E Chalmers & Co

Thank you to Drew Shortel for allowing me to reproduce this photo.  Drew worked for E Chalmers & Co for 14 years from around 1954, most of this time as a crane driver in Chalmers' scrap yard at Bonnington.

Chalmers' scrap yard was on the east side of Newhaven Road, close to the Bonnington Road cross roads.  The railway line used to cross diagonally over this cross roads.  The scrap yard was across the road from where Comet Discount Warehouse was situated in recent years.

Drew tells me that the man in the foreground in this photo was one of the managers, Sid Jones.

Drew added:

Workers at the Yard

"I think my Dad started working at the yard in 1954.  He was was the youngest worker in the yard at the time,  so everyone else who worked there then will likely have since passed on.

Dad says that Sid was a nice guy to work for, and often mentions his memories of the 14 years he worked at the yard.

I can remember vaguely when I was 3 or 4  years old, Dad took me to work one morning and I got to operate a few of the forklift's levers,

Chalmers yard had a few forklifts, as well as the Scotch Derrick cranes.  They must have been good memories for Dad!

Dad’s also  recalls an the old guy, Peter Thomson,  who had retired in the early-1950s.  He had asked to come back for a few weeks, but stayed for a year, maybe two."

Drew Shortel, Newhaven, Edinburgh:  1 February 2013

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