It’s one big family
Date published: 22 February 2012
‘An honour to work here’ — Tracey, a former Miss BAE
THE Chronicle continues its countdown to the closure of the historic BAE Systems in Chadderton with a look at the war-winning Lancaster bomber, and the close-knit ‘community’ feel of the company.
GLAMOROUS Tracey Williams remembers with embarrassment and a smile the time she was crowned Miss British Aerospace.
The Royton beauty was mixing it with the stars as she was the company’s face for a year in the 1980s.
She recollects: “It was a long time ago but shows the fun history of the place.
“It gave me the opportunity to meet people like Ken Barlow from ‘Coronation Street’.
“It was a great year and I got a free holiday. It was good fun, but when you start to get to my age and everybody brings it up, it’s quite embarrassing.”
The firm offered a host of activities to employees outside of work.
Tracey (47), who has worked at the Chadderton site for 31 years, beams with pride as she looks back at one of the most memorable events she enjoyed with a band of friends.
“My biggest memory was with the British Aerospace Chadderton Brass Band when we performed at the 1998 England vs Wales rugby union game at Twickenham.
“We marched up and down the pitch pre-game and then performed the national anthem followed by a half-time performance. It is something I will never forget.”
Failsworth-born Tracey said the factory has been a huge part of her family over several decades, adding it will be “strange” on the final day as she is the last in a long line of her relatives to have worked there.
The contracts officer said: “My dad was here, brother, uncle, my aunts, all my cousins, I am the last to be here.
“I have loved working here. Even though my family have retired, it is still one big family here at Chadderton.
“In the day I would come here and work, then of an evening I would come back to rehearse with the brass band. It has been an honour to work here and I’m sure we will have plenty of reunions.”
Home of a national wartime icon
THE most famous, iconic and successful Second World War bomber was affectionately known as “The Lanc”.
Th photograph (right) shows a thriving Greengate factory from the AVRO days, where the majority of Lancasters built during the war years were manufactured.
Thousands were employed assembling the aircraft, including night shifts and sub-contractors across the town.
The prototype AVRO Lancaster made its first flight from Manchester’s Ringway Airport on January 9, 1941, and a total of 7,377 Lancasters were built throughout the war, each costing £45,000 to £50,000, approximately equivalent to £1.4 million to £1.6 million today.
Following the evacuation of British troops from Dunkirk and the heroics of the Battle of Britain in the early years of the war, it then fell to the Lancasters and other bombers to take the fight deep into Germany.
The Lancaster, designed by the great Roy Chadwick, was the aircraft used in the raids on German dams in heavy-industrialised valleys, immortalised by the film “The Dambusters”.
‘There will be a lot of tears’
A NUMBER of families have passed the work baton from generation to generation at Greengate.
Andrea Scholey’s family is no exception — with three generations of her family enjoying their careers with the company.
The Moston resident (54), who celebrates 32 years with the firm, calls the place a “second home”.
She said: “My nan and grandad worked here during the war, my mum and dad worked here and my husband was also here.
“I now have no other family members working here, but after being here for so long, you know more about some of your colleagues than you do some of your own family.
“It’s a very close and supportive network.”
Andrea, who has worked on a number of aircraft in her long career, said she and a number of workmates have had a “monthly cry” since news of the factory’s closure broke.
“I have been given the opportunity to take early retirement, which is a bonus. Not many firms will offer that.
“I will be very sad to leave BAE and the friends that I have made here, but there is a good network at the back of it.
“Hopefully going forward we will all keep in touch. There will be a lot of tears on the last day.”
We would still love to hear your memories of the Greengate site and share with readers your tales.
Call reporter Andrew Rudkin on 0161-622 2127 or email andrewrudkin@oldham-chronicle.co.uk with your stories.
