The Halewood Story - 1963

This is a fascinating look at the social history of Liverpool in 1963. As traditional dockside industries waned post-war, Ford brought a much needed injection of investment into the Halewood area with the building of a £40m manufacturing plant. This brought employment to a range of people retraining from traditional industries, enjoying better pay and conditions and improved quality of life. Interviews are shown from a cross-section of people involved including the legendary MP Bessie Braddock.

[@ronmccullock1407]

Fantastic

[@lemonid2005]

Интересный ролик. Спасибо за публикацию!

[@tangerinedream7211]

The car companies were forced by government policy to construct their new factories in areas of unemployment.
Ford to Halewood,Vauxhall to Ellesmere port, Triumph to Speke,all in Liverpool, Leyland to Bathgate and famously Rootes to Linwood , both in Scotland.
Converting the workforce to accept the drudgery and monotony of the production line,while achieving production targets and quality assembly, was an immense challenge.
These new factories were assembling the new smaller cars such as the Anglia,Viva and Imp.
All these companies had space to expand in their tradition home,but were prevented from doing so.

[@tomservo56954]

The big 3 U.S. automakers had production plants all over the country.

[@tomservo56954]

There's no drudgery in loading cotton bales onto ships?

[@kevinmoffatt]

Grew up in Luton and we always had the security of the option to work in one of the many factories in the area should we lose our job.Was a car mechanic in the seventies and, looking for better money, went through interview at Kimpton Road for Vauxhall. Was offered work in development but declined when I realised it was with HGV's. Lots of my skilled friends took jobs with GM; one was a time served carpenter but was much better paid to make crates at Vauxhall and didn't have to travel to sites. Another friend, from the north coast of Scotland, was a fisherman in the summer and worked in car factories during the winter; common practice so he told me.

[@RoadCone411]

07:31 Did anybody notice the Singer sewing machine strategically hidden from the camera? Singer was still a well-known UK car brand at that time, wouldn't want people to see Fords are made using Singer machines no matter how far apart Singer sewing machines had become from the Rootes Group!

[@anthonymcdonnell5384]

My Late Uncel Mick Bibby Worked At Halewood Ford Liverpool doin welding

[@roberthigginson8927]

I knew Your Uncle Mick, he was a great bloke.

[@richardlaughton5877]

I worked at halewood from 1968 to 1978 started at 18 final assembly finished on the engine dress left because of the strikes young family at the time good times good friends
L

[@anthonymcdonnell5384]

Also Ford Demolished a 14th Manor Hall Called Old Hutte hall, surley Ford could of built the factory next to the hall and turned into a hertiae center, where photos of the new model of cars could be taken as well ashertiage tours

[@jrushen4235]

Nice to hear straight talking....

[@davidcoleman6032]

Absolutely fascinating film!Wonder what it's like now?

[@mikethespike7579]

What it's like now? Well, no car manufacturing for a start...

[@potatocut]

@@mikethespike7579 there is definitely car manufacturing, we have the jaguar land rover plant which produces over 900 cars a day

[@royrice7148]

@@mikethespike7579 61 years later, still going strong as a vehicle manufacturing factory, albeit under another name.

[@minislayer2010]

Now home to the Range Rover Evoque and Land Rover Discovery.

[@COIcultist]

Bessie Braddock MP. Famed for an exchange in 1946 with Winston Churchill.
*Bessie Braddock MP: “Winston, you are drunk, and what’s more you are disgustingly drunk.”*
*Winston Churchill: “Bessie, my dear, you are ugly, and what’s more, you are disgustingly ugly. But tomorrow I shall be sober and you will still be disgustingly ugly.”*