Henry Brown, Son and Pickles. Engineers - Part 9

Sometime during the mid 1930s Henry Brown's son, William, the man who had come for Johnny to be foreman in 1923, reappears at Wellhouse.  The firm was still called J A Pickles and Son but 'Our Mr Willy' as Newton called him was in the office.  I can't say anything definite about his position in the firm but Newton gave me the impression that he had some money in the firm.  Willy's son Harry Brown came into the firm as well on the shop floor.[later research resulted in the fact that Willy Brown came back to run the office in 1930 when Newton was 14.  I don't think he had any money in the firm but am still not sure about this.]

I'm certain that Willy was in the office in 1935 because Newton told me about the day he got on to his father about his wage.  He was 19 years old and was still on the same wage he started on when he was 14, 12/6 a week. (62p.)   He gave this to his mother every week and she gave him 2/- (10p) to pay for his cinema and Woodbines.  Johnny told him he'd better go into the office and see Mr Willy.  When Newton went in, cap in hand, Willy expressed great surprise that his wage hadn't been raised and immediately put him up to £3 a week, only 2/6 under the full rate and him only 19 years old.  This was wealth beyond the dreams of avarice, Newton put his cap back on  and his mother put his spending money up to 3/- a week!

Round about this time Harry Brown and Newton were sent up to Sagar's Salterforth quarry to commission a new National suction gas plant for the 30hp engine that ran the quarry.  This was the plant that Jack Platt worked on.  Every now and again I get a whiff of a bit of edge in the relationship with the Brown family and this was one such occasion.  Harry was obviously the expert on the job and Newton was there to help him.  After struggling all day Saturday they still hadn't got this plant to make gas, the engine wouldn't start.  On the Sunday, Harry brought his father up to look at it but with no better luck.  In the end Newton lost his rag with them and pointed out that they were making gas alright, the place stunk of it.  The problem was it wasn't getting to the engine.  He was told to mind his own business so he left them with the gas producer and starting at the engine he checked every joint.  Sure enough, he found a joint packing that had no hole through the centre.  He popped his centre punch through it, bolted the flange up and the next time they tried it, away it went.  Newton said he wasn't right popular when he told them what he had done.

Newton and Harry were sent on another job to Sagars Quarry.  The crane at Tubber Hill was short of power so they went up, stripped all the valve motion and pistons out of it and brought them down to the shop.  Newton made new pins for the links, new piston rods and generally refurbished the two sides of the engine.  Harry, who Newton said was a good fitter, put it all back together as Newton made it.  Newton said it was a Glasgow built crane and had Stephenson's link motion for reversing, the valve setting was a bit complicated.  When Newton had made the last parts he took them up to the quarry and when he saw how Harry had set the valves he told him it wouldn't run.  Harry was older than Newton and had been in the army in WW1 and was doubtless a bit put out by this little lad telling him he was wrong.  So they finished building it up.  They had no permission to light the fire, raise steam and try it out so they went home.

Come Monday morning Newton landed into work and his father jumped down his throat straight away.  "Get yourself up to the bloody quarry, yon crane won't work!!"  Newton said of course it won't, Harry had set the valves wrong, he didn't understand it.  Anyway, Newton had to go up and face old Mr Sagar, get the lids off and re-set all the valves.  Two hours later it was running like a sewing machine but Newton said he never forgot the fact that it was him that got blamed.  Years after he realised it was because Johnny was bringing him on to understand the responsibilities of being a gaffer but at the time he didn't understand that.

Harry and Newton were good mates otherwise.  Newton said he was a marvellous fitter.  He made himself a motor bike, all he bought was a Clynes engine, the rest he made himself.  Newton said they were working at Dotcliffe Mill one Saturday moving pulleys on the shafting for respacing for More Looms.  This wasn't an easy job at Dotcliffe because the shafting wasn't turned, it was forge finish.  This meant that all the drums had to be staked on and carefully callipered.  Half way through the afternoon Harry said he was fed up, let's go off on the bike.  Before Newton knew it they were in Leyburn.  Harry had a big motor bike coat on but Newton only had his jacket, he said they landed back at ten o'clock at night and he was freezing.  

Meanwhile, up at Ouzledale, James Cecil Ashby was quietly consolidating his position as the town's ironfounder.  Strictly speaking he isn't part of the Brown and Pickles story but was associated with them right through the inter-war years.  In the 1932 flood the foundry was badly damaged by water and lightning and F Blezard repaired the damage at a cost of £185.  The rent that year was £32.  In 1936 James asked the Calf Hall Company to build an extension at the foundry and this was when the red brick building in the yard was erected.  Fred Blezard got the job again, £264-16-3.  It's interesting to note that Briggs and Duxbury's quote of £270 was beaten.   Quite impressive when you realise that the Duxbury family were heavily involved in the Calf Hall Company, no evidence of favouritism there.

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© Stanley Challenger Graham 2003

Page updated: 13 OCT 2003