My name is Anthony Lyon. Most people at Colman’s knew me as Tony. I finished at Colman’s in 1984 as the superintendent in the printing department but I had a long career from 1947 until they closed in 84. It was always expected when I left school that I would go to Colman’s. My family […]
Printing
Jarrolds of Norwich (1943-1960s)
Marjorie recalls her working life, pressing American trousers at the Swan Laundry and cutting out books at Jarrolds. Fish and shoe linings I was 14 years old when I left school and I got my first job at Cousin’s fish shop on Drayton Road in Norwich. I was there for a good while and worked […]
Letterpress to litho (1946-1998)
Tony learned the printing trade in London and later opened his own printing company in Norfolk. He witnessed many changes in the printing process and sailed through a recession. On retirement he volunteered in Bishop Bonner’s Cottage in Dereham. Entering the printing trade via the stationer’s shop I started work just after the end of […]
Printing and photography (1950s – 2007)
Trevor moved to Norfolk and worked in printing until 1993 when he was made redundant from HMSO. He then took up photography full time and carried it on successfully into retirement. I was born in 1937 in Gravesend, Kent. After schooling which finished at Gravesend Grammar I took an apprenticeship with a small jobbing printers, […]
Printing Co-ordinator, The Birmingham Mail (1940s – 1950s)
Margaret tells us about her time with the Birmingham Mail as the only woman working in the office. Austin Motor Works My mother worked for quite a long time at Austin Motor Works. During the war time she was making ammunitions. She was very happy there but unfortunately she did suffer with epilepsy, so there […]
Printing in Fakenham (1952-2002)
Patrick recalls working in the printing industry in Fakenham from the 1950s to 2002. Starting as an apprentice When I left school I applied for jobs on the railway and at an electricians but, due to their circumstances, I didn’t get them. So, in February 1952, at the age of 16, I began work at […]
Putting the books together (1934-1980s)
The contributor started in printing as a fourteen year-old in Fakenham in 1934, but during the War worked on the land with her father in North Norfolk. Later she ran a pub and a guest house.
Retouching before computers (1963-2011)
Mick describes his early days in the family ice cream business, his job as a photo litho retoucher at Jarrolds and at East Anglian Engraving. His manual specialist skills were gradually taken over by modern technology and the working world changed. He eventually returned to the ice cream business. A significant tuppeny cone We had […]
The Printer’s Devil (1962-2008)
Graham Rich describes his working life in the print industry, from Lewisham to ‘Ink Street’ (Fleet Street). On the bottom rung – collating, glueing and stapling When I was 15 I started working in the printing trade. I was amongst the first group affected when the school leaving age was raised on April 1st 1947. […]