Industrial Memories

Val Humphries remembers her career at Benchairs
Val Humphries remembers her career at Benchairs 873 1024 Mercer Design
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
Robert Hawker looks back at his working life as a Frome carpenter
Robert Hawker looks back at his working life as a Frome carpenter 250 311 Mercer Design
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
Paul Truscott talks about his working life in the carpentry business
Paul Truscott talks about his working life in the carpentry business 250 339 Mercer Design
Paul Truscott remembers learning the carpentry trade while working for his uncle and recalls his later employment with DJ Kelly Ltd read more
John Stocker discusses his working life at Benchairs
John Stocker discusses his working life at Benchairs 604 672 Mercer Design
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
Joan Smith looks back at her work with Beswick’s Fuses
Joan Smith looks back at her work with Beswick’s Fuses 247 305 Mercer Design
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
Ian Spearing remembers his time working at Beswick’s Fuses
Ian Spearing remembers his time working at Beswick’s Fuses 250 311 Mercer Design
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
Gloria Wingrove discusses her experience of working for Beswick’s
Gloria Wingrove discusses her experience of working for Beswick’s 225 271 Mercer Design
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
Dawn Chapman talks about her working life at Beswick’s
Dawn Chapman talks about her working life at Beswick’s 704 768 Mercer Design
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