Old Pond publishing days

An Ipswich WAAF's story

It was 1941. An Ipswich bus driver’s daughter, seventeen years old, fond of film and dancing was bored with her work as a machinist making khaki uniforms. She lied about her age and was accepted by the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force. This was the start of memorable years for Jean Bailey.

After training at Innsworth, near Gloucester, Jean was posted to RAF St Athan, Glamorgan. There she repaired parachutes and started on the series of escapades that she recalls with glee in her recently published book.

Jean moved on to the Electrical and Wireless Technology workshop, a unit humming with activity. She learned to modify obsolete equipment and repair broken parts of aircraft such as generators, magnetos and switches. In her free time she studied the electrician’s trade, becoming one of the first six WAAFs ever to pass the trade test board for electricians. Jean Bailey was now Leading Aircraftswoman Electrician II. She was also fire-watching, continuing to get into scrapes and falling in love with a St Athan airman, Pat.

At nineteen Jean was engaged but posted away from Wales to London. At the Battery Clinic in Kidbrooke, SE London, she processed unserviceable batteries for ‘ground use only’. Besides separation from Pat, Jean had to endure air raids, incendiaries and then doodlebugs. She and her colleagues were sleeping as best they could in an air-raid shelter, and there were a couple of very near misses.

Jean and Pat were unfortunate with the date they chose for their wedding – just before D-Day when all leave was cancelled. Typically, Jean did not let that get in her way, opting to go AWOL. She was now Jean Patterson, posted back to St Athan where she was demobbed, expecting her first child, just before the end of the war with Japan.

Jean Patterson’s book, Wartime WAAF 1939-45, is a paperback, privately published at £8.95. Copies are available from Polstead Press or from local outlets such as the Ipswich tourist office: 01473 258070. Jean Patterson lives in Ipswich.

The man in the truck on the front cover of 'Eight Wheelers in Colour'

At Truckfest we were delighted to be visited on our stand by Barney Leonard who worked for Arrowsmith for five years. When he was browsing he came across the cover of Peter Davies's Eight Wheelers in Colour, a Roundoak Publishing title.

Barney had never seen the book or picture before. He recognised himself in the cab as trailer mate alongside the late Bill Birkby driving. He reckoned the photograph was taken in 1967-8.

On the Sunday we had the company of Ashley Coghill for a couple of signing sessions on his book The Long Haul Pioneers.

Here Ashley has just signed for 18-year-old Matthew Simmons from Walsall.

This was the first time we had run a stand at Truckfest. The weather was good and we enjoyed the event.

Alan Spillett's Astran at Ararat new painting

Charles Trace, Chairman of the Point Foundation, tells us that he has commissioned this stunning painting of Astran at Ararat by Alan Spillett. A limited number of prints, framed and unframed, will be on sale at the Gaydon vintage truck show on 12 June.

The prints will be sold to raise funds for The Point Foundation, a registered charity which supports orphans in Africa, predominately in Rwanda and South Africa.

In May 2008, the Foundation was delighted when Sally Gunnell OBE accepted the role of Patron. Today the Foundation raises funds and provides on the ground support for 5 major projects helping around 2500 children, most of whom are orphaned and live in institutions. The projects are based in Southern Africa where 85% of the children are HIV and in Rwanda, which does not have the same Aids problem but has many of their own following the genocide of the mid 90’s.

In the autumn Old Pond will be publishing Alan Spillett's second book of truck paintings, Roadscapes II.

Farm models book price halved

Publishers Veloce have halved the price of David Pullen's Britain's Farm Model & Toy Tractors 1998-2008. The publication price was £29.99. Old Pond now has the hardback on sale at £14.95.

We enjoyed the quiz night

Our once-a-year quiz team, 'Wayne and the Famous Five', composed of Old Pond staff and partners took part in a recent competition organised by the employment agency Hays Accountancy.

Left to right are Georgina (front), Heather (rear), Wayne, Kate (from Hays), Bob, Lesley, Jay (Hays) and Roger. From the smiles on our faces you can guess that we came out the winners.

Seventeen teams from the Ipswich area took part involving just over a hundred people. The evening raised £1,500 for Action for Children.

Sue Morgan signing her combines book at Malvern

We enjoyed a good Malvern tractor show at which there were lots and lots of visitors on the first day. Fewer came on Sunday but those who did were entertained by the Wurzels.

Just behind us on the Classic Tractor Books / Japonica Press stand Sue Morgan was kept busy signing copies of her new book.

Combines in Colour, a beautifully presented 214-page hardback is available from Japonica Press at £22.95. Sue Morgan has several times won farm machinery photograph competitions. Many of the images in her book are superb.

Should Britain's surface mines become tourist attractions?

In the Foreword to his forthcoming Old Pond book about Europe's surface mines and machines, Walking with Giants, Steven Vale addresses the question of transparency. Steven writes:

"The fact that European surface mining has made huge progress in improving its negative image as a noisy and dusty industry is something that is perhaps not always appreciated or understood.

"It is inevitable that where there are earthmoving machines there will be noise and dust, but some mines – especially those in Britain – are going to great lengths to reduce levels beyond what is expected. Novel noise- and dust-suppression systems, such as those developed by Banks Mining and Miller Argent, are to be applauded for leading the industry in the right direction.

"Safety is yet another area that has come under serious scrutiny. It is not just about wearing the right clothing and protective gear, safety also applies to machinery. There is no better example of what can be done to improve safety around machines than those measures taken at Broken Cross, a coal mine owned by Scottish Coal. This mine has put a great deal of money and thought into raising safety awareness in and around their huge trucks.

"However, despite the expensive efforts being made to increase the safety of workforces as well as reduce environmental impact, Britain’s coal mines continue to attract protestors who are keen to shut them down. Perhaps the answer to this problem lies with the practices of other mines in Europe. British mining ought to consider three European mines in particular - mines which not only bring more transparency to the business but also make a bit of extra cash in the process.

"One of Europe’s best kept secrets concerns New Boliden’s Swedish Aitik copper mine [top picture], Rio Tinto Minerals’ French Luzenac talc mine [bottom left] and RWE Power’s huge German lignite mines [bottom right]. The secret is that all of these mines can be accessed by tourists at certain times of the year.

"Surprisingly, or not as the case may be, there is huge interest in all three locations, which attract over 120,000 visitors a year between them. While the big machines are the star attractions, the general public is also keen to learn more about new measures being taken to reduce noise and dust. Visitors also express an interest in learning about the restoration plans for the land once the mining is finished."

  

Long Haul presented to the British ambassador in Qatar

The British ambassador in Qatar, John Hawkins, has been kind enough to accept a copy of Ashley Coghill's book The Long Haul Pioneers.

Left to right: Peter Carroll (the current owner of Astran), N P Ishmail (Astran Doha office), Kevin Letham (Astran MD), Mr John Hawkins.

Another memory of Dale Starks

Craig Bergan emailed us from America this week to say that he had enjoyed Rob White's book Starks' Harvesters and indeed had worked for Dale alongside Rob in 1980.

Craig had a story that Rob wished he had known in time to include in the book. As Rob puts it:

"I remember Craig as a quiet conscientious lad just out of school. He quit in Montana after Dale took his laundry into town one day to be washed – and lost it! Sounds about right! I bet Dale wouldn't have lost a combine part."

David Kindred's website

Old Pond author David Kindred is known in Ipswich and East Anglia to have one of the finest archives of local photographs. David's passion for photographs showed during his long stint as photographer, picture editor and manager of photographic operations in the East Anglian Times group.

When David retired he began to publish weekly newspaper features, 'Kindred Spirits', based on local historical photographs, many of which were sent in by readers. This week reader Jenny Laughlin has responded to a feature on Bramford Road, Ipswich with a photograph of the Salvation Army guides and sunbeams on parade there in the 1950s (left) and memories of her own. She recalls her childhood when the area was full of shops, pubs and a community spirit: 'Those of us who grew up in that area have fond memories of living around there. All those homes and shops went when they built flats, so people moved all over Ipswich.'

The sad thing for those of us who have enjoyed David's features is that this week's was the last.

However, this has given David and his son James the opportunity to set up a new website www.kindred-spirit.co.uk on which they download articles which draw on David's ten years' writing and invite readers' responses. We can expect completely new features too. Besides his detailed knowledge of the town of Ipswich, David's specialist subjects are pirate radio, 1960s bands and Ipswich Town football teams in their glory days.

David is currently preparing an autumn 2011 book for Old Pond on the changing face of Ipswich. Yes, the town really has been transformed in the past hundred years - but has it kept its community spirit?