Our Gallery

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page six includes Bill Scott and Elda, and Peter Godden.

page seven includes a photo of Roy Boorman and his wife. Also the poem from Roy Utteridge.--- I saw him in the Centre Cafe in Rainham where he told me he hadn't long to live. He was with his ever lovely wife and he is a sorely missed man. However, Roy for all his wit, like most pre-press and finishing personnel, never ever really understood how difficult running a printing machine was.

page eight.

I am going to be honestI am going to be honest, in that I don't ever remember the SPRINT. But in those times everything was changing so fast. The management of the factory was becoming more efficient and a with-it team (this is sarcasm),-- with Terry Cooper and his many, many, many, memos, covering the factory like snow. Clive Wraight was fast becoming the power-house (on a flat battery) upstairs and had been instucted to keep an eye on me.--- I had been put under his wing and reduced to customer services manager and then further, to contracts manager for a period, (what ever that was supposed to be).---- Robin Berkeley, he of the golden hair and lovely smiling 'couldn't care less' attitude, was leading the production office and sadly I very much missed all the contact that I had once had with the customers.------ So probably for me, trying to keep my head below the parapet and out of the firing line and my nose in the Optimus keyboard most of the day, is why I don't recall it. And after all with a couple of warnings and one nasty letter, I had to learn to try and stay out of the way and keep quiet.----- Yet, I still managed to survive. I was part of the small team that came through the 'morning of the long knives', when Jim Gilmore arrived from head office, took over the boardroom and instructed MOST of the senior people to clear their desks and leave immediately. But I wasn't chucked out, even though those who had been put over me were, I was promoted with a company car to Works Manager under Bill Scott who I admired greatly --- and later, although the new team under Bill were showing some good early improvements, the end came because the group was in financial stress and the Rochester premises had to be sold. -------I was there on that VERY LAST DAY when the polished green floor of the factory on the Medway City Estate was nearly empty, except that is, for the odd broken chair and the lonely and forelorn Printa Xs standing still and silent.------------ The saddest thing of all though, is that long before that, 'THE BUZZ' had died.---- It was part of Rochester for SO many years and many customers used to say that they could actually FEEL IT when they walked around the factory,--- but by now, THAT TOO was part of the eerie silence.------- GTC in that I don't ever remember the SPRINT. But in those times everything was changing so fast. The management of the factory was becoming more efficient and a with-it team (this is sarcasm),-- with Terry Cooper and his many, many, many, memos, covering the factory like snow. Clive Wraight was fast becoming the power-house (on a flat battery) upstairs and had been instucted to keep an eye on me.--- I had been put under his wing and reduced to customer services manager and then further, to contracts manager for a period, (what ever that was supposed to be).---- Robin Berkeley, he of the golden hair and lovely smiling 'couldn't care less' attitude, was leading the production office and sadly I very much missed all the contact that I had once had with the customers.------ So probably for me, trying to keep my head below the parapet and out of the firing line and my nose in the Optimus keyboard most of the day, is why I don't recall it. And after all with a couple of warnings and one nasty letter, I had to learn to try and stay out of the way and keep quiet.----- Yet, I still managed to survive. I was part of the small team that came through the 'morning of the long knives', when Jim Gilmore arrived from head office, took over the boardroom and instructed MOST of the senior people to clear their desks and leave immediately. But I wasn't chucked out, even though those who had been put over me were, I was promoted with a company car to Works Manager under Bill Scott who I admired greatly --- and later, although the new team under Bill were showing some good early improvements, the end came because the group was in financial stress and the Rochester premises had to be sold. -------I was there on that VERY LAST DAY when the polished green floor of the factory on the Medway City Estate was nearly empty, except that is, for the odd broken chair and the lonely and forelorn Printa Xs standing still and silent.------------ The saddest thing of all though, is that long before that, 'THE BUZZ' had died.---- It was part of Rochester for SO many years and many customers used to say that they could actually FEEL IT when they walked around the factory,--- but by now, THAT TOO was part of the eerie silence.------- GTC

Andy Baker and Jeff Huggins taken during their get-together in 1960. The only good photo we have so far, of the front of the Love Lane factory-------------------------photo from Andy in Christchurch N.Z.

Have tried to pick out the detail on this old photo. Sent from N.Z. by Andy Baker, it shows him with Jeff Huggins at the works in Love Lane when they met up again in 1990. They were Comp Room apprentices in the 1960s

Andy Baker, Comp Room apprentice in the 1960s during a lunch break. Here he is on the Castle wall overlooking Strood bridge. ----photo from Andy in N.Z.

From a transparency sent in to the site from I can't remember whom, this shows the Readers Department at Love Lane. I can't identify the man on the left of the picture, but it is Maurice Kent with him.

Around 1964, at Love Lane, in Staples machine room, down by the boiler house, a group of the 'lads' sat around talking. The topic was Christmas. This would have been October and we were discussing the festivities. In those days the Christmas break was just two days, Christmas day and Boxing day and people made their plans to make the most of them.----------------We were talking about extra things that we did that were special to each of us and I happened to tell them about my own something that I really looked forward to. --- You must understand that in "those days" the roasted and stuffed chicken of the festive season was something quite special, as it was never affordable to ordinary people during the rest of the year- ------ and I explained that my Christmas luxury, was to buy my very own small chicken which was cooked along side the family version and this was put in the larder------(no fridges then)-- and I would rip a chunk off and eat it when I felt like it, just like the Romans did in the grand feasts on the films. This hit a chord with the people assembled and much mouth watering went on, whereby several said it was something that they would very much like to do. So some agreed to put one shilling aside, (ten pence), each week, for the eleven pay days left before the holiday and I would collect it and we would all have a chicken each.-- Except, that is, for Jack Harrison, who wanted a chunk of pork.---------------------------------- And that is what we did, I remember that it was about ten or twelve people.---------------So duly at Christmas, Sylvia and myself went down to, what memory recalls was the first 'supermarket' in Chatham, Anthony Jacksons and bought the goods on a Thursday, with yards of Green Sheild stamps rolling out to us.---------- (Thursday was 'double stamps' day.) Come the return to work and we talked of the many pleasures had by all, in what seemed like unashamed greed and luxury. Gradually it was broached that we should--- 'do it again, but for more weeks'. So later, off it went again, probably for around twenty weeks, with more than twenty people joining in.----- These were mainly from the Machine room but also the Comps and Bindery. Bob Dunn agreed to do the collecting and he did so for quite a long time, as this grew into 'The Chicken Club'. Later it was operating the whole year and people had their money back. There were no fees, no fines and no pay for the collectors. Everything you put in was returned to you.---- As CIDA emerged as the social organising group, it was decided to bank the money with the Staples Social Club and use the interest towards the Childrens Christmas Party, which happened for a few years.--- Later, as like Topsy it grew and grew, it had its own account and the interest accumulated during the year, was spent on a giant raffle made to make prizes available for all members. Dave Buckingham continues with more facts in the following pages.

Dave and Millie Buckingham visited me and Dave has his "History of the Chicken Club" typed out for inclusion on the site. It follows on the next pages.----photo in my garden by Geof Curtis June 2010

The history of the Chicken Club and Dave Buckingham's involvement. Written by Dave himself it continues on the next page.

Page 2 of Dave's entry.------ For those who may miss the sense in the last paragraph to the rather obscure reference to 'four', when only two names follow, it is a smile at the two outgoing sisters who were VERY well endowed and who could make many a young man shyly flee in embarrasment. -- IT IS WORTH NOTING THAT ALL THOSE WHO DID THE COLLECTING OVER THE YEARS FROM WHEN I FIRST STARTED IT, DID SO WITHOUT ANY PAYMENT. GTC.

A smiling Barry Cox. Photo taken by myself June 2010, when he visited my son Jay, for help with a book that his friend is producing

Friday 2nd July 2010-------Kit Goodhews funeral was a quiet family affair, but Paul Dixon travelled up from Corwall to attend and Bill Scott and Alan Southworth were also there. I have it in good authority that the picture used by the family on here was taken by Paul some years ago at the works.