Edinburgh Recollections _ James Bertram & Sons

Recollections

Iain Brennan

Buckinghamshire, England

Thank you to Iain Brennan who wrote:

Heavy Engineers

"Does anyone have any recollections that they would like to share, concerning the James Bertram & Sons, Leith Walk, Edinburgh? I believe that the company closed down around 1966.

My Father worked for the company, man and boy, for 39 years. The company specialized in heavy engineering - indeed producing paper rolling mills which were exported all over the world.

They were situated at the foot of Leith Walk, next to the bus garage and close by the railway bridge - all of these structures now sadly gone."

Please Contact Me

"I'd like to hear from anyone who worked for Bertram & Sons, or who had any friends or relatives who worked for the company."

Iain Brennan: Buckinghamshire, England

Reply to Iain?

If you'd like to send a reply to Iain, please email me, then I'll pass on his email address to you.

Thank you.

Peter Stubbs, Edinburgh: November 14, 2013

Recollections

Gordon Moore

Bathgate, West Lothian, Scotland

Thank you to Gordon Moore who wrote:

My Apprenticeship

"I served 3 1/2 years of my apprenticeship with James Bertram & Sons, but I had to move to Ferranti to finish my time when Bertrams went into Liquidation and I needed to see out my apprenticeship."

Bertram's Workers

"James Bertram & Sons went into Liquidation in July 1972. At the time:

- Mr Stoddart was the General Manager.

- Findlay Davis was the Machine Shop Foreman.

- John McCullouch was Chargehand.

- Harry Smith was in charge of the Training School.

- Jimmy Mason was the Fitting Shop Foreman.

- Jimmy Calder was Chief Storeman.

- Chris ..?.. was Pattern Shop Foreman.

- George Wallace was in charge of the Gatehouse.

If you need more Names from my time at Bertrams, let me know. I have great memories of working in Bertrams and if it was not shutting down I'm sure I would still have been there."

Gordon Moore, Bathgate, West Lothian, Scotland: June 18, 2014

Recollections

Terry McGuire

Coventry, West Midlands, England

Thank you to Terry McGuire who wrote:

Sciennes Site

"I worked for Bertram's on their Scenes site in the 1960s. I'm now 84 years old and my memory is not so sharp, but my main memory of Bertram's is the high quality engineering that was carried out there.

They made paper mill machinery, and all parts had to run at the same speed, otherwise the paper would be torn or buckled. The machinery was over a hundred yards long, and this meant every operation running at the same speed.

The huge finishing drums were sometimes 12 feet or more in diameter, and they were 'miced' to a thousandth of an inch. In fact, when they stopped revolving, their weight made them 'egg shaped', according to the engineers grinding them to highly polished finish."

Terry McGuire, Coventry, West Midlands, England: 17 Nov 2013 + 8 Aug 2017