tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8710611656756005747.post8478974738998666302..comments2024-03-27T09:59:48.839+00:00Comments on Greenwich Industrial History: Albion Sugar WoolwichDavid Riddlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15841234446226688028noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8710611656756005747.post-82887117038484514732023-10-13T09:56:33.542+01:002023-10-13T09:56:33.542+01:00I've just come accross this site and although ...I've just come accross this site and although born and raised in Pontefract West Yorkshire my father Robert Prideaux started his driving career at Albion Sugar with a fella called John Green?and a guy called bill Fairman, I know very little of my father's early years and looking for information or anyone who knew him or of him? He lived in Charlton friends with lenny James, Geoffrey vinn, Harry Gardner (big H) he was born 1942 and started driving I think 16? Maybe 18? But was a drivers mate before that... so possibly at Albion Sugar late 50's early 60's? Did anyone work with my father Robert (Rob ) (Bob) Prideaux? I am also getting married next year and thinking as a mode of transport to my wedding if there was any of the fleet of Albion Sugar still around available to hire? Long shot but worth an ask.. thank you Nick Prideaux. Please email any information to jonjamesmcalpine668@gmail.com ...any information would be apprciated.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8710611656756005747.post-91910201961343275272022-08-13T23:00:04.001+01:002022-08-13T23:00:04.001+01:00My father-in law Bill Harvey was Transport Manager...My father-in law Bill Harvey was Transport Manager at Albion Sugar, l passed my HGV in September 1970 on the Friday and he telephoned me on the Saturday evening and said he was desparate for a driver to take an 8 wheeler to Mars Slough!! I had never driven anything bigger than a little Bedford TK brick lorry, as you can imagin never driven a 4 up and 4 down crash gearbox, although l passed my HGV 1 with a crash box l meet a driver in Woolwich that evening and he wasn't very helpful and just said there it is off you go, well l managed to get it moving just!!! When l tried pulling out of Albion Wharf in a 1956 Wooden cab Foden l got it stuck between gears and got stuck across Woolwich High Road, however by the time l reached Mars at Slough l had mastered that box!! In somebodies comment lt was refered to "give it some stick Walt" this came from John Hillier when l used to take the drivers to the Belgium Beer Festival by coach!! My part-time job in those days, l did end up driving for Albion Sugar Company full-time but left just after Bill was made redundant, l ofteren wonder what happened to all those great driver, Harry Latham, Wooton Brothers and of course John Hillier, happy memories of 1974 to 1977. Walter Peach (Wally)noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8710611656756005747.post-66259963182393835902021-07-07T08:20:54.946+01:002021-07-07T08:20:54.946+01:00Great stories ..I remember the big rings in the fl...Great stories ..I remember the big rings in the floors, they told me those rings were used to lock the prisoners at their chains at their feet...Soo pls tell me if this was..is true?! By the end of the factory life we from H&S Holland had to move the sirops, steepwater to Cargill Tilbury great time..very nice people in Woolwich thanks for the tea and biscuits!! John<br />Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01797367326243361876noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8710611656756005747.post-49819835789047891462021-06-05T21:26:26.466+01:002021-06-05T21:26:26.466+01:00hello, no idea if this works as I've tried sev...hello, no idea if this works as I've tried several times to add a comment but it doesn't seem to show up. My father [92]worked here as a lab boy straight from school, for a couple of years before he was conscripted, He'd be really interested to see the photos. Could you send a copy of the PDF file to porcilawrence@btinternet.com so I could print some out for him. thanksPeter Lawrencehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10422090625066660770noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8710611656756005747.post-52309735814093624272021-06-05T21:18:07.004+01:002021-06-05T21:18:07.004+01:00very much enjoyed reading this post. My father [92...very much enjoyed reading this post. My father [92] worked as a lab boy here straight from school. He would be really interested to see copies of the photos. Could you please send a copy of the PDF file you mentioned, so I could print some out to show him, thanks in anticipation. My email is porcilawrence@btinternet.comPeter Lawrencehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10422090625066660770noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8710611656756005747.post-47425104565341083582020-04-20T05:48:57.430+01:002020-04-20T05:48:57.430+01:00My name is Ted Street an Australian who worked at ...My name is Ted Street an Australian who worked at Albion as a freelance accountant in 1977 just before and during Albion's demise from woolwich.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03818763775795618653noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8710611656756005747.post-8131578909404170172020-02-14T03:57:07.507+00:002020-02-14T03:57:07.507+00:00My father was Works Manager in the early 1960s whe...My father was Works Manager in the early 1960s when they had a major fire at the refinery.Mark Mullernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8710611656756005747.post-85344738439244686642020-01-30T08:19:56.183+00:002020-01-30T08:19:56.183+00:00My father in law William ( Bill) Harvey was Transp...My father in law William ( Bill) Harvey was Transport Manager for Albion Sugar Comany in the late 60s and early 70s, l also worked as a lorry driver for the same company in the early 70s, Bill Harvey was made redundant in around 1977, l remember some of the drivers in particular John Hillier whome used to go to the Belgium Beer Fedtival each year always remember him saying " give it some stick Walt, fond memories. Wally PeachAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15185922512150280208noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8710611656756005747.post-37320879327236288822017-03-05T19:46:04.875+00:002017-03-05T19:46:04.875+00:00My father, Alan Dingwall, worked for the Albion Su...My father, Alan Dingwall, worked for the Albion Sugar Company from 1951 until 1978. He was in laboratory, doing QA for much of that time and later went out on the road as a technical representative in the 1970s after the company was taken over by the "Dutch Heinz", Scholten Hoenig. In the early days there was a family feel to the firm as the old directors such as Messrs Alex Buchanan and Odling were men who knew all the men by name. Later under Dr Swain. the firm had an agreement to supply Mars of Slough with a 20 ton tanker of glucose every 3 hours day and night. Mars accounted for about 55% of the 2000 tons of liquid Glucose extracted from American Maize each week. The company ran a fleet of beautiful lime green tankers which looked like upside down "U"s on the move and all the servicing was done in house. The lorries had Rolls Royce engines which were able to do up to 750,000 miles without wearing out, something almost unprecedented in the days before multigrade engine oil. Scholten Hoenig bought a Japanese patent which would allow them to convert maize to isomorose, a sweetner used in the USA which was 10% sweeter than sugar and which didn't decay teeth. They built a large factory at Tibury but the whole project was cancelled after the sugar beet lobby realised it would put them out of business and the EU slapped a 20% tax on the maize. Scholten Hoenig went bankrupt and was acquired by the largest private company in the world, Cargill Inc., for almost nothing. The Americans decided to put Dad in an office without windows in the new Tilbury factory and so he opted for redundancy. Later, he heard from an ex-colleague that production was raised to 8000 tons a week by the Americans but the old Albion Wharf site next to Woolwich Dockyard station was abandoned in the early 1980s.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8710611656756005747.post-6999199832069159102015-12-08T22:17:15.834+00:002015-12-08T22:17:15.834+00:00Hi, my name is john aitken I worked has a drivers ...Hi, my name is john aitken I worked has a drivers mate on number 42 tanker my driver was Fred stower and I started in 1963 and worked for the best tanker/fleet in Europe at the time hours was spent getting the vehicles fit for the road and they was spotless with great gleaming tank covers and a lovely forden s21 lorry. I only left to go into the army so I could drive heavy goods vehicles at 17 years of age when in civil street you had to be 21.I would love to known what happen after bi left.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01654835285450538340noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8710611656756005747.post-4213765760334643112015-08-10T22:47:21.896+01:002015-08-10T22:47:21.896+01:00Having spent many days and nights working at albio...Having spent many days and nights working at albion suger woolwich,I felt it would be good to add the following.If you where to look at the factory from the river, the building on the right was used as a ship tac supply company to large sailing ships. Also there are tunnels leading from there to woolwich road.this was to hide prisoners as they were being shipped to well were ever. Also they may have made the finest clucose but it was dicoverd when the plant closed that the cooling pipes leaked river water into the product and it was this that gave the product its mineral quality. This the new plant further down the river could not produce Mars was not happy.michael.Lnoreply@blogger.com