Blythe Chemicals Works
 

Does anyone remember working here in the 60's and 70's. Had to be the dirtiest place on the planet to work at that time. I worked for Pilkington Bros. who did lots of work for them. ALL of my tools took on a grey colour with no shine on anything, what did it do to your lungs I wonder. Is it still there and has the place been cleaned up yet???? It must have! :confused:

Re: Blythe Chemicals Works
 

worked yon from mid 70s until late 90s, improved greatly from the introduction of H.S.W.A. in early 70s, was a top place to work, some good lads, until was taken oer by "Yule Catto" early 90s, they were only interested in finance, its still yon but most things/ people now gone, since the clowns ran the circus.:rolleyes:

Re: Blythe Chemicals Works
 

Do you remember Dick Cunliffe (welders shop foreman)? "Si thi theer lad, sal ammoniac, iron filings and hoss p1ss, that's wod thi used to mek them theer from."
Roy Roberts, who used to be the fitters shop foreman, is usually to be found in the main stand at Stanley home matches.

Re: Blythe Chemicals Works
 

Yep "Black Dick" as they used to call him, Roy Roberts i still see occasionally, used to be one of my groupies in the "Plough" still lives up that way, Top Geezer, health aint so good these days though.;) never seen roy up stanley, mind i'm in clayton end.

Re: Blythe Chemicals Works
 

My brother Phil McHugh used to work there a lot. Nigel Talbot also worked their it was one of those places you could always get a job, such as Karrimor, Crown Paints, Metcalfes and what was that gift factory down Church Lane.

All places to Kill some time...

YouTube - The Influence - Killing Time

And earn some money!

Re: Blythe Chemicals Works
 

[quote=kestrelx;767730]My brother Phil McHugh used to work there a lot. Nigel Talbot also worked their it was one of those places you could always get a job, such as Karrimor, Crown Paints, Metcalfes and what was that gift factory down Church Lane.

All places to Kill some time...

while "abusing the rules" no doubt :theband::)

Re: Blythe Chemicals Works
 

Seem to remember that a few Polish chaps worked there in the years after WW2.

Re: Blythe Chemicals Works
 

Ha ha! I abused a few rules when I worked at ASDA say no more!:mosher:

Re: Blythe Chemicals Works
 

I worked at Pilks in the early 70s gdm, and worked a Blythe's on many occasion, me thinks I may know you

Re: Blythe Chemicals Works
 

Still quite a few there in my time, all good workers, some could go back home fer a visit, some couldn't, Depending on which uniform they were wearing at the end of W.W.2.:D:D

Re: Blythe Chemicals Works
 

Sent you a message a few days ago!

Re: Blythe Chemicals Works
 

as a hgv driver in the seventies I remember driving into blythes yard to load a manchester liners container and told to report to the yard forman who turned out to be joe slattery ex accrington stanley footballer an old friend from wnen we both worked at the NBC joe at the coke works the job he took after the football and I was a tipper driver on the transport we got made redundant together he went to blythes I went to thomas gilmartins transport and then gilbraiths among the drivers at blythes at that time jimmy hargreaves and a lad from rishton where I lived at that time big jim loynds I believe jim had to finish driving through bad health but blythes kept him on as a forklift driver

Re: Blythe Chemicals Works
 

Remember em all Keith, Joe Slatt, was G.S.D. Foreman, big Jim, n Jimmy, both good lads n drivers.:)

Re: Blythe Chemicals Works
 

Joe Slattery is an ace guy:)

Re: Blythe Chemicals Works
 

Went there once on a school trip in the Sixties. I remember having to wear goggles and it seemed terrifying!

They used to have a couple of sidings on the railway - one either side of the road bridge.

The one on the Accrington side were mostly for coal - invariably shunted by 47201 - which dated from the nineteenth century.

The ones on the Rishton side generally had tar wagons in there - owned by Lancashire Tar Distillers (somewhere near Manchester) - which were covered in an evil looking black gunk.

Rgds

John45378

Re: Blythe Chemicals Works
 

LTD was at Caddishead, I loaded tankers there in the 70's with Napthalene for ICI.
Napthalene must have been a by product of the coal tar which was brought in by other tankers.

My wife's uncle worked at Blythe's for years, Herbert Tregurtha was his name.
I delivered sulphuric acid there many times.

Re: Blythe Chemicals Works
 

Herbert was n Arsenic man, sadly died soon after retirement.;) lived thwaites rd area.

Re: Blythe Chemicals Works
 

A Herbert Tregurtha served in the East Lancs in WW1, he lived in Brook St Ossy, had 3 brothers in the forces Fred, John & Reginald.

Retlaw

Re: Blythe Chemicals Works
 

A mate of mine who did loads of contract work years ago at Blythe's as just bean diagnosed with asbestosis

Re: Blythe Chemicals Works
 

He doesn't sound like the same chap Walter, my wife's dad was Anthony, his brothers were Roland and Herbert, his sister was Dorothy.

I believe Anthony was a DR in the army, we have a photo of him in uniform somewhere. I will look it up.

Re: Blythe Chemicals Works
 

Are memories really made of this? Pouring bags of coarse zink dust into huge vats of acid to make zinc chloride. Getting bored one night and putting pure zinc dust in and the whole lot frothing up and running down the yard and little Clarence in his white overall running up to see what was going on.
An amazing place where the Union of the Politically Correct had never set foot. You start on Monday, "There are some bags of chemicals, put them in that hopper and press that button to set it in motion. I'll come and see how you are doing in half an hour," says the foreman. They never once tried to tell me how to lift up a box.
Then there were 'The Pots'. Like something from Dickens, the demonic side of the industrial revolution, a dark, dusty, hot as hell little piece of the inferno where some Asians and a huge completely silent man said to be escaping the draft for the Vietnam War boiled up the zinc chloride liquid until it was as thick as syrup. Later you would see them using giant sized ladles to pour the boiling liquid into huge trays where it set hard and white (or sometimes pink which was I think no good). Later on they would set about the trays with sledge hammers.
Dark Satanic Mills without a doubt. One lovely old boy I met there retired and within a few months he was dead. They said that the men in the arsenic plant had to take arsenic pills when they went on holiday, there bodies were so used to the poison they would be ill without it.:(