My Apprenticeship
I apprenticed as a truck cab and body builder at the firm of Oswald Tillotson, Burnley, Lancashire, from (circa) 1947 to 1950. Cabs and Flat Bed Bodies were hand built of wood at that time, the cabs being finished with sheet metal (van and panel truck bodies were just starting to be built using extruded aluminum sections and sheeting). I worked mostly in the cab shop doing framework joining and door making/installing, although I occasionally built flat bed truck bodies (always under the watchful eyes and guidance of senior craftsmen) as did all apprentices, from time to time.
There weren't any written agreements regarding apprenticeships at Oswald Tillotson's in the late 1940s - WWII had changed the way British industry functioned and operated considerably. As best I remember, the firm simply hired on young men as apprentices who had completed at least secondary school and based on interviews and recommendations by Managers/Supervisors. Apprentices were expected to abide by all the usual rules of employment and dedicate themselves to learning the trade (including the proper use of tools) under the guidance of Supervisors and Senior Craftsmen. The firm in turn agreed to not lay off or dismiss apprentices except for disciplinary infractions during their term of apprenticeship which I believe was for a nominal period of four years. Apprentices were exempt from mandatory Union membership although Tillotson's was a Union Shop. The pay for apprentices was pretty low compared to craftsmen -- I think about on a par with that of shop laborers.
Apprentices were expected to eventually provide their own tools (rather than keep borrowing from senior craftsmen). The firm provided apprentices wood and hardware (and the time) with which to build their own tool boxes, oilstone boxes, tallow boxes, bench hooks and tool totes -- under the tutelage of senior craftsmen. Apprentices were rotated between various craftsmen for varying lengths of time by the shop foreman in order to learn all the different skills and processes. I do not remember how the completion of apprenticeships was determined -- or even if the traditional four year period was rigidly adhered to. No certificate of completion of apprenticeship was issued. I employ the term "senior craftsman" on these pages because there was a group of craftsmen (probably in their sixties and seventies) who were recognized by all for their wisdom, skill and knowledge -- they had the best bench locations, and the most and best tools! Some of those old-timers had hand built horse drawn carts, hearses, buggies and the like before the age of motor vehicles and were well respected by all.
Caveat: The above is based on my recollections of some sixty five years ago -- memories and recollections dim with the passage of so much time -- mine certainly do -- and so I may be deficient on some of the above information. I also have probably forgotten to include many things which I may have to include later.
The design, fit and finish of the cab and body work we produced was first rate -- Tillotson's had an industry wide reputation for quality, reliability and durability. Trucks experience severe stresses and vibrations in their daily operation and therefor an abundance of screws were needed to reinforce wooden joints and affix load bearing supports. The craftsmen and apprentices who worked at Tillotson's were not employed or trained as fine cabinet or furniture makers, although some did pursue those crafts privately on their own time.
Group of woodworking hand tools of the
period
My woodworking hand tool selection
The first kit I assembled when I started my apprenticeship was dictated more by limited availability of woodworking hand tools in hardware stores (Ironmongers shops -- Brit.) than personal preference (see "Availability of woodworking hand tools at the end of WWII" below) and consisted mostly of old used tools such as wooden bench planes, Warrington pattern cross-peen hammers, hand saws, various types of chisels, try squares, marking gauges, boxwood rulers, etc. of a variety of makes , mostly of pre-WWII manufacture, purchased from some of the older craftsmen. The first old craftsman I worked for particularly liked American tools: Stanley Bailey bench planes and bevel edged chisels in particular - North Bros. spiral ratchet screwdrivers - Disston saws - and he constantly extolled their virtues and quality. Due to his influence my subsequent tool kits always included such tools. I also used numerous Marples tools which were held in high esteem by most craftsmen.
Group of vintage William Marples & Sons
'Shamrock Brand' tools
My first introduction to, and use of, woodworking hand tools was during Public School Woodworking Class (Towneley School, Burnley, England) starting in 1940. By mid-war in 1943 I had become reasonably proficient in the care, maintenance and use of most of them.
Availability of woodworking hand tools at the end of WWII
New woodworking tools -- especially American made -- were in short supply in British hardware shops immediately following the end of WWII. It was not until 1948, when importation from America resumed and British manufacturing had recovered from wartime damage and production demands, that new tools were available for sale in any quantity. Even then, availability was uncertain.
I probably used more Stanley hand tools than any other make. They were readily available (after 1948) and were renowned for their durability and excellence in my time as an apprentice. I mostly used Stanley planes, nail hammers, paring chisels, boxwood rules, marking gauges, try squares and bevels.
The first post-war Stanley Tools catalog I remember was the 1948 No. 34 edition that contained their usual array of woodworking tools. But there was a caveat in the form of an insert - here is the cover page:
The remaining six pages of this insert contained a much reduced list of tools that would actually be manufactured and available in 1949 (and the remainder of 1948).
I do not remember whether or not the Stanley British subsiduary in Sheffield issued supplements to the parent company No. 34 catalogs, but I think their operation and production was pretty much in concordance with them. Evidently the North Brothers "Yankee" Division of Stanley Tools (since the purchase in 1946) mostly operated independently from the parent company, for their production output was not mentioned in the 1948 Stanley catalog insert and "Yankee" Spiral Ratchet Screw Drivers were available in hardware shops in 1949.
When new woodworking tools did become readily available in 1949 (often in limited quantities) it was mostly the older craftsmen who bought them to replace existing tools. In consequence apprentices in the woodworking trades like me bought many of their tools second hand from them.
Most of the tools featured on the pages of this web site I have painstakingly sought out and purchased from various sources in an attempt to re-create (as best I can) the various tool box kits that I had when I was an apprentice.
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