Old Leeds Firms

pikey_boy · Post by **pikey_boy** » Tue 06 Oct, 2009 1:58 am

BillyBritvic wrote: Wow, glad I've found this site, all your stories bringing back very pleasant memories. I bought a Bright Orange Fender Jazz bass from Kitchens about 1980, Valances? Dave Hill and Jimmy Lea from Slade signed my Slayed album there bak in about 72ish, Jim Windsors? a band i was in auditioned!!!!! in front of all the workin men club concert secs in 1980, does anyone remember Ryder and Chaddocks on Water lane / Leeds bridge, they used to make rubber stamps and did engraving? I worked there for half a day, I was the only one there out of about 12 - 13 blokes who wasnt related by blood to the owner! I use to work for Ryder and Chaddock back in 1979 but wasn't related to the owners. It was located at Bridge End next to a pub i think was called the Red Lion. I think one of the owners was called Cyril ( Ryder ) and his son David took over the business when Cyril , and his partner Chaddock passed away.The business is still running and has re-located to Units on Armley road opposite the prison i believe.I seem to remember somebody working there for a short while who was in a band but memories are sketchy after so many years.

Uno Hoo · Post by **Uno Hoo** » Tue 06 Oct, 2009 11:23 am

Trojan wrote: Marks and Spencer are 125 years old this year. There is an exhibition about their history in the Parkinson building of the University. It's fairly small but quite good and it's free.Radio Leeds reports this morning that the entire M&S archive is coming to Leeds to be housed in special premises in the Universtiy. My first job was at I J Dewhirst Ltd., at Crescent House, 32 Kirkgate - on the corner with Harper St. It was a wholesale draper, and the founder, Isaac Dewhirst, was said to have been the only wholesaler prepared to supply Marks with stock for his Leeds market stall. As Marks' business developed, he apparently asked Dewhirst to go into partnership with him, but Dewhirst refused. However, Dewhirst's general manager, one Tom Spencer, did go in with Marks, and so the legendary name of Marks & Spencer was born.The relationship between M & S and Dewhirst's remained cordial, and Dewhirst began manufacturing clothes exclusively for M & S. The building in Kirkgate had an overall manufactory on the upper floors. Dewhirst's taught me to drive, and I would ply back and forth to the large factory in Driffield, and also to various homeworkers in Micklefield. In fact, my geography of Leeds was learned in those days, as I sometimes filled in for the regular van driver on deliveries to the then numerous small drapers shops supplied by the wholesale arm. Dewhirst's also owned Turner, Virr & Co Ltd., still in business in York Rd as far as I know. The wholesale drapery side combined with Gillinson later in the 60s after I'd left, but clothing maufacture went on with Dewhirst becoming a PLC. Don't know what's become of it now. Must go to the exhibition at the Uni, thanks for the information.I left Dewhirst to work in the sales office of an iron foundry in Armley. The parent company was a massive employer in those days - Blakey's Boot Protectors Ltd. Anyone remember it? Most of the site is now demolished.

Trojan · Post by **Trojan** » Tue 06 Oct, 2009 12:12 pm

Uno Hoo wrote: . The parent company was a massive employer in those days - Blakey's Boot Protectors Ltd. Anyone remember it? Most of the site is now demolished. They used to make what we called "segs" I'm not sure if you can still get themI went for a job there in the early sixties - I didn't get it - my uncle - bricklaying foreman at YDC warned me that they had a reputation as bad employers. I never found out.

Uno Hoo · Post by **Uno Hoo** » Tue 06 Oct, 2009 12:25 pm

They used to make what we called "segs" I'm not sure if you can still get themI went for a job there in the early sixties - I didn't get it - my uncle - bricklaying foreman at YDC warned me that they had a reputation as bad employers. I never found out. I think at shop floor level they probably were. They were repetition ironfounders, so the work was dead boring. A lot of the labour force came from South Yorkshire - wives of miners, and men who didn't want to go down the pits. Asian men started to come in large numbers during the early 60s - one rejoiced in the name of Mustapha Baff. But in the offices it was pretty civilised. The firm I worked for was called Tiko Tube Fittings Ltd, manufacturing pipe joints and bends for plumbing & central heating systems.I think you can still get segs, the name being a Blakey trademark. But they're made in China or somewhere now. There's probably a factory in Taiwan or somesuch called "Blakeeees".

raveydavey · Post by **raveydavey** » Tue 06 Oct, 2009 9:51 pm

Have "Wilkes and Mead" been mentioned yet? The coachbuilders for Wallace Arnold originally, then a general vehicle repair shop ultimately absorbed into WASS, presumably now part of Evans Halshaw if they are still around.

Uno Hoo · Post by **Uno Hoo** » Tue 06 Oct, 2009 11:29 pm

raveydavey wrote: Have "Wilkes and Mead" been mentioned yet? The coachbuilders for Wallace Arnold originally, then a general vehicle repair shop ultimately absorbed into WASS, presumably now part of Evans Halshaw if they are still around. This is a bit surreal, as I've posted today to the Wallace Arnold thread, so this is almost a cross-posting. Wilkes & Meade had made the coach bodies on the Daimler coaches which were then rebuilt by Roe as double deckers. See the WA thread if you can't live without more detail.

Uno Hoo · Post by **Uno Hoo** » Wed 07 Oct, 2009 3:18 pm

Went and had a look at the M & S exhibition today. Was the oldest person outside the Parkinson Building by about a million years! A charming young lady from overseas asked me for directions to Herriesford, which had me a bit stumped until she produced an envelope - it was Horsforth she wanted.Anyway, the M & S exhib is pretty good, with quite a few references to Isaac Dewhirst and Tom Spencer. Got into a long conversation with one of the M & S staff on duty there, and she was a mine of information, having worked for them for years.Well worth a visit. Thanks for the tip, Trojan.

Si · Post by Si » Wed 07 Oct, 2009 3:30 pm

Tim Dewhirst (Dewhirst's chairman) is married to the daughter of a family friend. I've met him on several occasions, and if I see him again, I'll ask if he has any company archives I could have a look at. A charming and generous man, so you never know.Incidentally, he knows his stuff. I was once wearing an M&S suit and he recognised it immediately. He told me the same suit was sold by Armani, the only difference being the buttons and label (and price, of course!) He also taught us all how to eat a creme caramel in less than a second without touching it, but that's another story!

Uno Hoo · Post by **Uno Hoo** » Wed 07 Oct, 2009 5:25 pm

Si wrote: Tim Dewhirst (Dewhirst's chairman) is married to the daughter of a family friend. I've met him on several occasions, and if I see him again, I'll ask if he has any company archives I could have a look at. A charming and generous man, so you never know.Incidentally, he knows his stuff. I was once wearing an M&S suit and he recognised it immediately. He told me the same suit was sold by Armani, the only difference being the buttons and label (and price, of course!) He also taught us all how to eat a creme caramel in less than a second without touching it, but that's another story! He must take after the rest of the dynasty then, as both Alistair (Sandy) and Michael Dewhirst, bosses during my time, were complete gentlemen, if a bit paternalistic, but that was the way of things then. Sandy was the big boss, (Tim's dad?), and drove a 3.8 Jaguar between Driffield and Leeds and back most days. Michael lived in Leeds, and drove an Austin A110 Westminster, very smart in dark blue and red. I know Sandy's dead now, as I went to Driffield church a while back, and there were references to his local philanthropy. The main reason I left was because I could see the decline of the retail drapery businesses which were the market for the wholesale side that I worked in.

Si · Post by Si » Thu 08 Oct, 2009 1:43 pm

Si wrote: Trojan wrote: According to Squadron Leader Tony Iveson in his book "Lancaster - the Biography" the last ever batch of Lancaster III bombers was built at Avro's satelite factory at Yeadon after the end of the war. The first of the batch was built in September, 1945 and the last delivered in October 1945. Hi Trojan,I have a book with a photo of the last Lancaster built at Yeadon taking off from there in October 1945. It's serial was TX273, the "highest" allocated to any Lanc, but it may not have been the last built, as TW911 (built by Armstrong Whitworth) was delivered to the RAF five months later. Unfortunately, I can't get it to scan. There you go. Sorry about the strange size! Click on the image to enlarge it, and Yeadon Aerodrome can just be seen through the murk.