THE HOUSE MAGAZINE OF RANK XEROX MITCHELDEAN
Larry’s Lads are Champs
‘You could say that, as Gauge
Planning, we had the measure of the
opposite side 1’
With these words, Larry Sterrett
received the winning trophy on
behalf of his Lads at the Interdepartmental
Skittles KO Competition
on May 19.
In previous years a team has been
picked from PED as a whole and has
done well, reaching the finals four
times. But this year Larry’s Lads
came exclusively from the Gauge
Planning section ; w i t h only 14 people
to pick from, it was no mean feat to
produce a winning team.
Play started at about 8.15 pm and
the alley was so crowded that the
Lads and their opponents, 3600 No
Hopers, had difficulty getting to the
‘starting grid’.
After the first leg, the Lads found
themselves 1 down ; after the second
they were 10 down, but a f ew pints
of ale worked wonders and the third
leg produced a lead of 3 pins. By
the fourth and fifth leg they were
down again by 4 and 2 pins
respectively, but on the final leg they
scored a fine 59 which proved too
much for their opponents and left
the Lads winners by 1 5 pins.
The 3600 team put up a good fight.
They’ve reached the semi-final four
times and had almost given up hope
of making the final — hence the
name No Hopers. Though pipped at
the post, they had the kudos of
producing the highest individual
g scorer — Terry Weaving. (See p. 12.)
Larry and some of his Lads in action.
A group of 25-year-award winners; from tfie
left they are: Eddie Fleming, Phil Davies, Bill
Beech and Tony Cale {committee members),
Alan Swordy, Doris Barker (secretary of the
LSA), Fred Wickstead, Cliff Meek, Ron Boakes,
Bill Williams, Neville Barnett, Jim Gurney and
Des Hanman. Two other award winners —
Horace Giles and June Lewis — were not at the
dinner. Ted Matthews was, but he was missing
from the group picture, so we’ve pictured him on
the right, receiving his award from
Gerald Dennis.
Four Centuries of Service
‘Today my office has been literally
showered w i t h telex messages from
all over the world congratulating
Fred Wickstead on reaching 25 years
with the Company,’ said Gerald
Dennis, Group Director, Personnel
and Organisation.
They came from people like Peter
McColough and Sir John Davis,
Joint Presidents of Rank Xerox Ltd,
Archie McCardell, President of Xerox
Corporation, our Chairman
J. Maldwyn Thomas and many
others, who recognised in
Mr Wickstead ‘the symbol of our
multi-nationalism’.
It was to present 25-year awards to
Mr Wickstead and 15 plant people —
among them LSA secretary Doris
Barker and committee members
Bill Beech and Tony Cale — t h a t
Mr Dennis was attending the 20th
annual dinner of the association at
the Chase Hotel, Ross-on-Wye, on
May 11.
‘I am a connoisseur of factories,’ said
Mr Dennis, proposing the toast of the
LSA. ‘Mitcheldean was the first
Rank Xerox plant I visited, and in my
2
opinion it is a super factory,
operated to a very high standard.’
Having joined the Company in
February 1972, he said he felt
particularly honoured to be present
because ‘I have only one fourhundredth
part of the total service of
those receiving the awards tonight.’
He believed that long service, like
marriage, was an ‘honourable estate’.
It had been made possible by vision,
adaptability and willingness to
accept change. The LSA contained
w i t h in its ranks people who had
learned the lessons of the past and
their experience could provide useful
reminders.
‘The future has to be determined, and
! think you should do your utmost
to ensure that this plant continues to
remain in the forefront of our
manufacturing activity.’
He gave some statistics which
highlighted the spectacular growth
of the Company. From a loss by the
end of 1962 it had rocketed to a
turnover of £268 million in 1972.
The Manufacturing Group, under the
leadership of Derek Portman, was
expanding and this had led to
growth in responsibilities, and to
promotions. ‘Two have been
announced today and we
congratulate Lionel Lyes and
Graham Price on their appointment as
Divisional Directors.’
Expressing thanks on behalf of his
f e l l ow award winners, Mr Wickstead
recalled many of the personalities
w i t h whom he and others in the
LSA had worked, and he had some
amusing anecdotes of the very early
days when production was on a very
different level from today.
Looking to the future, he gave an
indication of the scale of future
multi-national activities of Xerox
w i t h in the next five years; ‘In
manufacturing alone we are now
employing 17,500 people — we are
expecting that to rise to over 30,000.
In space we are using about
7 million sq. ft. (roughly six and half
times the size of Mitcheldean), we
expect that to grow to over 12 million
sq. ft. Currently w i t h in Xerox there
are 16 factories and we are
convinced that this number will
grow to at least 28.
Arthur Mason and Eileen de Mattos
admire the award presented to
Des Hanman.
‘We have at this moment over 20 new
products in the pipeline, and we will
be spending something in the region
of £60 million on research and
development this year.’
Mr Wickstead concluded by thanking
everyone for ‘your support, your
loyalty, your hard work, your courage
and above all your mutual trust.’
There were further presentations to
Mr Wickstead during the evening.
A silver tankard came from the UK
and Irish Companies while a special
messenger from Holland brought
gifts from Len Stierman and the
Burgomaster of Venray.
Newly-elected vice-president
Frank Edwards, Technical Training
Co-ordinator, proposed the toast to
the guests, who included, apart from
Developments in the top-line
management of Manufacturing
Group were announced last month.
Lionel Lyes, Manager, Personnel,
became Director of Personnel, and
Graham Price, Controller, Finance,
became Director of Manufacturing
Information and Control. Both
continue to report to Derek Portman,
Graham Price
Mr Dennis, Lionel Lyes, Len Peacock
and Royston Charles representing the
Personnel function. General
Manager Peter Salmon also attended
the dinner (Mr Portman was away on
holiday but sent his good wishes).
Mr Edwards also extended a welcome
to Miss Vi Holder (Rank Audio
Visual, Brentford); Mrs M. Kite and
Mrs M. Grooms (Rank Taylor
Hobson Optics, Leicester);
Mrs E. Stansbury and Mrs P.
Bricknel (Rank Radio International,
Plymouth); Mr E. A. Moss and
Mr J . Newman (Rank Radio
International, Chiswick); and Mr A.
Brown and Mr S. Rollinson (Rank
Precision Industries, Leeds).
Mr Moss, w h o is chairman of Rank
Radio International LSA, replied on
their behalf. He had never been to
Mitcheldean before and had been
impressed with ‘your smiling faces’.
Earlier in the day these representatives
had been entertained to lunch and
taken on a tour of the Plant.
Raffle Results
Alan Phelps (Parts Requirements
Planning) won the draw for £20 or a
hotel dinner for four.
The retired members’ outing, for
which raffle tickets were sold at the
dinner, is to be held on July 11. It is
to be a coach outing to Malvern and
district w i t h a tea and a visit to the
Old Time Music Hall at Cheltenham.
A party from Mitcheldean will join
them at the performance; contact
Doris Barker or Jackie Smith if you
want to come.
Director, Manufacturing Group.
The extension of our manufacturing
activities in Europe, w i t h the challenge
of bringing our projected plants in
France, Germany and Spain
on-stream within a very short space
of time, is dependent upon a very
strong management capability.
Mr Lyes, w h o joined the Company as
Controller of Personnel in 1968,
is responsible for the key area of
personnel and labour relations, to
which task he brings the benefit of
25 years’ experience.
At present he is increasingly involved
in the recruitment of personnel for
the new plants and the building up of
conditions of employment appropriate
w i t h in the different countries. ‘We
are working closely w i t h the
respective RX operating companies,’
said Mr Lyes.
In his capacity of Director of
Manufacturing Information and
Control, Mr Price, who has been
w i t h us since 1969, is responsible for
the development of sophisticated
techniques for financial control and
NEW PRESIDENT
FOR LSA
As we went to press we learned that
Bernard Smith, Purchasing
Controller, had been elected to
succeed Bob Baker as president of
the LSA.
Bernard joined the Company in 1939
and came to Mitcheldean in 1947. A
founder member of the association, he
was one of its earliest chairmen, and
has been a vice-president since 1967.
Technical Training Co-ordinator
Frank Edwards, whose service adds
up to 32 years, has accepted an
invitation to become a vice-president.
A further new appointment has been
that of John Brain, Chief
Draughtsman, as press officer of the
association, for which purpose he
has been co-opted on to the
committee.
Christmas vouchers which the
Company give to all LSA members
are to be increased this year as
follows : those w i t h 15 to 25 years’
service will get £12-50 instead of
£10, and those w i t h over 25 years’
service will receive £25 instead of
£20.
Taking the opportunity to retire early
on full pension, Stan Richardson left
at the end of May. A chargehand in
4000 Assembly, he started at
Woodger Road in 1938 as a precision
fitter and came to Mitcheldean in 1942.
We’ll be writing more about him in
our next issue; in the meantime he
has our best wishes.
information systems. He has recently
been concerned with the introduction
of the SOLAR computer system at
Mitcheldean which will be featured
in coming issues of the magazine.
A further appointment within
Manufacturing Group is that of
Venray’s General Manager Len
Stierman as Director of Manufacturing
Operations (Continental). A
chemical engineer by profession,
Mr Stierman joined Rank Xerox in
1965.
Lionel Lyes
GROUP PROMOTIONS
3
Security Officer
Gilbert Brain stands
to attention by the
largest item in his
collection of curios—
a music box known as
a Polyphon.
QUIET !
CONSERVATIONISTS
AT WORK
Wild life has a way of adapting
itself to a changing environment.
It seems that certain birds —
robins to be precise — have
already come to terms with the
technological age, as far as
Mitcheldean is concerned. At
the last count there were three
nests within the Plant.
Fortunately they had been built
where they did not need to be
disturbed, and a new generation
of Rank Xerox robins was about
to be hatched as we went to
press. The people working
nearby were being as
considerate as possible — what
you might call doing a
conservation project without
applying for social service leave.
And that reminds us to remind
you that the closing date for
submitting applications for
1973 social service leave is
June 18.
HE’S THE PETER SCOTT
OF THE PLANT
Measuring 6ft 4in in his socks,
Gilbert Brain ranks as one of our
tallest, if not the tallest, of our
security officers. This is not his only
claim to fame — he is noted in the
locality for his knowledge of the
Forest, its archaeology, history, and
natural flora and fauna.
If there’s anything you want to know
about the Forest, Gilbert’s the chap
to ask. Either he finds the unusual, or
it finds him, it seems. He can show
you a woodcock’s nest, invisible to
the unpractised eye, or suddenly
produce a copy of the Dean Forest
Guardian dated October 30, 1891,
like a conjuror bringing a rabbit out
of a hat.
Where did he acquire his extensive
knowledge, we wondered. ‘I find out
more by observation and deduction
than by studying books,’ says
Gilbert.
He gets letters from learned people
who are interested in his theories, or
who seek some bit of local
information. ‘I’m free to pop in
through the back door of the British
Museum whenever I like,’ he told us.
He has long cherished a hope that a
Forest museum could be set up.
Certainly his own finds would make
some useful exhibits, ranging as they
do from flints and arrowheads of
2 to 4,000 BC to a box of frill
samples dated 1885, discovered
when an old shop on the corner of
the Stenders in Mitcheldean was
being demolished.
His collection of curios and
antiquities was recently augmented
by a Polyphon, circa 1890. One of
the earlier types of music box, it has
a penny slot, which enforces
Gilbert’s belief that it used to stand
in a pub. It operates by means of
discs; these are fitted on a central
pivot and engage w i t h reeds to
produce the sound. Wind it up and
you can listen to the strains of
‘Home, Sweet Home’ or ‘The
British Grenadiers’.
A similar music box was sold
recently to some Americans for a
sum well over £1,000, so Gilbert is
waiting for the right customer to
turn up!
Not so many years ago Gilbert had a
fascinating example of the fauna
side of Forest life. He has seen
too much of the nasty side of foxes’
behaviour to be sentimental about
them, yet when he found a fox cub
which seemed to be particularly
vicious, it was typical of Gilbert that
he took it home to see if it could be
tamed and made to respond to
affection. And it did.
The vixen, christened Rex (well,
Regina seemed a bit much) had
comfortable ‘digs’ w i t h the Brain
family for some 18 years. She would
come when Gilbert called and used
to search his pocket for titbits.
‘Foxes are not totally carnivorous,’
Gilbert told us. ‘I’ve seen them eat
blackberries sometimes. Rex was
particularly fond of puffed wheat.’
She died at the ripe old age, for
foxes, of 18 years. But not before
she had been immortalised in a
storybook. Tawny Brush. The
authoress had contacted Gilbert to
get the lowdown on foxes but, much
to his disgust, she set the story in the
Cotswolds, instead of the Forest.
Gilbert was in the prison service
before he joined us, and prior to that
worked for the Forestry Commission.
At the end of this month he retires
after eight and a half years at
Mitcheldean Plant.
He’s looking forward to being able to
devote more time to studying the
Forest in all its moods, and to acting
as scout, as he puts it, for those
more knowledgeable than himself.
4
COMPUTER BLOCK
GOES UP
The computer building — Building
5 0 — is rapidly materialising.
The north block, which will house
the data centre, is due for completion
in early autumn. Tailor-made for this
use, it will conform to stringent
security regulations in line with
Rank Xerox corporate requirements.
All Computer Operations sections
will be housed in this block.
When the new computer arrives, it
w i l l , during the phasing-in process, be
run in conjunction with our current
computer, and Operations staff will be
divided between the t w o facilities.
Programmers and systems analysts
will be located eventually in the
south block, due to complete around
Christmas.
We hope to let you have drawings
and further details in our next issue.
Spring is the traditional time for
taking a fresh look at things — an
appropriate time therefore for the
‘reviewing and revitalising’ of our
manual job grading practice which
has been getting under way.
Just in case you’ve missed the
progress bulletins, we’ll recap
briefly. As a result of the settlement
last November, the management
consultants Urwick, Orr & Partners
were invited to assist us in the
reviewing and revitalising process,
and the work started last February.
The consultants recommended that a
scheme be tailored to suit our
particular requirement at Mitcheldean
using their ‘profile’ j ob grading
method which takes into consideration
various characteristics of jobs such
as skill, knowledge, responsibilities
and so on, and assesses them under
these headings.
They advised us to set up a team
with equal management and trade
Three Finalists
Financial awards were recently
presented by General Manager
Peter Salmon to {from the left)
Brian Prosser, MlnstAM{Dip.),
Alan Evans, AC A, and Bernard
Morris, Grad.lPM. The letters mean
that, having passed their respective
final exams, Brian {Reliability) is now
union representation to put the
scheme into practice, and so the
Industrial Workers Grading Committee
came into being under the
chairmanship of Phil Cleal, Small
Batch Facility Manager.
A thorough training in the theoretical
concept of Urwick, Orr & Partners’
profile method has been given to the
committee members. This training
has been further developed by
teamwork in practical j ob analysis.
Twenty-seven jobs were chosen which
were likely to be indicative of the
extremes for each of the factors
{eg exceptional skill), and in recent
weeks the joint committee have been
engaged in studying these
‘benchmark’ jobs so as to establish
standards by which the remaining
100 or so jobs can be evaluated.
Split up into groups, they have been
looking at benchmark jobs,
discussing them w i t h operators, shop
stewards, supervisors, managers.
a member of the Institute of
Administrative Management, Alan
{Accounts) is an associate of the
Institute of Chartered Accountants,
and Bernard {Personnel) has been
admitted to associate membership of
the Institute of Personnel
Management.
w r i t i ng out j ob descriptions and
getting them agreed on the shop
floor. Before attempting to assess
any job at all, the committee have
made sure that each and every
member is familiar w i t h it.
At assessment meetings, called from
time to time, around half a dozen of
the jobs studied have been considered.
These assessed jobs are subsequently
reviewed so that by the time all 27
have been evaluated, each job will
have been assessed and reviewed no
less than four times, allowing plenty
of opportunity for further discussion,
consideration and consolidation of
the committee’s views.
It is a progressive evaluation process,
and the participation invited from
everyone concerned means it is also
time-consuming.
‘But’, says Mr Cleal, ‘ w e consider it
to be essential because it is providing
a framework without which the
grading scheme as such cannot
operate. Thanks to the co-operation
of all concerned, the task is
proceeding well.’
By the time this issue appears, it is
hoped all 27 benchmark jobs will
have been completed. The
remaining 100 or so manual jobs will
then be evaluated, using the criteria
established.
The aim is to achieve a scheme that
is scrupulously fair and acceptable
and capable of being maintained
over a reasonable period.
THEY’RE STUDYING
PROFILES
5
Production Control lies at the hub of
our operation here at Mitcheldean.
The objectives of this department,
which has a strength of some 380
people, are to provide information, to
prepare plans, to balance inventory
and to ensure the supply of the right
parts at the right place and time.
It is a complex and difficult task
which entails continuous balancing
of the various resources available.
The scope extends through initial
programming, purchase/manufacturing,
planning and requisitioning,
stores control, housekeeping, setting
the applicabilities of Engineering
Order changes, machine loading and
sub-contracting over/under loads of
both manufactured and purchased
parts.
T H E Y P L A N T O
Horace Giles, w h o recently completed
his 25th year working in the
Production Control area at
Mitcheldean, summed up the
department’s activity in household
words. ‘It’s a bit like jam. You need
to have it all put into pots and
labelled.’
Putting it into pots and labelling it is
perhaps one way of describing the
changes in the department which
Manager Terry Quartermaine
implemented in January this year.
Terry took over as Production Control
Manager at Mitcheldean in July 1972,
following the promotion of Brian
Crosby to Manufacturing Group’s
Manager, Inventory Control.
Prior to that, the department had
undergone some dramatic changes
consequent upon the developments
at Mitcheldean. Stores and stock
control had been brought under the
Production Control umbrella, while
Spares Programming had been split
off and made part of the Supply
function, as Parts Requirements
Planning, to forecast future trends.
Then, shortly after Terry took over,
his responsibilities were increased to
cover what used to be called Factory
Progress.
Terry’s aim was to restructure the
department in such a way that jobs
and responsibilities could be more
clearly identified, targets set and
F a r l e f t : Terry Quartermaine, Production
Control Manager, holds a monthly meeting
with his managers to discuss all aspects of
the department’s activity. Standing is his
PA, Horace Giles. L e f t : Jim Cannon, the
manager in charge of new products,
discusses the proposed revision of a
programme for a new model with (left)
Ken Pule, senior supervisor, progress/
provisioning. Below: Maurice Brain, who
is responsible for parts manufacturing,
sorts out a problem with (left) Alec Jones,
senior supervisor, machine loading, and
(standing) Les Bullock, supervisor, raw
materials.
P R O V I D E
attainment measured more easily, and
concentrated management action
made possible on all aspects of
individual models.
The new structure matches present
Design and PED practice, in that
three of the seven managers have
been appointed with responsibilities
for three separate groups of models:
J im Cannon is concerned with those
that are forthcoming; those that are
current or on-going [eg the 4000)
are the responsibility of Roger
Smith ; and those described as
terminal at Mitcheldean (that is,
either running down, or being
transferred to other locations) come
under Ernie Wood.
The planning of Engineering Orders
(modifications to our models) which
used to be a separate entity is now
the responsibility of the relevant
model manager.
The man who has to keep his sights
on the future — Jim Cannon — told
us: ‘My specific duty is to monitor
new models through their pilot runs
and on to the main production line
before handing control over to the
designated manager.
Continued on page 8
F a r l e f t : An ‘A’ transport 4000 cut-in
meeting. Seated clockwise round the table,
Paul Trollope, senior supervisor, progress,
Doug Robson, Roger Smith, manager in
charge of current products. Bob Edwards
and Graham Perkins determine the point at
which the change can be effected. Left:
Studying the 4000 model shortages on
charts are Don Aston and Ken Greenway
(right). R i g h t : Ernie Wood, manager
responsible for terminal products with
(right) Bill Wilkins, senior supervisor,
progress!pro visioning.
THEY PLAN TO PROVIDE
Continued from page 7
‘In some cases we are working up to
three and four years ahead. The
‘make or buy’ decision is taken in
conjunction with PED. We have to
decide which are long lead and
critical items, and a detailed operation
is carried on w i t h Xerox on the
question of component support until
we are self-sufficient.’ (Two of Jim’s
supervisors— Robin Berks and Keith
Burris — are at present attached to
task forces in the States.)
‘Our main objective is to keep the
production line fully operational’ said
current products manager, Roger
Smith. ‘We have to make sure they
get the right parts at the right time,
and that they can produce to
programme. We have to keep up the
pace of the set programme and
control inventory levels. We are
dependent on many factors —
manufacturing here and at suppliers’
plants, transport, all kinds of services
involving human and mechanical
fallibility, all of which can cause
variance to plan.’
Talking to Ernie Wood about his
responsibilities, we asked whether
the recent phasing out of the 720
meant any reduction in workload.
‘Don’t forget that the field has to be
supported w i t h spares for a number
of years yet,’ he pointed out. ‘It’s
very important that we meet the
demands of the Supply Centre.
As explained, Ernie’s area covers not
only the declining models but also
the transferred ones. ‘An important
aspect of this phasing transfer is that
we have to see there are sufficient
stocks to maintain production until
other plants are ready to take over;
we have to liaise w i t h other parts of
the Group for transfer, and regulate
surplus stocks carefully. The value of
the stock we hold has to be
considered — also space availability
and possible EOs w h i c h could make
items we hold obsolete.’
As Manager in charge of the Parts
Manufacturing aspect, Maurice Brain
has a multi-interest. He is
responsible for acquiring raw
materials and issuing them, ensuring
there is adequate capacity at
Mitcheldean to manufacture the parts
and, where necessary, subcontracting
variances.
‘We have to do a balancing act w i th
stock,’ he t o ld us. ‘We mustn’t keep
too much, or too little, so w e aim to
keep in the middle — but
circumstances make it extremely
difficult.’
So far we’ve only skimmed the
surface and there are still three areas
in Production Control that we
haven’t mentioned.
There’s Stock Control (which
includes Goods Inwards and Stores)
under the management of Peter
Broomer. There’s Planning Support
(planning of labour, stock financial
forecasting, budget control and
implementation of computer systems)
led by David Davies.
Finally there’s a recent development—
a Special Projects function headed
by John MacDonald.
John is chairman of the working
party dealing with SOLAR (Supply,
Ordering, Loading and Release).
This is the new computer-based
system which is being introduced in
Manufacturing Group and of which
Production Control will be the
biggest users.
We shall be featuring all these in
succeeding issues.
ODE TO A 720
‘Goodbye old friend, how well you
scored. ‘Twas you w h o w o n the
Queen’s Award’. There isn’t room for
more but one can appreciate why
Derek Jones of Remodelling wrote
this ode to commemorate the last
720 to come off the assembly lines on
May 25. As the 914, it was the first
xerographic machine made at the
Plant (it went out in late 1960), so
paving the way for more sophisticated
machines. Remodelled as the 720 it
continued its success story until
it had to be phased out to make room
for newer models. As you can see,
the boys who built it could not let the
last one go without some kind of
decoration I
8
April 25 — and the party are all geared up to fly to tulipland.
Tuliptime Trip was Terrific!
How did the ‘Holland in Tuliptime’
trip mentioned in our April issue
turn out?
Good company, wonderful food and
service, excellent weather, would
have liked to stay longer — these
were some of the comments of the
coachload from Mitcheldean.
‘Fantastic’ was the adjective applied
to the visit to Venray which proved
the highlight of the holiday. On
arrival from Zandvoort, where they
were staying, the party were met by
G. Peters of Personnel; after drinks,
he and Len Stierman (then General
On Sunday May 6 history was made
when G3WVQ, GW3XTY and
G3TLD had a pleasant chat for a
couple of hours w i t h WA2DJE and
K2QHA.
Or if you prefer we drop their call
signs for the names most people
know them by, John Barratt and
Ivor Lewis (Change Co-ordination)
and Mike Selwyn (Electronics
Laboratory) established a radio link
with J im Allen and Jack Kinsella of
Xerox Corporation, Rochester.
Said John : ‘We’ve contacted the
USA many times, but to make a
particular station over there is quite
something.
Manager) gave a presentation on
Venray’s development which was
followed by a tour of the plant.
Many new friends were made and
former acquaintances renewed;
supervisor Dot Price was particularly
pleased to meet her newly
appointed opposite number at
Venray, Martin Gielen and his wife.
Venray’s hospitality included a
‘fabulous’ meal. Said Rene Hawkins
of International Communications, w ho
won the first mini in Mitcheldean’s
Bonanza Draw : ‘I suggest that the
chef and his staff are given as a
‘The difficulty was picking a time and
frequency when the call should be
made. It had to be out of working
hours in America and here, and when
circumstances were favourable.’
(Something to do w i t h the ionised
layers in the atmosphere which
reflect radio waves.)
‘Our first schedule was fixed for
21.00 GMT on Sunday, April 29. We
took it in turns to call from this side
of the Atlantic while they listened for
us, but no luck.
‘We tried again on May 6, having
advanced the time to 20.00. This
time the Americans did the calling
(they can transmit w i t h greater power
prize in the d r a w ; if so, I hope I w in
again I’
As for the rest of the trip, the visit to
the cheese farm was hilarious, thanks
to an entertaining demonstrator, the
Amsterdam canal trip was relaxing
and the tulips were a sight to see.
On the return home a lovely Dutch
doll and a bouquet were presented to
Rose Pick as a thank you for
organising the trip and being such a
good all-round hostess — a gesture
she much appreciated.
Now the question on everyone’s
lips is : when’s the next trip?
over there) and w e did the listening.
We made contact with a chap 25
miles south of New York and while
talking to him, J im Allen picked us
up. Reception was good right to the
end.’
Our engineering types were also
able to talk w i t h Monty Russell, one
of Mitcheldean’s PED residents w ho
was visiting J im Allen. Monty had
great news — he was going down to
Florida to see the launch of the
Skylab.
Our radio amateurs (‘please don’t call
us hams’) never know who they
may find themselves talking to on
the air. Once Monty discovered he
was talking to King Hussein ;
another day Ivor was in contact with
a prisoner who had a receiver (the
authorities are understandably
nervous about allowing prisoners
transmitters). Said the man in g a o l:
‘The only way I can get out of here
is by radio wave !’
The band of radio amateurs at the
Plant is growing. Ken Boyd and
Geoff Williams (Design), Stan
Masterman (Development Lab.) and
George Johnson (Reliability) have all
recently taken the City & Guilds
exam to qualify for a licence.
It’s one way of helping to cut down
the telephone bill I
9
RADIO LINK
WITH ROCHESTER
Stan Cherry hands ovei inc ^u.mg spoon he carved to his son Rafe and new daughter-inlaw
Linda. It is decorated with a Staffordshire knot (Rafe’s birthplace). Forest oak leaf and
acorns (for Linda) and two cherries (Stan’s own hallmark). Dean Forest studios
PUTTING YOU
IN THE PICTURE
S p o o n i n g S t o ry
Former a p p r e n t i c e Rafe Cherry (Quality
C o n t r o l ) was married at Blakeney United
Reform Church on A p r i l 28 t o Linda B r o w n,
secretary t o Ernie W a t k l n s , Chief Assembly
Inspector.
A novel t o u c h at t h e w e d d i n g was the
presentation t o t h e c o u p l e of a w o o d en
l o v i n g s p o o n , carved by Rafe’s father,
Stan Cherry ( P E D ) . Stan t e l l s us t h a t it
used t o be customary for a y o u n g man
g o i n g c o u r t i n g t o be g i v e n a piece of w o od
t o carve i n t o a s p o o n w h i l e he w a s w i th
his ladylove. On r e t u r n i n g he w a s required
t o s h o w his progress, t h e Idea b e i n g that as
l o n g as he had c a r v i n g t o get on w i t h , he’d
keep his hands t o himself, hence t h e t e rm
‘ s p o o n i n g ‘ ,
Rafe w a s n ‘ t all that keen o n c a r r y i n g on the
t r a d i t i o n , so Stan d i d t h e c a r v i n g w h i l e his
son d i d t h e c o u r t i n g I The result w a s the
l o v i n g s p o o n , b e a u t i f u l l y carved In y e w.
M o r e W e d d i n gs
Linda S h e r w o o d (Canteen) to Martin
Sterry (Stores) at St Michael & All Angels,
M i t c h e l d e a n , on April 28,
Vera Pitt (Purchase) t o A n d r e w Harris at
Lydney Register Office o n M a y 19.
Vic Green ( D e v e l o p m e n t Laboratory) to
J e n n y Roberts at St S t e p h e n ‘ s , CInderford,
on J u n e 9.
2 1 s t B i r t l i d ay
Tony Tovey (PED) on May 7.
B i r t h s
Jamie, a son for A d r i a n Roberts
( R e l i a b i l i t y ) and his w i f e Mary ( f o r m e r ly
Print R o o m ) , on May 30.
Paul Thomas, a son for Ian Reed (Work
S t u d y ) and his w i f e Eleanor, on J u n e 1.
Charles Gordon, a son for G o r d o n NIcol,
(PA t o the General M a n a g e r ) , and his w i fe
Kay, on J u n e 2,
E n g a g e m e n t s
Kay Cherry t o A l l a n Klely ( b o t h of
E n g i n e e r i n g D r a w i n g Office) on May 5,
Terry A n n i s ( G o o d s I n w a r d s I n s p e c t i o n ) to
Teresa Dobbs on May 5,
J u l i e lemboll ( 4 0 0 0 A s s e m b l y ) t o M a l c o lm
Taylor o n May 12.
R e t i r e m e n t s
Our best w i s h e s t o t h e f o l l o w i n g w ho
r e t i r ed at t h e end of M a y : Frances W i l l i a ms
( M a c h i n e Shop, M i t c h e l d e a n ) w h o has
been over 14 years w i t h the C o m p a n y;
Sidney A d a m s ( S t o c k C o n t r o l ) w h o came
in 1 9 6 9 ; and Bill G o s l i n g (Press Shop,
C I n d e r f o r d ) w h o j o i n e d In 1 9 6 8.
As w e w e n t t o press, w e learned t h a t cleaner
L o t t i e Meek, w h o has been in poor health,
had also retired after 15 years w i t h us,
and w e w i s h her all t h e best t o o.
G o o d F o o t w o rk
Mary Meek (Central Records) and her
h u s b a n d Ken have been w i n n i n g more
d a n c i n g awards. A l t h o u g h t h e y started
lessons o n l y 18 m o n t h s ago, t h e y have just
added the first bar t o their g o l d medal In
b a l l r o om d a n c i n g ( h i g h l y c o m m e n d e d ).
They have also t a k e n t h e silver ( c o m m e n d e d)
In L a t i n – A m e r i c a n — w h i c h means t h e y ‘ re
p r e t t y g o o d t o o in t h e r u m b a , c h a – c h a and
j i v e .
Martin and Linda Sterry. j. ingiam
STRONG] RX REPRESENTATION
Changes at the recent AGM of the
Three Counties Section of the
Institute of Materials Handling, have
left our Company still maintaining
strong representation on the
committee.
Guy Bedford (Manager, Materials
Handling Department) has
relinquished the office of chairman
and becomes ex officio member;
Mike Preece (Materials Handling
Department) is newly elected
honorary public relations officer;
and Eric Real (Manager, Packaging
Systems Development) has retained
the office of honorary treasurer.
Rank Xerox also account for three of
the committee members and the
number of ordinary members within
the Company has now passed the
25 mark.
Such strong representation must be
of considerable advantage to us in
promoting the professionalism now
being given to the field of materials
handling.
NURSE BALDWIN
HELPS LEUKAEMIA FUND
The splendid sum of £63-70 was
the result of a raffle organised by
Nurse Hilda Baldwin of Medical
Department during May at the Plant
in aid of the Gloucestershire &
Forest of Dean Leukaemia Fund.
Winner of the prize — a dressed
doll — was cleaner Mrs Hobbs with
green ticket no. 160. Nurse Baldwin
t o ld us the Fund were thrilled with
the result and she would like to
thank all those who helped to sell
tickets for this worthwhile cause.
Not content w i t h this effort she
organised a jumble sale at Broadwell
a f ew weeks later and this brought in
an additional £61 -50, making a grand
total of £125-20 for the Fund.
10
HOME MARKET NICE TO
SEE YOU
AGAIN
F o r S a le
N e w W o r l d 4 5 gas s t o v e (almost n e w ) ,
h i g h level g r i l l , a u t o m a t i c I g n i t i o n t o all
burners, grill and o v e n . Storage chamber.
£ 3 0 o.n.o. Mrs H. West, t e l . 681 int.
New 145 X 13 M I c h e l l n ZX t y r e , £5.
K. Rea, t e l . 7 2 1 Int.
B i c y c l e t o suit 3 t o 6 – y e a r – o l d , c o m p l e te
w i t h stabilisers, £7 o.n.o. Lydbrook 5 4 8.
1 9 6 4 Morris O x f o r d , t w o – t o n e blue and
w h i t e , tested t i l l November, g o o d all
r o u n d , £ 1 0 0 o.n.o. D. Cox ( P r o d u c t i on
C o n t r o l ) , t e l . 6 9 7 int.
C l e a r g l ow 2 0 0 0 s o l i d fuel r o om h e a t e r—
feeds eight rads, t w o years o l d , £1 5.
P. M. T h o r p , t e l . 7 0 8 Int.
M o r r i s 1 9 6 9 H reg. M k l l 4 – d o o r , one
o w n e r , 3 0 , 0 0 0 miles. New tyres, n e w C /V
j o i n t s , n e w stainless steel exhaust pipe. In
t i p t o p c o n d i t i o n t h r o u g h o u t . Bargain £430.
B l l l l n g t o n (QC 4 0 0 0 ) , t e l . 4 3 3 int.
Detached house f i ve m i n u t e s ‘ w a l k f r om
centre of CInderford, c o m p r i s i n g five
bedrooms, three r e c e p t i o n , b a t h r o o m,
k i t c h e n , car port, all mains services. Needs
some a t t e n t i o n . I n c l u d i n g small plot of
l a n d for w h i c h p l a n n i n g permission is being
sought. Further i n f o r m a t i o n f r om C. P o w e l l,
t e l . 183 int.
Singer Gazelle 1 9 6 4 , g o o d c o n d i t i o n,
o v e r h a u l e d engine, t e l . RX C i n d e r f o r d 17 int.,
or evenings D r y b r o o k 7 6 6.
S m i t h ‘ s Corona t y p e w r i t e r , £5, Eileen B u f f i n,
t e l . 5 4 2 Int.
Ford Pop. 1 9 5 4 , requires a l i t t le w o r k done,
ideal for p r o d u c t i o n car t r i a ls or j a l o py
racing, g o o d e n g i n e / g e a r b o x , £15.
S. K. H i n t o n or L. D. W i l l i a m s , t e l . 6 2 6 int.
M o r r i s 1 0 0 0 1 9 5 9 , t a x e d , MOT, g o o d tyres,
t i d y reliable car. Helen Tuffley, t e l . 1 08
or 153 int.
C o n g r a t u l a t i o n s t o —
Ted Rudge ( 6 6 0 T e a r d o w n ) and his w i fe
A g g i e (Spares & S u b – a s s e m b l y ) w ho
c e l e b r a t e d their 2 5 t h w e d d i n g anniversary
on May 15.
SNOOKER SUCCESSES
The Rank Xerox B’ team have done
well in the 1972/73 season of the
Forest of Dean Snooker League.
They were runners-up in Division I as
well as runners-up in the Pairs
Knockout Competition.
Team members were: Bob Smith
( 0 & M ) , Bob Howells (Reliability),
Peter Trigg (Group Finance), Barry
Barton (Works Engineering), Brian
Wragg (Engineering) and Ray Reed
(General Manager’s Staff).
The ‘A’ team was not without
achievement either; John Wilks
(Purchase) was runner-up in the
Individual Knockout Competition,
in which there were 71 entrants.
The trophies were presented at a
dinner/dance to celebrate the 50th
anniversary of the Forest of Dean
Billiards and Snooker League, held at
the Feathers Hotel, Lydney, on
May 4.
‘We do enjoy seeing you,’ said
General Manager Peter Salmon at the
second annual reunion and luncheon
given for the Company’s pensioners
on May 19.
As far as w e could gather, they
enjoyed seeing us too. They came
from far and near — Albert Wing, one
of Mitcheldean’s ‘pioneers’, even
travelled from Crewe to be at the
reunion.
It was a kind of anniversary for
Mr Salmon t o o ; as Royston Charles
pointed out, it was almost exactly t wo
years since he joined the Company.
As on the previous occasion,
Mr Salmon gave a brief account of
our progress over the past year. ‘Its
success and growth are due in great
part to the work that went into the
organisation so many years ago,’ he
said, paying tribute to our senior
citizens.
‘We like to feel you continue to take
a special interest in the Company’s
activities here and abroad. We do our
best to keep in touch,’ he said, and
he extended an open invitation to
them to visit the Plant whenever they
wished.
The luncheon was voted splendid
(‘The drinks were good too,’ added
Bob Baker, saying thank you on
behalf of the guests). One lady
remarked how much nicer the
surroundings were compared with
last year — she didn’t recognise the
former staff canteen in its transformed
state I
Personnel Manager Len Peacock
added thanks to Roy Steward for
organising the event, and to the
canteen staff for their indispensable
part.
Among those attending the luncheon
were the Director of Personnel,
Lionel Lyes, and Doug Green, Rank
Xerox Pensions Manager. Mr Portman,
who was on holiday, sent his
regrets.
Our guests spent the remainder of
the afternoon chatting to former
colleagues and friends, w i t h longserving
members of the Company
acting as hosts.
What w i t h the professional
entertainment and the impromptu
performances by Bill Knapgate, Roy
Steward and others, including Jack
Benbow who kindly came along at
short notice to play the piano, the
occasion got all the ‘backing’ it
needed.
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 departmental 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 for
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 l d e a n ,
or ring me — please note my
n e w ‘ p h o n e n u m b e r : Drybrook 5 4 2 4 1 5.
Myrtle Fowler. Editor
TECHNICAL
COMMUNITY
SP®RTS & SmCIAL CLUB GET-TOGETHER
Tournament
was a
Winner
They’re really something. We’d have
bowled harder if w e ‘ d seen them
earlier,’ one of the skittlers said. He
was admiring the gleaming silver
trophies presented to the finalists in
the Interdepartmental KO Competition.
Introduced by chairman Ray Mann,
General Manager Peter Salmon,
president of the Sports & Social
Club, presented the team cups and
individual trophies to both teams and
congratulated all concerned.
He echoed the general opinion in
commenting on the excellent
organisation of the competition. Full
credit for this goes to Sadie Pritchard
and Cyril and Nancy Beard who put in
a great deal of time and hard work
during the eight months or so t he
marathon tournament took to
complete.
Josie Reid acted as scorer for the
evening and, since it was impossible
for everyone to watch the match,
Cyril kept everyone informed of
progress by marking the score on
the dartboard.
As stated on our front page, the No
Hopers had the kudos of producing
the highest individual scorer —
Terry Weaving.
After the finals (during which,
incidentally, Basil Brown, one of
Larry’s Lads, equated the competition
highest score of 51), there was a
play-off between Terry, Basil and
12
The runners-up — the 3600
No Hopers — pose with their
handsome trophies. Holding the cup
is captain Des Symonds; on his
right, Terry Weaving, the winner of
the highest individual score.
Below: Mrs Ray Mann presents a
bouquet to Mrs Peter Salmon.
Photos: J. Ingram
another of the highest scorers of t he
tournament — Terry Duberley. Terry
Weaving emerged winner by scoring
22 over three legs w i t h t w o sevens
and an eight.
The rest of the evening proved a
winner too. There was an excellent
free buffet and everyone celebrated
in the time-honoured way. Sadie,
Nancy and Cyril continued to work
hard, coping w i t h skittling thirsts, and
Bill Pritchard did his stuff providing
musical backing on the PA.
Sadie wants a last word : ‘I would
like to thank everybody w ho
participated for their co-operation. It
was wonderful and everything went
smoothly — we were lucky not to
have to cope w i t h power cuts like
they did w i t h the last tournament.’
A party of 80 Engineering
representatives from Mitcheldean
joined forces w i t h some 120
representatives from the technical
areas of Welwyn, Venray, RXDL,
Product Engineering, and Field
Engineering for an Engineering Group
Conference at the Randolph Hotel,
Oxford, on May 18.
Clyde Mayo, Group Director,
Engineering, opened the conference
w i t h a brief review of the history of
engineering within Rank Xerox and
its relationship to the Xerox
Corporation.
This was followed by a very
enlightening talk, given by Mike
Hughes, Group Director of Central
Strategy, on the current business
potential of xerography and the
future business areas which we must
explore. Meeting the ambitious
targets being set by Xerox would, he
said, present a challenge to t he
whole technical community.
The main presentation was the
review by Dr Myron Tribus, Senior
Vice President of Xerox Research &
Engineering Division, the major part
of which concerned the organisation
of the technical community, the past
year’s accomplishments, and some of
the major issues that are being
pursued. He also discussed the
challenges that lay ahead for the
entire technical community, and the
future growth of the Engineering
Group.
He then introduced Dr Fred
Winternitz who is to replace
Mr Mayo when the latter returns to
the States on a new assignment.
Over the past weeks Dr Winternitz
has been on a world tour, acquainting
himself w i t h the various activities of
Xerox, and he described his first
impressions of Rank Xerox and
RXEG and outlined his aspirations
for the Group.
After lunch the meeting was t h r o wn
open to a question and answer
session. Ouestions submitted
beforehand and f r om the floor were
answered by a panel consisting of
Dr Tribus, Mr Mayo and
Dr Winternitz together w i t h Stan
Pratt, Director, Engineering Division,
and Dr Peter Wilby, General Manager,
RX Research & Development
Laboratory, Welwyn.
(We hope to include a more detailed account
of the conference in a forthcoming issue—Ed.)
Printed in England by Taylor, Young (Printers) Ltd.
