Leicestershire Parish Councils

Shippies Remembered.

As I drove past the pile of rubble that is all that is left of Jones and Shipman’s canteen I smiled as my mind jumped back to the extraordinary stories surrounding it. It is for the sake of posterity and your amusement that I jot a few of these down for the ‘Life’.

Firstly you must understand that the Canteen was separated from the Factory by Watergate Lane, a public highway. As all the staff had the same lunchtime it was considered a great advantage to get to the head of the serving queue. To maximise your chance of such a happy blessing it obviously paid to have a head start and therefore many Engineers took advantage of their five minutes ‘washing up’ time, in which they cleaned their hands, to loiter around the exit doors by the toilets. In the final minute they lined up behind the closed doors, like athletes awaiting the starting gun. In this case the starting gun was the dinner bell and woe betide anyone in front of those doors when the bell went and a mass of men sprinted out.

Their first obstacle was Watergate Lane upon which they occasionally had the sad misfortune of meeting a motor vehicle who’s occupants were going about their lawful business. Working upon the theory that there is safety in numbers they charged full tilt across the road. Happily most Motorists were able to affect an emergency stop but I did see one man bounce of the bonnet of a startled Pensioner’s car.

To gain vital seconds in this race those just behind the leaders would forego the path and leap a two foot high wall. Generally this was a cause of little comment until a man stumbled and ploughed face first into the gravel path beyond. Whether by good planning or mere chance the medical centre was close by.

I hope that by now you have a grasp of this tidal wave of humanity as it has bearing on my final tale. During the dark days of Industrial strife the Engineers Union called a national strike, if I recall correctly, for a few days a week. At the time the Company had to get a large order out or face paying a late delivery charge. It was agreed with the Union on site that they would allow men in to honour the contract. The company however had opened another factory in Alfreton in Derbyshire. This had been built with Government aid in an ex-mining area. As such the Engineers there were ex-Miners and more militant. They thought that the agreement reached at Leicester was wrong and decided to picket it. Not wishing to miss their breakfasts they drove down to catch the men on their way out to lunch. I thought this was likely to be a lively episode and so positioned myself accordingly. A dozen Derbyshire men spread in a thin line across the gates, perhaps three held placards. The bell rang and a bolt of humanity shot forth through the factory doors. It all happened so quickly. I think the Leader of the Derbyshire men put out his hands for a second as if trying to halt a stray horse. I distinctly recall his words just before they swept away his picket line. “There Buggers aren’t stopping”, he said, and indeed they didn’t.
(Supplied by Mr Ian Wright - 15/6/07)