Did you work at Longbridge? Rover stories. Red Robbo things.

[motorpunk]

Reading pile is growing. Frank Henderson was a hell of a man.

[Stroller133]

On 25/01/2025 at 08:57, motorpunk said:

If you removed any reference to communism and share those policies today, I'd imagine a lot of people would support them.  I'd even suggest they'd be popular with a lot of Reform voters - except equal opportunities regardless of sex and eliminating racism, obviously. 

[motorpunk]

Another long day at work, and dinner gone cold as I’m on the phone interviewing a fantastic old chap who knew Robbo and other socialists of the time. Will name him in the book but not here (yet). I also read that one mass walkout was caused when a supervisor simply turned a noisy radio off. I asked my BL interviewee tonight what car he drove at the time. “Well, Michael Edwardes said everyone should drive a British car, like an Austin. So I went and bought a Ford Escort instead. Besides, the quality of BL was rubbish at the time”. 😂

[High Jetter]

2 hours ago, motorpunk said:

. I also read that one mass walkout was caused when a supervisor simply turned a noisy radio off.

That's triggered a distant memory - or was it Arthur Hailey's 'Wheels'? They really didn't want to work, I think.

[sierraman]

On 28/01/2025 at 08:04, motorpunk said:

Reading pile is growing. Frank Henderson was a hell of a man.

I bet Frank got a bit of handful after 8 pints of mild when politics came up in the working men’s club. 😂

[sierraman]

On 28/01/2025 at 21:32, Stroller133 said:

If you removed any reference to communism and share those policies today, I'd imagine a lot of people would support them.  I'd even suggest they'd be popular with a lot of Reform voters - except equal opportunities regardless of sex and eliminating racism, obviously. 

I’d love to have been at the meeting where he announced he was taking over Henry Boot and that all their brickies would be working for less. 

[R Lutz]

On 26/01/2025 at 12:58, comfortablynumb said:

If it's industrial relations anyone is interested in, there's a book called 'Rivethead' by Ben Hamper, interesting insight into the American vehicle industry.

Sorry, no use to the op at all.

I usually re-read that every 2 years. A fine insight into GM. While I worked for GM, my writing pseudonym was...Howie Mackem. I wrote a piece regarding Red Robbo under this very pseudonym which was published by Classic Car Weekly. 

[R Lutz]

On 26/01/2025 at 14:44, lesapandre said:

But probably he was just a nice man with unfulfilled high ideals really working in the wrong industry. 

My in-laws would disagree with you. 

[lesapandre]

Sounds like you have an interesting insight for @motorpunk.

[motorpunk]

14 minutes ago, R Lutz said:

My in-laws would disagree with you. 

What can you tell us, then? 

[R Lutz]

Father-in-law was a custody sergeant in Stourbridge, mother-in-law was a clerk in the courts, Dudley I think.

[R Lutz]

Probably a better contact would be the old Field Service Engineer. He started out in Standard-Triumph in the late '60s and ended up as the UK & Ireland chief field engineer. He's in his late '70s now and not in great health but he's got some stories to tell. I've spent a lot of time in pubs with him. 

[AnthonyG]

On 26/01/2025 at 12:58, comfortablynumb said:

If it's industrial relations anyone is interested in, there's a book called 'Rivethead' by Ben Hamper, interesting insight into the American vehicle industry.

This is an excellent read, Ben Hamper was from Flint and worked in the GMC/Chevrolet truck plant for a decade or so. Michael Moore knew him and Ben appears in the ‘Roger and Me’ film. 

There’s also a book called ‘Japan in the Passing Lane’ published in the early 80s but actually based on a Japanese reporter’s experience working for Toyota in the early 1970s.

Although there were elements of the Japanese attitude to quality mentioned above, it basically sounded like a military camp in a lot of ways, workers barracks etc. The constantly increasing tempo of production in ‘boom’ periods is also mentioned, a common theme in a lot of these books/memoirs.

Edit: dug out my copy, author is Satoshi Kamata:

[chaseracer]

On 26/01/2025 at 12:58, comfortablynumb said:

If it's industrial relations anyone is interested in, there's a book called 'Rivethead' by Ben Hamper, interesting insight into the American vehicle industry.

Good book.  See also 'A Savage Factory' by Robert J Dewar, a brutal appraisal of Ford's employment practices.

Similarly: 'The Assembly Line' by Robert Linhart does the same for 1970s Citroen plants.  Scary reading.

[motorpunk]

Research shifting from my base timeline of industrial action, some comedy strikes included, and examples of sabotage which quite tickled me - They used to put a ball bearing in cold grease inside the tubular seat frame of certain cars, knowing that once the grease melted the new car owner would have a rattle almost impossible to find and remove.

I have a key interview in Brum this week, have booked a day off work for that, and another interview next week in Oxford. Still unable to find Robbo’s daughter or, perhaps, she’d rather not get involved (which I respect, of course). I’m not on FaceBook which sort of hampers me a bit but it’s for my own sanity.

I’m also deep into the Governmental side of research now, it’s incredible the lengths they went to keep Communism at bay in the ‘60s-‘80s. Have requested documents from various places and will see what response I get.

I also bought a newspaper in Cambridge yesterday. Might sign up for this…

 

[motorpunk]

[Stinkwheel]

Im Impressed that some of the same trees are still there