Dave Edwards recalls his long and unique career with 'Hawkers'...
In 1940, when I was fourteen, my Scout Master arranged an
interview for me with Mr Judd of the Personnel Department at Hawker
Aircraft. Afterwards Mr Judd took me to see Mr Rayner of the rib shop
and he agreed that I could start the following Monday. He explained the
work to me, including making tea for Mr Davis, Mr Walker and himself.
Mr Ron Day was the fitter I was to assist and we had a very
pleasant period together. The work was holding up the ribs of the
Hurricane wings while Ron Day completed the riveting
After three months Ron went on night work and left me
instructions as to what work I should do. Mr Rayner knew that now both
my mother and my father had died and I was in lodgings so he had a look
at the work I had completed and decided to put me on the bench which
meant that my wages rose from thirteen shillings a week to one
pound.
My first details were items for the Australian Demon. The rib shop
moved to Slough but I transferred to 'top fitters' (top floor fitters)
under Mr Percy Cheeseman. Here my first job was detail manufacture and
assembly of Hurricane radio trays. Now past sixteen I joined the Hawker
Home Guard and 328 Squadron Air Training Corps. Home Guard duties were
mainly fire watching which I did in the tool room behind the old Regal
Cinema.
My next move was to 'mid fitters' (middle floor fitters)
where I signed up for an Apprenticeship which was normally five years
but mine was for six. While on 'mid fitters' many female fitters joined
us. The Duke of Kent visited us and was amused that I was standing on a
box to reach the vice to cut and file the parts.
When the air raids
came a buzzer used to sound and we would retreat to the shelters. This
lost many working hours because the buzzer sounded as the German
aircraft were crossing the coast. The system was changed so that the
buzzer sounded as the bombers approached London which meant a quick
retreat to the shelters.
The factory did get one bomb on the edge of
the Experimental Department where the Typhoon prototype was being
built. However, the aircraft was only covered in dust but unfortunately
a soldier on guard in a metal shelter was killed. We had a Lewis gun
positioned on the canteen roof on the opposite side of the road for low
flying aircraft.
During this period I moved to various
departments where most of the work was making rough tooling for new
parts. These tools were for quantities between ten and fifty and if the
parts were successful proper tools were made for production. I then
moved to the assembly of Meteor rear fuselages, Sea Fury tails and
Hunter wings where my apprenticeship finished.
I transferred to become
a Rate Fixer in the Spar Shop. From there I went to the Contracts
Department becoming a Senior Divisional Estimator. After a few years I
moved to the Future Projects department to estimate the costs of new
projects. Eventually I returned to Contracts. While there I made visits
to McDonnell Douglas to assist the Ministry of Defence and to compile
joint estimates.
After forty-seven years with the Company I retired at
the age of sixty-one.
