"The Dead End Kids," Hazel, Clive, Max and Muriel Enock - 21 Ridgway Road, Barton Seagrave - c1946.
Full name: Clive Robin Enock.
Date of birth: Thursday, 3rd July, 1930.
Birthplace: Born Accord Nursing Home, Sherbourne Road, Acocks Green, Birmingham, England.
Date of death: Tuesday, 17th November, 2020.
Place of death: 63, Irnham Road, Four Oaks, Sutton Coldfield, West Midlands, England.
June Heather Enock (née Rose) (1929-2019). |
Date of marriage: 1953.
Place of marriage: Ward End, Birmingham, England.
1930-1935 - 34 (now 54), Dudley Park Road, Acocks Green, Birmingham, England.
Number 34 is second house from the left. Picture taken 1st May 2016 (click to enlarge).
Dudley Park Road viewed from Warwick Road c1930. Number 34 is the third house up on the left (click to enlarge).
Aerial view of Dudley Park Road c1950. Warwick Road runs along the bottom of the image. Number 34 is the fourth-house on the left-hand side going up Dudley Park Road (click to enlarge).
1935-1939 - 74 Heaton Road, Solihull, Birmingham, England.
"Whilst we lived in Solihull, our first detached house, Father boarded the loft and built a model railway ('O' gauge) on trestles which covered most of the available space in the attic. This was electrified by the inclusion of a third live rail, a popular method at that time. One particularly notable feature was a bridge that was a copy of one that spanned the Warwick Road in Olton, which we used to walk under every Sunday on our way to church. Access to the loft was by an extendable ladder, which was secured by hooks to a rail attached to the attic access arrangement, basically a hole in the ceiling!"
"Surprisingly, we children had no idea that Father was working on anything in particular. The first we knew was when the completed layout was presented to me as a present. I had many hours of fun 'in the roof’. That was quite an undertaking by a man who had no training in that area. His specialism was iron and steel production and mining methods. When we later moved, the railway was dismantled and redesigned and installed in the new house - bigger and better!"
1939 - 17, Ridgway Road, Barton Seagrave, Kettering, Northamptonshire, England.
Lodging with Hayden and Kathleen Lock.
January 1940-1946 - 21, Ridgway Road, Barton Seagrave, Kettering, Northamptonshire, England. Built c1939.
”This was the nicest place I have ever lived in. 21 Ridgway Road holds a particular place in my memory, for very many reasons.
It was a very nice, really quite large house with four bedrooms, a large lounge and a fair sized dining room. The sizeable kitchen was up to date for that time (1939-40) being fitted with an electric cooker, a coke fired boiler for heating water and had a separate pantry. Compared to today's fitted kitchen units, the fittings were basic but served their purpose.
A table was included that slid out from under a working surface that was a very good idea! I also remember that there was a clothes airer fitted to the ceiling that could be lowered to allow clothes to be draped over the rails to air or dry. That was fitted just above the boiler to assist in the task.
Also, leading off the kitchen was a short passage leading to the back door. Off the passage was a 'coal hole' and in the wall was what we called the ‘cubimilk’ a cubical recess let into the wall so that the milkman could open the back door and place the milk delivery into it. Milk was still delivered to your door then.
The hall led into the kitchen with the dining room and the lounge on the left and the stairs on the right leading back towards the front of the house, onto a large landing. At the top of the stairs, turning towards the back of the house, past bedroom 2 (Muriel's) and bedroom 1 (the folks) then right again with the boy's bedroom in front of you. Towards the back of the house was Hazel's room then the bathroom, with the toilet and an airing room on the right. Just in front of the toilet, in the ceiling, was the access to the attic, which is where the model railway layout was.
The garage was built in to the main body of the house, alongside the stairs and below the boy's bedroom. It was fitted with sliding doors which were always difficult to open and close, mainly because of dirt in the bottom track!! To the left of the garage was a porch and the front door. I clearly remember that the front door was only locked at bedtime. Prior to that, you turned the handle and walked in. There was never any suggestion that this was unwise.
No.21 was the last house in Ridgway Road when we lived there. The road ended at a hedge which was the boundary of a small holding. Thus left a plot of ground next to us that became our garden — we now had a really big garden. It was in this plot that Pop sited the air raid shelter that I referred to earlier. [I remember helping to dig out and assemble an air raid shelter in our back garden at home. This was a precast concrete affair that was partly buried in the ground and covered in soil and grass. Father fitted it out with bunks for us and laid on an electricity supply. We only went down there once and that was not really necessary since no bombs were dropped in our vicinity. I think this was on the night of the infamous Coventry raid.] Also on that plot, after the war, he added a workshop for his model engineering work. This housed a lathe (Myford), a free standing drill and a grindstone. In his time he created many models for our 'O' gauge layout, which he had installed in the roof.
When the folks bought the house, they were the first owners, so they could do almost anything they wanted to do with the property. They concentrated first on the garden which was laid out very nicely, with one half lawn, flower beds and trees. The other half was devoted to vegetables and the like. Being war time, Pop grew a lot of vegetables so that we could become quite self-sufficient. In particular there were always a lot of potatoes, so that some could be saved in a 'clamp' for use in the winter time — this proved to be very successful.
Pop planted a line of poplar trees across the bottom of the garden. Last time I saw them, they were at least 20ft. tall, and that was some years ago. The plot at the side of the house was basically lawn at the front, with a line of apple trees laid out in espalier form. Beyond those was the vegetable area and beyond that was a pit for grass cuttings and other garden waste for composting.
As I said there was a hawthorn hedge between us and a small holding, which required regular trimming. At some stage Pop employed a gardener to help keep the garden up to scratch. We nicknamed him Popeye because he was often to be seen with his pipe upside down! When Pop passed away, Mother sold off this extra plot and a detached house was built there.”
Number 21 in the 1950s (Robert's workshop can be seen to the right of the house) (click to enlarge).
Number 21 in November 2015 (click to enlarge).
1946 - 34, Dudley Park Road, Acocks Green, Birmingham, England.
"Initially father arranged for me to lodge with an aquaintance [Heber MacJones & family] of his who lived in the same house as the family had, prior to moving to Solihull. This was most unsatisfactory but fortunately only lasted a week or two."
c1947-1953 - 586, Bromford Lane, Ward End, Birmingham, England.
? - November 1953 - 99, Brook Hill Road, Alum Rock, Birmingham, England.
? - November 1953 - April 1954 - 65, Glenpark Road, Ward End, Birmingham, England.
"Living in 2 unfurnished rooms at Ward End in house of June's sister [Howard & Marjory Oakley]. Moved to Marston Green after 4 months." - Lilian Alma Enock.
April 1954 - November 1954 - 308, Cooks Lane, Marston Green, Birmingham, England.
"After a few months, we moved into rooms with a bachelor friend of my Father in Law. Living in rooms with a stranger soon became unacceptable having a baby to look after. My parents were prepared to let us stay there, but they lived in Kettering."
November 1954 - March 1955 - 21, Ridgway Road, Barton Seagrave, Kettering, Northamptonshire, England.
May 1955-1963 - 11, Falmouth Road, Ward End, Birmingham, England. Built between 1921 and 1937.
"We were also able to get a mortgage on a semi-detached house not far from the BMC works in Drews Lane in Ward End. At that time, Birmingham City Council was offering to subsidise a 90% mortgage, in association with the Birmingham Municipal Bank, which enabled us to purchase that house in Falmouth Road (No.11) in Ward End. It meant we were only able to afford the bare necessities in furnishings. I remember that our mortgage repayments were £10 8s per month and my take home pay was £10 8s per week — nothing to spare, but it was our own place. We had no stair carpet for quite a while and only had 2 easy chairs in which to relax. Our brother in law worked for a furniture warehouse and so we were buy some basic furnishings with a good discount. We had a double and a single bed and wardrobe along with a dining table and four chairs. Carpeting was just not possible at first, so we made do with a mat and lino surround. It didn't take long before we were able to get a runner for the hall.
Most of the houses in Falmouth Road were semi-detached and built without garages. They all had very long gardens and many residents had built garages at the end of their gardens. Access was from a communal drive that ran behind the houses to from off the road. That method was common in those days, since very few families owned cars. Our house had no garage, but after a while, I utilised the space at the bottom of the garden to keep a very old car, which was given to me because of my interest in vehicles. That was an ancient Austin 12 (I think), registration number CME8. I did eventually manage to get the engine started and drove a short distance along the access road. I was quite proud of that.
1963-1985 - 106, Hundred Acre Road, Streetly, England. Built in 1963.
1985-2020 - 63, Irnham Road, Four Oaks, Sutton Coldfield, West Midlands, England. Built in 1961.
1935-1936 - Eastbourne House School (now named Kimichi School), Yardley Road, Acocks Green, England.
Fees per quarter: £3 3s. (worth the equivalent of £215 in 2018).
Progress described as quick.
1936-1939 - Ruckleigh School, Warwick Road, Worlds End, Solihull, Birmingham, England.
Fees per quarter: 1936-37: £4 14s. 6d. (worth the equivalent of £315 in 2018), 1938-39: £5 15s. 6d. (worth the equivalent of £360 in 2018).
"My first school was a privately owned junior school, in Solihull, called Ruckleigh. It had only a few students and was run by a very capable spinster lady by the name of Miss Cartland (Carty). Whilst there, I passed the entrance examination for the local grammar school, (Solihull), but war broke out before I could take my place there."
At school full time, progress described as good.
1939-1942 - Kettering Grammar School, Bowling Green Road, Kettering, Northamptonshire, England.
"Soon after the outbreak of war (in 1939), father had to move to the Stewarts & Lloyds plant in Corby and the family had to move to Barton Seagrave, on the outskirts of Kettering (Northamptonshire), not far from Corby. At the time, the London area was being evacuated, resulting in Kettering Grammar School being shared with a London school. The same was true of the High School. As a consequence, both my sisters and I only attended school on a part time basis. This being entirely unsatisfactory to father, I was enrolled at a boarding school, Kimbolton School, in Kimbolton, Huntingdonshire.........."
Progress described as retrograde. The school is now home to local government offices.
Wednesday 29th April 1942 - June 1946 - Kimbolton Grammar School, High Street, Kimbolton, Huntingdonshire, England.
Fees per annum: About £75 (worth the equivalent of £3,400 in 2018).
"......This meant, of course, that I was away from home each term and as it happened, all term long. Travelling was very difficult during the war, due to petrol rationing, which meant that my parents could not visit during term time. I remember only once did they manage to come, on a Sunday, to take me out for tea at a local Tea Rooms."
"Boarding school had its drawbacks, but also its advantages. One of those proved to be the ease of learning when in that environment all the time. Communal living also had its highs and lows. My dormitory was in an old coaching inn, Kimbolton House, in the village."
"The housemaster was rather small in stature but with a knack of controlling us, Backed up by the use, or threatened use, of a ropes end - length of rope doubled and twisted. That hurt, and left quite an impression on the backside, as I know from personal experience."
"On completion of my form 5 year, I was quite pleased with my final academic achievement. I passed my School Certificate with exemption from matriculation, effectively the University entrance exam. Because this was during the war, many of the teachers, almost without exception men, had been called up into the forces. However, this didn't seem to really matter too much and our education carried on almost as normal with teachers apparently having a wealth of experience."
The old Kimbolton Grammar School pictured in November 2015 (click to enlarge) picture by Adam Enock.
On Tuesday, 9th July, 1946, Clive undertook a Cambridge University entry exam. There were seven subjects in total, which were, English language and literature, history (British and European), geography, French, mathematics and general science. Clive gained credits in each subject and gained matriculation.
After leaving Kimbolton, Clive started a five-year apprenticeship with the Nuffield Organisation.
1955 - Birmingham College of Technology.
Studied for a National Certificate in Mechanical Engineering. Attended one day and three evenings a week. Passed examinations in Mathematics, Applied Mechanics and Heat Engines.
1956-1960 - Aston Technical College (part time).Higher National Certificate in Mechanical Engineering.
1956-1957 - Applied Mechanics and Strength of Materials, Heat and Hydraulics, Engineering Mathematics - PASSED.
1957-1958 - Strength of Materials, Theory of Machines, Applied Thermodynamics - PASSED.
1958-1959 - Automobile Engineering, Principles of Engineering - PASSED.
1959-1960 - Workshop Technology and Principles of Electricity - PASSED.
1946-1951 - Nuffield Organisation, Wolseley Motors, Drews Lane, Ward End, Birmingham.
Mechanical Engineering Apprenticeship.
Details of training.
Tool Room - fitting, milling, turning, grinding, shaping and machine repairs - 1 year 8 months
Demonstration - 4 months
Laboratory and Hardening Shop - 4 months
Service Repairs - 4 months
Planning Department - 11 months
Tractor Assembly and Rejects - 5 months
Tractor Design - 2 months
Tractor Experimental - 2 months
Tractor Service - 6 months
"I started an apprenticeship with Wolesley Motors in Ward End, Birmingham. I should point out that I had had an arts based education at a public school. The apprentice situation had been set up for me by my father without consulting me. It also meant my living away from home again, this time in digs, which the apprenticeship supervisor was to arrange for me.
The school had suggested that I might begin my career indentured to an accountant. The suggestion was made to my father and not to me. However, my father claimed that I had always wanted to be an Engineer. This was based, I later learned, on my saying at an early age that I wanted to be a train driver. At the time father had explained to me that what I really meant was an Engineer, which I accepted, thinking that I would be driving a train — every little boy's dream. I have to say that the school did not disabuse me!
As an apprentice, I was to spend some time in almost all sections of the business. I started off in the Tool Room, where jigs and gauges were made by hand, by well-practised craftsmen.
I finished off the apprenticeship in the service department. This was fascinating and I learned a great deal about the workings of the car and its components and also how to best diagnose a fault. During this period l learned to drive and passed my driving test, thanks to the men in the service department.
The Apprenticeship included attendance at College, in Birmingham, studying for the National Certificate. This entailed day release for the 5 years the apprenticeship was to last, generally one full day and one evening per week. I eventually managed to pass O.N.C. and H.N.C. with endorsements and achieved GIMechE standard. Unfortunately I couldn't make AMIMechE, which required a supervisory role."
Tuesday, 1st January, 1951 - Tuesday, 3rd July, 1951 - re-indentured as a Company Apprentice learning the art of a Draughtsman.
16th November 1953 - November 1954 - British Motor Corporation (BMC) Tractor and Transmissions Branch. (Wolseley Motors), Drews Lane, Ward End, Birmingham.
Service Department - £9 per week.
"On leaving the Army, I went straight back to Wolseley Motors but this time in a proper job. Many things had changed during my 2 years away. A merger had been put in place between The Nuffield Organisation and the Austin Motor Company. The new organisation was called British Motor Corporation (BMC). This meant that many jobs were duplicated, which in turn resulted in specialisation in various factories.
Wolseley had become BMC, Tractor and Transmissions Branch. As the name implies, we were making Nuffield tractors and my job was in the tractor design office. I had a lot to learn but found it most interesting. At this time the manufacture of tractors in the U.K. was quite new, with the big supplier being Massey Ferguson in Coventry."
November 1954 - March 1955 - Stewart's & Lloyd's, Gretton Road, Corby, Northamptonshire, England.
"Father was still at Stewarts & Lloyds in Corby and arranged a job for me in the drawing office of the Tube Works. We only ever considered this a temporary situation. We stayed there for about 6 months and were very grateful for the respite that this allowed."
March 1955 - October 1956 - British Motor Corporation (BMC) Tractor and Transmissions Branch. (Wolseley Motors), Drews Lane, Ward End, Birmingham.
"I found myself a job back at BMC, working in the Tractor Service Department.
Following my stint in tractor design, I moved over to the Tractor Service Office. I found my time in this office quite enjoyable since it gave me the opportunity to discover more about the day to day workings of the tractor user. It also gave me the opportunity to physically learn to plough!!"
October 1956- September 1958 - Guest, Keen & Nettlefold Ltd (G.K.N), Cranford Street, Smethwick, Birmingham, England.
Draughtsman.
"In an effort to earn a little more money, I got a job at GKN, Fighting Vehicle Development Division in Smethwick, Birmingham. The F.V.D. division had been created by the previous head of Nuffield Mechanisations, Don Baird. Essentially, fighting vehicles (tanks) were constructed of armoured plates, welded together into various shapes. I was employed in the drawing office to detail components for manufacture. The designs were created by someone else. Most of the men employed here were part of a team previously formed by the head of the division when he worked at Nuffield Mechanisations. I found the work here very interesting because of the different nature of the products being manufactured."
September 1958 - 1st April 1963 - J. Lucas Ltd, The Radleys, Marston Green, Birmingham, England.
Development Engineer.
"Just over a year later, in September 1958, I took a job at Lucas Gas Turbines, in Marston Green, much nearer to us. Lucas was in the process of developing a vehicle hydraulic transmission system. The components on which the system was being developed for the control of gas turbine engines, basically jets. I became a part of that development team.
The test vehicle chosen for trials was a Rover 90 and this unit was to replace the conventional gearbox. The engine would drive a hydraulic pump which would supply power through a hydraulic motor to the existing propeller shaft and hence the wheels. The aim was to have a system that simply required operation of the accelerator pedal. The control system would select an output from the pump at a pressure that would develop sufficient power to start the vehicle moving.
Thereafter, the control system would alter the pump output to the hydraulic motor and increase road speed automatically by adjusting the speed of the motor, as selected by the accelerator. Interestingly, a second system was being developed in Australia at an outpost of GKN there.
Part of the development was carrying out tests on a rig set up in the old airfield buildings in Honiley, in Warwickshire. Gas turbine engine test beds already existed there. The tests were to determine the reliability of the components of the transmission system. During one of the endurance tests I remember being there all night along with a colleague/friend. I also drove the modified Rover around the old runways there. That was quite an experience. One of the only problems with the system was the dissipation of the heat developed in the hydraulic fluid and the effect on the viscosity of that oil. That required the development of a cooling system that would fit in the engine compartment of the Rover."
Monday 1st April 1963 - 1965 - JACO Engineering Co. Ltd, 8 Edwards Road, Erdington, Birmingham, England.
Director of Designs.
"In 1963 I was approached by an ex Wolseley apprentice, Alec James, to join him as a designer in the firm that he had set up called Jaco Engineering. I was to be Design Director, which sounded good at the time. The father of the founder was the main machinist. He had been a skilled turner at Wolseley for many years and didn't seem to appreciate what I was employed to do. So we were often at loggerheads, particularly when I insisted on recognised drawing standards being adhered to."
1965-1995 - Tucker Fasteners, 177 Walsall Road, Perry Barr, Birmingham, England.
Draughtsman
Experimental Department
Customer Engineer
Applications Engineer
Applications Engineering Manager
"In 1965 I started work at 'Tucker Eyelets'. My first job was in the Drawing Office, concentrating on rivet setting tools and eyelet setting tools. I was soon to learn that the setting of eyelets did not follow any recognised mechanical principles. There was something of a 'black art' in achieving the correct shape of tooling, both for the manufacture and the setting of the eyelets. The old eyelets makers were almost impossible to replace when they retired. Their skills were never really appreciated until they were no longer there, though the reputation of the company was enhanced by the skill of these true craftsmen.
I learned a great deal during my first few years in the drawing office. During that time, I became aware that some means of automatically feeding rivets to a setting tool would be a distinct advantage in the marketplace. I devised means that I believed would work and prepared a full set of drawings for such an arrangement. When I submitted this for scrutiny by the powers that be, I was told it would never work as proposed. Experience has since told me that they were absolutely right. The comments were made by the Engineering Director, in charge of the Experimental Department. Soon after that, I joined the Experimental Department.
This was a completely self-contained department, dealing with every aspect of rivet and eyelet manufacture — design office, tool room, rivet and eyelet manufacturing machinery and short run production proving machinery. This was all manned by very experienced people, including those having the 'black art' that I mentioned earlier. The Engineering Director was the absolute finest engineer that I have ever come across and a real privilege to have worked with.
He and I developed an automatic feed eyelet setting machine and shared a Patent on that machine. It used eyelets made from brass tube which were comparatively easy to design tooling for no 'black art' necessary. It became known as the AB Machine. It was used in the production of electronic equipment. One of the companies interested in this machine was, coincidentally, AB Electronics in South Wales.
Shortly after the acquisition of Tucker by the Emhart Corporation, in 1976, the Experimental Department was split into separate departments, Research and Development. At the same time the Engineering Director resigned from the board and retired. Managers were appointed for each of those departments. I was attached to the Research side as a Customer Engineer, later Applications Engineer, and later still Applications Engineering Manager.
The role of the Applications Engineer included the use of a company car, as a lot of travelling around the country was involved. Normally, this was arranged with the representative dealing with the company involved. The aim was to respond to customers queries and to give advice on the use of rivets and riveting systems. Obviously all normal requirements were dealt with by the representative, but where unusual factors or materials were concerned, they were very glad of back-up. One of the more successful tools to come out of these visits was the development of multiple rivet setting units, which were tailor made to suit a customer's products. The unit became an assembly jig once rivets had been placed in position. All rivets would be set in one operation of the unit. This system was well liked by many customers. As I remember, the maximum number of rivets set in one operation was 8. All multiple rivet setting units were designed and made in the Research and Development Department.
One of the companies particularly interested in multiple setting was Black & Decker in assembly of the Workmate. This was manufactured in Southern Ireland at Kildare. I made many trips there and the riveter we designed for them was very successful and ensured considerable business for Tucker thereafter.
At the time that we were developing multiple rivet setting units, computers started to appear. At first, Tucker used this new technology in relation to the payroll in general and wages and salaries in particular, in common with many other local companies. I well remember the installation of the main computer in an air conditioned room with a sprung floor. There was also a larger area for the punch card equipment in use at that time. The punch cards initiated the creation of instructions to the computer in order to carry out the required process.
In R & D we were investigating the control of machinery by computer. This involved the purchase of a comparatively simple system for assessment and education purposes. Very few people in our office had any knowledge of computers, though we had heard of wonderful things that they could do. In a move that I consider, now, was a very good idea, it was decided to install a monitor in the middle of the office for us all to investigate. This did nothing for me, other than giving me the confidence to try things and realising that whatever I did would not seriously damage the computer or the external monitor.
Shortly after this, a colleague and I discovered a computer based design system called ACAD. We managed to persuade our manager to purchase the software for this system, to which he agreed provided that our involvement did not encroach upon our normal work. Once the system was installed and a desktop computer obtained, we spent many of our lunch hours learning how to design using ACAD.
We were able to demonstrate the system to higher management and soon ACAD was being widely used at Tucker Fasteners. This changed my outlook completely and I have been trying to develop my computing skills ever since. It also allowed me to move on to other functions in other areas of the company.
During this period, two different concepts of Automatic Feed riveter were developed. One of those originated in Germany and the other in the USA at Emhart. Two completely different principles were involved. The German design involved the use of drastically redesigned rivets, whilst the American one could handle all standard rivets. Surprisingly, the German design was better received and was used in trials at Ford Motor Co. in Dagenham.
During those trials, I spent several weeks in the Dagenham plant rectifying problems as they occurred. Sadly, the trials were not very successful in that sort of production line environment, on the grounds of reliability. Despite considerable effort on the part of the original designer, the system was considered too unreliable by customers and that system ceased to exist. I am unsure what became of the US system.
At one stage, I was asked to investigate the upcoming container industry in regard to the fastening techniques in use, with a view to developing a suitable fastener for use in that industry. This involved visits to companies completely new to Tucker and proved most instructive and interesting. Unfortunately, the fasteners used in container assembly required much more structural integrity than we would have been able to devise.
On another occasion, I was asked to study the caravan industry. Again, this was most interesting and constructive. To me, almost all the materials used were new and certainly presented challenges in respect of fastening methods. For instance the main elements were formed from materials having a metallic skin on two sides, filled with quite soft insulation. The fixing had to be blind, which entailed deforming the insulant to get a grip on the outer skin. In this case we were successful in developing a suitable, blind rivet type of fastener.
During the time that we were assessing possible new markets, and in association with our American colleagues, we turned our attention to the USSR. The Iron Curtain was still in place at the time that we were invited to take part in a visit to Moscow. Our party consisted of the Marketing Director, the Sales Manager and the manager of the Stud Welding Division and me, representing blind riveting applications and tools.
The most interesting visit we made was to one of the car manufacturing plants. The methods in use were somewhat behind the times but it was also a little surprising that they were as good as they were. It was easy to see where our products could be utilised to improve methods and these were discussed with management. This was true of rivets and of stud welding.
I made three visits over a couple of years. It eventually became clear that what they really wanted was to purchase the rivet manufacturing machinery from us, rather than the products themselves.
Another investigation in which I was heavily involved was Automation. We needed to know who was doing what and how. By that I mean were robots being used or other forms of automatically controlled assembly equipment. This entailed visits to a number of companies in Germany and in France. Local representatives, from Tucker GMBH and MFOM, our associates, had arranged these visits for me and accompanied me — a good thing, as my knowledge of French and German was very limited!
During my time at Tucker, Job Evaluation was introduced. I was asked to chair the Panel that undertook to evaluate the jobs of most of the personnel working there at that time. Apparently, the Personnel Director felt that I could produce fair and justified results! This proved very interesting to me because I teamed, in some Considerable detail, about areas of Tucker's that I knew little or nothing about.
The evaluation was based on a set of figures derived from a standard laid down officialdom and went into considerable detail, covering all the different skills necessary to do the job, including academic qualifications. This entailed examining the Job Description and the interviewing the job holder or a representative of all holders of the job being evaluated. This often meant that the Union representative of all the men doing the same job, needed to make contact with me.
Now, I had always felt some resentment towards Unions and what they represented, but this personal contact presented the Unions in a different light. Not at all unreasonable, provided that their reasoning was listened to and taken into account. I ended up having considerable respect for their views, not all of which I agreed with. They also respected the job I had undertaken.
I enjoyed this phase of my career, and I had had serious discussions with my management about increasing the Applications side of the business. Consequently, it was a real shock to me when it was announced that applications would become part of the Marketing Department. This would be under the control of the Applications Engineering Manager, which was my job title at the time. I had no prior warning of this, so it came as a complete shock. I made heated representations to the Personnel Director, to no avail — the die was cast.
I was expected to make fewer visits to companies under the auspices of Marketing, than I had been for the previous few years. My role changed quite a bit. In some ways this ended up to my advantage. I was still involved with the design of multiple rivet setting units and the use of the computer package, AutoCAD, for this purpose taught me a lot about computers.
My changed role involved a certain amount of educating of our representatives in European countries. I developed a series of presentations for that purpose and delivered them to our people in Holland, France, Germany, Norway, Sweden and Iceland. I got to know some very nice people that way. I carried on in this way until I was 68, then chose to retire."
"After 4 weeks of hard 'square bashing', during which I had had a driving test, which I passed, (although I already held a full driving licence) I was transferred to Havannah Barracks at Bordon, in Hampshire. After further trade tests, I was given the status of VM2 AFV. (Vehicle Mechanic second class Armoured Fighting Vehicles)."
"Havannah Barracks was a basic training establishment and my job was to teach people to drive and maintain tanks of various sorts. First I had to learn how to drive a tank myself, which I did and had the additional category added to my existing licence of a 'fighting vehicle steered by its tracks'. Our working base was a workshop just down the road from the barracks, where we marched each morning. They were quite well equipped and included 3 different types of tanks, all of which had had their gun turrets removed. These were a Cromwell, a Comet and a Centurion. All were propelled with enormous Rolls Royce Merlin engines. The Comet, I remember, weighed about 30 Tons and used petrol as the fuel, consuming around 4 Gallons per mile!!!"
"The training took place on a heath at the back of the workshops. The track over the heath was well established at this time and consisted largely of a series of dips and rises and ran through trees. The more the track was used the deeper the dips became and consequently the rises became steeper and steeper. This made driving a little tricky since when reaching the top of the rise the driver had to be very careful otherwise the tank would thump down on the other side and into the next dip. This is not a good experience since a tank has no suspension."
"I managed to get one stripe (Lance Corporal) during this time."
"Which brings me to recall the Wolseley Amateur Operatic and Dramatic Society, which I joined. There was a good reason for my doing this. As the vast majority of people of my era will know, the Brummie accent was common. I didn't like this and was taken to task many times for having a 'posh' accent. However, I had been told that acting would assist in retaining my own accent. I like to think it was successful in that respect. I did enjoy my time taking part in two plays, 'We Proudly Present' where I took quite a leading role, and one other that I don't remember the name of, but it concerned submarines. Besides that, I did a couple of plays for a local youth club, The Triumph of the Philistines' and `The Housemaster', another play in which I took quite a leading role."
Councillor representing Streetly Ratepayers' Association
1971-1974 - Aldridge-Brownhills Council
1974-1980 - Walsall Metropolitan Borough Council
"While we were living in Streetly, there was a very active Ratepayers Association. The area was being developed and required facilities to match the increasing number of householders. Naturally enough, I joined the Association. Three representatives had been elected to serve on Aldridge/Brownhills Urban District Council They filled all the council vacancies available in Streetly.
In 1971 one of those councillors had no wish to stand for re-election. My name was put forward, was accepted by the Association and I was nominated. It was quite an experience to create leaflets about oneself and have those distributed to every house in the district. Posters with my name plastered all over them were attached to many of the lamp posts, quite a few of them by myself. Then there was the house to house canvassing. All this was most unlike me and I began to wonder what I had let myself in for. As it happens, I was elected for a 3 year term as a Streetly Ratepayers representative.
In a two party system, it is quite difficult being Independent, as we three Ratepayers were. However, we were reasonably successful in achieving the best we could for Streetly. My two fellow Ratepayers who had been on the Council for some time, were appointed as Chairmen of two of the major Committees and as such wielded some power and influence. From my point of view the most rewarding aspect was taking my place on the Governing bodies of the local schools. For a time I was chairman of the Governors on two of the schools. I had to learn a lot quite quickly, particularly how important diplomacy was in that situation.
At about this time a 3 tier educational system was being introduced in Streetly, I believe on a trial basis. A new school had been built quite close to where I was living at the time. This was called Lindens Middle School and catered for children from 9 to 13. That became one of the schools where I was Chairman of the Governors. During my stint the school was burnt down, we believed by vandals who entered through the roof and started a fire in the library.
The other school at which I was chairman of the governors was a First School. During my time there, I had the unpleasant duty of sacking the headmistress, for drinking on duty. This followed an investigation by the local schools inspector who briefed me what was required and attended the meeting to inform the head — not nice! Thank goodness for the Inspectors backing and support.
My son came past the school as the fire was still burning and warned me of the situation. When I arrived on the scene the Fire Brigade had put the fire out. Explaining who I was, allowed me to examine the extent of the damage done while the remains were still smoking, accompanied by the Fire Officer. All the facilities at the school had been virtually totally destroyed. I have never witnessed anything quite so disturbing, either before or since. It took almost two years to rebuild that school. One of the other consequences of holding a public office, is that anything untoward is naturally reported to you, particularly if it is very local to where you live.
One of the things I found particularly rewarding during my term of office on the Council, was when I was given the chairmanship of the Sports and Recreation Committee. This included an the council run sports facilities and the libraries throughout the council area. Also included were the cemeteries and crematoriums. Quite a range of facilities to be administered! However, I believe I managed the challenge quite well -at least there were no complaints that I was aware of.
As chair of the committee, I was also chair of the local Sports Council, who made grants to the local sports facilities, as was warranted. To get a grant the clubs had to make representations to the council and often required a visit, usually from me. I made many friends as a result and learned a lot about the dedication of the people who ran the facility.
One of the better known of the facilities in which we had a hand, was Chasewater Country Park, the best part of which was a water sports facility, attached to a quite extensive natural reservoir, which was very well used. l was invited to many of the functions held there. The Streetly School went there for sailing tuition from one of the Streetly based teachers. A fascinating place.
During my time on the Council, we Ratepayers were endeavouring to provide the area with a Playgroup. Playgroups had become very popular at that time. With school starting age then being set at 5 years there was a recognised need for children younger than 5 to have some sort of pre-school preparation, or early introduction to learning and mixing with other children of similar ages. A proposal was put before the council, who agreed in principle, provided that some funding was provide by the community, in his case the residents of Hundred Acre. The site proposed for the development was on a spare piece of land alongside the playing fields attached to The Streetly School.
At that time, Len Bottrill, our older representative on the Council, was Leader of the Council which may well have helped to ease things though the various committees involved. The proposal was to hold a weekly raffle to raise the money required. Raffles could only be legally sanctioned by following quite strict rules, the most important of those being the distribution of the money raised. Half of the money should be distributed as prize money, with detailed accounts being available for auditing. After some discussion, these rules were agreed and the weekly draw was established.
The younger ladies of the Hundred Acre area were keen on the idea and volunteered to undertake the collection, as I recall on a Friday evening, whatever the weather! Our kitchen became the meeting place for the collectors and where the money was counted and the prize distribution determined. Recipients were decided by people unconnected with any of the participants, generally by asking a passer-by to pick from a bag full of all the ticket stubs.
The ladies also organised any number of events to raise further funds, with fashion shows and craft fairs being featured. l remember devising and making quite a few dolls deck chairs for one of the fairs. As I recall they sold very well, so much so that I had to make more after the event.
When half the money had been raised, the Council agreed to supply the remainder and the Hundred Acre Playgroup was established. Some considerable time later, school starting age was reduced to 4 years, which of course seriously affected the running of the group.
In 1974, boundary changes meant disbanding the Aldridge-Brownhills Urban District Council. Streetly became part of the Walsall District Council. This meant that I no longer had a seat on the council. All seats were up for re-election to Walsall Council. All three of the Streetly representatives, myself included, were re-elected. After a year, I was deposed by the Conservative candidate. The Council had become very politically driven — not for the better."
Other Duties
Walsall Sports Council
1977 - Vice-Chairman
1977-1981 - Chairman
Walsall Recreation and Arts Committee
1979 - Vice-Chairman
1979-1981 - Chairman
Governor
Chair of Governors at two schools, including Lindens Middle School, Streetly, and governor at three other schools in the area.
As part of her teacher training, Joan stayed with the family between 3rd-13th August 1937 to undertake a study of Clive.
"Clive was lucky to be born into a family which, for generations, has practised the habit of absolute temperance. No alcoholic liquor has been taken by the families of either parents for at least three generations, and neither his father nor his mother have ever smoked."
"Clive’s father became a man at the age of thirteen when his own father died and he was obliged to look after the home."
"At eight months he was found looking intently into the “works” of a clockwork motor on the floor and, even if this was unintentional, has since proved that he has a mechanical, practical mind like his father."
"Even indoors he was never still, and always up to some mischief or other. He was very destructive with his toys but not wilfully so, as he destroyed in an endeavour to discover how the “wheels went round”, this showing the dawnings of a mechanical mind."
"His great interest in anything of a mechanical nature had increased, the more so because his father was now starting on a permanent model electric railway in the attic, and Clive loved to watch and help in any way he could. As he watched, his father never omitted to point out the uses of the different tools and their names, and Clive gradually learnt them in this way, until, by the age of seven, he was able to use many tools correctly and proficiently."
"Clive also showed skill and knowledge when he was working the model electric railway by himself. He understands much of the actual electrical part, and knows exactly how to work the switches, which are really very complicated. Clive is extremely careful when he us working the trains, especially with the points, and this is chiefly because he was careless some time ago and had an accident, for which damage he had to pay out of his own pocket money. So nowadays he never has any accidents, except when someone alters the points without ‘his knowing’, and even this is becoming rarer, for he gets very annoyed if people meddle with the switches when he is in charge."
PARENTS
"I was brought up by parents, both of whom were basically religious. Father was brought up amongst Quakers, though as far as I can gather he never practised that faith. However, there were certain elements of Quaker beliefs in which he believed and had affected the way in which he brought up his children.
He had become attached to the Baptist church and as a consequence the family attended church every Sunday morning at his insistence. He was quite strict and was not beyond imposing consequences for misbehaviour.
Mother was a teacher of infants and loved that job. I have to assume she gave that up when we children started to arrive. There has never been any doubt in my mind that she lived for children. We kids never knew her to be in a bad temper. In her advancing years, there were, on occasions, some question of the state of her mind. Today we might describe the incidents as an indication of the onset of dementia. My eldest sister, Muriel, was usually the one to be most affected by this.
Did I mention that Pop's parents were Quakers? I don't think he was ever active with the Society of Friends, but it certainly had an effect on his inherent beliefs to which he adhered to in the upbringing of his own children. His father died when Pop was quite young, leaving him to care for his mother and two sisters. Madge and Amy.
Both mother and father were very fond of music and singing. They both belonged to the church choir at Acocks Green Baptist church, where they first met. They married around 1925 and always kept up their joint choral activities. As a family, we moved house from Acocks Green to Solihull around 1935 when there were three of us children. We were expected to walk from Solihull back to Acooks Green every Sunday morning to attend the service at the Baptist church, thus allowing the folks to contnue in the choir.
Somewhere along the way the folks won a baby grand piano. We all just took it for granted as part of the furniture. They would hold musical evenings when their friends would meet up and sing and play their various instruments. Pop played the cello and mother the piano. I remember very little of this since we kids were not involved. We would gather round the piano on a Sunday afternoon and sing."
AMY CLARA ELIZABETH ENOCK & GERTRUDE MARGARET "MADGE" ENOCK
"By that time Amy had been virtually exiled to Australia. This has never been properly explained, but I understand that she formed an unsatisfactory relationship with a young man. She certainly had an exceptional gift for playing the piano. Somehow the family had her declared of unsound mind, which resulted with her being shipped out to a psychiatric hospital in Australia where she remained for the rest of her life. She had a named carer who I tried to contact many years ago. I should say that my efforts to contact Amy's appointed carer failed.
Many of these facts came to light only when Pop died and were evident from the papers that were in his possession. The other sister, Madge, had gone on to marry a man much older than her and with whom she had a son. By coincidence, June worked for a time with Madge's husband, Ernest Wildridge. They lived in Bromsgrove, a southwestern suburb of Birmingham and we visited them a couple of times. I recall they lived in 'Railway Cottages' not far from the station. However, we never became close, partly because Madge resented certain of Pop's actions (her brother's) many years earlier. Let me try and explain.
As I have pointed out, Madge's sister Amy was sent to a mental institution in Australia. When their mother died, their brother, Pop, was executor of the will. What little was left was shared equally between Madge and Amy. Madge had hers as a matter of course but Amy's share was administered by Pop. For many years he would send money to Amy's appointed carer, from her share. This had always been a matter of ill will between brother and sister as Madge felt that she should have had all that their mother had left. Very unpleasant letters that I have seen bear witness to that. Clearly that grudge was still present during my visits."
EXTENDED ENOCKS
Joan Enock stayed with the family in 1937 during her teacher training and wrote a study of Clive.
"I was reminded of an occasion many years ago, when your dad and two aunts (Muriel and Hazel) borrowed their fathers car and went in search of Enocks! It must be in the blood! They arrived somehow at my cousin Joseph's music studio in Ealing, where we were visiting, and we talked about Enocks a lot, and listened to music and so on and I remember Clive saying, as they left, "it's been so nice to meet so many Enocks!"" - Letter from Derek Enock to Graham Enock dated 26th April 1989.
BLOXHAMS
"Now what about mother's side. I know that she was an only child and that her father passed away at quite an early age. However, her mother, known to us children as `Nana' lived in Acocks Green not far from our first house in Dudley Park Road, also in Acocks Green. We kids regularly visited her for some years. I remember her as the a typical old lady in long black dresses and very grey hair. We thought he world of her. All of a sudden this stopped and I can't recall knowing why." [Emily Bloxham passed away in 1936 aged 68 years. She lived at 309, Stockfield Road in Yardley, a 15 minute walk from Dudley Park Road. When the family moved to 74, Heaton Road in 1935, Emily went with them and remained there until she died on 4th, October.]
Page updated 6th May, 2024.
