Richardson, Bill
2013 "Richardson, Bill", 2013, HistoryTalk Bill describes his childhood and parents in Acton. He talks about his early work as a toolmaker at Napiers on Acton High Street in west London during World War II eg Production Committees. He describes the job of a toolmaker in the aero industry ,...
| Institution: | TUC - Trade Union Congress Library |
|---|---|
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
London
2013
|
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/10796/79BC4C27-6242-48E0-9208-73AA52FC7A3E http://hdl.handle.net/10796/5F206631-D5ED-4093-893D-F4D1D605EB1C |
| Summary: | 2013
"Richardson, Bill", 2013, HistoryTalk
Bill describes his childhood and parents in Acton. He talks about his early work as a toolmaker at Napiers on Acton High Street in west London during World War II eg Production Committees. He describes the job of a toolmaker in the aero industry , developing the technical aspects on the shopfloor, defining a toolmaker as a craftsman making master tools. He had qualified for a place at a County School but had to leave school as one of a family of eleven children. He went to work on the Park Royal industrial estate at Beetensons (?)making car components and describes the various grades in the production system, doing piecework. He moved to Hoovers on the Western Avenue in 1947- 48 for 15 years after a dispute over the rate for the job (earning about £5.00 per week). He describes Hoovers as a fairly liberal firm. He later worked on London Transport for 13 years from 1970 1984 in the tool- room on the bus repair side at Chiswick Works (since closed down). He also worked at Aldenham Works in Hertfordshire.
Bill outlines his role in local community politics in Notting Hill in the 1950/ 60s, for example the impact of the riots in 1958 and the arrival of Oswald Mosley. He discusses the role of both Conservative and Labour parties. Bill was an AEU shop steward before World War II and had joined the union at about age 16 in 1936. He became politicised at this time and had joined the YCL and was told he was too young to enlist on the Republican side in the Spanish Civil War. He attended AEU meetings in Acton High Street and recalls attendances of 2- 300 members. He describes the political context of Cold War: CND Aldermaston marches, Hungary in 1956. He left the CPGB over a number of issues, both domestic and international and describes how he believed that the higher layers of the party were divorced from the realities of class struggle- a phenomenon occurring throughout the labour movement. He outlines the realisation that Stalinism was a form of dictatorship. He explains his views on the development of the USSR after Stalin and how important his reading of English trade unionism and socialist theory proved at this time. He was not attracted to Trotskyist groups but did join the Labour party briefly but was soon disillusioned. He was moiré involved with the new community groups that were emerging in North Kensington in the 1960s eg North Kensington Peoples Association. He was part of the New left in the period, going to the Partisan Club in Soho up by Stuart Hall and others. He was also involved in the Unity Theatre in Kings Cross where he was involved in providing sound and lighting equipment. In the 1970s & 80s he was in 100% trade union workplaces with a huge range of trades/ skills and notes how trade unions were a disciplinary force too.
In this clip he talks about how piece-work encouraged workers to work faster and take risks at the cost of health and safety.
Click on the pdf icon to read the entire transcript or click on the mp3 icon to hear a clip of the interview. |
|---|---|
| Physical Description: | Photograph TEXT |