Recorded Memories

Bert Hall Interview. November 1997 & March 1998.

From the hating industry to thirty-five years as a Master Dyer at Bennett Bros late 1940s-1980s:‘ I got the firm to realise that you couldn’t learn everything in Hinckley or Leicester…’

‘I got myself a part time job in a laboratory…and took up training at Leicester College

(School of Chemistry and Dying) for the full City and Guilds certificate’

Bert was born during the WWI and followed his brother into the ‘hatting’ industry in Atherstone at the age of 15 – a job which he did until the late 1940s (he joined the Royal Engineers during WWII).

He trained as a master dyer and took a job with Bennett Brothers Hosiery Manufacturers and Dyers where he stayed for 35 years and was involved in all aspects of dying.
When times were slack they diversified into rope – dying four ton of rope a week for a firm in Birmingham.
Innovation and problem solving were part of the daily routine and Bert relished these challenges. He was also able to visit the chemical society in Switzerland on a number of occasions bringing back new ideas. Bert also discussed the history of Bennett’s, they started in a small way with a few Griswold machines, however, in 1921 the factory was burnt to the ground but with insurance the family were soon back in business.