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Davenport, Frank (3 of 11) An Oral History of the Electricity Supply in the UK

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  • Title:
    Davenport, Frank (3 of 11) An Oral History of the Electricity Supply in the UK
  • Subjects: Electricity
  • Description: Provider: - Institution: - Data provided by Europeana Collections- Part 3: Remarks on move from English Electric to Kennedy and Donkin in 1955: process for vetting of employees trying to leave electricity equipment manufacturing industry to join electricity industry; English Electric promising FD unrealised opportunities to widen experience; FD move to Kennedy & Donkin as switchgear engineer in inspections and test organisation based in Manchester. [02:20] Comments on work for Kennedy and Donkin [K&D] consulting engineers: Geoffrey Kennedy interest in generation and hydro-generation; Bryan Donkin responsible for FD department, but FD never speaking to him; group of switchgear, transformer, and protection specialists; FD switchgear specialist, but sometimes required to involve himself in other areas; FD working at K&D from 1955 to 1961, enjoying work and learning a lot; transformer specialist becoming godfather to FD son, who was born in Knutsford; office manager Dunn, a photography specialist; inspection manager John Adey; working Saturday mornings; transformer specialist John Lunt; protection specialist Frank McCrudden; who FD lodged with when he later worked in London; [08:05] example of work witnessing testing equipment before delivery to customers; loud air-blast circuit-breaker tests damaging FD hearing; offices in Glasgow and London, leaving FD responsibility for area between Newcastle and Birmingham; circuit breakers tests normally successful; wide variety of equipment involved in work; anecdote about travel to Newcastle by Airviews airline; flight to South Wales Switchgear by Cambrian Airways; FD doing a lot of driving to manufacturers; [13:55] major switchgear manufacturers Metropolitan-Vickers, English Electric, Ferguson-Palin, BTH; GEC's later rise to prominence; anecdote about FD surprise at GEC taking over English Electric; FD poor opinion of GEC switchgear; anecdote about GEC installation of oil circuit-breakers Hunterston Power Station potentially unsightly consequences; many smaller companies, such as Switchgear and Cowens in Trafford Park, Switchgear and Equipment in Banbury; FD enjoying work for K&D, freedom and responsibility, widening of FD experience; [18:50] lack of further training; visits to manufacturing industry to learn about new equipment; use of Saturday mornings to exchange information between specialists; considerable direct contact with ESI, particularly North of Scotland Hydroelectric Board and South of Scotland Electricity Board [SSEB], created after 1957 Herbert Report; consulting to CEGB, who used them as extra staff; FD discovery that his predecessor at CGEB had recommended FD appointment based on his experience at SSEB. [23:35] Remarks on life in Manchester and life outside work: very happy time; children growing up; living on Wimpey estate near Handforth; friendly people in Manchester; anecdote about first meeting wife Dorothy Cade on a blind-date, but only later continuing relationship at a young farmers ball at Trentham Gardens; marriage in 1950; wife a teacher at St Michael's School; anecdote about marriage arrangements between Congregational Church wife and Church of England FD; [29:20] anecdote about engineering colleagues often being married to teachers or nurses; wife continuing work until daughter's birth in 1953, later working as part time teacher; family reactions to house moves due to FD work; anecdote about daughter attending 9 primary schools, but later schooling her children in Germany; children's schooling in Handforth and Dean Row in Manchester, more traditional education at later Scottish primary schools; [33:25] FD and family involvement with school activities and Church; busy time of life, variable and long working hours; happy period in FD family life. [35:45] Remarks on FD move to join SSEB as Switchgear Engineer in Glasgow: FD little intention of moving, but post seemed ideal; FD responsibility for switchgear and rotating plant; Brodie Petrie responsibility for transformers and cables; anecdote about starting date; SSEB offices in Cathcart; house-buying arrangements in Scotland; story about difficulty finding house, eventually finding home on Wimpy estate with help of former Kennedy and Donkin colleague; FD short period at SSEB due to CEGB position with better salary and prospects opening up; [41:00] differences between CEGB and Area Electricity Board position grading; FD visit to manufacturers in South of England; anecdote about knowing he was being offered CEGB post by size of envelope delivered to home. [43:08] Remarks on working for SSEB: difference between working in highly structured nationalised electricity industry and private industry; responsibility for rotating plant; extensive effort to bring 200MW sets at Kincardine power station online during severe winter of 1962/63 to export power to England; description of fault caused by water cooling problems in generators at Kincardine power station; FD later opposition to water cooling on thyristors on cross-channel connection; [49:10] advantages of water cooling in allowing more compact plant size. [50:10] Remarks on daily work at SSEB: working in field to advise on problems; visits to manufacturers; different specifications for system in Scotland than England, trying to use same equipment as CEGB; office work producing standards and specifications; FD initially not made to feel very welcome; anecdote about operations department complaining about FD use of planning department to solve a technical query, FD subsequently becoming friends with operations department Jimmy Guild; Scottish character of SSEB, most employees Scottish apart from FD boss English. [55:20] Remarks on SSEB offices in Cathcart, formerly Macintosh Factory: anecdote about Carrara marble in entrance hall; FD commute to office; good working atmosphere. [58:10] Remarks on: management structure in technical department; FD boss, plant engineer; FD group consisting of 2 senior and 3 assistant engineers; telecommunications group in Kirkintilloch; use of telecommunications in electricity network, private communications network; FD enjoying greater responsibility of position and visiting sites to resolve problems; [1:02:05] problem with Kincardine power station transmission line falling down onto bridge; FD role in inquiries when problems happened; operations staff wanting to solve own problems; working contact with CEGB over specifications, differences in SSEB and CEGB requirements; joint committees with Electricity Council, Area Electricity Boards and CEGB. [1:06:20] Remarks on FD career: seeing career as staying in Scotland before post at CEGB headquarters; drawbacks to working in London; sale of house; story about drawing up specifications for house based on rail travel to Paternoster, living in self contained community, purchase of home in Sevenoaks; FD applying for job at CEGB, surprise at being offered job; FD gratitude that Alan Dowell, who also applied for job, was happy to work as FD subordinate; description of Alan Dowell, friendship outside work, wives mutual membership of ladies luncheon club.- All metadata published by Europeana are available free of restriction under the Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication. However, Europeana requests that you actively acknowledge and give attribution to all metadata sources including Europeana
  • Creation Date: 2013
  • Language: English
  • Source: Europeana Collections
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