Some time ago we found old documents relating our company history including a handwritten memoir from former employee Reuben Clarke. His account gives us a wonderful insight of working life in Nottingham during the time of WWI.

Rueben writes -

December 1915, the 28th to be exact - I was installed at FF Allsopps, Granby Street (Machine ruler account book and letterpress binders to the trade) my father was employed there, but was away sick…However, he gave me a written note to take to FF Allsopps with a view to my going to work there. I having left school at the Christmas holiday being 13 years of age.

“I remember being a bit weak at the knees as went up the stones stairs to a door marked enquiries. I was rather a small boy and my head was only just above the counter. The man I saw who took the note from me, I later knew as Mr Thornley”

Mr Allsopp came to see me a few moments later and said, “do you want to be an Account Bookbinder like your Father”. I replied “yes Sir”. Of course this was war time, and being they thought, a likely lad, gave me a job. I was not identified as was the custom.

I think I was the first apprentice at FF Allsopps on a written agreement.

I turned up for work after the Christmas break. A chap named Robinson, who was the time keeper, packer, and warehouse man with various other duties. He was a friendly man and helped me a lot. He gave me my check number told me how to clock in -

“One took a number disc off a board and placed it in a box fixed under the board. The box was emptied, 8.00, 8.15. 8.30 and 9.00. The hours were 8 to 1 - 2.15 - 6.30, Saturday 8 till 1.30. 54 hrs a week - My wages were 4/6 at a penny an hour.”

My foreman at this time was Bob Clarke a well known man in the trade and a first class workman. He knew my father well.

The works consisted of a floor and half of a factory of three stories, and an Attic. A firm by the name of Cheetham (Curtain Dressers) occupied the Attic. FF Allsopp occupied third floor and half of the second floor, the other half being used by a firm of cotton spinners by the name of Greenhalge. They were also on the ground floor.

The half floor contained the cutting machine operator Jack Hodgkinson, ‘Little Jack’ we used to call him. A disc ruling machine work by Jack chambers, Packing and despatch office and sales room.

The bindery and ‘making up’ occupied the whole of the third floor. The binding bench went whole length of the room on the Granby Street site. The pen ruler was at the James’s Street end, the foreman ruler being Mr Jarvis, who had his son with him as apprentice ‘Jack’. His is other son Earnest having joined the Army along with Tom Goode who was a binder just prior to my joining the firm - I was to meet up with them after the War.

“My first job was on the gluing machine, not a very pleasant one.”

I didn’t like the smell of the glue. The tank was heated by a gas jet. Under the tank, one had to be careful, I had my apron on fire once, but soon learnt to cope, and I was quick to learn. Slab cake scotch glue had to be soaked over night prior to being heated in glue pot, and the paste we used was flour, I was shown how to do this, and it was my job to see that we were well supplied.

A lady came and asked me how I was, and if I liked the job. This was my first meeting with Miss Blythe the overseer of the women and girls, and I was to find she was a very competent person, to whom I was to have every respect for. She was a great discipline minded person and made her presence felt all the time. She was a first class hand and the girls who came under her were soon licked into shape. All the girls under Miss Blythe were made into first class hands, and were sort after by other firms.

“A man or women trained at FF Allsopp knew their job.”

Power and heat was supplied by a large steam engine. The engine driver being a stout man, I came to know him when I was sent to ask how soon was the power coming on, or could we have more heat at times. He wasn’t very friendly. The shafting was over head with a rope pulley taking the power from floor to floor. Several firms shared the power and heat.

The hoist was a ball and chain, the cable being wound round a drum, to work it one pulled a start wire this put the belt on the fixed pulley and the cable went on and off the drum as required. There was a leather belt to put on, as one had to lean out and pull in the boards or whatever you were bringing in rather, a dangerous procedure but one got used to it. Later I was to see an electric lift installed.

1916 and the war was making itself felt, Mr Allsopp was called up for National Service, he went to work at the Gun factory (Cammell Lairds), Mrs Allsopp came to take over in his place, she being a nice Motherly person, I have course to remember her.

I was sent for ‘off the bench’ and Mrs Allsopp told me that I was required for a time on the dispatch side, and I should require some short boots. They got a rubber mack and a fisherman’s souwester.

“I looked a bit of a lad, but was quite happy with the arrangement.”

Old Bill Derbyshire took me with the barrow on the round, also to Sisson & Parker, Wheelergate. I can remember some of the customers. Boyle and L Morris, High Pavement; Henlon Hole of Hollowstone; Simpkin & Icke, Stoney Street, Volkards, Coalpit Lane; Hertbert Smith, James’s Street; Jenkins, Allied Paper Merchants and Jones & Johnson Time table printers.

“Foodstuffs were in short supply and Mrs Allsopp sent me to queue for tea, sugar and butter, and other foodstuffs from Liptons on Long Row, or Home and Colonial - I may add here that my wages were increased from 4/6 to 5/.”

While in dispatch I found I had a rival ‘Rocky Burnam' of Clark & Walkers, a bookbinding firm in James’s Street.

“It was a race between us to get to the customers first to get what work there was.”

The Clerk in Clark & Walkers was now my foreman at Allsopps.

After a few months on Dispatch I was sent back on the bench to start my job as an account bookbinder, under the wing of one Jack Rose of Davenport, Aston & Rose, they had a business in Drury Hill. I guess the war had made things too difficult for them - Jack Rose came to Allsopps and Aston came later, Aston being a finisher, both were elderly men. Bill Johnson the finisher at this time had to leave us and went to the Shell Factory at Chilwell.

Man power was short and I was pushed on at my trade, having a good grounding in all types of binding, but the best binding was soon to be scarce. Full leather being cut down to 1/2 leather, 1/4 leather to manilla covers. Leaf binders were coming in about this time, but some of the old fashioned houses still had these ledgers, full calf with raised bands - and I saw a fair amount of this work also. Private ledgers with locks, 15 to 20 account books went through every day, double royal, double medium, double demi, double cap, sheet 1/3 sheet 1/2 sizes we don’t see in use today. The sale room at this time did a lot of business in memo and stock ledgers from 3 qtrs 4 -5 -6 -8 -10.

Jack Rose did the marbling and I used to Alum the edges for him. I was not taught to do it myself, although later I was to have the opportunity. Mr Allsopp was good at marbling and did some occasionally. I did some sweeping up once when he was marbling and and got a whiz at the side of my ear, Allsopp said, ‘you will put some water down next time to kill the dust’.

Jack Rose had a moustache and at times he would be at the marbling trough and having his lunch at the same time, gorgonzola cheese dropping off his tash!”

'“Most workmen I noticed had bad habits. Old Mr Jarvis used to chew tobacco, old Rose took snuff, so did Mr Allsopp. Mr Jarvis had wife trouble, and I remember she came to the works making a disturbance at the office, Mr Allsopp showing her out, took a swipe from her umbrella.”

Things were getting more difficult as the war dragged on, we couldn’t get flour for the paste, and the gas was cut off at times, and the binders lost time through this. I remember losing several half days at this time. We had ready mixed paste in the barrels it smelled of carbolic, we made do with it until the end of the war, but it was a poor substitute for the flour and I don’t think it did leather any good.

Charles Wood & Son’s printer engineers, with works in Hounds Gate were often in and out of the works, and I got to know them well. I think it was they who came up with the idea of hot plates to heat the glue using steam from the steam pipes.

The works was gas light, and old Bill Derbyshire use to come round with a wax taper, we also had to have a special shades to meet regulations, and also had to have black out curtains.

There was a small firm of jobbing joiners by the name of Inger, they were often in and out doing small jobs for FF Allsopp. Bill Inger, the son was well known to us all. He took over the business on the death of his Father. One of his jobs I remember was to put platforms in front of the gathering machines and new floor boards in part of the binding room.

There was a box lift at the side of the Binder Cutting Machine this was used a lot for sending work downstairs for Dispatch. The stairs leading down from the Binding room were very steep and narrow and were a bit dangerous when one was carrying!

Time brings changes - and when the war was over changes were made both in personnel and structure. Earnest Jarvis and Tom Goode came back from the Middle East, they had been serving with the South Notts Hussars. Harry Arlon who was doing the finishing died suddenly, but Bill Johnson who left for War to work at Chilwell Shell Filling Factory came back and took over the finishing.

Bob Clarke left and formed a partnership with Cracker Morris, who had a small business in Mount Street. They later set up as Morris & Clarke in Granby Street. Jack Jarvis who was apprentice Ruler went to work for them when he was out of his time. We had a new Binding Forman one Harry Sanders. Trade was very slow picking up, and the Rules & Binders were often on short time 9 to 5 sometimes 9 to 4.

“The time between the Wars was very hard for most trades. Quotations had to be very keen, a job could be lost for almost a few pence.”

Mrs Allsopp carried on working with us and also her youngest daughter Vivian, who came and learn the sewing machine. Some of the staff I can name here who were to spend a lifetime with the firm. Tom Goode, Earnest Jarvis, Walter Wakefield and myself were presented with gold watches after 50 years service. Sorry I must mention it, Ethel Longdon née Balderton, Annie Fryers 50 yrs, Jennie Bowley, not forgetting Mrs Blythe who now has passed on.

One part of the trade I must mention is Gum Stripping - a machine and girl were occupied full time, there being a lot of gummed receipt books, we used to do quite a lot of these for Thomas Forman.

Punching and Eyeleting and Stringing were much in evidence at this time. Folding for Letterpress work was done by hand, but we had a machine for Section Folding for Sisson & Parker exercise books.

“Time brings changes and the 1920’s saw the firm growing.”

Cheetham the Curtain Dressers left out of the Attic and we took over. Greenhalges the Cotton Spinners left and we took over their half of the second floor. The narrow stairs were knocked out and a new stairway put in, we were wired up for electricity and the hoist replaced with an electric lift. We now occupied the whole building and I believe (bought the factory about this time) the ground floor was let to a firm of electricians Bessy and Haywoods for a time. When they left we took over the whole building.

Tom Goode and Ernest Javis both life long members of the staff played a big part in the progressive works. Other names about this time were Steve Walker, Eric Person (office) Jack Winton, Tom Carnel and Bill Johnson on the Bench.

“Allsopps was noted throughout the trade for best quality work.”

Mr Allsopp was a very fair man, and sooner than stop anyone we were asked to share short time when work was short, we worked 9 to 5 and sometimes 9 to 4. Rulers often had days off, this was offset by a little overtime on occasion. One was happy to have a job there being a lot of unemployment at this time.

Women Table Hands I recall - Mrs Shelly, a quick card this one, Mother Charles, Mother Saunders, Lena Bennett. Mrs Charles Grand Daughter, May Charles who taught Vivian Allsopp the sewing machine. Annie Fryers followed on with the sewing machine soon after Vivian Allsopp left us. Jenny Bowley and Ethel Longdon were in charge of the four Pageing machines there, another being me up to about 1925.

Granby Street at this time was a cobbled street wide enough for two railway drays to pass each other. One end ran into Friar Lane the other into Mount Street, with Rutland Street running off it. James’s Street access facing FF Allsopp was two terraces, Rutland Terrace and James Terrace.

“One went up several steps to reach the back to back houses, and would often witness a slanging match when the neighbours fell out. I can remember one or two notables ‘Safety Pin Liz’ and ‘Cotton Pin Jake’ and ‘Peg Leg Pete’.”

There was a public house at the corner of Granby Street and Friar Lane, it was called ‘The Green Dragon’, another pub in close proximity was the Robert Peel in James’s Street.

James Street was a busy one, housing a few small printers and bookbinders. John L Young was a prosperous firm doing bank and railway stationery. Clarke & Walker binders to the trade, Herbert Smith Rulers & Binders; H Jones Printers; G A Smith one man printer used to send work to FF Allsopp. Cooke & Vowles, pinters also good customers. All of these with the exception of H Jones are now defunct.