Henry Brown, Son and Pickles. Engineers - Part 7

I think it's time we had a closer look at Johnny Pickles, we know he was a good engineer but what sort of a man was he?

I think we get our first clue as to his character when he rebelled against being put in the office at Sough Mill and ran away to his Uncle Daniel in Lothersdale.  We can be fairly certain that he had a mind of his own, he knew what he wanted to do and kept up the pressure until William, his dad, gave in.  I think this says something about William as well.  He recognised what he was up against and in the end stopped trying to get young Johnny to see it his way.  William would know both old William Brown and his son Henry.  Newton once told me that apart from spending time with his Uncle Jim around the engine at Sough Bridge Johnny was also a regular visitor to Brown's workshop in Earby.  The bottom line is that we have a born engineer here and his family were flexible enough to accept it.  

Some time ago I was having a day out with Terry Gissing, we were going to look at a mill and were sat in a traffic jam on the Manchester Ring Road.  As I looked through the window I voiced a thought, "Look at all these people sat in cars they haven't paid for, going to jobs they don't like which the world would never miss if they vanished tomorrow.  I'll bet they haven't a workshop in the back yard!"  Now what had brought this about was a conversation Terry and I had been having about job satisfaction.  I had commented on Johnny Pickles and the fact that engineering was not only his career, it was his hobby as well.

When Sarah and Johnny moved into 35 Federation Street the first thing he did was put a wooden shed in the back yard and install his own workshop.  Remember when Havre Park closed, Johnny brought a six inch treadle lathe up from Federation Street.  For years, Johnny's routine was to go to work, come home at lunch time, have his dinner and then go in his workshop for half an hour.  When he came home at night he had his tea, went in the workshop until about half past eight, had a wash, went down to the Syke for a pint and then back home.  I have no evidence as to what Sarah thought about this, I suppose she was used to it.  His job was his hobby.

Johnny wasn't one of these men who regarded housework as a 'Mary Ann' job.  If Sarah needed any help, Johnny gave it to her.  Newton told me his dad was good about the house and encouraged him to help as well.  There's no doubt that he was a fairly tolerant father.  Newton couldn't ever remember having a worse punishment than a good telling off.  Once, while he was alone in the house Newton found an air rifle in the cupboard.  Of course he started laiking about with it and ended up shooting a brass tea caddy on the mantelpiece and putting a dent in it.  He did the sensible thing, turned the dent to the mirror and hoped for the best.

When Johnny came in he noticed the tea caddy, took it down and examined the dent and Newton had to own up.  He was expecting dire repercussions but his dad said "Look here" and showed Newton another, smaller dent in the caddy.  "I did that just the same way when I was a lad.  I think we'd better get that gun out of the house."  That was it, no drama and Newton never forgot it.  He encouraged Newton to go to the machine shop at Wellhouse and as long as he didn't interfere with anything, let him watch while he worked at home in his shed.

Johnny was one of the best 'miniature engineers' this country has ever seen.  Notice I don't say 'models', the things that Johnny made were examples of engineering but on a small scale.  He made clocks, microscopes, locomotives, boilers, model engines and even lathes.  He exhibited regularly at the Model Engineer's exhibitions and the Worshipful Company of turners in London.  I once asked Newton why he never got a Gold Medal and he said that it was the custom not to give gold to professional engineers as they were held to have an unfair advantage.  

In 1931 he made a tower clock which was awarded a Silver Medal at the Model Engineers Exhibition.  Notice that he had made this during 1930 when pressure at J A Pickles was at it's height.  St Joseph's Catholic Church had opened in 1929, Johnny offered them the clock and they accepted.

Johnny wasn't at all religious, he just wanted his clocks to be used.  Dennis Pickles and another bloke were boring a hole through the wall at St Joseph's for the spindle which drove the hands.  It was hard work.  Dennis turned to his mate and said "Bloody Hell, this is a hard stone!"  A voice came from behind them, "Less bloody swearing!  Don't you know where you are?"  They turned round and there was Johnny, hard hat on the back of his head and a fag in his mouth!

One more story about Johnny that says volumes about how he worked and what his relationship was with his men.  One day during WW2 as Newton was going home for his dinner Johnny collared Newton as he went out of the door.  "Call in at So and so's on your way home.  Tell him I want him back on his lathe after dinner!"  Newton did as he was told and after dinner this old chap turned up in a clean pair of overalls with a Gladstone bag containing his measuring tackle.  It turned out he had been retired for nearly ten years and had never been near the shop.  One message from Johnny and he was back making swarf.

Previous

Next

© Stanley Challenger Graham 2003

Page updated: 13 OCT 2003