History of Sheffield steel industry and people

[bullerboY]

johnedward,uni and can,t spell,Oh dear!!!

[maidinsheff]

Hi as a young lass I worked in a cutlery works - I think they were called Cuthbert and Sons - just off Arundel Gate. I used to put plastic handles onto cheap knives. The blades were fixed onto a flat circular surface which rotated and the end of the blades - the tang - was then heated until it was red hot by being passed over gas jets - when the blades came out of the flame we had to slide the plastic handle on so that it melted and 'glued' itself to the metal. Health and Safety would have a fit if they could travel back in time and see the conditions people, even kids of 15 like me, were expected to work in. We also worked piece time so you only got paid for what you produced and the checkers were swines for finding fault with your work so you were always disappointed when pay day came round.

[debdownunder]

Hi,

My grandfather worked at Vickers Gun Works, Sheffield. I have a photo of him in 1928 standing next to what appears to be a barrell.

Any more info out there regarding Vickers.

[Kidorry]

Hi,

 

I am carrying out a project about the past steel industry of Sheffield and the regeneration of the city. I would love to hear from people who worked in the steel works or was somehow related to them. If you want to contribute please send me an email.

 

harpo4@gmail.com

 

Thanks!

 

In the libraries they have a book called "Hell,but i`d go back tomorrow" they may also have the C.D. that is with it.If not I think I have one.

[CF8M]

English Steel, Samuel Osbourne (forge), Spartan Steel's ( rolling mill )Sheffield Steel products ( Stamp Shop ) Edgar allen Foundry ( Melting Shop ) Catton and Co ltd ( melting shop ) Firth Vickers ( Melting Shop ) I know it sounds like a c/v but if anyone was in those places between 1967 and 1999 then I would love to hear from you. Also Johnedward, if you want know know owt about the steelworks in that period ( strikes and all ) then please get in touch and I will tell you all I know ( shouldn't take long ) lol. Looking above ,it seems I was good at making bracket's lol

 

Who is this person Atlex48?

I was Ray Wrigleys deputy in the Edgars Melting shop.

I started in the Chemi' lab in 1965 and left there in 1979.Great days and lots of great characters.

Still making steel after all this time.

[CathS]

Did anyone here work at Osbournes in Ecclesfield?

[johnpm]

I worked at English Steel Corporation from Sept 1960 until late 1967 when I went to work at BISRA Hoyle Street. At ESC I was Research Trainee for 3 years and worked in all the depts and the Drop Forge & Heavy Forge Met Depts. I was a Works Guide taking parties ( mostly school) round the works.

I remember going up to the Stevenson Road works to do sulphur prints; also doing them in the big machine shop. The drop Forge was horrendously noisy; no noise protection then !

The Bar Mill was a really dangerous place with it being known for a hot bar to snake wrongly and go through the operators leg! Thankfully, before I left that had been closed when it was replaced by the new automated mill at Shepcote Lane. To see the difference between the two was quite amazing. At Shepcote Lane there was hardly anyone to be seen on the shopfloor; all operators were above fllor level in control rooms.

It was an interesting time as, when I started the Open Hearth Furnaces were in operation, but it wasn't long before the large Electric Arc Furnace plant was built ( 90 ton furnace with a degassing tank) & the Open Hearth's were redundant.

I also remember small Induction furnaces which were just a hole in the ground!

I finished up in the Welding lab . We had some plant at Grimesthorpe Foundry which I thought was a wonderfully exciting place making tank turrets, bogies for railways and much more but I wouldn't have wanted to work there!

The Directors tended to look after the workforce in a benevolent way. I was in the First Aid class and we had annual competitions with good prizes which were presented at an Annual First Aid dinner in the staff dining room. Beer and lager were in jugs on on the tables and were kept full. As a first aider I also went on the Annual Pensioners trip to various places, Bridlington etc. I recall about 30 coaches going , one of which carried wheelchair bound people. It was a good day out.

I also remember that we were not allowed to walk along the Directors corridor; to get from R&D to Accounts ( which were either side of the Directors corridor) you had to walk down to the ground floor below the Directors and then back up at the far end. The main office area on Brightside Lane was wonderful - oak panelling on walls, ornate chandeliers and a cannon in a marble reception. I think all that ( except the cannon!) is still there.

Memorable days !!

John

Edited June 29, 2009 by johnpm

[Greybeard]

There's an amazing photographic record of Thomas Firth and Sons available on-line. It's a 17MB PDF file...

 

http://ia311535.us.archive.org/3/items/thosfirthsonslim00firtrich/thosfirthsonslim00firtrich.pdf

 

Save the file to disk, you'll need acrobat reader or similar to view it.

[jewls29]

kingfisher, you may have known my grandpa, he worked at firth browns, for donkeys years, and was there at the time you mention.

 

His name was arthur monks. He lived in carbrook.

 

My father was a steelworker (at shardlows i think), my grandpa (my mother's father) was a steelworker @ fb's, my uncle was alao in steel, as a scientist (he was a metallurgist)

 

and as a matter of interest, my ex hubby's father(who is sadly now passed on) worked at dunford-hadfields in the admin/offices side), and my current partner's father was also a steelman at forgemasters(iirc) before he was killed there, in an industrial accident.

 

So, as a sheffielder, born, bread and buttered, steel runs through my veins.

 

Pt

 

my father knew arthur monks he too worked at firth browns jack ingram

[neeel]

Sorry, I know this has probably been asked before, but, how many steelworks are actually left in Sheffield?

Edited August 4, 2009 by neeel