Gill Couchy (née Pierce) November 2006 |
I passed the 11+ examination and went to Malmesbury Grammar School where I eventually attained very average marks in the GCE 'O' Level exams. I knew I would struggle to get 'A' levels and anyway didn't really want to try to go to University but I did want to spend one more year at school in the 6th Form. I became a School Prefect and took a full part in sporting activities, particularly hockey. At that time the school provided a one-year full-time Secretarial Course with a specialist teacher instructing us in Shorthand, Typewriting, Bookkeeping and Commercial English, when I obtained several nationally recognised qualifications. I enjoyed these subjects but didn't really know what I would do when I left school. |
My dad, Ron Pierce, discovered from one of his many contacts that E K Cole ('the Ekco' as it was widely known in Malmesbury) ran a Day Release Course for Secretarial students, similar to those run for ONC and HNC students, but for one year only. I went for an interview and got one of the vacancies and in September 1953 I joined Ekco as a very junior member of staff on the magnificent wage of £2.2s.6d per week, a veritable fortune compared to my pocket money of 10 shillings. As far as I can remember, there were six of us on this course but I have no idea for how many years it had been running or continued after we finished the course. The idea was that we spent two months in each of six different departments and on one day a week we went to the Secretarial College at Melksham. I am not sure how successful this part of the course was as, like me, some of us had already done one year's training beforehand. |
Although we did have some teaching and got the opportunity to take further exams, the Secretarial course was mainly geared for beginners. We travelled to Melksham by one the coaches (Hatt's I think) that were used to bus workers into work in the mornings and they picked us up again in the afternoon on their way back to Ekco for the workers' return journey. |
I can't remember all the departments we worked in but I do remember that in some we were given much more interesting work than in others. I can remember the Personnel Department and the Drawing Office being particularly interesting. In some I think we were just regarded as another pair of hands and someone to make the tea! I learned an awful lot about filing during this year and have never really liked it much since! |
At the end of the year we were all given the opportunity to say which department we would like to work in permanently and, if the Head of Department agreed, we were then employed in that department. I chose the Drawing Office as I had felt a really useful member of staff there and had enjoyed the work. I had also heard rumours that Stan Lind's secretary would be leaving shortly and thought I might eventually be able to step into her shoes!
I was given the opportunity to use my secretarial skills from time to time and did a lot of work for Bryn Evans, the Assistant Chief Draughtsman. Mr Lind's Secretary did leave and I plucked up courage and asked if he would consider me to take her place. He did and I got the job! I think this was in 1955/1956 and I spent some happy years in that Department with some super people. |
In 1959 I heard that Phil Stride's secretary was retiring. He was Manager of the Malmesbury site. I thought long and hard about applying for this job and spoke both to Mr Lind and Mr Stride's secretary, both of whom were very encouraging.
The move to Southend had been announced by then and when I was interviewed, Mr Stride said that he would only consider employing me if I was prepared to move to Southend. I spoke to my parents who said I should go if I got the opportunity and so I got the job. I worked for him in Malmesbury for one year and we moved to Southend in August 1960. |
Following his discharge from National Service, Brian Couchy came to Malmesbury to be interviewed to be employed at Southend. He remembers waiting in my office on that day but I don't really remember that! We met at Southend and the rest is history as they say! We married in May 1962 and I continued working for Mr Stride for a further two years but I really began to find that running a home with a full-time job was not easy, so I reluctantly decided to resign. Brian eventually moved to Crawley in 1971 but I never worked there. |
| I can honestly say that I really enjoyed the time I was employed by Ekco and I am still in touch with some of the people I worked with, over 50 years later! |
Demolition of Cowbridge House Malmesbury April 2007 |
Photograph by David Forward |
|
Layout by spitsortie for ekco-electronics.co.uk |
|
|
