MOST WILL REMEMBER PHIL TOWNSEND, WHO FINISHED HIS 22 YEARS WITH THE COMPANY AS FOREMAN OF THE MACHINE SHOP.
Fortunately for us, Phil knows which end of a camera to hold, and during the "dark days", in the Summer of 1990, and then again in late 1991, Phil wandered around Northampton yard & buildings, and finished up with the most poignant images yet to be submitted to this blog.
But sad as they are to view, they are necessary for all to look at and remember, because in our opinion, whatever happened to other parts of it, and some of it`s employees, when that depot closed in 1990, The Company finished, and these photos are a record of the final dismemberment of Bernard Sunley`s dreams…..if only we had had people in charge in those last years who were fit to polish his boots !!
So we begin Phil`s fotos from 1990, before the nibblers & gas axes started, with various shots of the buildings, plus quite a lot of faces that some will remember……
…..the photographer himself, posing in an HML 72-51B down near to Transport…..
…….and his beloved big grinder……
……looking down the Machine Shop ….
…..one of the last HML machines to be painted, the irony of it being a Euc……
…..HML`s Graham Doughty in the 72-51B at Transport…..
……Army crane in the Chassis Shop……and now a few familiar faces……
…..Alan Harrison & Dave Fowkes finding something amusing……
…..and Alan again, still happy by the look of him……
…..the last of the Hunsbury gang, from left….Bob Startin, Graham Doughty, Chick Barker & Niall Horgan….
……Hughie Reed, and the Keeper of the Cash, Mick Boyce, in the depths of the Parts Store…..
……remember Ivan Grant, bet nobody woke him with a kiss……
…..Jim Raby, David (?), and unknown lady, Works Cost Office…..
…..Keith Masters sitting down on the job, and Hughie finding something very amusing…..
…..Mick Fenton in Miscellaneous…..
….Malc Coe…..
…..Pete Darby & Malc, one of the last jobs…..
……Phil playing with his bush……
……Phil & Malc, still playing with the bush…..
…….Wally Mulvana, last image of the Engine Shop…..
……Neil the electrician, in the Parts Store…..
……looks like Hughie driving, but who`s that walking away……
……literally names from the past…….
….we were given the title of "Robin`s Squeeze" for this image, but we have absolutely no idea what is meant by that, unless of course it refers to the engine type, or maybe the young lady….
……….now we get to the even sadder bit……………later in 1991, Phil returned to the works, and in a strange way, we are so glad that he did……………
..Uggy`s domain, if you put your head on one side, you can still hear a Jimmy V16 belting away..
……how many gallons were put aboard here on a Friday for the weekend trip with the family…..
….Miscellaneous looking towards the offices….
….and the other perspective….
….from the Welding Shop, looking through the Chassis Shop towards the Bungalow…..
..from the other end, on left, Engine Test House just visible, but HML`s new shop already gone…
..and back again, Welding Shop, remains of Chassis Shop, and we`re standing in HML`s last workshop…
……Electricians……
……Gearbox Bay…..
……from the top, HML, BH Overseas, and the Carlton Club, with Booker`s greenhouse already gone……wonder where…….
…..Hunsbury Machinery Limited….we knew a bloke who used to have a desk in that right hand corner, and then on the left in the middle, and up the end eventually…..Gerald, Eddie, Morris, we are a few light nowadays…..
…..Parts Office….
…..the view seen by most people everyday when they arrived……
….believe it or not, you are looking through where the electric doors were at Reception….
…..The Bungalow…..
…..and finally, the "Way Out", the Gatehouse, with Location 13 in bits to the right.
Thanks Phil for these, they needed to be seen, but hopefully, when we all meet up in September, it will be the thriving, lively Northampton that we will all remember.
Leave a Reply