39 – Divisionalisation
Robert Owen tells of the biggest change in the history of the giant Tyneside manufacturing firm, Reyrolle.
Home | The Reyrolle Story
March 19, 2010
March 12, 2010
38 – Yet Another Merger
Faced with increasing competition Reyrolle continues to diversify.
To purchase a copy of Robert Owen’s history of the giant Tyneside manufacturing firm please click on http://www.amazon.co.uk/Reyrolle-Story-History-Co-Ltd/dp/1905295073/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1245678876&sr=1-1
March 05, 2010
37 – The Merger With Parsons
Robert Owen tells of the merger of two huge Tyneside manufacturing firms.
To purchase acopyof Robert’s book The Reyrolle Story please visit http://www.amazon.co.uk/Reyrolle-Story-History-Co-Ltd/dp/1905295073/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1245678876&sr=1-1
February 26, 2010
36 – A Black Year
The huge Tyneside engineering firm Reyrolle at last merges with another major manufacturer, Parsons.
Robert Owen continues his history, The Reyrolle Story.
February 19, 2010
35 – Private Business
...Bookies could be found throughout the factory and cigarettes and confectionary could be purchased with ease...
Robert Owen recalls the “Underworld’’ whih thrived at the giant Tyneside engineering firm, Reyrolle.
To purchase a copy of Robert’s book The Reyrolle Story please visit http://www.amazon.co.uk/Reyrolle-Story-History-Co-Ltd/dp/1905295073/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1245678876&sr=1-1
February 12, 2010
34 - Feeding The Thousands
Feeding the thousands who worked for the giant Tyneside engineering firm Reyrolle was a massive task, as Robert Owen reveals.
To purchase a copy of Robert’s book please visit http://www.amazon.co.uk/Reyrolle-Story-History-Co-Ltd/dp/1905295073/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1245678876&sr=1-1
February 05, 2010
33 - Dry Humour
Dry humour and practical jokes helped the days to go by at the huge Reyrolle engineering works, as Robert Owen reveals in the latest chapter of his history of the firm.
To purchase a copy of Robert's book please visit http://www.amazon.co.uk/Reyrolle-Story-History-Co-Ltd/dp/1905295073/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1245678876&sr=1-1
January 29, 2010
32 - Jubilee
...In 1951 the Company was 50 years old and it was planning to produce a formal Jubilee History. It never happened but a Jubilee Dinner was held in the Old Assembly Rooms, Newcastle on the 10th October 1951 - the same week as Alphonse Reyrolle's birthday...
Robert Owen, now providing that history, continues his story of the huge Tyneside engineering firm, Reyrolle.
January 22, 2010
31 - An England Goalkeeper
Reyrolle, the huge Tyneside engineering firm,produced many excellent sports people, including goalkeeper Ray Wood, who played for England and was one of Manchester United's famous Busby Babes.
Robert Owen continues his history of the firm which he joined as an apprentice.
To purchase a copy of Robert's book please click on http://www.amazon.co.uk/Reyrolle-Story-History-Co-Ltd/dp/1905295073/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1245678876&sr=1-1
January 15, 2010
30 - Many Marriages
"Many marriages took place after an initial meeting at work and some workers thought Reyrolle was like one big family,'' writes Robert Owen, continuing his history of the huge Tyneside Engineering firm, Reyrolles,
January 08, 2010
29 - The County Hotel
...Reyrolle was always a popular place to work, and compared to local coal-mines and shipyards it had many advantages. Numerous workers have happy memories of the place...
Robert Owen recalls the days when the huge engineering firm Reyrolles was at the centre of life in the Tyneside town in which it was based.
January 01, 2010
28 - Rate Fixers
The Tyneside firm Reyrolles reaches a historical turning point and less happy times are ahead.
Robert Owen continues his history of a major British engineering concern.
December 18, 2009
Twenty-Seven - 'Reyrolle Circuit'
Robert Owen, continuing his history of the huge Tyneside engineering firm Reyrolles, tells of the winning of a contract to supply equipment to one of Britain's biggest power stations.
December 11, 2009
Twenty-Six - Losing The Initiative
The late Fifites found Reyrolle'ss engineers pondering over a major switchgear design change.
Robert Owen continues his history of the giant Tyneside engineering concern.
To read earlier chapters please click on
http://www.openwriting.com/archives/the_reyrolle_story/
To purchase a copy of his book visit http://www.amazon.co.uk/Reyrolle-Story-History-Co-Ltd/dp/1905295073/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1245678876&sr=1-1
December 04, 2009
Twenty-Five - Overseas Trade
...The Nuclear Power Plant Co was formed in 1955 with Reyrolle as a constituent member. A few years later Calder Hall the world's first Nuclear power station to generate electricity on an industrial scale, was opened by H.M Queen Elizabeth when she switched the station onto the National Grid...
Robert Owen continues his history of Reyrolles, the huge Tyneside engineering firm.
To read earlier chapters please click on http://www.openwriting.com/archives/the_reyrolle_story/
To purchase a copy of his book visit http://www.amazon.co.uk/Reyrolle-Story-History-Co-Ltd/dp/1905295073/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1245678876&sr=1-1
November 27, 2009
Twenty-Four - Record Profits
...He also remembers happy days socialising with other graduate students and the annual drinking competition which was won by an allegedly non-drinking Sheik!...
Robert Owen tells of a man who went through Reyrolle's Graduate Scheme then later became a university professor.
To read earlier chapters of Robert's history of the huge engineering firm please click on http://www.openwriting.com/archives/the_reyrolle_story/
To purchase a copy of his book visit http://www.amazon.co.uk/Reyrolle-Story-History-Co-Ltd/dp/1905295073/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1245678876&sr=1-1
November 20, 2009
Twenty-Three - Damaging Comments
Robert Owen, continuing his hsitory of the giant engineering firm Reyrolles, tells of a Board of Trade investigation concerning share dealing.
To read earlier chapters please click on
http://www.openwriting.com/archives/the_reyrolle_story/
To purchase a copy of his book visit http://www.amazon.co.uk/Reyrolle-Story-History-Co-Ltd/dp/1905295073/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1245678876&sr=1-1
November 13, 2009
Twenty-One - Soviet Visitors
Robert Owen, continuing his history of a major industrial concern, tells how changes had to be made in the aftermath of war.
To read earlier chapters of Robert's history please click on http://www.openwriting.com/archives/the_reyrolle_story/
November 06, 2009
Twenty - The 24 Hour Day
...The Oxford National Biography concludes his obituary by saying: "In the field of electricity supply, Charles Merz ranks as the premier electrical engineer during the first half of the twentieth century."...
Robert Owen continues his history of Retrolles, the huge engineering concerm.
To read earlier chapters click on
http://www.openwriting.com/archives/the_reyrolle_story/
To purchase a copy of his book visit http://www.amazon.co.uk/Reyrolle-Story-History-Co-Ltd/dp/1905295073/ref=sr_1_1?
October 30, 2009
Nineteen - A Royal Visit
Robert Owen tells of the visit of George VI and Queen Elizabeth to the Reyrolle works in 1943.
To read earlier chapters of Robert's history of the famous engineering firm please click on http://www.openwriting.com/archives/the_reyrolle_story/
To purchase a copy of his book visit http://www.amazon.co.uk/Reyrolle-Story-History-Co-Ltd/dp/1905295073/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1245678876&sr=1-1
October 23, 2009
Eighteen - Preparing For Invasion
...Perhaps it was just as well that Reyrolle was never bombed, because it is debatable if the Company had sufficient air-raid shelters to accommodate its thousands of workers. Frank Pearce, a post-graduate student, remembers: "Our instructions in the event of an air-raid were to proceed downstairs in an orderly manner and to stand under a row of trees near the football field!"...
Continuing his history of the giant enginneering concern Reyrolles, Robert Owen tells of wartime security measures.
To read earlier chapters please click on http://www.openwriting.com/archives/the_reyrolle_story/
To purchase a copy of his book visit http://www.amazon.co.uk/Reyrolle-Story-History-Co-Ltd/dp/1905295073/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1245678876&sr=1-1
October 16, 2009
Seventeen - Work For The Army, Navy And RAF
...It was also not uncommon for work to be re-directed to Reyrolle from bomb damaged factories or shipyards throughout the country. An example was a two-inch rocket project that was being manufactured in the midlands. Many essential drawings were lost in a raid and new drawings had to be prepared by Reyrolle draughtsmen. A prototype was prepared in four weeks and during acceptance trials, was inspected by no less a person that the Prime Minister - Winston Churchill...
Reyrolles, the giant engineering firm, produced a wide variety of military equipment for all three services during World War Two as Robert Owen reveals.
To read earlier chapters of Robert's book please click on http://www.openwriting.com/archives/the_reyrolle_story/
To purchase a copy of the book visit http://www.amazon.co.uk/Reyrolle-Story-History-Co-Ltd/dp/1905295073/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1245678876&sr=1-1
Continue reading "Seventeen - Work For The Army, Navy And RAF" »
October 09, 2009
Sixteen - The War Years
During World War Two the giant engineering firm Reyrolles adpted its production to the needs of the war machine, as Robert Owen reveals.
To read earlier chapters of The Reyrolle Story please click on http://www.openwriting.com/archives/the_reyrolle_story/
To purchase a copy of his book visit http://www.amazon.co.uk/Reyrolle-Story-History-Co-Ltd/dp/1905295073/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1245678876&sr=1-1
October 02, 2009
Fifteen - The Eureka Vacuum Cleaner
...At the start of the 1930's about one third of houses in the UK had electricity; by the end of the decade, the proportion had doubled. The result was that Reyrolle showed its flexibility by manufacturing a small range of products for the home and farm...
Robert Owen continues his history of one of Britain's great 20th Century engineering firms.
September 25, 2009
Fourteen - Zis eez not zee playhouse, zis eez zee workhouse!".
Robert Owen, in his history of the giant engineering firm Reyrolles, tells of apprentices playing practical jokes on each other.
"Jack Hull recalls the prank of gaining access to a mate's sandwiches, lacing them with Keene's Cement and then just waiting for lunchtime!''
To read earlier chapters of Robert's story please click on http://www.openwriting.com/archives/the_reyrolle_story/
To purchase a copy of his book visit http://www.amazon.co.uk/Reyrolle-Story-History-Co-Ltd/dp/1905295073/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1245678876&sr=1-1
Continue reading "Fourteen - Zis eez not zee playhouse, zis eez zee workhouse!"." »
September 18, 2009
Thirteen - Utopian Years
...Looking back, the Reyrolle Technical Conference is remembered as an excellent example of technical co-operation between managers in different countries. It was ironic however, that such co-operation worked so well at an international level for so long, whilst comparative exercises with manufacturers in Great Britain, rarely succeeded...
Robert Owen tells of attempts to organise national power grid systems.
To read earlier chapters of his history of the huge engineering concern Reyrolles please click on http://www.openwriting.com/archives/the_reyrolle_story/
September 11, 2009
Twelve - Cup Final
A Reyrolle's apprentice tells of a thrilling day at the Cup final.
Robert Owen continues his history of a great engineering firm.
To purchase a copy of Robert's book please click on http://www.amazon.co.uk/Reyrolle-Story-History-Co-Ltd/dp/1905295073/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1245678876&sr=1-1
September 04, 2009
Eleven - Barefoot Football
...The 1920's were harsh years for any worker who was ill or had an accident at work. Long before the National Health Service, the assistance of the Reyrolle's Employees Benevolent Association was always in demand. Administered by an elected committee it disbursed funds in lump sums or weekly payments for blankets, clothing, food and orthopaedic aids etc., for employees and their families...
Robert Owen continue's his history of one of Britain's major engineering firms.
August 28, 2009
Ten - The Growth Years
Reyrolles. the giant engineering concern, grew so rapidly during the first two decades of the Twentieth Century that by 1920 it was employing 1,1000 people.
Robert Owen continues his history of the firm which gave him his start as an engineer.
August 21, 2009
Nine - The Death Of Alphonse Reyrolle
Robert Owen tells of the death of the founder of one of Britain's major engineering concerns.
To read earlier chapters of The Reyrolle Story please click on http://www.openwriting.com/archives/the_reyrolle_story/
To purchase a copy of Robert's book visit http://www.amazon.co.uk/Reyrolle-Story-History-Co-Ltd/dp/1905295073/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1245678876&sr=1-1
August 14, 2009
Eight - White Feathers
...Occasionally, enlisted men were discharged back to the Company as essential war workers. However, back at work many were challenged by other workers and told they should be serving the King in the armed forces. Some were even presented with white feathers to indicate their cowardice...
During World War One some essential workers on the home front were branded as cowards.
Robert Owen continues his history of one of England's great engineering firms.
To purchase a copy of Robert's book please visit
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Reyrolle-Story-History-Co-Ltd/dp/1905295073/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1245678876&sr=1-1
August 07, 2009
Seven - Mixed Fortunes For The Reyrolle Family
Robert Owen tells of the wedding of Alphonse Reyrolle, the French-born founder of one of England's greatest engineering firms.
To read earlier chapters pleaase click on http://www.openwriting.com/archives/the_reyrolle_story/
Continue reading "Seven - Mixed Fortunes For The Reyrolle Family" »
July 31, 2009
Six - The Take-Off Years (1905- 1920)
Robert Owen continues his history of one of Britain's most important engineering firms.
To read earlier episodes click on
http://www.openwriting.com/archives/the_reyrolle_story/
To purchase a copy of Robert's book visit http://www.amazon.co.uk/Reyrolle-Story-History-Co-Ltd/dp/1905295073/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1245678876&sr=1-1
July 24, 2009
Four - A Large And Airy Machine Shop
Alphonse Reyrolle moved his London-based business north to Tyneside in the same year that Queen Victgoria died.
Robert Owen continues his history of one of England's major manufacturing concerns.
July 17, 2009
Three - A Proposition
Approaches are made to persuade Alphonse Reyrolle to relocate his London factory to Tyneside.
Robert Owen continues his outstanding history of one of Britain's major industrial concersn.
July 10, 2009
Two - A Small Workshop In London
Continuing his story of one of England's greatest engineering firms, Robert Owen tells how Frenchman Alphonse Reyrolle set up his first business in London.
July 03, 2009
One - Introducing Alphonse Constant Reyrolle
Beginning his history of one of Britain's most famous engineering firms, A Reyrolle & Co Ltd, Robert Owen introduces us to the man who founded the business, Frenchman Alphonse Reyrolle.
The Reyrolle Story will appear in weekly episodes in Open Writing on forthcoming Fridays.
Robert Owen served his engineering apprenticeship with Reyrolles.
Continue reading "One - Introducing Alphonse Constant Reyrolle" »
June 26, 2009
Introduction And Prologue
Robert Owen presents an introduction to his history of one of Britain's major engineering firms A Reyrolle & Co Ltd.
At one time this giant Tyneside firm employed 12,000 poeple. Robert trained as an apprentice at Reyrolles.
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