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Sportspace - Hemel Hempstead
 
 
Sunday, 1st August 2010

 
7 FAMILY CONNECTIONS

The plumbers and painters
LONG family connections with the Dickinson mills were created. One example is Jenni Bradding from Bennetts End.

Her great grandfatherNathaniel Whittaker, was a plumper - see picture -at Apsley Mills in 1865 and is pictured on the right with some of his fellow plumbers and painters - he’s the chap with his foot on the barrel.

Jenni’s mum Audrey Ingram - nee Newton - of Storey Street, Apsley worked at Dickinson’s and made petrol tanks for Spitfires in 1942.

Her mumMillicent Newton worked at Frogmore Mills and Jenni’s uncle Cecil Ingram, formerly of Kings Langley and now living in Redbourn, worked in the envelope department.
Her father-in-law Charles Bradding worked at Nash Mills taking the coal off the barges and his son David worked at Apsley Mills as a storeman for more than 17 years.

Jenni herself worked as a cleaner at Dickinson’s, but only for six months.
Yvonne Barnet from Adeyfield Gardens wrote to tell us that her grandad worked for Dickinson’s for 41 years in the ruling department and when he retired in 1952 was presented with a long service certificate.

Craftsmen in the book department, circa 1930

Both her father and mother worked for Dickinson’s and her mother was secretary to Mr Jackson, who was a buyer for many years.
Grace Swan, aged 87, who now lives in Grovehill has many memories of JD’s including the TAG department at Salmon Meadow next to the as path.
She travelled to work at the mills from Berkhamsted to Boxmoor Station.

The Guildhall was where dancing and lots of entertainment went on.
She met her husband Mr Stan Payne at Dickinson’s and when her three daughters were old enough they all worked at JD’s.

Her brother-in-law Fred Payne was a fireman at the mills and she remembers when even though Christmas Day was a holiday Boxing Day counted as an ordinary working day.

When her husband returned from Burma after the war he died of ulcers and she remembers Mr Taylor calling her to the office at the mills and giving her £50 - a considerable sum in those days.

She ends: “It’s so sad it’s being closed down.”

Another long-serving JD employee was Mr Roland Rance from Tring who began work in the envelope department and retired in 1976 after 43 years with the company - he was known as Rupert when he worked at Dickinson, a nickname given him by another employee who was renowned for giving different names to his colleagues.

He still has his employee’s handbook, presented by the company in the 1930s.
It’s full of helpful hints like “there is no fun like work” and “your aim should be to do the maximum amount of work with the least display of effort.”

It also gives the benefits of working at Dickinson’s at the time, including a fully equipped dental surgery where there was just a nominal charge for treatment. It was free if you were under 16, and this was long before the establishment of the National Health Service.

There was a continuation school at which everyone under 16 was given one hour’s instruction daily, evening classes and free technical instruction for older workers as well as a free library stocked with more than 2,000 books.

To return to the John Dickinson introduction page, click below
 
 

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