Anyone who worked at Elastic Yarns or Naafi Office


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Hi my name is Dave Callard and I worked at Elastic Yarns between 1966 - 1975. I worked in Purchasing with Harry Wheat. The people I remember when I was working there are as follows. Bill Metcalf ( M

Hi LizzieM, must confess I laughed out loud at your little anecdote concerning your Great-Aunt Connie who was an 'excellent cook'. I have a similar story: I recall my Grandma, Mrs Florrie Jackson

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Bilbraborn

Sorry, Alan doesn't remember Barbara or Gladys but it is a long time ago!

He says this about the Middle Floor

The ‘Middle Floor’ was actually the nerve centre (as your dad would have said) of the whole operation. It was where the bulk of the rubber covering machines were sited. There were others at the Canal end of the ground floor (managed by Fred Maddison) but the bulk were on the MF also towards the Canal end. I seem to remember that Roy Meakin was the head honcho, with your dad being one of several foremen. About two thirds of the way along the middle floor towards the Castle Boulevard end there was a screen beyond which were the wire covering machines of Fine Wires Ltd. The noise of these machines was horrendous and would not be tolerated in today’s health and safety climate. I do believe that the machine operators were given ear plugs.

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Lizzie

Alan's memories of Connie!

My memories of Connie Alvey go back to when I started at EY in 1949. She was Manageress of the Canteen and had about three other women working under her. The Works Canteen in those days was in what later became an engineering workshop at the side of the covered yard, opposite where the directors cars were parked. When I returned from RAF service in 1955, a new canteen had been built on the site of the old tennis courts to the left of the building as you look from Castle Boulevard. The directors and senior management still had their own room where they were served by canteen staff, i.e Miss Alvey if memory serves correctly. In appearance she was quite austere and bore a strong resemblance to the actress and friend of Noel Coward, Joyce Carey (Google search for info). The new kitchen in the canteen was open so we could see food being prepared and dished up to customers and my abiding memory is of Connie walking around the kitchen supervising the staff with a cigarette hanging from her mouth. THIS WAS WHERE FOOD WAS BEING PREPARED! At that time this activity was perfectly acceptable as just about everybody smoked One of her assistants, Hilda Pashley, whose mother also worked in the canteen, smoked while dishing out the chips! Happy days!

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What was said there about the EY canteen reflects the habits of most canteens up and down the country. I remember going in restaurants and having a fag (I no longer smoke) in between courses and the posh waiter changing the ashtray. I work in catering now and the rules are extremely rigid. Some places even require you to wear a massive hairnet to cover every bit of your Barnet. Everyone looks like Ena Sharples.

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Brilliant ....... Thanks Alan, and Ann for passing these memories on. She really was quite a character. When my Grandad died in 1954 my Granny decided to move to Wollaton to live with her spinster sister Connie. Most of the time they got on well but they used to bicker and Connie did boss Granny around quite a bit !! I have a few photos of her, mostly with a fag in her mouth. Anyway she lived to the ripe old age of 87 when she finally succumbed to lung cancer in 1987.

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  • 1 month later...

I worked at EY from 1961 until 1967. Firstly at Grove Road, then Sandiacre, next Daybrook (Lenton Products), and finally back to Grove Road.

I vividly remember Connie Alvey, who always gave me an extra sandwich when I was going to night school, and Hilda Pashley, who served up chips at lunch time by hand. No scoop, or even rubber gloves. Just plain bare hands. Fortunately she must have had big hands because we always got plenty of chips. Or did she give us two hands full? Great memories, lovely people.

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Alan Rose post 23# of this topic brought back some memories. About the time Alan started work at Elastic Yarns my Dad's best mate, Eric Cook, also worked there. He was a driver/chauffeur there. My memories are of him bringing lots of large Machinery packing cases to my home from the Daybrook factory I believe, after a factory refurb. I would have been about 12 at the time. I made a large shed out of 4 x 2 and the packing case sides, about 12ft by 10ft with a flat sloping roof. When I fitted the roof I was so unset that it began to sag as I fitted the roof panels. Dad sorted my though, it only needed a prop in the middle. Over the years it started to rot and finally I knocked it down and burnt it when I was 68.

One year earlier than this construction fete, Eric provided me with a much treasured visit to Trent Bridge to see the Test Match against the Australians. Apparently, for every Test Match at Trent Bridge, Elastic Yarns provided a chauffeured car for the visiting team. (a Humber I think it was), who on this occasion stayed at the Black Boy Hotel. Dad & I were taken to the ground after Eric had done his duties on each of the five days and driven in through the big green gates.

My cricketing heroes of the day were Len Hutton, Dennis Compton Jim Laker & Alec Bedser plus of course Joe Hardstaff, (the middle of the three Joe Hardstaff's). I was also looking forward to seeing Don Bradman & Ray Lindwall from the visitors.

England batted first and were abysmal, Jim Laker was the top scorer out of a total of about 160, Hardstaff was out second ball I think for a duck. The Aussies made about 500, Bradman making about 130 on them. It looked all over for England after 2 maybe three early wickets in the second innings. It looked like it would be all over on the Saturday but Hutton & Crompton rallied as did Hardstaff to make about 450 for the innings at the close on Monday. Aussies only needed about 100 to win & when Bradman went early for a duck I got exited but to no avail. As least I thought Bradman's duck made up for Joe's on the 1st day. Eric got me an autographed team sheet, goodness knows what happened to it, I did look for it many years later after seeing an identical one framed on a wall in the Black Boy Foyer whilst working there. To me all of this was Nottstalgic.

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  • 5 months later...

My dad worked at the NAAFI office on Bottle Lane in the late 1960's early 1970's. We used to go shopping to Central Market on a Saturday morning and then to the NAAFI club where he would have a pint and I would attempt to play snooker - GOOD times

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Had a mate from school days worked at NAAFI on Bottle lane in the 60s,his name was Eric ingall his mam and Dad ran the Post office on Andover rd,Eric later worked for the Coop funeral services in Ilkeston,sadly passed away a few years ago.

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Spoke to my brother tonight who worked at NAAFI in the 60's and he remembers Eric well. He thought he went to Padstow school? Also that he used to live at Beechdale where his parents had a shop, he thinks. He used to play football wih him and says Eric played in goal. He didn't know that he'd died, though.

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Spoke to my brother tonight who worked at NAAFI in the 60's and he remembers Eric well. He thought he went to Padstow school? Also that he used to live at Beechdale where his parents had a shop, he thinks. He used to play football wih him and says Eric played in goal. He didpondonn't know that he'd died, though.

Hello Annswabey,yes i was at Padstow with Eric same class same football team he was goalie,we lived a few doors from each other on Andover rd Bestwood where his parents shop was,he also married a girl off Andover "barbara webb".we knocked about together for a year or so after leaving school,then gradually lost touch.However over the years we bumped into each other,after the NAAFI he ran a shop in Spondon with his brother John,that would be early 70s,and i next came across him about 86" at a Padstow reunion.finally i saw him in City hospital next bed to my dad".about 10 yrs ago that was our last meet.Bless him.

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Thanks for your reply benjamin. (just noticed I made a right mess of the word "don't"!). My brother knew Eric had a brother but couldn't remember his name. If you played football against the Glaisdale team, then you probably played against my brother!

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The only lad i remember from Glaisdale was "Boulger"or something like that.A Big lad i played for nottm.boys with him,i think he became a Copper!

As regards Eric he spent alot of years at the COOP funeral services in Ilkeston.I Have nice memories of him from our young teenage years.

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i knew Henry he was a year older than me,does your brother remember a "boulger" think his 1st name was Dennis ?

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welcome janwally i just left you a pmin case you not sure being new on here top righthand corner a little red envelope comes up click on it to open pm

babs

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Spoke to my brother - the name you gave didn't ring any bells, but he thinks it might have been Malc Dennis, a big lad who became a Copper! He's seen him in the last few years and he gave him some school photos.

could have been him Ann,ive got a photo somewhere will dig it out and try and post on here,

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Dug it out,its a bit "grainy" and looking at it i think theres another Glaisdale lad on it as well,John Gee ,he might ring another bell with you brother,i am hopeless with computers,so i will get my daughter to try and "post" for me.

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