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Greetings to all.

a quick biography: lived on Bobbers Mill Road for 1945 to 1963 (0 to 18); went to Berridge Rd Inf. & Jnr school, then Forest Fields Grammar.

My parents stayed in Nottingham until they died. I moved around (Birmingham, London, Durham and now Scottish Borders).

Like many people, I am currently using this stay-at-home holiday(!) to sort out and label lots of old photos and I’m collaborating with surviving cousins in gathering together memories - so I can see this site might be very useful.

JohnS

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Welcome, JohnS to Nottstalgia. My family were also Bobbers Mill Road residents for many many years, starting in 1922.  I'm a former Berridge pupil. Lots of recollections of Berridge on this site.

 

Looking forward to reading some of your memories.

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Thanks Jill. I see I put my first post in the wrong section. No matter - it worked for you!

long ago I got a lot of information from Friends Reunited until it got a bit silly! I cannot be bothered with Facebook, etc so this forum may be the place for me. 
 

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I, too, am not a Facebook user. If I remember correctly, Friends Reunited had an excellent Schools section and I was able to copy a number of Berridge photos from it.  I'm currently researching the history of Berridge staff. If you have any memories/names of those who taught you at Berridge, I'm interested in reading about them.  We have a number of former FFGS pupils on Nottstalgia who will also be interested in your recollections.

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Thanks Cliff for the link - that’s next. So far I have only looked up the Berridge Aircraft factory - a cousin was telling me it was a foundry and I thought just an engineering works so onwards with that....._

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Welcome JohnS.

I lived not far that from you at the top of Grimston Road off Churchfield Lane. I sometimes walked up Bobbers Mill Road to school. It seems I followed in your footsteps to Berridge infant and junior school and then to Forest Fields albeit 10 years after you. I loved Berridge and hated FFGS. 
A few of my friends went to work apprenticeships at an engineering factory on Berridge Road not far from the school. Can’t remember the name off hand but they made ships horns/whistles and occasionally tested them rattling the school windows. I was told the initiation at the factory was to get in a large ‘bucket’ which was hoisted to the roof where you would remain many hours.

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Hiya Lets., That factory you're on about was Smith Dennis. They didn't make the ships horns but the fitments that went in them. I used to work in the tool room, where a guy named Eric used to do the fitting. When he was ready for testing, he would warn us, as we were only a couple of feet away. The horn was clamped on a milling bed and an air hose connected to it, it would be facing the open door and whoosh! Eric would release a blast. Apparently, when testing, the air psi was only about a quarter of what the horns would get aboard ship. Smith Dennis used make valves of various sizes, some of which were enormous. The smaller ones could be cast on site in the foundry. Will that do ya?

 

Incidentally, I never heard of any initiation ceremony. The only bloke I knew who went on the roof was our toolroom foreman, he fell through a glass section and landed on a stock of valve castings. Shattered both legs and hips. He was the factory safety officer!!

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Thanks BK. I was only told about the initiation ceremony from friends. They said they got hoisted up in some sort of lifting hoist or crane. I bet the safety officer was a little embarrassed.  I thought it was a wind up when at Raleigh I got sent to tool stores for a bastard file.

Was Smith Dennis the ‘aircraft factory’ referred to above. I used to walk or cycle along Berridge Road every day mid 60’s and can’t recall another factory.

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I was there, (Smith Dennis) circa 1967 for just over a year. Couldn't settle into it after being behind a steering wheel. I'm afraid I've no knowledge of an aircraft factory. Can only assume said factory made parts for plane as there's nowhere to assemble a plane. 

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An old friend of mine, George Hemsley, now long departed, was company secretary at Smith Dennis. I think he left to help set up Parr Computer Services. He was a flight engineer during the war and very big in local Masonic circles although he never inveigled me to join!

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He was a member of our aircraft syndicate in which four of us had equal shares. He got his investment back after I crashed it plus a bit extra as we had just increased the insurance value! I was just looking at a photo of it today marvelling how we got out alive as fuel dripped from the damaged wing tanks! I still have the scars. :biggrin:

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2 hours ago, philmayfield said:

An old friend of mine, George Hemsley, now long departed, was company secretary at Smith Dennis. I think he left to help set up Parr Computer Services.

I worked at P.C.S and can't recall a George Hemsley. Perhaps he was a financial backer of the set up, along with Alan Parr. Alan worked at Players in the computer room before going out on his own. Perhaps that's why one of our customers was Smith Dennis!

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59 minutes ago, philmayfield said:

I was just looking at a photo of it today marvelling how we got out alive

 

Can we see?

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I'll try and get it on line. It is spectacular. Park Farm, Kirby Bellars near Melton. The airstrip is long gone. If if wasn't for the hidden tight wire fence over the brow of the hill we'd have made it. I reported it at Melton police station and the sergeant said 'a flasher and an air crash, it's made my day. Not much happens around here on a Sunday!'

 

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A balloon (not mine) did a similar thing at DFS Darley Dale. Beyond the car park is a line of Poplars nicely space to hide the poles supporting an 11kV line. A guy called Trunbull didn't see them flew straight into it. Much drama but fortunately no injuries except to his pride..

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