They Taught Us Skills for Life: We are the Engineers! Scotland's
labour history has been the subject of many important studies,
surveys, articles and books. Some of those published represent the
invaluable collection of local groups and amateur historians, while
others have been, and are, produced by academics and labour
officials. The general expectation, even in Scotland, is that these
works should be written in Standard English, regardless of the
everyday speech of the workforce. For this publication, however, it
seemed more important to transcribe, as recorded, the voices of
folk whose vitality of language and expression gives a brighter
reflection of their experiences during work and leisure.This book
has grown out of an oral history project, 'The End of the Shift',
which aims to record the working practices and conditions of
skilled workers in Scotland's past industries. Publicity about the
project caught the interest of a group of retired engineers, who
had all served apprenticeships with a prestigious Kirkcaldy firm,
Melville-Brodie Engineering Company.Having lived through times when
Scotland seemed blighted by industrial closures, the engineers
could identify with 'the end of the shift' as they had experienced
the effect of closing down Melville-Brodie Engineering Company. The
entire workforce was dispersed, and with it, the skills, expertise
and wisdom of generations. Kirkcaldy also lost a company that had
been the pride of Scottish engineering.Over the years, as the
retired engineers reflected on the radical changes that have taken
place since their 'second to none' training, they began to realise
the importance of recording knowledge and skills for posterity.
They also wanted to remember the firm that trained them, and so
they planned a memorial to be erected on the site of
Melville-Brodie Engineering works. It was to be designed and made
by the men themselves, and in May 2014,the group had the
satisfaction of seeing the plaque unveiled by Mrs June Shanks,
daughter of the celebrated engineer, Robert Burt Brodie. Standing
beside her were the two oldest Melville- Brodie 'boys' (aged 94 and
89), Bob Thomson and Willie Black, and the Secretary of the
Melville-Brodie Retired Engineers' Club, Dougie Reid.Councillor for
Kirkcaldy East, Kay Carrington, who supported the project,
represented Fife Council as she addressed the audience and the
media:This is a really exciting project because it shows our past
history, how we made a difference, not just in Kirkcaldy, but in
the wider world. Melville-Brodie engineers did everything that
we're proud of in Scotland. We need to keep the story alive to
enable us to take that forward to children and grandchildren in the
future.
General
Is the information for this product incomplete, wrong or inappropriate?
Let us know about it.
Does this product have an incorrect or missing image?
Send us a new image.
Is this product missing categories?
Add more categories.
Review This Product
No reviews yet - be the first to create one!
Welcome to Loot.co.za!
Sign in / Register |Wishlists & Gift Vouchers |Help | Advanced search
