprentice Ian Hale to Miss Elizabeth Bailey on
November 1.
Roger Rid ler (TED) to Miss Jane Bassett in
December.
Ken Aston (Purchase Department) to
Miss Christine Brain (Bought Ledger, Accounts),
Miss Gwynneth Bevan (Liaison & Distribution,
Design Office) to apprentice David Hart ; and
Miss Yvonne Jones (Telex operator) to
Bernard Meek – all on Christmas Eve.
Miss Vicki Wozencroft (Technical Library) to
Neil Williams (Machine Shop) on Christmas Day.
Miss Christine Ingram (Bought Ledger, Accounts) to
Michael Gwilliam on January 17.
Miss Christine Stacey (Machine Shop) to John
Wilby on February 1, her 21st birthday.
Weddings
Miss Linda Whittington (Reconditioning
Operations) to Bryn Morris at Ruardean Woodside
Chapel on December 20.
Miss Margaret Harris (Stores & Stock Control) to
Roy Watkins (Data Processing) at Littledean
Chapel on February 7.
Miss Janice Watkins (Design Office) to
David Bennett (Reliability Engineering) at
St. John’s, Coleford, also on February 7.
Miss Linda Peg ler (Design DO) to David Meek at
Holy Trinity Church, Drybrook, on February 14.
New Arrivals
Trudie Anne, a daughter for Brian Barnes (Work
Study), on October 21.
Andrew Michael, a son for Richard Delahaye
(Design Engineering) and his wife Margery
(formerly Reception), on November 23.
Shaun, a son for Ken Kear (3600 Assembly) and
Mrs Pat Kear (Data Processing punch room), on
December 3.
Jonathan Paul, a son for Mrs. Carol Meager
(formerly Design Punch Room), on December 23.
Sarah Jane, a daughter for John Williams
(Maintenance supervisor), on January 6.
Samantha Louise, a daughter for Robert Young
(Design DO), on January 7.
Nicola Sharon, a daughter for Bob Grim ley
(Factory Progress). on January 21.
Three sons for members of Design Engineering –
Martin Dennis, a son for Dennis Benda!! on
February 3: Adrian Neil, a son for John Jennings
on February 13; and Alasdair Roger, a son for
Roger Pratt and grandson for our Chief Engineer,
Mr A. S. Pratt, on February 17.
Retirements
Our best wishes for a long and happy retirement to
Reg Richardson (Quality Control inspector) who
leaves in March, and to Francis Kilminster
(Machine Shop inspector), W. ‘Bill’ Kibby (IDC,
Gloucester), Thomas Jones (Spares kitter),
T. Eric Worsley (Stores section leader) and
Sidney Marfleet (Polishing Shop) who go in April.
LETTER
The annual general meeting of the Long Service
Association is to be held on May 4 at 8 p.m.
All the best to Frank Wakefield (drilling setter
operator, Machine Shop), who is retiring at the
end of March after 21 years with the Company.
His former colleagues and fellow LSA members
were sorry to learn of the death on January 22 of
H. J. ‘Jimmy’ Slade at the age of 65. Jimmy, who
had received his 25-year award in 1968, worked in
Supply Planning until his retirement in April last
year. He had been ill for some months and he
died shortly after admission to hospital.
We are sorry to have to record the death on
Christmas Day of Charles Baghurst, aged 56: he
worked at the IDC. Gloucester, as records clerk
and had been with the Company since 1962.
14
The Names are a Knock-out
The Exkirchuners, the Rainbow Leaders. Cobal
Compilers, Hell Drivers, Autocaps, Line Stoppers –
you might be excused for imagining these are the
names of new beat groups appearing on the scene,
or perhaps teams of rally drivers.
In fact, they are some of the titles thought up by
teams entering the Interdepartmental Skittles
Knockout for 1969/70, doubtless with the idea of
striking dread into the hearts of their opponents
or inspiring a challenging spirit among their
members.
As we went to press, organisers John Mould and
Des Haines of the Machine Shop reported that the
quarter-finals had been reached (of those mentioned
above, only The Exkirchuners had survived !) ; the
finals should be played off about the end of April.
R. Evans
Mr and Mrs B. Morris
R. Evans
Mr and Mrs D Bennett
When he retired at the end of January, Ted Baia … in
of the Press Shop received a cheque from his
workmates which was handed to him on their
behalf by Mr K. Bunn, Component Manufacturing
Manager.
R. Evans A. Hamblin
Mr and Mrs R. Watkins Mr and Mrs D. Meek
Allen Blomley, leading hand on final assembly
inspection, poses with his colleagues in 3600
Department on his retirement in January. They
gave him a watch and fountain pen which were
presented by Mr V. G. Parry, Inspection & Quality
Control Manager.
ANY NEWS FOR VISION?
If you have, then please
tell your departmental correspondent
leave it at the Gate House for collection by me
post it to me at Tree Tops, Plump Hill,
Mitcheldean or
ring me – it’s Drybrook 415
Myrtle Fowler, Editor
CROSSWORD SOLUTION
ACROSS: 7- Uproar. 8 – Totter.
10 – Maidens. 11 – Ingot. 12 – Need.
13 – Croak. 17 – Penny. 18 – Aunt.
22 & 24 – Radioactive. 23 – Uranium.
25 – Oppose.
DOWN: 1 Er 4 – Busmans holiday. 2 – Trailer.
3 – Caper. 5 – Stags. 6 – Grate. 9 – Astronaut.
14 – Resolve. 15 – Auditor. 16 – Stammer.
19 – Bream. 20 – Edits. 21 – Harpy.
HOME MARKET
For Hire
Sunmedi frame tent, approx. 16 ft x 8 ft with
inner bedroom and sun porch. Accommodates
four to five persons. £8 per fortnight. Apply:
Sister Collins, Medical Department.
Caravan, 3/4 berth, self-tow, 10 cwt, available
from Cinderford. Contact : J. Notley. Tel: 412 int.
For Sale
Coach pram as new, also pram seat. Enquiries to :
B. John, 813 spot welding.
Garrard SP.25 Mk11 turntable, adaptable for
stereo or mono pick-up, ideal for hi-fi enthusiast.
Contact : G. T. Beavan, E.O. Control Section,
Bldg 32. Tel : 404 int.
Vox AC30 amplifier plus extras, £55. Complete
drum set and chrome stool, £50. Will sell together
for £90. Ring 543 int.
Phillips tape recorder. Phone: Mrs D. Harman,
Invoice Clearance, 103 int.
15
OUR
DOLLY
IN LONDON
My two-day trip to London – the main part of my
prize as Miss Rank Xerox, Mitcheldean, for
1969/70 – started off on a disappointing note.
Michael, my fiance, caught the ‘flu like so many
at Mitcheldean, and so on the morning of
December 22 I caught the train to Paddington
alone.
I was met at the station by Eric Beer, senior
information officer at Rank Xerox House, and as
other winners of the title have done before me,
checked in at my hotel, the Royal Lancaster, then
visited Rank Xerox House where I met various
members of the staff.
Christine at the theatre in her black culotte evening
dress specially bought for the occasion.
A party of five of us, including Eric, his secretary
Pauline and two other friends from Rank Xerox
House, Joe and Leslie, lunched at a very
attractive restaurant in New Bond Street called
Old Vienna Restaurant where we had a marvellous
meal with wine, followed by coffee and liqueurs.
Pauline and I went shopping for the rest of the
afternoon – an occupation which was made more
than usually enjoyable by the gay Christmas
displays in the shop windows.
The Company had generously given me £50 in
addition to my £10 prize and I spent some of this
on a black culotte dress with see-through waist to
wear that evening, and a pearl necklace and ring
to complete the outfit.
Then it was back to the hotel to change. My hotel
room was luxurious; it was on the eleventh floor
so I had a wonderful view of London from two
windows. It did not take me long to get dressed
and at 6.30 p.m. Eric ‘phoned to say my
companions for the evening – Pauline and
Lawrence, another colleague from Rank Xerox
House – were waiting. We met in the hotel lounge
for drinks before going on to the cinema for the
royal premiere of the film ‘Hello Dolly’.
We took a taxi to the Odeon at Marble Arch,
where we joined the gathering in the entrance to
watch Prince Philip arrive, then hurried to our
seats in the stalls.
The film, which incidentally was adapted from the
novel Matchmakers, was excellent, and I thought
everyone’s performance wonderful, particularly that
of Barbra Streisand who played the main character.
Eric did some good detective work in the interval
and reported back that champagne was being
served in the foyer, so we made straight for it I
The performance over: we filed out into the night
air, to be brought sharply back to reality by the
hustle and bustle of London. Having hailed a
taxi we drove to Hatchett’s in Piccadilly where we
enjoyed another delicious meal, and danced until
the early hours of the morning. The only lighting
on the dance floor was of the psychedelic type
with coloured bulbs flashing intermittently to the
beat of the music, and it took me a little while to
adjust !
Not surprisingly I didn’t wake up too early the
following morning, but I managed a hearty
breakfast and after that I was all set for a walk in
the vicinity of Oxford Street.
By five in the evening I was speeding back to
Gloucester. lost in thoughts of my eventful and
memorable trip to London. I couldn’t have had a
nicer start to Christmas. – Christine Ingram
Printed in England by Taylor, Young (Printers) Ltd.
