Vision 088

THE HOUSE MAGAZINE OF RANK XEROX MITCHELDEAN
WINNER IN BLACK-AND-WHITE
T h i s super s t u d y in l i g h t a n d shade
w a s v o t e d t h e most o u t s t a n d i ng
e n t r y in t h e annual b l a c k a n d w h i te
p r i n t c o m p e t i t i o n held b y o u r C i n e &
P h o t o C l u b . Taken w i t h a C a n on
camera, it s h o w s L y d n e y Docks
a r o u n d t w i l i g h t . In t h e o p i n i o n o f
t h e j u d g e , it r e v e a l e d a v e r y a d v a n c ed
s t a n d a r d of t e c h n i q u e a n d f i ne
a p p r e c i a t i o n of t h e use of f i l t e r s o n
t h e part o f t h e p h o t o g r a p h e r —
B e t t y King o f S p a r e s & S u b – a s s e m b l y.
Andrew Phillips receives his
indentures from Assistant General
Manager Ron Morfee.
OUR WIDER HORIZON
Business o p p o r t u n i t i e s — and the
social c o n s c i e n c e of business. These
w e r e t h e t w o main t h e m e s of t he
speech made by Derek P o r t m a n,
Director, M a n u f a c t u r i n g G r o u p , w h en
he addressed y o u t h f u l d i n e r s at the
S t u d e n t s Dinner and P r e s e n t a t i o n on
A p r i l 13 in t h e Social Centre.
‘ A s a c o m p a n y w e l i ve in a w o r l d – w i de
d i m e n s i o n . T h r o u g h our 2 5 o p e r a t i ng
c o m p a n i e s w e sell our m a c h i n e s all
r o u n d t h e w o r l d — t h e y even get
a m o n g t h e y a k s in M o n g o l i a — and
if o n l y t h e y c o u l d c o m e back to
M i t c h e l d e a n and c o m m u n i c a t e , t h o se
machines c o u l d tell us some
i n t e r e s t i n g stories.’
N o w our m a n u f a c t u r i n g a c t i v i t i es
w e r e b e g i n n i n g t o f o l l o w t he
m a r k e t i n g o r g a n i s a t i o n s and move
a b r o a d , said Mr P o r t m a n.
There w a s t h e plant b e i n g b u i l t in
M a d r i d ; b u l l d o z e r s w e r e s t a r t i n g to
prepare t h e g r o u n d near Lille f o r t he
French p l a n t ; a n d ‘ o n M o n d a y next
w e are g o i n g t o have a l o o k at a
short list of sites in G e r m a n y and
d e c i d e w h i c h t o p u r c h a s e f o r yet
a n o t h e r plant.
‘ In f o u r or f i v e years’ t i m e w e in t he
M a n u f a c t u r i n g G r o u p w i l l be
s p e a k i n g French, G e r m a n , S p a n i s h,
D u t c h a n d English as w e l l as F o r e s t!
So many of y o u w i l l p e r h a p s be in
t h e p o s i t i o n of f o l l o w i n g t h e C o m p a ny
a b r o a d . We have n u m b e r s of p e o p le
in H o l l a n d , A m e r i c a and J a p a n — and
o n e or t w o of us have e v e n been
b a n i s h e d t o B r a z i l .’
Recent d e v e l o p m e n t s w e r e o p e n i ng
u p n e w o p p o r t u n i t i e s for t h o se
m a k i n g their f u t u r e w i t h t he
C o m p a n y , p r o v i d e d t h e y had the
necessary d e t e r m i n a t i o n and w e re
w i l l i n g t o be m o b i l e.
Mr Portman t o l d t h e m : ‘ Y o u y o u ng
p e o p l e have a w i d e r h o r i z o n t h an
many of our older e m p l o y e e s ever
had. The s k i l l s w e have are in
d e m a n d ; t h e w o r l d in w h i c h we
exist is b e c o m i n g i n c r e a s i n g l y m u l t i n
a t i o n a l a n d s u c h matters as
n a t i o n a l i t y are not so i m p o r t a n t as
t h e y w e r e s o m e years a g o .’
As a c o m p a n y w e w e r e t r y i n g to
e n c o u r a g e our p e o p l e not o n l y t o do
a g o o d j o b but also t o be s o c i a l ly
r e s p o n s i b l e . By m a k i n g a
c o n t r i b u t i o n t o s o c i e t y w e c o u ld
harness an i m m e n s e a m o u n t of
g o o d w i l l , he said.
‘ W e w o u l d like t o t h i n k t h a t , in
a d d i t i o n t o l e a r n i n g y o u r s k i l l s here.
y o u w i l l p a r t i c i p a t e v e r y f u l l y in t he
l i fe of t h e Forest c o m m u n i t y a n d do
g o o d w o r k .’
R e f e r r i n g t o t h e Social S e r v i c e Leave
p r o g r a m m e , M r P o r t m a n said t h a t t he
C o m p a n y w o u l d be e n c o u r a g i ng
p e o p l e w h o f e l t t h e y had a
p a r t i c u l a r v o c a t i o n in t h e f i e l d of
s o c i a l s e r v i c e by g i v i n g t h e m a
u n i q u e o p p o r t u n i t y t o make a
s i g n i f i c a n t c o n t r i b u t i o n.
Here w i t h i n t h e Plant, Mr Portman
p o i n t e d o u t , w e w e r e t r y i n g t o move
a w a y f r om some of t h e t r a d i t i o n al
d e m a r c a t i o n s , s u c h as w o r k s and
s t a f f , and w e had made an immense
a m o u n t of progress in t h e last f ew
years.
‘ W e are l i v i n g in a d y n a m i c t i m e ; t he
w o r k becomes i n c r e a s i n g ly
i n t e r e s t i n g and o n e c a n ‘ t h e l p b e i ng
a l i t t le e n v i o u s of t h o s e w h o have 40
years or so ahea d of t h e m . ‘
General Manager Peter S a l m o n w as
u n a b l e t o be at t h e d i n n e r as he w as
u n w e l l , and t h e j o b of p r e s e n t i n g t he
a w a r d s w a s k i n d l y u n d e r t a k e n by
Ron M o r f e e , A s s i s t a n t General
M a n a g e r ; he w a s i n t r o d u c e d by
T e c h n i c a l T r a i n i n g C o – o r d i n a t or
Frank Edwards.
The team of apprentices line up with their awards for skittling skills.
R O N S W E N S ON
J O I N S US
Ron F. S w e n s o n has been
a p p o i n t e d Manager,
I n f o r m a t i o n Systems —
M a n u f a c t u r i n g G r o u p , w i th
e f f e c t f r om A p r i l 2. He r e p o r ts
d i r e c t l y t o Mr W. G. Price,
C o n t r o l l e r , Finance.
Mr S w e n s o n j o i n s us f r om
Xerox C o r p o r a t i o n w h e r e for
t h e past f i v e years he has held
managerial a p p o i n t m e n ts
associated w i t h t h e d e s i g n ,
d e v e l o p m e n t and
i m p l e m e n t a t i o n of
m a n u f a c t u r i n g systems a nd
p r o c e d u r e s .
ADDING TO OUR STRENGTH
The first s e n i o r r e c r u i t s t o t h e n ew
Rank Xerox p l a n t s in France a nd
S p a i n v i s i t e d M i t c h e l d e a n r e c e n t l y.
M. Pierre C o p p e r n o l l e ( l e f t ) is
M a n u f a c t u r i n g Engineer f o r t h e plant
at Lille in N o r t h e r n France a n d , as
s u c h , w i l l be r e s p o n s i b l e f o r t he
p l a n t ‘ s c o n s t r u c t i o n , as w e l l as f or
i m p l e m e n t i n g w o r k o n p r o d u c t i on
lines. D. Luis Pastor ( r i g h t ) is t he
M a n a g e r of t h e c o n s u m a b l e s plant
near M a d r i d , t h e f i r s t e a r t h w o r k s f or
w h i c h have n o w c o m m e n c e d . Both
p l a n t s are d u e t o c o m e o n s t r e am
l a te in 1 9 7 4 and a d d t o t he
C o m p a n y ‘ s m a n u f a c t u r i n g s t r e n g t h .
T h e y w i l l be c o n t r o l l e d f r om
M a n u f a c t u r i n g G r o u p h e a d q u a r t e rs
here at M i t c h e l d e a n .
T o Pe r s o n n e l Ma n a g e r L e n P e a c o c k THE PRESENTATIONS
f e l l o n c e a g a i n t h e task of p r e s e n t i ng
t h e M a n a g e m e n t v. A p p r e n t i c es
s k i t t l e s t r o p h y t o t h e a p p r e n t i ce
team. Said Mr P e a c o c k : ‘I
c o n g r a t u l a t e y o u o n w i n n i n g it f o r a
s e c o n d t i m e a n d p r o m i s e y o u w o n ‘ t
w i n it a g a i n next year 1’
As c h a i r m a n of t h e A p p r e n t i c es
C o m m i t t e e , B o b Kempster e x t e n d ed
a v o t e of t h a n k s t o all c o n c e r n e d ,
not f o r g e t t i n g t h e c a n t e e n , f o r t h e ir
part in m a k i n g t h e e v e n i n g a success.
The rest of t h e p r o g r a m m e , l i s t e d as
‘ E n t e r t a i n m e n t : S l i p p e d Disc D i s c o ‘,
was geared, a n d r i g h t l y so, t o t he
tastes of t h e s t u d e n t s a n d t h e ir
partners w h o p r o v e d t h e y had ‘ t he
necessary d e t e r m i n a t i o n a n d w e re
w i l l i n g t o be m o b i l e .’
B a n g w e n t h i s e v e n i n g !
It w a s n ‘ t Friday t h e 1 3 t h for n o t h i n g .
One student w a s o b s e r v e d later in
t h e car perk c o p i n g w i t h a burst
t y r e !
I n d e n t u r a s
C h r i s t o p h e r B a r n a r d * , Coli.T B r i c k e l * , Rate
C h e r r y * , David C o w m e a d o w , Stephen
D a v i e s * , Ian F i s h b u r n e * , IVlichael Howells,
Roger Imm, A l l a n Kiely*, Richard M a t t h e w s,
Frederick M e e k * , Roger Miles, Graham
Parker*, Terence Peates*, David P h e l p s *,
A n d r e w P h i l l i p s * , J o h n P h i l l i p s * , Gary
Rogers, Michael S m i t h * , David T u f f l e y *,
David W i l l i a m s.
E I T B F i r s t Y e a r C e r t i f i c a t es
Richard A n d r e w s , Richard Baker, David
B o w d l e r , A n d r e w B r o w n * , Kim Butcher,
Paul C o l e m a n * , Paul D e n t o n * , Rodney
D i x * , Dennis Hart, David H o b b s * , Peter Lee,
J o h n M u r r e l l * , J o h n P h i p p s * , Glyn R u d g e *,
Peter R y l a n d * , Gary Sladen, Roger S m i t h *,
G r a h am T o o g o o d , David W h i t f i e l d , A n d r ew
W i l k s .
C e r t i f i c a t e o f E n d o r s e m e nt
Patrick B u r k e * , David Deeley, A l l a n Kiely.
C e r t i f i c a t e o f E n g i n e e r i ng
C r a f t s m a n s h i p
Roger B a l d w i n * , Stephen Davies, Ian
Fishburne, Peter J o n e s * , Robert Kempster*,
A l l a n Kiely, Clive M a n n s * , Richard M a y o *,
Frederick Meek, J o h n Phillips.
F i n a n c i a l A w a r ds
In a d d i t i o n t o t h o s e marked w i t h an * the
f o l l o w i n g also received a w a r d s for
successful c o m p l e t i o n of a c e r t i f i c a t ed
course of s t u d y:
Apprentices
G r a h am Cooper, Graham Cox, James Gill,
Vance Hopkins, Kenneth J o h n s o n , Robert
J o h n s o n , Ian Jones, Peter Knight, Keith
M a r f e l l , J o h n Marti.T, Graham Morris,
T o n y Tovey, Colin Turner, Richard W a l f o r d,
A n t h o n y Walklett, Stephen W o r g a n.
Trainee Secretaries
Susan Cooks, Susan Green, Patricia Gwynne,
Karen Rogers, Susan Simmonds.
Personnel Manager Len Peacock
presents the skittles team trophy to
Bob Kempster, chairman of the
Apprentices Committee.
ABSENTwith
leave
Once a g a i n Rank Xerox is in t he
f o r e f r o n t of progress. The Social
Service Leave Programme, i n t r o d u c ed
at t h e b e g i n n i n g of t h i s m o n t h , is t he
f i r s t of its k i n d in B r i t a i n . A n d it
proves t h a t w h a t t h e C o m p a n y says
a b o u t m a k i n g a c o n t r i b u t i o n to
s o c i e t y is not j u s t so m u ch
p r o p a g a n d a t o c a t c h t h e eye of
c o l u m n i s t s .
Other f i r m s have o n o c c a s i o n released
p e o p l e t o d o g o o d w o r ks
u n c o n n e c t e d w i t h t h e i r j o b s , but
these p r o j e c t s have n o r m a l l y been
chosen by t h e m a n a g e m e nt
c o n c e r n e d ; as far as w e c a n a s c e r t a in
t h e r e has been no p r o g r a m m e on
s u c h a g e n e r o u s or d e m o c r a t i c scale
as our o w n — run b y e m p l o y e e s for
employees.
The scheme o r i g i n a t e d w i t h Xerox
C o r p o r a t i o n , a n d p r o v e d so successful
t h a t a s e c o n d g r o u p of X e r ox
e m p l o y e e s are n o w b e g i n n i n g paid
leave f r om t h e i r regular j o b s to
pursue s e l f – s e l e c t e d social service
p r o j e c t s .
N o w our C o m p a n y is i n t r o d u c i n g t he
scheme e x p e r i m e n t a l l y t o test its
s u i t a b i l i t y f o r w i d e r use in t h e Rank
Xerox part of t h e w o r l d . The trial
c o u n t r i e s — West G e r m a n y , F i n l a n d,
S p a i n and M a l a y s i a / S i n g a p o r e , in
a d d i t i o n t o B r i t a i n — have been
chosen because t h e i r d i f f e r i n g size,
e c o n o m i c d e v e l o p m e n t , social
c u s t o m s , etc., w i l l g i v e an overall
p i c t u r e .
The result w i l l d e t e r m i n e w h at
happens in f u t u r e years. It may
p r o v e t h a t t h e cost of t h e p r o g r a m me
w o u l d be better spent o n increased
c h a r i t a b l e d o n a t i o n s , or it m a y be
t h a t , as in t h e States, t h e p r o g r a m me
j u s t i f i e s r e p e t i t i o n , a n d c o u l d u s e f u l ly
be i n t r o d u c e d o n a w i d e r scale.
R e s p o n s i b i l i t y f o r d e c i d i n g t o w h i ch
p r o j e c t s t h e 6 6 m a n m o n t h s a v a i l a b le
f o r Social Service Leave shall be
a l l o c a t e d lies a b s o l u t e l y o n t he
s h o u l d e r s of t h e s e l e c t i o n c o m m i t t e e,
a m o n g w h o m are t w o l o n g – s e r v i ng
M i t c h e l d e a n p e o p l e — Bob Baker
w h o is c o n v e n e r , a n d Frank Edwards.
The b o o k l e t d i s t r i b u t e d t o every
e m p l o y e e t e l l s y o u all a b o u t that
c o m m i t t e e , t h e f e w basic rules, a nd
t h e t h i n k i n g b e h i n d t h e w h o le
s c h e m e .
A n y q u e s t i o n s ? We had o n e or t w o
t o ask.
Q . What sort of p r o j e c t s have Xerox
C o r p o r a t i o n c a n d i d a t e s c h o s e n?
A . W o r k w i t h a l c o h o l i c s , d r ug
a d d i c t s or j u v e n i l e d e l i n q u e n t s;
t e a c h i n g of r e t a r d e d c h i l d r e n;
e n v i r o n m e n t c o n s e r v a t i o n ; h e l p i n g to
save art a n d a r c h i t e c t u r a l m o n u m e n t s.
We d o n ‘ t necessarily w a n t t h e same
p r o j e c t s d u p l i c a t e d in B r i t a i n — it is
e n t i r e l y up t o a p p l i c a n t s t o c h o o se
w h a t t h e y ‘ d like t o d o .
Q . The b o o k l e t states t h a t t he
m i n i m u m leave is o n e m o n t h , t he
m a x i m u m six m o n t h s , a n d t h e r e is a
l i m i t o n t h e n u m b e r of leaves w h i ch
may be g r a n t e d in any one year.
Does t h i s mean t h a t a s i x – m o n th
leave must f i n i s h by December 1 9 7 3?
A . It m i g h t be t h a t a s i x – m o n t h leave
p r o j e c t is t o start later t h i s year a nd
c a r r y o n i n t o n e x t ; w e e x p e c t that
most of t h e leaves w i l l be f i n i s h ed
in early 1 9 7 4 .
Q . W o u l d a j o i n t p r o j e c t by t w o
p e o p l e be c o n s i d e r e d ?
A . There’s no reason w h y it
s h o u l d n ‘ t . W h e t h e r s u c h an
a p p l i c a t i o n is a c c e p t : d d e p e n ds
s o l e l y o n w h e t h e r t h e c o m m i t t ee
c o n s i d e r it of s u f f i c i e n t social value.
Q . H o w s o o n w i l l w e k n o w t he
result of a p p l i c a t i o n s ?
A . They w i l l be c o n s i d e r e d as s o on
after J u n e 18 as p o s s i b l e a n d all
a p p l i c a n t s s h o u l d hear t h e result
b e f o r e t h e w o r k s s h u t – d o w n at
M i t c h e l d e a n c o m m e n c e s.
V I S I T I N G T H E C H I L D R EN
On J u n e 23 t h e C h r i s t i a n F e l l o w s h i p are
p l a n n i n g t o v i s i t t h e M u l l e r Homes for
C h i l d r e n in Bristol. These homes (there are
o t h e r s in C i e v e d o n and W e s t o n – s u p e r – M a r e)
w e r e begun in 1 8 3 6 a n d f r om that time
u n t i l last year, t h e y have cared f o r over
1 7 , 0 0 0 c h i l d r e n.
If y o u w o u l d like t o j o i n t h e party, please
c o n t a c t Bob Farnham, File C o n t r o l (tel. 1 0 8 )
or Barbara I s h e r w o o d , Purchase ( t e l . 2 5 0 )
by May 25. The cost s h o u l d be under £ 1 .
Between n o w and t h e t i m e of t h e o u t i ng
t h e F e l l o w s h i p programme i n c l u d e s:
May 22 — Battle of w i t s ; J u n e 5 — Don
M e a d o w s ; J u n e 12 — Prayer m e e t i n g.
( A l l meetings in No. 1 l e c t u r e r o om at
rear of Personnel Department c o m m e n c i ng
approx. 1.05 p m ) .
A N Y N E W S F O R V I S I O N ?
If y o u have, t h e n please —
let your d e p a r t m e n t a l c o r r e s p o n d e n t k n o w,
or leave it at a n y Gate House f or
c o l l e c t i o n by me,
or post it t o me at Tree Tops, Plump Hill,
M i t c h e i d e a n ,
or r i n g me — It’s D r y b r o o k 4 1 5.
Myrtle Fowler, Editor
HOME MARKET
F o r H i re
Caravan w i t h f i v e – b e r t h a c c o m m o d a t i o n at
Swanage, Dorset, o v e r l o o k i n g t h e bay. All
amenities. Ray D o w e l l , c / o Mrs W i l l i a m s,
t e l . L y d b r o o k 4 1 6 .
F o r S a le
B r o w n Welsh m o u n t a i n p o n y ( f i l l y ) , t wo
years o l d . Ray W r i g h t ( D r a w i n g Office)
t e l . 8 7 0 int.
T w o brand n e w headrests, beige, a d j u s t a b l e,
best q u a l i t y , cost £11 – 50 a pair. A n y offers.
Mrs H i g g i n s ( G o o d s I n w a r d s I n s p e c t i o n)
t e l . 4 7 8 int. or L y d b r o o k 4 8 4.
B e a u t i f u l h a n d – m a d e pine k i t c h e n suite,
b r a n d n e w . A l s o s e c o n d h a n d Gas-miser
f i re a n d small gas cooker, b o t h excellent
c o n d i t i o n . M. Walker, t e l . 1 3 0 int. or
N e t h e r e n d 3 7 4.
Pedigree h i g h pram, g o o d c o n d i t i o n , many
accessories i n c l u d i n g s h o p p i n g rack, pram
bag, mattress and c a n o p y . Also baby
bouncer, cheap t o clear. A. R a w l i n gs
( M a c h i n e Tool M a i n t e n a n c e ) , 5 Fir V i ew
Road, H e w l e t t s Way, Ruspidge, C i n d e r f o r d.
I n f r a – r e d w a l l fire s u i t a b l e f o r b a t h r o o m,
b e d r o om or k i t c h e n . C h r o m e – p l a t ed
r e f l e c t o r , and p u l l – c o r d s w i t c h w i t h o n / o ff
i n d i c a t o r , 2 2 0 / 2 4 0 v o l t s , A C o n l y . Length
28 in. h e i g h t 3 i in. W h i t e w i t h black end
caps. Price £ 5 o.n.o. Tel. 5 6 1 int.
F o u r – m o n t h s – o l d Ultra G r o u p stereo unit
w i t h radio a n d m a t c h e d Goodmans
speakers, record d e c k — BSR 4 – s p e ed
a u t o c h a n g e r ; radio — M W / L W / V H F;
speakers — Goodmans (each w i t h one
w o o f e r and o n e t w e e t e r ) . Output — 7 w a t ts
per c h a n n e l . Will e x c h a n g e for stereo tape
recorder or deck ( p r e f e r a b l y A k a i / T a n d b e r g.
e t c . ) in e x c e l l e n t c o n d i t i o n . Cash d i f f e r e n ce
e i t h e r w a y . C. Ford, t e l . 7 4 1 int.
Honda 175, ‘ F ‘ r e g i s t r a t i o n . New tyres,
damaged h e a d l i g h t , M O T e x p i r e d December.
£ 8 5 . Tel. S y m o n d s Yat 3 0 5 .
Ford A n g l i a spares — gearbox, water pump,
d y n a m o , oil p u m p — available at R o c k v i l l a,
C o a l w a y , C o l e f o r d , or c o n t a c t G. Y e mm
( 4 0 0 0 A s s e m b l y ).
1 9 5 6 Rover 75, m e c h a n i c a l l y sound,
b o d y w o r k g o o d for t h e year, g o o d tyres,
£ 4 0 . Tel. Blakeney 4 4 3 or G. Beavan,
731 int.
G i r l ‘ s hat a n d c o a t , size 2 4 in., mauve and
w h i t e b o n d e d Courtelle, f u r o n c u f f s and
f r o n t , never been w o r n . £7 o.n.o. Enquire
‘ W a v e r l e y ‘ , 17 O l d Dean Road, M i t c h e l d e a n.
Four p a r t i a l l y w o r n X – p l y mini tyres, £8
o.n.o. B. I s h e r w o o d , t e l . 2 5 0 int.
W a n t e d
Small piano, g o o d c o n d i t i o n , reasonable
price. Gill Lacey, t e l . 4 5 6 int.
P o o d l e t r i m m i n g scissors, etc. Mrs E.
Thomas (Print R o o m ) , t e l . 5 4 2 int.
Piano teacher for e i g h t – y e a r – o l d.
Mrs Carter, 1 Croft Road, Cleeve Mill Lane
Estate, Newent.
M G 1100, t r a n s v e r s e engine. Must be in
r u n n i n g order. Barrie Lewis, t e l . D r y b r o ok
6 9 1 .
4
The Land Army girls were never regarded as part of the
fighting services. Says Peggy: ‘If they only knew how
many farmers I had to fight off, they would think
otherwise. And I’ve got the scars to prove it I’
THE (LAND) ARMY IS
ON THE MARCH AGAIN
On Saturday, M a r c h 3 0 , 1 9 7 4 , many
h u n d r e d s of w o m e n w i l l be o n their
w a y t o t h e Royal A l b e r t Hall to
a t t e n d t h e 2 n d National R e u n i o n for
former members of t h e W o m e n ‘s
Land A r m y.
A l t h o u g h it is s o m e t e n m o n t hs
ahead, t h e c o m m i t t e e r e s p o n s i b le
have already s t a r t e d o n t h e w o r k of
o r g a n i s i n g t h e event. We happen to
k n o w because w e w e r e t a l k i n g to
t h e assistant c h a i r m a n of t he
c o m m i t t e e t h e other d a y — Peggy
Herbert, w h o w o r k s o n t h e b e n c h in
M i t c h e l d e a n ‘ s M a c h i n e Shop.
Peggy, w h o j o i n e d us in 1 9 6 0 , w as
t h r e e and a half years in t h e Land
A r m y at Berkeley, d i g g i n g for v i c t o ry
o n land w h i c h b e l o n g e d t o t h e War
A g r i c u l t u r a l C o m m i t t e e , but is n ow
better k n o w n as S l i m b r i d g e.
She t o l d us : ‘ T h i s n a t i o n a l r e u n i on
has been t h e o u t c o m e of a small
g e t – t o g e t h e r o r g a n i s e d back in 1 9 6 5,
w h e n Mrs J e a n Proctor of M a r p l e,
Cheshire, p u b l i c i s e d an event being
held for e x – W L A in t h e S t o c k p o rt
area.
‘ M a n y h u n d r e d s of letters w e re
received, a s k i n g for a r e u n i o n o n a
larger scale, so an appeal w a s made
t o t h e press t o t r a c e as m a n y Land
Girls as p o s s i b l e w i t h a v i e w t o a
n a t i o n a l r e u n i o n . By t h e end of
1 9 6 6 , over 8 , 0 0 0 names had been
c o l l e c t e d , so a c o m m i t t e e was
f o r m e d and t h e W o m e n ‘ s Land A r my
N a t i o n a l R e u n i o n A p p e a l C a m p a i gn
was f o r m e d.
‘Each c o u n t y had its o w n ‘ L i n k’
members w h o o r g a n i s e d e v e n t s to
raise f u n d s , as n o s p o n s o r c o u l d be
f o u n d . A small n e w s l e t t e r was
Peggy’s hay days I
c i r c u l a t e d every t h r e e m o n t h s to
keep all i n f o r m e d of progress.
‘ B y 1 9 6 8 s u f f i c i e n t m o n e y w a s raised
t o book t h e A l b e r t Hall for
February 1 , 1 9 6 9 . It w a s a busy
t i m e for t h e o r g a n i s i n g c o m m i t t ee
w h o had t o chart each b o o k i n g and
t o d i v i d e t h e s e a t i n g plan i n to
v a r i o u s c o u n t i e s . By d o i n g so,
w o m e n had a better c h a n c e of
m e e t i n g up w i t h o l d c o l l e a g u e s.
‘ I t w a s a v e r y s u c c e s s f u l event. The
Lord M a y o r of L o n d o n a t t e n d e d , a nd
a message w a s r e c e i v e d f r om
Her M a j e s t y Queen Elizabeth, t he
Queen M o t h e r . The event w a s also
c o v e r e d by B B C TV.
‘ T h e r e w e r e v i s i t o r s f r o m overseas
w h o had r e t u r n e d t o t h i s c o u n t ry
s p e c i a l l y t o be at t h e r e u n i o n , I met
a l a d y f r o m Dallas in Texas w h o had
shared t h e same hostel as myself
d u r i n g t h e w a r , ‘ said Peggy.
‘ M a n y of t h o s e w h o a t t e n d e d w e re
v e t e r a n s f r o m W o r l d War I. Some
w e r e d i s a b l e d a n d in w h e e l c h a i r s for
w h i c h special a r r a n g e m e n t s were
necessary. One lady t r a v e l l e d 2 50
m i l e s in an i n v a l i d car t o be present —
s u c h w a s t h e d e t e r m i n a t i o n of t he
e x – W L A .
‘ W h e n it w a s all over, w e t h o u g ht
t h a t w a s t h e e n d . But t h e m e m o r y of
it l i v e d o n in t h e m i n d s of many, and
t h e y asked f o r a n o t h e r r e u n i o n t o be
h e l d .
‘ S o w e r e – o r g a n i s e d our c o m m i t t ee
a n d w e meet every t h r e e m o n t h s in
M a n c h e s t e r . We s e n d o u t a small
m a g a z i n e w h i c h p u b l i s h e s n e w s and
a r t i c l e s a n d helps t r a c e o l d f r i e n d s.
A n d w e are n o w g e t t i n g prepared
t o a c c e p t b o o k i n g s f o r next M a r c h.
‘ W h e n I l o o k back o n t h a t first
r e u n i o n , I feel v e r y p r o u d t o have
p l a y e d a small part. Next year I h o pe
I c a n say our 2 n d N a t i o n a l R e u n i on
w a s as s u c c e s s f u l as t h e f i r s t .’
Peggy and another ex-Land Army
girl, Maud Murphy {Canteen), laugh
over a souvenir of the old days.
Maud worked at Brecon, and had 40
girls in her charge. ‘It was a great
life,’ she told us.
Peggy a d d e d : ‘ W e m u c h a p p r e c i a te
t h e h e l p g i v e n by t h e C o m p a n y . By
w a y of s a y i n g t h a n k y o u , w e are
m a k i n g a c o n t r i b u t i o n t o w a r d s the
r e t i r e d L S A m e m b e r s ‘ summer o u t i n g.
A n d w e ‘ r e i n v i t i n g J a c k Meek
( M a c h i n e S h o p o f f i c e ) and a
C o m p a n y r e p r e s e n t a t i v e t o a t t e nd
t h e 1 9 7 4 r e u n i o n.
5
Bob Colwell drafts new metric l-lugfi Lynch-Blosse and Keith Section leader Russell Griffiths
standards for ‘W items. Richards refer to specifications. discusses a point with Chief
Draughtsman John Brain {right).
WHAT ARE STANDARDS
Dull — b o r i n g — d e a d e n d . These are
p r o b a b l y t h e average p e r s o n ‘ s idea
about standards, if i n d e e d t h e y ever
t h i n k a b o u t t h e s u b j e c t.
C e r t a i n l y it can be d u l l and b o r i n g,
but it n e e d n ‘ t be. Perhaps i t ‘s dead
end stuff, but so can a n y j o b be if
t h a t ‘ s t h e w a y y o u play it. However,
if y o u look o n s t a n d a r d s as a w a y of
p r o v i d i n g a s e r v i c e t o engineers,
d r a u g h t s m e n and m a n a g e m e n t , and
y o u t r y t o p r o v i d e a g o o d service,
t h e n t h a t is neither d u l l , b o r i n g nor
d e a d – e n d . W h i c h b r i n g s us t o t he
q u e s t i o n posed in our t i t l e — what
are s t a n d a r d s all a b o u t a n y w a y?
The j o b of t h e E n g i n e e r i n g Standards
S e c t i o n at M i t c h e l d e a n is t h r e e – f o l d .
• To prepare s t a n d a r d s and
p r o c e d u r e s f o r t h e E n g i n e e r i ng
D e p a r t m e n t s of Rank Xerox.
• To s t a n d a r d i s e , or r a t i o n a l i s e,
t h e use of c o m p o n e n t parts.
• To e x e c u t e t h e d e c i s i o n s of t he
Standards a n d M e t r i c a t i on
C o m m i t t e e .
Of course, t h e r e is n o t h i n g n e w about
standards. Over 1 0 0 years a g o , a
French A r m y Officer, C o l o n e l Renard,
became head of t h e C a p t i v e B a l l o on
S e c t i o n of t h e French A r m y . He
n o t e d that t h e r e w e r e in e x i s t e n ce
4 2 5 sizes of m o o r i n g cables — a
f a n t a s t i c number c o n s i d e r i n g the
needs of t h e t i m e — r e q u i r i n g m u ch
excess s t o r e – k e e p i n g and i n v e n t o ry
w o r k . As t h e w r i t e r in BSI News,
f r om w h i c h t h e a b o v e i n f o r m a t i o n is
q u o t e d , said : ‘Plus ca change, plus
c’est la meme chose’.
But at least some p e o p l e learn.
Despite all t h e e n o r m o u s advances
in s c i e n t i f i c and t e c h n i c a l k n o w l e d ge
and e q u i p m e n t over t h e last 1 00
years, t h e B r i t i s h M i n i s t r y of Defence
n o w use o n l y t e n d i f f e r e n t t y p e s of
w i r e rope, in 5 0 sizes.
Here at Rank Xerox, m a n a g e m e nt
a p p r e c i a t e d t h e need f o r s t a n d a r d s,
a n d t h e S t a n d a r d s S e c t i o n in t he
E n g i n e e r i n g D e p a r t m e n t w a s set up
in M a r c h 1 9 6 9 , w h e n Russell
G r i f f i t h s a r r i v e d as s e c t i o n leader to
get t h i n g s g o i n g . H o w does t he
s e c t i o n set a b o u t its t a s k s?
A c c e p t e d rules must be l a id d o w n in
t h e D r a w i n g O f f i c e a b o u t d r a w i ng
sheet sizes, f o r m a t s , part n u m b e r i n g,
r e v i s i o n s , a n g l i c i s a t i o n of Xerox
d r a w i n g s and a host of o t h e r aspects.
Engineers need D e s i g n G u i d e s on
s u b j e c t s s u c h as gears, p r i n t ed
w i r i n g boards, etc. There must be
c r o s s – r e f e r e n c e lists, lists of d r i l l and
h o l e sizes. E n g i n e e r i n g Order
n u m b e r s and m a n y o t h e r k i n d s of
r e f e r e n c e numbers. All t h e s e , and
more besides, are c o n t a i n e d in t he
Rank Xerox Draughting Manual.
W h i l e t h e m a j o r i t y of s t a n d a r d s are
d r a f t e d in t h e S t a n d a r d s S e c t i o n at
M i t c h e l d e a n , m u c h v a l u a b le
a s s i s t a n c e is p r o v i d e d f r o m Venray
a n d W e l w y n .
T h e n , all m a t e r i a l s a n d f i n i s h e s used
in Rank Xerox P r o d u c t s must be
s p e c i f i e d — w h e r e p o s s i b l e to
B r i t i s h S t a n d a r d s . There are several
h u n d r e d s p e c i f i c a t i o n s c u r r e n t l y in
issue. N e w ones are r e q u i r e d and
o l d ones c a n c e l l e d . M a n y of t he
s t a n d a r d s are ‘ a n g l i c i s e d ‘ v e r s i o ns
of X e r o x C o r p o r a t i o n s t a n d a r d s;
some are ‘ u n i q u e ‘ t o Rank X e r o x ; all
need t o be r e g u l a r l y r e v i e w e d and
kept u p t o date. A l t o g e t h e r some 30
X e r o x and Rank Xerox m a n u a l s have
t o be m a i n t a i n e d.
S t a n d a r d i s a t i o n
T h i s is t h e t i m e – c o n s u m e r . The first
j o b w a s t o make lists of part numbers
of t h e c o m p o n e n t s most w i d e l y used.
These i n c l u d e s u c h mechanical
i t e m s as b e a r i n g s , gears, rivets,
s p r i n g s , etc., a n d e l e c t r i c a l items
s u c h as c a p a c i t o r s , resistors and
c o n n e c t o r s .
Lists have been c o m p i l e d in respect
of a b o u t 1 0 0 items. From these,
e n g i n e e r s a n d d r a u g h t s m e n can
select t h e i t em of t h e i r c h o i c e and
t h i s saves t a k i n g o u t a n e w part
n u m b e r a n d m a k i n g a n e w d r a w i n g,
p o s s i b l y d u p l i c a t i n g o n e t h at
a l r e a d y exists. The next stage is
R a t i o n a l i s a t i o n
By s e l e c t i n g t h e p r e f e r r e d sizes and
m a t e r i a l s t h a t are most w i d e l y used,
it w i l l be p o s s i b l e e v e n t u a l l y to
r e d u c e c o n s i d e r a b l y t h e n u m b e r and
r a n g e of d i f f e r e n t k i n d s of a
c o m p o n e n t in use, t h u s e f f e c t i ng
great e c o n o m i e s in p u r c h a s i n g and
s t o c k i n g .
M u c h t h e same a p p l i e s t o w h a t are
k n o w n as ‘ W ‘ s t a n d a r d s , w h i c h are
i t e m s b o u g h t ‘ o f f t h e s h e l f f r om
s e l e c t e d v e n d o r s ‘ c a t a l o g u e s , and
i n c l u d e nuts, b o l t s , s c r e w s , washers
a n d m a n y e l e c t r i c a l items.
I n f o r m a t i o n o n s t a n d a r d s/
s t a n d a r d i s a t i o n is p r o m u l g a t e d t o all
c o n c e r n e d t h r o u g h t h e m e d i u m of
E n g i n e e r i n g S t a n d a r d s B u l l e t i n s,
w h i c h are issued by t h e Standards
S e c t i o n .
It is i m p o r t a n t here t o emphasise that
s t a n d a r d i s a t i o n or r a t i o n a l i s a t i o n do
not imply any sort of c u r b o n t h e use
by e n g i n e e r s of n e w m a t e r i a l s or
n e w i t e m s c o m i n g o n t h e market.
6
A lighter moment during a Standards
B Metrication Committee meeting.
Seen round the table are (from the
left): Ron Nun ley {deputising for
Harold Cecil of PED Standards);
Mervyn Thomas {Design
Engineering): Russell Griffiths and
Hugh Lynch-Blosse {Engineering
Standards); chairman John Brain;
Frits Kuijken {Standards, Venray);
Eric Sugden {RXDL), Bryan Milton
{Drawing Office) and Gerald Pomeroy
(Design Engineering) — all from
Welwyn. Below right: John
Woodward checks the details on a
microcard prior to recording it in the
Electrical Engineering Data Manual.
John has been with us about ten
years; he worked initially in Goods
Inwards Inspection, transferred to
Reliability, and joined the Standards
Section just a few months ago.
ALL ABOUT ANYWAY?
W h a t t h e y d o mean is t h e a v o i d a n ce
of d u p l i c a t i o n , a n d t h e eventual
r e d u c t i o n of s t o c k s . This is, perhaps,
t h e a p p r o p r i a t e place t o m e n t i o n—
M e t r i c a t i o n
T h e d e c i s i o n t o ‘ g o m e t r i c ‘ and to
enter t h e C o m m o n M a r k e t have
p r o v i d e d B r i t i s h f i r m s w i th
t r e m e n d o u s o p p o r t u n i t i e s for
s t a n d a r d i s a t i o n and r a t i o n a l i s a t i on
and, if p u r s u e d w i t h v i g o u r , c o u ld
result e v e n t u a l l y in very w o r t h – w h i le
s a v i n g s in materials a n d s t o c k i n g.
For instance, t h e steel i n d u s t r y is
w e l l on its w a y t o w a r d s the
p r o v i s i o n of steel in m e t r i c sizes.
T h i s has e n a b l e d t h e Standards
S e c t i o n s at M i t c h e l d e a n (PED and
E n g i n e e r i n g ) , w i t h help f r om
W e l w y n and Venray, t o r a t i o n a l i s e on
sheet metal t h i c k n e s s e s and steel
bar sizes so t h a t , in f u t u r e , t he
number of v a r i a t i o n s in size
r e c o m m e n d e d for use at Rank Xerox
can be s i g n i f i c a n t l y r e d u c e d . W h i ch
b r i n g s us t o t h e w o r k o f—
T h e S t a n d a r d s a n d i V I e t r i c a t i on
C o m m i t t e e
Over t h e years, n u m b e r s of standards
a n d procedures had been d e v e l o p ed
at M i t c h e l d e a n w h i c h had never been
f o r m a l l y p r o m u l g a t e d . A c o n s i d e r a b le
number of n e w s t a n d a r d s were
r e q u i r e d . So it w a s t h a t in A p r i l 1 9 6 9,
A r t h u r W i l l i t t , Manager, Engineering
Services, set up t h e S t a n d a r d s and
Procedures C o m m i t t e e under the
c h a i r m a n s h i p of J o h n Brain, t he
c h i e f d r a u g h t s m a n.
The C o m m i t t e e c o n s i s t e d of t h r ee
members of t h e PED and Engineering
Standards S e c t i o n s at M i t c h e l d e a n,
Continued on page 8
7
WHAT ARE STANDARDS
ALL ABOUT ANYWAY?
Continued from page 7
t w o representatives f r o m W e l w y n ,
one f r om Venray, a n d a d e s i gn
engineer f r o m M i t c h e l d e a n.
The terms of reference f o r t he
C o m m i t t e e w e r e ‘ T o prepare and
p u b l i s h E n g i n e e r i n g S t a n d a r d s and
Procedures f o r use t h r o u g h o u t the
w h o l e of Rank X e r o x D e s i g n ‘.
Problems a r i s i n g f r o m m e t r i c a t i on
w e r e t o be c o n s i d e r e d i n d i v i d u a l l y.
A b o u t a year later, early in 1 9 7 0 , t he
C o m m i t t e e ‘ s name w a s c h a n g e d to
‘ T h e S t a n d a r d s and M e t r i c a t i on
C o m m i t t e e ‘ w i t h terms of r e f e r e n c e in
respect of m e t r i c a t i o n t o r e v i ew
d e s i g n aspects of m e t r i c a t i o n ;
prepare n e w s t a n d a r d s c o m p a t i b le
w i t h UK and C o n t i n e n t a l s t a n d a r d s;
and liaise w i t h Xerox C o r p o r a t i o n.
The c o m m i t t e e meets 8 t o 1 0 t i m es
a year, at M i t c h e l d e a n or W e l w y n .
A m e e t i n g at V e n r a y has so far
e l u d e d it. To date, it has p u b l i s h ed
some 4 5 s t a n d a r d s a n d a n u m b e r are
in t h e p i p e l i n e.
A l l t h e e v i d e n c e i n d i c a t e s t h a t more
and more t i m e w i l l be s p e n t on
aspects of m e t r i c a t i o n a n d , i n d e e d,
t h i s is r e f l e c t e d by t h e recent
a d d i t i o n of t w o f u r t h e r members to
t h e E n g i n e e r i n g S t a n d a r d s S e c t i o n.
To summarise, t h e n , t h e S e c t i o n,
assisted by its c o u n t e r p a r t s at
Venray and W e l w y n ,
Provides standards for engineers and
draugfitsmen.
Contributes towards the rationalisation
of materials and components.
Liaises closely with Standards
Sections in PED, Venray and
Welwyn.
Puts into effect the decisions of the
Standards & Metrication Committee.
Is preparing metric standards.
Sometimes t h e S e c t i o n is s t u m p ed
f o r an answer — but not v e r y o f t e n.
H . L . B .
N o n – S t a n d a r d A c t i v i t i es
Out of w o r k i n g hours, t h e Standards
men seem t o have a r e m a r k a b l y w i de
range of hobbies. There’s J o hn
W o o d w a r d , bass g u i t a r i s t and
v o c a l i s t ; he r e c e n t l y j o i n e d f o r c es
t e m p o r a r i l y w i t h Don W e b b and
Bob W o o d w a r d (no r e l a t i o n ) of
R e l i a b i l i t y , d e s i g n e n g i n e e r s Richard
H o l l a n d and Peter Blake, a n d Clive
C o w m e a d o w of PED t o appear as an
a l l – R X g r o u p for a n u m b e r of special
performances.
Then t h e r e ‘ s B o b C o l w e l l , w h o likes
w a t e r s k i i n g a n d r o u g h s h o o t i n g;
K e i t h Richards, an archer w h o used to
b e l o n g t o t h e G l o u c e s t e r B o w m e n ;
and Fred F i f i e l d , w h o goes s a i l i ng
(‘ ” F i r e f l i e s ” are my f a v o u r i t e s , ‘ he
t o l d u s ).
8
FRED WEARS IT
FOR KICKS
Fred F i f i e l d , w h o w o r k s on
p a c k a g i n g in t h e S t a n d a r d s S e c t i o n,
is a q u i e t – s p o k e n , c a lm sort of c h a p.
Not t h e sort y o u ‘ d a s s o c i a t e w i th
p a c e m a k i n g . Yet t h a t ‘ s w h a t makes
h im t h e s u b j e c t of t h i s s t o r y.
Fred w a s 31 years in t h e RAF before
b e i n g i n v a l i d e d o u t w i t h heart
t r o u b l e . S t r a n g e l y e n o u g h , he w as
s t a t i o n e d in S u f f o l k , j u s t a f e w miles
f r om his c o l l e a g u e in S t a n d a r d s,
H u g h L y n c h – B l o s s e , w h o w a s in t he
s e r v i c e 3 2 years. H u g h w a s a i r c r e w,
Fred a g r o u n d e n g i n e e r ( ‘ W e make
‘ e m , t h e y break e m ‘ ) but t h e y never
met u n t i l t h e y b o t h came t o w o r k at
M i t c h e l d e a n and f o u n d a c o m m on
a im in ‘ s t a n d a r d i s i n g ‘ e m ‘.
But back t o t h e pacemaker. A year
or so after Fred a r r i v e d at M i t c h e l d e an
he s u d d e n l y c o l l a p s e d . He w as
r u s h e d t o B i r m i n g h a m Hospital
w h e r e t h e y f i t t e d h im w i t h a
t e m p o r a r y p a c e m a k e r ; s t r a p p e d to
his a rm a n d w i r e d u p t o his heart, it
sent e l e c t r i c a l i m p u l s e s t o keep t he
beats regular.
Three w e e k s later he had an
‘ i n d u c t i o n ‘ t y p e f i t t e d , s t r a p p e d t o his
w a i s t , a n d he w o r e t h i s f o r six
m o n t h s or so. His o w n heart t h en
i m p r o v e d , but t h e pacemaker
w o u l d n ‘ t take a n y n o t i c e a n d kept
s e n d i n g t h e i m p u l s e s as per
i n s t r u c t i o n s . His h e a r t b e a t s g o t all
o u t of s e q u e n c e a n d it w a s b a c k to
B i r m i n g h a m a g a i n.
T h i s t i m e t h e y f i t t e d a ‘ d e m a n d ‘ t y p e,
i m p l a n t e d in his chest. This d e t e c ts
w h e n his o w n heartbeats d r o p b e l ow
7 2 a m i n u t e and t a k e s over as
a u t o – p i l o t , s e n d i n g t h e necessary
i m p u l s e s . ‘I feel a s l i g h t k i c k w h en
it t a k e s over,’ Fred t o l d us. ‘ I t ‘ s a
v e r y r e a s s u r r i n g s o u n d . ‘ I m m e d i a t e ly
his o w n heartbeats rise a b o v e 7 2 , it
s w i t c h e s off.
A l t h o u g h he c a n ‘ t h u r r y , or c l i mb
s t a i r s , Fred hates t o be r e g a r d e d as
a k i n d of i n v a l i d . ‘I a m f i t t e r n ow
t h a n I w a s before I h a d t h is
p a c e m a k e r ‘ , he says. ‘I r e c k o n it
made me feel 1 0 years y o u n g e r .’
There is a c h a n c e t h a t his pacemaker
w i l l o n e d a y be r e p l a c e d by a new,
i m p r o v e d t y p e t h a t w i l l run f o r many
years w i t h o u t a t t e n t i o n . In t he
m e a n t i m e , Fred has had t o u n d e r go
a ‘ s q u a r e w a v e t e s t ‘ t o a s c e r t a i n h ow
m u c h l i fe is left in t h e present
b a t t e r y t h a t keeps h im t i c k i n g over.
For t h i s he had t o r e t u r n to
B i r m i n g h a m o n c e more. ‘ I t ‘ s run for
t w o and a half years, but t h e y f o u nd
i t ‘s s t i l l g o t p l e n t y of g o . They’re
amazed at me,’ said Fred.
‘ O h , by t h e w a y , w h i l e I w a s t h e r e I
s a w a c o p y of V I S I O N a m o n g the
r e a d i n g matter in t h e w a r d w a i t i n g –
r o o m . ‘ W e l l , w e do our best t o keep
in t o u c h .
Fred liaises a good deal with the
Packaging section in the Supply
Centre. Here he discusses a
packaging point with Johnny
Johnson (left).
LUNCHEON FOR
PENSIONERS
O n c e a g a i n a R e u n i o n L u n c h e o n is
b e i n g g i v e n by t h e C o m p a n y for its
p e n s i o n e r s . The p a r t y t a k e s p l a c e on
M a y 19, c o c k t a i l s in t h e Social
C e n t r e b e i n g f o l l o w e d by a
t h r e e – c o u r s e l u n c h e o n . The rest of
t h e a f t e r n o o n w i l l be spent in t he
S o c i al Centre w i t h some light
e n t e r t a i n m e n t , p l e n t y of o p p o r t u n i ty
t o chat w i t h f r i e n d s a n d f o r m er
c o l l e a g u e s , a n d a l i g h t tea b e f o r e t he
p a r t y breaks up. L o n g – s e r v i ng
members of t h e C o m p a n y w i l l c o me
a l o n g t o h e l p e v e r y o n e have a g o od
t i m e .
HELP FOR THE
HANDICAPPED
T o g e t h e r w i t h t h e Friends of Dean
Hall S c h o o l , t h e G a t e w a y C l u b held
a c o m b i n e d d a n c e / b i n g o session in
our Social Centre o n M a r c h 31 in
a i d of t h e m e n t a l l y h a n d i c a p p e d.
A p a r t f r o m g i v i n g a d o n a t i o n t o b o th
o r g a n i s a t i o n s , w h i c h w a s p r e s e n t e d by
Personnel Manager Len Peacock, t he
C o m p a n y c o v e r e d t h e cost of
a r r a n g i n g t h e e v e n i n g a n d handed
over t h e p r o c e e d s t o h e l p w i t h the
g o o d w o r k.
HALLO TWINS!
W e ‘ v e been e x p e r i e n c i n g d o u b le
v i s i o n lately. First in E n g i n e e r i n g we
met 2 2 – y e a r – o l d A n n Parry, w ho
w o r k s in t h e T e c h n i c a l Library.
Some days later w e s a w her a g a i n in
I n t e r n a t i o n a l C o m m u n i c a t i o n s —
o n l y it w a s n ‘ t really A n n but Sue,
her i d e n t i c a l t w i n . It s o m e t i m es
happens t h a t , w h e n A n n has
o c c a s i o n t o g o i n t o Sue’s s e c t i o n,
she f i n d s herself b e i n g g i v e n Sue’s
w o r k t o d o . It’s t o u g h , b e i n g a t w i n .
For y o u r i n f o r m a t i o n t h a t ‘ s Sue on
t h e r i g h t — er, w e t h i n k.
The 1 8 – y e a r – o l d F o x w e l l b r o t h e rs
f i n d their s i m i l a r i t y t o each other
comes in h a n d y f o r f o x i n g t h e girl
f r i e n d s .
Like t h e Parry sisters, t h e y j o i n e d us
a b o u t t h r e e years ago. Roger
s t a r t e d in R e m o d e l l i n g , S t e p h e n in
3 6 0 0 A s s e m b l y but n o w t h e y w o rk
t o g e t h e r s t o c k c h e c k i n g in 4 0 00
Assembly.
T h e y b o t h play f o o t b a l l f o r Mushet
U n i t e d — Roger as r i g h t w i n g ,
S t e p h e n as c e n t r e f o r w a r d . Says
R o g e r : ‘ W e used t o dress a l i k e but
not n o w a d a y s ‘ — w h i c h helps their
c o l l e a g u e s a bit, but not m u c h.
S t e p h e n is o n t h e left in o u r p i c t u r e.
We w e r e j u s t in t i m e t o r e c o r d t he
presence of yet a n o t h e r set of
i d e n t i c a l t w i n s , Ted and Harold
Edwards, t h i s t i m e in t h e S u p p ly
Centre.
GOODBYE TWIN!
J u s t in t i m e , because Ted was
r e t i r i n g early for h e a l t h reasons and
our p i c t u r e s h o w s h im ( o n t he
r i g h t ) s a y i n g a p u r e l y o f f i c i al
g o o d b y e t o brother Harold.
Ted j o i n e d G o o d s I n w a r d s in 1 9 5 8 ;
H a r o l d came in 1 9 6 0 t o w o r k in t he
M a c h i n e Shop. You c a n ‘ t tell
i d e n t i c a l t w i n s apart — and y o u can’t
keep t h em apart either, it seems. For
a f e w years later t h e y w e r e b o th
w o r k i n g in t h e w a r e h o u s e , H a r o l d as
an Internal A u d i t s t o c k checker and
Ted as l o c a t i o n clerk.
Ted w i l l never f o r g e t his l e a v e t a k i n g.
He must be t h e first person t o have
had a b o t t l e of w h i s k y b r o k e n on
t h e f l o o r t o mark his r e t i r e m e n t I He
got a r e p l a c e m e n t i m m e d i a t e l y —
i t ‘s not c a l l e d t h e S u p p l y Centre for
n o t h i n g .
SP@RTS & S&CIAL CLUB
MIDNIGHT MEETING
The Sports & Social C l u b m e e t i n g on
M a r c h 2 8 s t a r t e d at 7 . 3 0 p m and
w e n t on until almost m i d n i g h t (this
i n f o r m a t i o n is f o r t h e b e n e f i t of
c o m m i t t e e members’ f a m i l i e s w ho
m i g h t have p r o v e d d i f f i c u l t to
c o n v i n c e ! )
The greater part of t h i s t i m e w as
g i v e n over t o t h e d i s c u s s i o n w i th
regard t o i m p r o v e d c l u b f a c i l i t i e s.
R e p r e s e n t a t i o n s t o t h e C o m p a ny
w e r e made f o l l o w i n g t h e m e e t i ng
Hot o n t h e heels of t h e i r successful
F i lm Festival came yet another
n o t a b l e event in t h e p r o g r a m m e of
t h e Cine & Photo C l u b — their prize
N i g h t on A p r i l 11 in t h e Social
Centre.
Surprise of t h e e v e n i n g w a s t he
w i n n i n g of t h e f i lm c o m p e t i t i o n by
h o n o r a r y member Ben R i n t j e m a of
M a n a g e m e n t Services, Venray, w ho
is c u r r e n t l y w o r k i n g o n an assignment
in our Data Processing Department.
( H o n o r a r y m e m b e r s h i p of t h e c l u b is
e x t e n d e d t o a n y o n e f r o m overseas
w o r k i n g at t h e Plant w h o w i s h e s to
t a k e a d v a n t a g e of t h e c l u b ‘s
f a c i l i t i e s .)
‘ B i g Ben’ e n t e r e d his 8 m m f i lm
‘ A u s t r i a n H o l i d a y ‘ w h i c h t i e d w i th
Harry Pearce’s 1 6 m m ‘ C a r n i v al
T i m e ‘ . V i c e – p r e s i d e n t Don Elliott,
w h o j u d g e d t h e f i l m s o n t h e n i g h t,
d e c i d e d t o a w a r d t h e laurels (or
rather t h e hairdryer) t o Ben, t a k i ng
i n t o c o n s i d e r a t i o n t h e p r o b l e m s of
w o r k i n g on 8 m m as o p p o s e d to
16mm.
a n d a w o r k i n g party set up, c o n s i s t i ng
of r e p r e s e n t a t i v e s of b o th
m a n a g e m e n t and c l u b . Members
s u b s e q u e n t l y r e c e i v e d a m o r e d e t a i l ed
q u e s t i o n n a i r e t h a n t h e o n e c i r c u l a t ed
p r e v i o u s l y , a n d t h e results have been
i n c o r p o r a t e d in a d o c u m e n t d e s i g n ed
t o e s t a b l i s h t h e r e q u i r e m e n t s for
c l u b f a c i l i t i e s at M i t c h e l d e a n.
M a n a g e m e n t are n o w c o n s i d e r i ng
t h e s e r e q u i r e m e n t s.
T w o other n e w names in t h e list of
f i lm e n t r a n t s t h i s year w e r e Dave
Payne, w h o c o n t r i b u t e d ‘ J o u r n ey
A b r o a d ‘ in T u n i s i a , a n d Dennis
B o b b i n s w i t h his ‘ T r a n s p o r t t h r o u gh
t h e A g e s ‘.
The e x c e l l e n t slides had been
a d j u d i c a t e d p r e v i o u s l y , s u b j e c ts
r a n g i n g f r o m f a m i l y g r o u p s ( h u m an
a n d c a n i n e ) t o c o b w e b s . Prizes here
w e n t t o Valerie J o r d a n (overall
w i n n e r ) . Bill H o b b s and B e t t y King.
B e t t y also c a m e f i r s t in t h e black and
w h i t e c o m p e t i t i o n (see cover p i c t u r e ).
As a c h a n g e f r om t h e usual prizes, an
e l e c t r i c k e t t l e , hairdryer a n d f o od
mixer w e n t t o t h e t o p a w a r d w i n n e rs
in each of t h e c o m p e t i t i o n s,
Mrs Elliott k i n d l y m a k i n g the
p r e s e n t a t i o n s .
A f t e r t h e p r e s e n t a t i o n s and t h e c o f f ee
came t h e f e a t u r e f i lm ‘ N e a r l y a Nasty
A c c i d e n t ‘ f e a t u r i n g J i m m y Edwards
as star a n d Bill A u s t i n as p r o j e c t i o n i s t.
The annual general m e e t i n g o n M a y 2
b r o u g h t t o a c l o s e o n e of t h e c l u b ‘s
most o u t s t a n d i n g seasons.
WE PROUDLY
PRESENT
T h o u g h t h e y have been absent f r om
t h e M i t c h e l d e a n stage, t h e Variety
C l u b have been busy e n t e r t a i n i ng
e l s e w h e r e in s u p p o r t of local
c h a r i t a b l e causes.
A letter f r o m t h e clerk of L o n g h o pe
Parish C o u n c i l c o n f i r m s h o w much
‘ e v e r y o n e e n j o y e d t h e very
p r o f e s s i o n a l e n t e r t a i n m e n t y o u and
y o u r members p r o v i d e d for t he
Parish C o u n c i l ‘ s e l d e r l y guests at t he
Rose B a r t o n Party. Had t h e y not
c o m e t o our rescue,’ t h e letter
c o n t i n u e s , ‘I am a f r a i d , in v i e w of our
f i n a n c i a l s i t u a t i o n , t h e Parish
C o u n c i l l o r s w o u l d have had t o do
t h e e n t e r t a i n i n g t h e m s e l v e s 1’
As y o u w i l l see f r o m t h e poster on
t h e s e pages, t h e c l u b have n o w f i x ed
a d a t e f o r t h e l o n g – p r o m i s e d s h o w at
M i t c h e l d e a n — J u n e 8. Details of
t h e ‘ M i s s S h o p Floor’ c o m p e t i t i o n are
a p p e a r i n g o n t h e n o t i c e b o a r d s . Come
N o v e m b e r , t h e c l u b plan yet another
s h o w , t h i s t i m e f e a t u r i n g a
‘ G l a m o r o u s G r a n d m o t h e r ‘ c o n t e s t I
ROUND ROBIN
STARTS
By t h e t i m e t h i s issue of V I S I ON
appears, it is h o p e d t h a t b a t t l e w i ll
have c o m m e n c e d w i t h t h e Round
R o b i n C o m p e t i t i o n . Preparations by
t h e c o m p e t i t o r s have been e x t e n s i v e,
w i t h p e o p l e a c t u a l l y p r a c t i s i n g for
t h e b i g event.
M o s t players have t a k e n up b o d y b
u i l d i n g exercises w h i c h s t r e n g t h en
t h e r i g h t arm. These consist
b a s i c a l l y of l i f t i n g large glass mugs
f i l l e d w i t h beer a n d s h o u t i n g at t he
same t i m e ‘Cheers, o l d butt I’
V a r i a t i o n s of t h i s exercise can be
o b s e r v e d in t h e secret t r a i n i ng
h e a d q u a r t e r s at t h e W h i t e Hart,
C i n d e r f o r d .
There has been a major c h a n g e in t he
h i e r a r c h y of t h e s o c i e t y w i t h Des
G i b b s b e i n g e l e c t e d a c t i n g c h a i r m an
t o replace J o h n Bird, w h o has left us
f o r t h e Deep S o u t h , ie B r i s t o l . Des
has been w i t h us s i n c e t h e start of
t h e s o c i e t y a n d w e feel he w i l l make
a f i n e c h a i r m a n , w e l l able t o c o n t r ol
o u r u n i q u e c o m m i t t e e meetings.
D u r i n g t h e last series of lessons that
w e r e held I t h i n k I d i s c o v e r e d the
m i s t a k e t h a t w e all seem t o make
w h e n p l a y i n g g o l f a n d w h i c h greatly
a f f e c t s our s c o r e s : most of us s t a nd
far t o o near t h e g o l f ball — after w e ‘ ve
h i t i t ! Pat D u i s on
B/g Ben’ Rintjema receives tiis prize from Mrs.
Elliott. Presentations were rounded off with gifts
of chocolates for both her and secretary Angela
Powell: Mrs. Seal is pictured on the far right
doing the honours.
ELECTRIFYING PRIZES
F R I D A Y , J U N E 8, at 8 pm
in t h e S O C I A L CENTRE
S O P R A N O
( 1 9 7 2 C H E L T E N H AM
F E S T I V A L PRIZEWINNER)
S U R P R I S E A C T I
” M I S S S H O P F L O O R”
C O M P E T I T I ON
D A N C I N G
Tickets 50p
SOMETHING SPECIAL
FOR THE SKITTLERS
W i t h o u t t h e aid of t h e c o m p u t e r , t he
organisers of t h e latest Interd
e p a r t m e n t a l S k i t t l e s KO T o u r n a m e nt
have managed t o steer t h e record
t o t a l of 7 6 t e a m s t h r o u g h a massive
f i x t u r e list. In A p r i l , s o m e eight
m o n t h s s i n c e t h e f i r s t m a t c h w as
p l a y e d , t h e s e m i – f i n a l s w e r e played
o f f , and as w e w e n t t o press we
heard t h a t t h e t w o teams w h o w i ll
f i g h t it o u t at t h e f i n a l s o n M a y 19
w i l l be Larry’s Lads (PED) a n d the
3 6 0 0 No Hopers, w h o beat Design
and S h o p Loaders r e s p e c t i v e l y at
t h e s e m i – f i n a l s . Come and s u p p o rt
t h e t e am y o u f a v o u r — it’s at
7 . 3 0 pm in t h e C l u b House.
S u c h a m a r a t h o n calls f o r s o m e t h i ng
special in t h e w a y of t r o p h i e s and
t h i s year t h e r e are t o be over £ 1 00
w o r t h . A p a r t f r om t h e usual t e am
s h i e l d , each member of t h e w i n n i ng
s i d e w i l l receive a s i l v e r t a n k a rd
s u i t a b l y e n g r a v e d . T h e r e w i l l also be
a n e w and i m p r e s s i v e t r o p h y in g o ld
f i n i s h f o r t h e h i g h e s t scorer.
PISTOL
POSTAL
MATCH
Remember t h e n o t e in our December
issue a b o u t a p i s t o l m a t c h being
c o n d u c t e d by post b e t w e e n us and
t h e X e r o x Pioneer Pistol C l u b?
The results have n o w been v e r i f i e d,
a f t e r e x c h a n g i n g t a r g e t cards, and
‘ t h e y ‘ r e v e r y e n c o u r a g i n g ‘ , said
M i k e Bird, E n g i n e e r i n g L i a i s o n , PED,
w h o o r g a n i s e d t h i n g s at our e n d.
Our six t e a m s of t h r e e men each,
made u p of m a r k s m e n at M i t c h e l d e an
a n d W e l w y n plus m e m b e r s of t he
R o s s – o n – W y e Rifle & Pistol C l u b,
w e r e m a t c h e d a g a i n s t t e a m s in
X e r o x , s h o o t i n g over 6 0 ft.
Our ‘ A ‘ t e am w o n w i t h a s c o r e of
2 9 0 ( ‘ b r i l l i a n t ‘ c o m m e n t e d our rivals
in t h e U S A w h o s e ‘ A ‘ t e am scored
2 6 4 ) and t h e y also had t h e highest
i n d i v i d u a l scores in t h e c o n t e s t . Our
‘ B ‘ t e am also w o n w i t h a t o t a l of 2 6 6.
Teams ‘ C , ‘ E ‘ a n d ‘ F ‘ lost but t he
‘ D ‘ t e am t i e d w i t h t h e i r c o u n t e r p a r ts
in t h e Pioneers.
I\^ike Bird and Pete Watson at tfie
Ross club range. Mike, a good shot
with both rifle and pistol, shoots for
Herefordshire through both types of
barrel; Pete is a county reserve pistol
shot.
In s h o r t , w e as c o m p e t i t o r s w e r e at
b o t h t h e t o p and t h e b o t t o m , w i th
t h e Pioneers in t h e m i d d l e . ‘Had our
l o w – s c o r i n g s h o o t e r s been u p to
average, w e r e c k o n w e w o u l d have
w o n , ‘ said M i k e.
The s h o o t e r s are keen t o repeat t he
m a t c h t h i s year, o n 5 0 f t targets.
M i k e has a l r e a d y sent off t a r g e t cards
t o t h e o p p o s i n g team, but if t h e r e is
a n y o n e in t h e Plant w h o has pistol
s h o o t i n g e x p e r i e n c e and feels he or
she c o u l d c o n t r i b u t e a useful score,
t h e y have o n l y t o l i f t t h e receiver,
dial 6 5 3 and speak t o M i k e Bird. He
w i l l f i re a n y necessary q u e s t i o n s.
PUTTING YOU
IN THE PICTURE
S i l v e r W e d d i ng
C o n g r a t u l a t i o n s t o Robert Hoyles ( S u p p ly
Centre) and his w i f e Eunice o n reaching
t h e i r 2 5 t h w e d d i n g anniversary on May 15.
E n g a g e m e n t s
Rodney Dix ( a p p r e n t i c e ) to D a wn
B i l l i n g t o n on April 2.
L i n d a Ford ( S u p p l y Centre) t o Paul Cole
on April 7.
W e d d i n g
K e i t h Bradley ( D e s i g n e n g i n e e r ) t o Hilary
M a r f e l l at H o l y T r i n i t y C h u r c h , D r y b r o ok
on M a r c h 3 1 .
B i r t h s
J u l i a n Robert, a son for Bruce Powell
( W o r k s E n g i n e e r i n g ) and his w i f e Brenda,
o n M a r c h 25.
J o n a t h a n Robert, a son f o r N e v i l l e L i t t le
( c a r p e n t e r ) and his w i f e M o n i c a , on
M a r c h 26.
Robert Kristian, a son for Celia Dunn
( f o r m e r l y Progress) and her h u s b a n d Brian,
on M a r c h 3 1 .
Sarah J a n e , a d a u g h t e r for M a l c o lm
R o b e r t s h a w ( 4 0 0 0 A s s e m b l y ) , on A p r i l 12.
Dean Forest Studios
Keith Bradley and his bride Hilary.
2 1 s t B i r t h d ay
C h r i s t i n e Gaylard (Purchase) on A p r i l 22.
R e t i r e m e n t s
Best w i s h e s t o t h e f o l l o w i n g w h o retired at
t h e end of A p r i l : J o h n Hawker (Sheet
Metal Shop, RX C i n d e r f o r d ) w h o started in
A u g u s t 1961 ; L e o n a r d Haile ( w a r e h o u s e m a n.
S u p p l y Centre) w h o was 11 years three
m o n t h s w i t h u s ; and T o m Goodman (Heat
T r e a t m e n t ) w h o came t o us in 1968.
11
Spanish Fiesta I
E x c e r p t s f r o m t h e d i a r y o f G e n e L a r k w h o , w i t h T a f fy
M o r g a n , o r g a n i s e d a m o n t h ‘ s w i n t e r h o l i d a y o n t h e C o s ta
B r a v a f o r s o m e o f o u r s e n i o r c i t i z e n s.
H a i l s t o n e s like p i n g p o n g balls,
l i g h t n i n g , t h e n s n o w as w e left
B a r c e l o n a airport f o r Lloret d e M a r .
Courier d i s g u s t e d , n o t seen t h e s t u ff
in seven years. T o l d us t o t a k e it
back s m a r t i s h.
A r r i v e d at h o t e l . Huge place, 2 , 0 00
rooms in t w o d i f f e r e n t w i n g s . No
porters, had t o f i n d o w n r o o m s a nd
carry l u g g a g e.
T a f f y and I b o o k e d t r i p s f o r t he
g r o u p ; e v e r y o n e g i v e n £ 2 t o s p e nd
as t h e y l i k e d . All t r i p s a nd
i n c i d e n t a l s paid f o r o u t o f f u n d s.
Raffle cash is b e i n g w e l l used a nd
m u c h a p p r e c i a t e d.
Tour of B a r c e l o n a , t a k i n g in
c a t h e d r a l , o l d p a l a c e a n d c o u r t y a rd
w h e r e King of S p a i n greeted
C o l u m b u s o n r e t u r n f r o m A m e r i c a.
S a w replica of his s h i p , Santa Maria
(smaller t h a n some of t o d a y ‘ s c a b in
c r u i s e r s ) . Also Salvador Dali’s
cruiser w i t h a ‘ C h i n e s e t e m p l e’
s u p e r s t r u c t u r e — he hires it o u t .
B a r c e l o n a f o o t b a l l s t a d i um — what
a size ! Chapel w h e r e t e am pray
b e f o r e a m a t c h . T r o p h y r o o m —
p a c k e d f r o m f l o o r t o c e i l i n g w i th
cases of t r o p h i e s , h u g e c u p s a nd
urns, u p t o 4 f t h i g h . Fantastic I
V i s i t e d n i g h t c l u b , g o o d cabaret,
f r e e c h a m p a g n e — over a b o t t l e each.
G o o d s t u f f t o w a s h y o u r u n d i e s in —
I g a v e it a miss. Some s l o s h e d it
d o w n like p o p — got maxi headaches
next m o r n i n g.
Some b o o k e d a t h r e e – d a y t r i p to
A n d o r r a . Discovered t h e y w i l l be
w a l k i n g in a b o u t a f o o t of s n o w,
not a pair of Wellingtons b e t w e e n us.
Can see a w e l l – b e a t e n path t o t he
desk t o g e t t h a t c a n c e l l e d.
Most of us h a v e c a u g h t , or been
c a u g h t , by a l o c a l b u g — gives y ou
a sore t h r o a t a n d c o u g h f o r a b o u t a
w e e k . Taffy says i t ‘s t h e w e t beer.
H o l i d a y n o w j u s t passed h a l f – w ay
m a r k ; no o n e has s a i d t h e y ‘ r e bored
yet.
W e n t t o M o n t s e r r a t , r u g g ed
m o u n t a i n 4 0 0 0 ft a b o v e sea l e v e l.
H u g e p i n n a c l e s of rock, f a n t a s t ic
shapes, o n e l o o k s j u s t l i ke a c a m e l.
M o n a s t e r y at t o p c o n t a i n i n g t o mb
a n d e f f i g y of t h e B l a c k V i r g i n , p a t r on
s a i n t of M o n t s e r r a t , a n d m u s e um
h o u s i n g her ‘ c r o w n j e w e l s ‘.
On w a y b a c k v i s i t e d a c h a m p a g ne
cave. Different processes all d o ne
by a u t o m a t i o n . Only d i f f e r e n c e in
t h e s t u f f is t h e l a b e l s s t u c k on
d i f f e r e n t brands.
W a l l y V a u g h a n not t o o w e l l . Glad
w e have M r s A n n a B r o o k s of
M i t c h e l d e a n a m o n g us — Spanish is
her n a t i v e t o n g u e a n d s h e ‘ s seeing
he g e t s cared f o r.
A r n o l d Gaylard s l i p p e d o n escalator
at G a t w i c k o n o u r r e t u r n . A i r p o rt
s t a f f r e m a r k a b l y e f f i c i e n t — no great
i n j u r y d o n e , t h a n k g o o d n e s s.
S i n c e r e t h a n k s t o t h e C o m p a n y f or
t r a n s p o r t t o a n d f r om G a t w i c k.
A l r e a d y b e i n g asked if a repeat
h o l i d a y is l i k e l y next year. W o u l d be
great if a c h e a p w i n t e r h o l i d a y c o u ld
be a r r a n g e d in o n e o f t h e Rank
h o t e l s . The Canaries, f o r i n s t a n c e?