Ardrossan - Winton Foundry Workers

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Hughie
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Ardrossan - Winton Foundry Workers

Post by Hughie »

Ardrossan - Winton Foundry workers probably in the 1940s
wintonfoundry1940s.jpg
Back two unknown and two boys with caps are unknown
The rest L to R: Willie Yuille - Gus MacDonald - Rab Russell (Saltcoats or Stevenston) Jackie Yuille
This is on the Ardrossan to Largs railway banking, across from the back of Lee's Lemonade Factory. The houses on the left are on Dalry Road. The building on the right was Felix Quinn's sawmill and beyond that was Dan Craigs piggery.

Below - Willie and Jackie Yuille around the early 1950s
Foundry001.jpg
Last edited by Hughie on Sun Nov 27, 2011 12:16 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Ardrossan - Winton Foundry Workers

Post by Penny Tray »

Hughie,

These are tremendous pictures. I remember Mr. Willie Yuille who lived at 17 Rowanside Terrace and recognise him from both photos. He is more like I remember him in the second one. Is Mr. Jack Yuille, Ronnie Yuille's dad? I think they may have lived at 3 Dalry Road (on the left going up the Dalry Road brae, just beyond the Linn Road junction).

The first photo, individuals apart, is a classic for those of who went to Eglinton School and lived on the left hand side of the Dalry Road brae. It brings back so many memories. Taking short cuts, for example, from the school, down the one steep banking, across the railway line, and up the other steep banking to where the first photo was taken, alongside the Destructor's Yard and then passed Dan Craig's piggery on to the Dalry Road itself at the Metallic Factory.

The houses you see were rarely seen from the rear as they are in the photo. Most people saw them from the Dalry Road brae with the 1933 date of construction emblazoned on the frontage.

The area reminds me too of Munro's Laundry, the bramble bushes at that location which often gave us a wee feed on the way home from school; Harvey's Park - the Anderson shelter there, school gym days in the sunshine, the long jump pit, javelin throwing, the big steam traction engine you could see in the garden of the top house of Stanley Avenue and the apple trees in surrounding gardens which would later become targets in the dark.

I remember too taking my father's Littlewoods coupon every Friday to Winton Foundry. Who was the agent? Was it Mr. Willie Yuille? I think it was and often remember being directed to him in the heart of the factory through piles of sand, metal boxes, molten metal and wooden blocks (were the called patterns?). Where was Health and Safety then?
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Re: Ardrossan - Winton Foundry Workers

Post by Hughie »

Penny Tray wrote:Is Mr. Jack Yuille, Ronnie Yuille's dad? I think they may have lived at 3 Dalry Road (on the left going up the Dalry Road brae, just beyond the Linn Road junction).
Ronnie's father was Archie Yuille who was the elder brother in the Winton Foundry partnership. And yes, they lived more or less across from what was McKinnon’s farm house, or later what was to be Stanley School. Jackie's son is Ian and I was of the belief they also lived in Rownside Terrace beside Willie.
I remember too taking my father's Littlewoods coupon every Friday to Winton Foundry. Who was the agent?

The pools agent was Gus MacDonald, the foreman moulder. Think Gus lived in Clyde Terrace.
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Re: Ardrossan - Winton Foundry Workers

Post by Penny Tray »

Hughie,

You've jogged my memory. Yes, Ronnie's dad was Mr. Archie Yuille. I can't place Mr. Jackie Yuillle although there was another Yuille family 8 doors up the Dalry Road from Mr. Archie Yuille's house. Maybe that was him. There was a son and daughter that I remember. Maybe the son was Ian. The daughter, I think was Elizabeth. Another person whom I think worked in the foundry and lived immedialy next door to Mr. Willie Yuille in Rowanside Terrace was Mr. Geordie Smith.
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Re: Ardrossan - Winton Foundry Workers

Post by Hughie »

Yes, perhaps Jackie the middle brother lived in Dalry Road too. Ian was an apprentice with me and like his cousins, Ronnie and Archie, he was a great workmate.
Penny Tray wrote:Another person whom I think worked in the foundry and lived immedialy next door to Mr. Willie Yuille in Rowanside Terrace was Mr. Geordie Smith.
Yes Gordie Smith worked there when I was doing my apprenticeship. There is mention of him in this topic.
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Re: Ardrossan - Winton Foundry Workers

Post by Penny Tray »

Hughie,

The topic you refer me to is interesting. There were 3 Mr. Smiths in Rowanside Terrace - Geordie at 19, Mick at 22, and "Baker Smith" at 42. None of them, to the best of my knowledge, were in any way related.
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Re: Ardrossan - Winton Foundry Workers

Post by Hughie »

Below is a copy of a charcoal drawing from 1928 drawn by Archie Yuille's cousin. I received this from Archie's son Ronnie, I visited with Ronnie in Ardrossan recently - we were apprenticed together there in the 1950s.
Click to enlarge
Click to enlarge
This would be the view looking from the office building - the Ardrossan to Largs railway line would be on the right. The structure on the right is one of three gasometers, there was another beyond the one visible and another to the left beyond the Ardrossan Burgh Incinerator chimney.

The lighter structures on the right of the foundry were ovens for drying the moulds. The darker area to the right of the oven chimney is the furnace and the platform for loading the coke and scrap iron. On the extreme right is the crane we used to raise the iron to the platform - that's where we got our muscles from. :wink: Great view out over the Firth of Clyde from that platform.
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Re: Ardrossan - Winton Foundry Workers

Post by Meg »

Hughie wrote:The pools agent was Gus MacDonald, the foreman moulder. Think Gus lived in Clyde Terrace.
Hughie - the only McDonalds I can remember lived in 19 Clyde Terrace - they had two kids, John who was a year or so older than me - in Elsie Townsley's class at school, and his big sister who was called Sally I think. Was that him?

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Re: Ardrossan - Winton Foundry Workers

Post by Penny Tray »

Meg/Hughie,

Did Gus McDonald not live in Firth View Terrace - odd numbers side - almost at the junction with Clyde Terrace?

Maybe had two daughters - Margaret and Una?
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Re: Ardrossan - Winton Foundry Workers

Post by Mitchy »

How did you access the Winton Foundry and the Gasworks by road? Were they accessed just beyond the Parkhouse Road Railway Bridge? I seem to recall a road there when I was younger.
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Re: Ardrossan - Winton Foundry Workers

Post by bobnetau »

Hugh. In the first photo could the man in the back right be a Slessor. He reminds us of Ian, maybe his grandfather or a brother.
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Re: Ardrossan - Winton Foundry Workers

Post by Hughie »

Meg, I believe Penny is right, I do recall Gus McDonald having two daughters and one was named Una.

Mitchy, You are right about the road to the Gasworks, as you come over the cabin brae the entrance was immediaetly before the McDowall Avenue corner - the burgh trucks used it too, to get to the incinerator. However access to the foundry was by a road immeaditely across from the Metalic - where the Dasher Court? houses are now.

Netta, Yes I wouldn't be surprised if he was a Slessor, the features seem the same as Ian's
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