ITS HISTORY, PRODUCTS AND PROCESSES

9: People

Pay wasn't great* but, despite Maj. Tugwell's military background, it was a very friendly and relaxed place to work and there was a good social life beyond the doors of work, particularly as several of the sanding and polishing staff enjoyed folk and rock music either as musicians or audience, and there were several of us who regularly watched stock car racing at the nearby raceway in Tongham. Tea breaks were taken in the office area (or in the yard in fair weather) where staff from all parts could socialise, Maj. Tugwell enjoying chatting about all manner of subjects with staff of all ages and levels. Nominally a ten minute break, it ended when Maj. Tugwell stood up and said, "Oh well, we'd better get back to work". If the conversation was to his liking, this could be anything from 10 minutes to half an hour after the break began! Names I can remember, together with a bit more information (in no particular order apart from the directors) are...

[* a sanding/polishing worker would earn £8 per week in 1969 - however, this compares favourably with the £6/1/0 (£6.05) a week which I earned later that year as a printer's assistant with the MOD, from which I had to pay my coach and bus fare of 9/6 (48½p) a day to Feltham, Middlesex!]

	WORK-PLACE			The identification of Farnham / Woking / Evanton as workplaces of individuals is in its very early stages and is likely to contain errors – please let me know any corrections.
	Farnham	Woking	Evanton
Major (retired) Lewen Tugwell	■	■	■	Managing Director. See Page 3. Photo: © British Pathé News
Joan Tugwell	■	■	■	Director. Major Tugwell's wife was an equal partner in the company and active on the business side, especially marketing, leaving Lewen to concentrate mainly on the creative and production aspects. Sadly, she passed away in 2007.
Colonel Michael Hirst	■	■	■	Director, living in Farnham at the time. Col Hirst was still serving in the Army at Aldershot during this period, and often was seen arriving in uniform and driving a Humber staff car with military plates.
Duncan MacLeod			■	Duncan was managing director of the company when it was in Scotland.
Michael B - - -			■	Michael was also a director of the firm in its Scottish period, but prefers to keep his privacy so I have withheld his surname.
Dave Claydon	■			Sanding & Polishing Department. Lived with wife Maureen in the house next door to Shattaline in Long Garden Walk. He later worked in decorative fibreglass at David Gillespie's studio in Dippenhall. Having trained at Farnham School of Art, he was also a good craft potter and his hand-thrown mugs, vases and jugs had a keen following. Now living in Crawley. Photo: © Mike Andrew
Tom Underwood	■	■		In charge of the mixing and moulding in the Casting Department. Tom features on page 57 of "Farnham The Second Selection" by Jean Parratt in Tempus Publishing's Images of England series. Photo: © Jean Parratt
Steve Bayfield	■	■		Sanding & Polishing Department. Steve was also very much into the local music scene - more details on his website. Steve is now living in Cornwall. The pic, from Steve's site shows him around the time he was working at Shattaline. Steve is responsible for adding several of the staff names I'd forgotten - many thanks. Steve was with Shattaline from September 1967 until a short while after the move to Woking, when he, together with Tom and Roy, changed jobs to work at Adrian Marchant's workshop / studio in New Malden, where they started making tables and other objects, not completely dissimilar to items made by Shattaline. I have a memory of Steve providing Rodney and I with a lift to Aldershot stock car track in his upright Ford Anglia E93a from which he had removed the doors to provide greater summer ventilation! Photo: © Steve Bayfield
John Lathey	■	■		Sanding & Polishing Department. A real nice guy, John still lives locally and was a very talented guitarist - he still is, as can be seen on YouTube. Photo: © Steve Bayfield
Roy St John	■	■		Sanding & Polishing Department. Another musician, Roy, with his River Bottom Band, played many local gigs including a residency at the sadly missed Vine Bar of the Bush Hotel. The band's repertoire covered jug band music, country rock such as "Proud Mary" and Roy's own songs, including the classic "Met You Down in Moretonhamstead"! Roy later made some recordings (his single "The Way You Look Tonight" was the first on the Virgin Records label to make the BBC playlist) and led the Pub Rock band "Phoenix" before moving back to his native USA. Here, he hosted the Morning Show on the WEW St Louis radio station and played gigs as part of The Otis Band. He returned to UK to live in early 2006 but returned to the US again in 2010. He was a key member of Klondyke Pete and the Huskies and, since returning again to southern USA has returned to his roots with his ‘swamp rock’ number, Louisiana Honey. Pic is from Steve's website, Roy in false moustache and shades. Photo: © Steve Bayfield
Mike Andrew	■			Sanding & Polishing Department. Non-performing supporter of the more musical employees, I have very fond memories of The River Bottom Band's regular gigs in the "Vine Bar" which was effectively the public bar of the Bush Hotel, when the Bush was a more active participant in the life of Farnham town. Still living in Farnham. Photo: © John Lucas
Pete Mallett	■			Sanding & Polishing Department. Pete was also known as "Pete The Jug", being the operator of that vessel cum musical instrument in The River Bottom Band. His famous sister Penny was a model, and star of Mayfair magazine.
Rodney Lake	■			Sanding & Polishing Department. Rod still lives locally and has a wealth of memories about Shattaline. Along with me and Steve Bayfield, he was a regular stock car racing fan - either on our bikes or in Steve's "sit up and beg" Ford E93a we would rush off after work each Thursday to Aldershot Stadium (now under the A331 at Tongham, RIP) to get our weekly fix of Castrol "R" fumes.
Dave O'Donohue	■			Sanding & Polishing Department. Married Rodney Lake's sister.
Charlie Burrows	■			Supervisor in the Sanding & Polishing Department. Lived in Beldham Road, Wrecclesham.
Jack Hardingham	■			"Shatterer" - Jack performed the reprocessing of reject products (see page 5). Jack, a well-known local character until his demise, features on page 51 of "Farnham The Second Selection" by Jean Parratt in Tempus Publishing's Images of England series. Photo: © Jean Parratt
Gail Mather	■			Finishing Department.
Diane Sawbridge	■			Finishing Department.
Connie Downey	■			Finishing Department.
Barry Covington	■			Sanding & Polishing Department, specialising in tables before moving upstairs to the casting department, when Steve Bayfield took over tables. Lived in Frensham.
Martin Radford	■			Sanding & Polishing Department.
Cyril Nutt	■			Sanding & Polishing Department. Ex-soldier and strong as an ox, Cyril was seen carrying three half-hundredweight drums of resin up the stairs at once; one in each hand and one suspended by a rope from his teeth. Later joined the fire service. His brother Ronnie gained local recognition as a rock drummer.
Joe Eames	■			Sanding & Polishing Department. Lived in Frensham. Moved to Canada, I think?
Alan Wells	■			Sanding & Polishing Department. A biker friend of Joe's, also from Frensham.
Tessa Sterndale-Bennett	■			Casting Department. Dave recalls that she was a former student of Farnham School of Art, and daughter of the landlord of the Wheatsheaf, in West Street.
Mrs Perry	■			Office. Steve also recalls her daughter, Dawn, who was a regular at the Coach and Horses in Castle Street (then an excellent pub which featured live bands on a regular basis).
Simon Pope	■			Casting Department
Graham Noon	■			Sanding & Polishing Department.
Murdo MacLeod			■	Murdo kindly contacted me from Scotland about Shattaline's operation there, following the move from Woking: "My dad, Duncan MacLeod, was managing director (I think) there (Evanton) for a while and worked mostly with a guy called Michael B - - - , I used to go there to sweep the floor when I was about 10 and I’d get 50p and some bits of rejects. I still remember the smell of the resin very clearly and my Mum and sis still have some bits of Shattaline kicking around."
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