Industrial Memories

Dawn Chapman talks about her long career at Beswick’s and recalls how she started on the shop floor and progressed to a supervisory role read more

Gloria Wingrove talks about Beswick’s Fuses and the changes that took place when the U.S. firm, Bussmann, took the company over read more

Ian Spearing discusses the relationship between management and workers at Beswick’s Fuses and talks about the layout of the factory and security read more

Joan Smith remembers being part of the mostly female workforce at Beswick’s Fuses and describes how she soldered, wired and capped the fuses read more

John Stocker describes how he used to load and unload chairs at the various Benchairs depots around Frome, including the Cheese and Grain read more

Paul Truscott remembers learning the carpentry trade while working for his uncle and recalls his later employment with DJ Kelly Ltd read more

Robert Hawker tells us about his varied career, from being an apprentice carpenter at Hodder’s, to his national service and later jobs read more

Val Humphries talks about Benchairs, the sites it used in Frome, and the jobs she did over the 29 years she worked for the firm read more

Dorothy Hawker left school at 15 and went to work at the Butler and Tanner print works. She worked there until she was 20, when she left to bring up her son read more

Gerald Franks talks about unions and describes some of the working practices at Butler and Tanner during his time with the firm read more