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BINNS ROAD SWIMMING LESSONS
from Robert D McKibbin
Attached is a short account of a conversation I had with an ex-Meccano toolmaker and the use they made of vats in the toolroom back before the factory closed. I found it interesting as a slant of something different about Meccano. Maybe other Meccanomen may be interested as well.
"He still does not want to be thrown in the oil!" The lady laughed offering explanation for her failure to wear her diamond cluster engagement ring bought many years before. Wanting to know more I asked our new fellow Liverpudlian friends to expand.
"Well," she sat back in her chair and sipped her wine, "He worked at the Meccano in Binns Road." She pointed her slim finger accusingly at her husband. He sat listening with a wide grin beaming across his tanned face. My ears pricked up with the mention of the factory that meant so much to me as a thirteen year old. A chance coincidence, twelve months before brought us together, sitting in the local Return Services Association restaurant enjoying an evening meal. My wife had met Jean on a day course on fitness for the more mature. Not that either of them needed it, but who was prepared to argue.
"So you worked at the Meccano?" I asked eagerly, waiting to tell him how I acquired my No. 10 Meccano.
"I was apprenticed as a toolie and was there till the big redundancies and the factory closedown." Gordon replied with a measure of pride peppered with sadness. He listened with interest as I told him the story of my brother in law, his Meccano set and its eventual arrival on my doorstep in New Zealand. He posed the obvious question drawing my dejected reply that the box had long gone as it sat neglected in the darkness of my sister's attic.
We talked for some time about some folk we knew from our past. Various people he had worked with at the famous factory who had crossed my path as a member of the Liverpool Police. However, none of them in a professional capacity!
Swinging the conversation back to Jean's original claim I asked "So why the ring thing?"
Gordon forced a wry smile, and then grinned. "I would not let her tell anyone at work we were engaged!"
"Meaning"
"The other lads would have thrown me in the either of the big vats as a....well they called it a reward."
"Which vats and what were they for?" I probed with anticipation.
"In the tool shop, there were two large vats, one filled with water, the other with whale oil. They were used for reducing the temperature of the cast iron dies in the making of Meccano pieces, especially the dinky models. The water was for quick cooling while the whale oil provided a slower method. They were in constant use throughout the working day. The slight mention of a birthday, an engagement, or wedding or other celebration was a signal that lit up everyone's face. The unsuspecting person immediately became fair game. Work ceased as men descended on his well-being which was in immediately jeopardy as he felt himself being lifted up headhigh. The march across the shop floor was short and unceremonious as the belligerents aimed the poor soul into the centre of the closest vat. Both were extremely cold. Many a time, the lamented cry of ' No! Not the whale oil! ' was heard as the new celebrant, struggling to escape his fate, headed towards the destination he did not want. Those times I made sure I kept quiet, and at functions insisted that Jean keep our secret. So, after all this time, if she forgets to put on her ring, she blames me!"
Inwardly I contemplated the simple explanation but Gordon broke the silence as he whispered remorsefully,
"I will tell you one thing, those bosses stuffed the Company up! They should have been drowned in the other vat!"