British Acheson Claywheels Lane

[Robbiet 10]

My father-in-law Jack Bourne worked there for many years

[smary 14]

I do remember the parties - we all looked forward to them. One of the memorable things was I won a silver plated marmalade jar - it was for the first person over the line with a pair of ladies tights over their arm - I was then carried still wearing the tights by a man I think was Ron Smith.

I do remember the General Office lady was Pauline Semmens - there was Jean Bullock. A Jean Templeman worked in the Engineers office - the manager then was Gordon Franklin.

Manager of the Transport dept. was somebody Bissett. The purchasing officer was Peter Pilkington - I was his secretary - I married the assistant purchasing officer and moved to Chesterfield as they didnt allow married couples to work together.

[whitehorses 10]

I do remember the parties - we all looked forward to them. One of the memorable things was I won a silver plated marmalade jar - it was for the first person over the line with a pair of ladies tights over their arm - I was then carried still wearing the tights by a man I think was Ron Smith.

I do remember the General Office lady was Pauline Semmens - there was Jean Bullock. A Jean Templeman worked in the Engineers office - the manager then was Gordon Franklin.

Manager of the Transport dept. was somebody Bissett. The purchasing officer was Peter Pilkington - I was his secretary - I married the assistant purchasing officer and moved to Chesterfield as they didnt allow married couples to work together.

 

Did you know my Nan who worked in the canteen and brought the tea round?Her name was Mabel or 'Mabs'

[harvey19 541]

Here are some of the names that I know that worked at "The Black Hole"

Ron Green

Derek Trigg deceased

Brian Marshall a greyhound connection I think!

Phil Straw local author

A famous tv and film actor for a while John J. Carney deceased

Did Naseem Hameds dad work there for a while? lots of Yemenis and Arabs including Mohamed Assad did!

 

Other memories include:

The Turner Trophy for snooker

The darts team played at The Harlequin

Xmas party in the canteen for kids and looking up into the ceiling area and seeing the balloons in a big net for the works dinner dance the following week!

Wow lots of memories flooding back now.

 

Wasn't Phil Straw the main union rep ?

What book did he write ?

I was an inspector in 1974 for a few months

[smary 14]

Sorry I don't remember the lady Mabel - I do remember we used to go over to the canteen for lunch and my favourite was halibut with a sauce - a real treat. I think we used to call the canteen manageress Mrs B. the memory isn't what it used to be.

[barneyboco 10]

I think Phil Straw has completed a few books, his first was a very amusing book entitled "End Game"

[ixtis16 10]

Barneyboco I see that you worked with john j g carney in the 60s, l don't suppose that you have any further info on John, he and I were in the army together in 1955/6 and after we parted company 1957 I always wondered what had happened to him in the intervening years. When he left the army and how, he has credits fo acting in 1960 but should have still been in the army until 1964.

After hearing of his demise from cancer in 1995 I tried to contact anyone who knew anything about his earlier years, he gave so far as I can find out his last performance as an actor in 1985 ten years before he died.

there is very little to go on on the web really just lists of the films he was in, BMD gives very little in the way of info about his family although I am aware that his father commited suicide, when I do not know.

his birth in St Marylebone and death in Hamersmith is about all there is

,

[fatrajah 10]

In the days of electro-mechanical telephone exchanges, Oildag was used to lubricate the moving parts of the the equipment. I seem to remember that Oildag was made by a company with Acheson in their name. Was this the same company?

[TORONTONY 10]

In the days of electro-mechanical telephone exchanges, Oildag was used to lubricate the moving parts of the the equipment. I seem to remember that Oildag was made by a company with Acheson in their name. Was this the same company?

 

Probably, as they manufactured graphite in all forms of electrodes.The full name was British Acheson Electrodes, or was when I applied for an apprenticeship there in 1961. I think I failed the written tests on purpose after being shown around the plant..lol. I came from a coal mining community, but the lads in there looked dirtier than the miners from Treeton and Orgreave

[stpetre 12]

I worked at BAcheson in the 60's anyone have any memories ?

They changed to Union Carbide - are they still there?

 

Yes B.A.E.L. (British Acheson Electrodes Limited) took the name Union Carbide it's American parent, but the demise of the Wadsley Bridge plant (and virtually everything else U.C. owned) was propelled by the disaster at U.C's refinery in Bhopal, India in 1984. The Sheffield factory was already suffering from the recession in the steel industry and others that bought it's carbon-based products. After it became clear that the Indian government were going to sue them for every cent they had, U.C. took the decision to eventually close their European operations which I believe were Claywheels Lane and another one in France.

When the litigation got too much for them, U.C. decided to sell off it's assets

and name to avoid more financial punishment to the point of near insolvency. Those were was taken up by The Dow Chemical Company which owns the names of Union Carbide products. I am neither an industrial historian or an ex employee of U.C. but have happy memories of working as a contractor at the Claywheels Lane (and the former one on Grange Mill Lane-Wincobank/Blackburn) between 1976 and 1986. Yes it was a dirty/sooty place but I believe those employed there were among the highest paid (and why not) in the regions industry. As stated I was not an employee there but I find it ironic that my present place of employment is in the very same building that was once Union Carbide's world headquarters 270 Park Avenue N.Y. I work for it's current occupant J.P.Morgan Chase.

[dars35 10]

Union Carbide UK Ltd had several different businesses round the UK, Carbon Products was only one of many different industries they were in

 

they also had chemicals & plastics divisions, coatings... and my memory has now failed me as I can't recall the others

 

The plant in Bhopal was chemicals

 

the UK head office was on the 6th, 7th & 8th floors of the Fountain Precinct in Balm Green (Barker's Pool) in the city centre

 

when the Bhopal disaster happened, some demonstrators managed to get into one of the offices & lock themselves in, putting "Union Carbide Kills" banners up to the windows - as the windows were mirror glass, no one on the outside could actually see their message! Bright sparks

 

the global economic position forced the business to decentralise & close down the head office, pushing much of the admin type roles out to the carbon products plant at Wadsley Bridge, at which point they renamed that division to UCAR Carbon Limited

[bazza63 12]

My brother in law worked there in 50s 60s his name was Sam Sheldon lived on Southey.