Talk Morgan Forums Community The Malvern Arms Antiques Road Show

Strangely when i opened the Thread another small piece of artifact had gone off with my Mrs to be polished up, (it was buried in a loft for all these years) i have now been reinstated with it and it is sitting proud on a ledge in the living room, that's until the grand Child decided to trash it. She has been warned off (20 months old) but when you warn off a little one its only more temptation for them.

Anyway the cup reads:-
APPRENTICE OF THE YEAR 1982
Coles Cranes Limited Sunderland
Presented To
D.Royal
By The Chairman of ACROW

The Picture shows a Tankard Cup, that i was awarded in London after winning the Acrow Group apprentice of the year in engineering, Acrow Group had by then swallowed up Coles Cranes which held one of the biggest industrial sites in Sunderland and was originally owned by the Steels family..

Coles sat next to Doxford Engineering and then the Wear as well as the Tyne were littered with industry like this, i had entered Coles at 16 yrs of Age as an apprentice, one of the strange things i encountered was out of 17 apprentices that year, i was the only person who was awarded the position without having a family member already in the Business, in those days it was follow your Dad, most young ones got a job "Not on merit" but because their parent worked there.

I went on to win first year apprentice which was based in the dedicated Training Centre that Coles had on site, i had obtained some skill set from working in the family Garage so the Tools and work area's were familiar to me, where the other Guys were still wet behind the ears and just wanted to fool around, 'then' in 1982 i was awarded the top prize and presented with the Tankard and a Tool Box full of Tools.

With this apprenticeship we had to attend Tec Colledge once a week and our Group was encompassed with the Lads from Doxfords and the main ship Yards in Sunderland, i became good friends with a Guy from the Yards who eventually became an Engine Man and was involved in the Sea trials, we remain good friends to this day and although we have reinvented our carriers, him a Computer Wiz Kid and myself a Business man involved in Automotive Paint Supply.

I can remember vividly the Pickford's lorries lying all over the road waiting to be loaded with Engines or large sections of Ship, always Police escorted with Bike Patrol Guys, my Fathers Garage was sandwiched between Doxford's and the main Deptford Ship Yard Gate (Deptford Terrace) and we used to get a Bike Patrol knocking on the door informing us to stay put until they moved the load passed the Garage and down the bank, as a younger teenager it was fascinating to watch the huge structure going passed the door almost skimming the brick work it was so large.

Memories are wonderful and i am sentimental to how many people were employed up and down this river corridor, but ride down the river edge today on your cycle and it is a modern commerce of college and educational buildings, the Rivers are clean and full of health, local fishermen and sailing boats enjoy the clear waters and time has to move on.

So to the point, the Tankard (Antiques Road Show) will be 40 years old in 2022, i hope i am still enjoying life on earth when the Tankard is 50 years Old and is not damaged.

An evocative story, thank you for sharing.

+1.

Thank you Dean-Royal, Luddite and Pickles for these great stories. Now that these heavy industries are generally taking place in other countries and out of sight to many youngsters I feel that there is a lack of reality in much developmental thinking. Even those who lived in areas away from heavy industry were well updated with exploded diagrams in Eagle and other illustrated popular publications promoting the virtues of British engineering. Mention of the heavy crane brought back memories of that wonderful 'toy', Mecanno, although that particular model was well out of our price bracket at the time. I think it featured on the cover of one of their catalogues for many years.

Would that be the same ACROW that produced the jack? A pin adjustable jack with heavy thread used in the building industry to support ceilings/masonry and used extensively in shuttering concrete.

I've had many a nipped and bleeding finger from them in the past.

And very good at holding up my dodgy shed roof

ACROW
according to Wiki and the inventer apparently there is no connection , however I note the format Txt of how the name is embossed is the same

ACROW.
It is the same company.
My career started at E.H.Bentall & Company, Maldon, Essex. Bentalls were also part of the ACROW Group, apart from Cles Cranes & Priestman they also owned Thos. Storey, manufacturers of the Bailey Bridge. As part of my apprenticeship, I welded many ACROW 'Shoreload' scaffold frames, & our foundry cast the large 'nut' used on the ACROW prop. Inever made the dizzy height of apprentice of the year, but I did wear a goalkeepers jumper for the Bentall works football team that we were given by Mr W.A. DeVigier who was the Chairman, & founder of the ACROW group afeter he played in a football match at the ACROW factory in Saffron Walden!
Remember the slogan: Grow with ACROW?

I love this thread and it warms my heart to see these items being cherished rather then ‘flogged’.

Here are some of my treasures, not quite antiques but have some age.

My father’s ships clock, liberated from the mess of MGB 333 at the end of the war. I have the clockwork mechanism although it does not run and fitted an electric movement to keep it useful, it hangs on the wall of my darkroom/study


My 1955 Leica M3


A 1961 Rolleiflex


A small collection of other older cameras including a Contarex - The King of cameras, I managed to breathe some life into it and it now works as well as the day it left the Zeiss factory


I use all of these cameras, though less often than in previous years

Lovely collection Kevin. I have a few decent old cameras, but not in the same league as you and am wondering what to do with them as I don't use them any more. Only a few have true sentimental value and, of course, I am now regretting losing a few on the way including a naval issue Reid III with Taylor Hobson lens. I definitely wished I hadn't traded that in many years ago!