Forums Forums Wirral History : Chasing the Past Wirral Now and Then Stone Manganese Marine (SMM PROPELLERS) Ltd

Yes, Jackie Woodfin, She was the bosses sec when I started my apprenticeship ( who says nepotism is dead )and went on to become management after I left. She sadly passed away after a long illness a few years ago

HI camermann, I WAS A SECURITY GUARD at stone i was there with BOB mackendry/JIM (carnt remember his last name) they where my bosses i was based in the gatehouse with the spiral staircase i used to do 7 till 7 days/nights i remember HEGGARTY with his ball room dancing i was there on nights when they had the big FIRE in a unit that was let as a paper mill and i was on nights the morning lady DI was killed i was on days when the biggest prop IN THE WORLD was loaded on to the MERSEY MAMMOTH floating crane i remember jackie who later died of cancer a nice lady. I remember mr wilson who owned the land and also appeldore ship builders in devon short fat guy who had a habit of turning up checking on security and his pain in the ar+e son who thought he owned S.S.M i have lots of memories and stories of S.S.M god rest the place if need any more info please feel free to ask ..

I'm sorry to hear she passed away. She might have even been my dad's secretary as I remember him mentioning someone called Jackie. I'll have to ask him. This would have been back in the 1980s.

IT was few years after S.S.M closed i think i remember DR PATIENCE the director the 200 TON SHOP which is still there MR SMITH i will try remember more.

My dad is John Smith. They 'let him go' just about 4 years before he was due to retire properly after about 45 years service. He may have some info to share about the history etc.

I think, at the time I started, she was Bill Teasdale's secretary and used to help Dougie Hey who was the personnel Manager. Think she took over personnel after Dougie left

hi ask your dad mr smith does he remember me im mike the security the fella with the classes send my regards thanks.

Hi Mike, I'll certainly ask him. What years were you there? At one point Dad used to drive a clapped out silver mini. You might remember that. It was always something clapped out he drove, apart from in 1979 when he proudly got his one (and only) company car, a T reg brown cortina!!

Hi Snorlax, just reading a letter I have from Bill Teasdale who was the manufacturing Director and his secretary's initials are BAB so Jackie could have been Johns.

How interesting.. will have a chat with Dad. I definitely remember him talking about someone called Jackie when I was younger as well as some of the others you have mentioned like Frank(?) Heggarty. There was also some lad he used to talk about who kept having kids.. like 7 or something!

HI, I remember the mini and the i think he had a red volkswagon with a black roof as well, has your dad still got his beard i remember his office was up stairs to the right as you looked at the office building i had some happy times at S.M.M .

Yes he still has the beard.. less hair.. more wrinkles.. still drives a clapped out car. He's 70 next month.

Frank was the patternmaker supervisor when I started and John Higgonson was the foundry supervisor with Alan Gee (Wagger) and Jackie (John) Hill his foreman. I left SMM in 86, they were making redundancies and all the good lads were being layed off. My name wasn't on the list but I volunteered to save one of the other lads jobs who had kids as I was young free and single at the time. My Auntie wasn't impressed haha. Went on to do better things

HI ,I remember BILL (carnt remember last name) who used to do the wages the workers where paid in wage packets and as i was security we had to lock the main gate and gate house doors till every one was paid then some one called SHAKESHAFT took over then the wages were paid into banks..

I think it's sad that all these engineering skills are being lost in this country. Do young men still make tools? We dug out my DH's tools from his apprenticeship. Awesome. Do teenagers learn these skills anymore?