Working In Warsash In The 1960s
A Memory of Warsash.
My earliest memories of Warsash was when I was 15 years old and being driven from Southampton, by my father, to look at a factory he had recently bought on Warsash Road. The 'factory' turned out to be an old motorcycle workshop previously owned by a Vic Collins, a local celebraty at the time. Vic was a speedway star of the 1940s and 50s. My father decided to relocate his plastics and paint works called Polybond Limited from Southampton to Warsash and this premisis fitted the bill. Our nextdoor neighbours were the local undertakers run by Win Newbury.
At the rear of the single story bulding there were old nissan huts and the remains of an old gravel pit. Plenty of room to expand. The workforce were all employed locally. I started work there after I left school in 1961 and started at the bottom. I opened my first bank account at Martins Bank which then stood opposite the Clock Tower.
Our customers came from near and far i.e the boatyards, Portmouth and Southampton Dockyards, Fawley refinery and a number of large shipping lines. We produced industrial and marine protective coatings, anti-corrosive materials as well as the then 'modern' household emulsion paints and adhesives. Some thought this was a rather unusual business for a riverside village!
I can remember the The Old Harry pub on the corner of Newtown Road with its high hedge around the corner plot in the village centre. In about 1964 the proud owner, Harry Cohen, re-furnished the lounge bar with luxury seating from the 'Queen Mary'. About that time he started the Jazz Club at the rear of the premisis.
I had many a lunch at the other notable pub, the Silver Fern which had previously been a small cafe standing on a gravel mound, serving strawberry and cream teas to coach parties. This was taken over by the Richardson family who had moved to Warsash from New Zealand around that time.
In about 1966 my father expanded the business and started to build new offices and a larger factory unit on the Warsash Road site to allow for expansion. In 1965 he also bought a house. 'Oakbank', which was opposite the main entrance. A house that we later discovered had a secret past. It was the home that belonged,for a time to the parents of Ruth Ellis, the last woman to be executed in the UK.
In 1972 tragedy struck the family when my father died suddenly aged only 62 and his brother then took over the business. During the next 10 to 15 years the company expanded and exported much of its output. All the while Warsash was changing as a village. Building development had boomed. Once productive strawberry field had disappeared under bricks and mortar. Many large gardens were no more. Warsash was a very desirable place to live and the the dream of a Solent City was now on the horizon. Finally the business closed its doors in 2003. The buildings were demolished and a housing estate was built on the site which is on the right hand side of the top of Warsash Road, just as the road bends left. A road forking right, Dibles Road, is, I think, now a 'no through road'. A butchers stood on the corner opposite.
Two generations of the Barron family worked on this site for over 44 years, providing employment for local people.
I have fond memories of some employees, many of whom became friends and still live in the village and surrounding area. I developed my love of ships and the sea from working in Warsash. I learnt to sail, fish and developed my passion for marine painting from walks along the Hamble. I would like to share my memories to anyone who would like to respond.
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I have written and published two books " Warsash and the Hamble River, A History and Guide" and " Images of Warsash and the Hamble River, 1790 - 2009. You would know and recognize many of the people and places in the 180 pages in each book including the 500 images, Vic with his motor bike and steam roller also Vic's showrooms.
Regards
Bryan Woodford, Warsash born, now living in Locks Heath.