My Memories of EKCO 1929 -1944
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By Mrs. Ella Chadwick - April 2009 |
My time at EKCO started in 1929 when fed up with seasonal work, I looked around for a job, which would give me full time working and I approached EKCO who took me on at their factory, which in those days was at 1135 London Road Leigh on Sea. |
Here I joined a small production team numbering probably no more than 50 ladies and I was first taught to solder components using an iron, which was kept hot by a small gas flame. Having learnt the technique I began working where my job was soldering leads into a smallish box, which I was told was a battery eliminator and was one of the company's best selling products. I remember that the foreman was a chap called Mr. Dudley. |
I was obviously deemed to be very proficient since I was later moved upstairs where I joined a small team assembling and wiring up radios, which were being developed by the experimental department and I remember being amused when I was asked to add a component to a set that was then taken back into this small room and as often as not later being asked to remove the same component since it had not improved matters etc. |
In 1930, with the new factory ready in Priory Crescent, we all moved over and by this time the company was considerably larger although the new assembly hall still seemed enormous. It was here that I first met Michael Lipman who was setting up the production lines and I remember that he was so enthusiastic, always running around moving this or that until he got things as he wanted them.
By this time, while battery eliminators were still being made, most of the production was concentrated on radios although as far as us ladies were concerned it was just another assembly job. As an hourly paid worker I was earning 4 (old pence) 3 farthings an hour and working a 44 hour week but by the end of 1931, I had become a line supervisor, which meant that I was salaried and on a weekly wage. In early 1932 there was a major fire in the experimental department, which destroyed all the plans and prototypes for the 1933 season sets. |
EKCO works Priory Crescent Southend 1931
Courtesy Southend Museum Service
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This prompted a major collapse in business resulting in a wholesale layoff of staff and workers with only a hardcore of us left. I was lucky in being retained and the firm survived so that by 1934 work had picked up again and kept expanding throughout the rest of the 1930's up to the outbreak of war in 1939. |
RS23 assembly line in 1932 |
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I remember that domestic products were cleared out and production of 'tank radios' started. By this time I was a line supervisor where one of my roles was making sure that the right girls were put in the work, which suited them best, for example, I always made sure that the girls with the steadiest hand was picked to put the valves into the sockets whereas other girls had a steady hand for soldering etc. My abiding memory of this work was the tremendous rush. By this time I was married as was the husband of my best friend Helen Hemms.
Both of our husbands joined up, my husband going into the navy and Helen's husband going into the RAF so working on 'war work' had an extra meaning to us. |
At the end of May 1940, the order was given to evacuate Southend both at EKCO and in the town generally and I went to stay with my relatives in Purton just outside of Swindon. Here I got a telegram from EKCO telling me to report forthwith to Cowbridge House Malmesbury where I was needed forthwith. |
When I reported, things were fairly disorganised and there were a lot of girls, who had been recruited but did not know what to do having not yet been trained so us ladies who had been transferred from Southend set about and trained these girls up and it was not long before we got production up and running. |
I was the line supervisor of one of the lines and my role was to keep the line moving and whenever a girl did not turn up for work, to make sure that there was another girl available to take her place, also to make sure that the girls had all the components they needed and sort out any problems they had. My boss was a Mr. Essex, which is a name I obviously remember being from Essex myself. |
At that time we had no idea what we were assembling, to us it was just another box of electronic components but what we did know was that there was a great urgency to get these made.
Later on when we started to get 'directed labour' girls, we had quite a bit of discontentment at times from the girls where they made it obvious that they were unhappy being directed to work in a factory and in many cases this was not helped by elements of the townsfolk and shops also being unfriendly to the girls and there not being much to do outside of working hours, not that we had much spare time since while our hours used to be 8.00am to 6.00pm. Due to the urgency and the demand for what were making, we soon started working 12 hour shifts (from 8.00am to 8.00pm) Monday to Friday and quite often also working Saturday mornings meaning we only effectively had Sundays off.
In addition to my day shift, there was also a 12 hour night shift, which meant that as we were starting, the nightshift girls were finishing etc, which always caused grumbling and it very often took quite a time before production truly got going.
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Inside view of AI Mark 8 Indicator showing some of the detailed assembly (Click to enlarge)
Photo courtesy of Charles Exton
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When I started at Cowbridge, the assembly shop used to be upstairs in the main house and it was lovely walking up the grand staircase every day but with the ever increasing demand for the products, in 1941 a new brick-built assembly hall was built on the site of the 'rose garden'. This building was built with very little natural light and was universally disliked by all since it was lit by fluorescent tubes and always felt cold and uninviting. It's fair to say that this building attracted many complaints from the people who worked in it. |
Assembly Hall at Malmesbury circa 1943
Courtesy Southend Museum service
(Click to enlarge) |
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General view of the kitchen garden
Courtesy Southend Museum service
(Click to enlarge) |
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One of the good things about working for EKCO at Cowbridge was the fact that being formally a country house, it had a well appointed kitchen garden, which was maintained and expanded during the war. The produce of the garden was a great asset to the canteen and so we ate well.
I managed to find 'digs' in Oxford Street Malmesbury with my friend Helen Hemms and at the back of this lovely stone built cottage, there were lovely views over the valley looking towards Cowbridge. Socially there was not a lot to do in Malmesbury although the works laid on dances in the canteen every Thursday and there was always a dance somewhere in the town on a Saturday night. |
I left in 1944 as I was pregnant with my son, and much to my surprise the workers and the staff had a collection for me where I was presented with a nice canteen of cutlery with an inscribed plaque and in addition I had a 'thank you gift' from E.K.Cole of £25, which was quite a bit of money in those days. |
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As I reach my 100th birthday, I look back with fondness of my time with EKCO.
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Layout by spitsortie for ekco-electronics.co.uk |
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