W.H.Jones -Surveyors Dept.

[Roger Turner]

Worked there in the mid 1960`s

Anybody still around?

[dutchman]

to the message board Roger and good luck with your search

Please pardon my ignorance but who or what was W.H.Jones?

[Roger Turner]

"Who or what was W.H.Jones"

Thanks for the welcome Dutchman.
You`ve got me there - I have obviously been away from Coventry too long - I thought W.H.Jones was part of the woodwork of Coventry.
Briefly W.H.Jones was a medium sized local building contractor, its Joinery Mill,Plant yard and offices lay alongside Holbrooks railway bridge - the road was a dead end and I seem to remember it led onto the "Black Pad", a trail across the fields to Radford, perhaps ending somewhere at the back of Jubilee Crescent.Also at the end was a footbridge which took you onto a lane which led by Bretts,Drop Hammer Forgings and joined Holbrook Lane.
When I joined WHJ, it had already been taken over by Costains, who made it into their Midland Division.
I suppose you could say WHJ specialised in factory work, being the established "on site" contractors at for instance.Dunlop,Courtaulds,Morris Motors (1,2 and 3) Jaguar (William Aubrey Jones the ex owner was friends with Sir William Lyons)Coventry Climax and I remember one job at Allbright and Wilson in Birmingham and they worked hand in glove with those factory engineers,carrying out building works, but maintaining production on the track 24 hours a day sometimes and at the same time carrying out more major work,such as the Dunlop Office Block.
They were also Main Contractors and I remember the Lanchester College, Corby Civic Centre,George Eliot Hospital,University of Warwick....plus.........
My personal involvement was through my wife (at that time to- be)Heather Davidson who introduced me to the Chief Surveyor Alec O`Donnell, she had previously worked there and was well thought of.
I wonder if this enquiry will elicit any other memories of WHJ, I certainly have, but I didn`t like having to work alternate Saturday mornings when I started.
Oh by the way Costains, ruined the company, they got rid of the factory work, as fast as they could, which was the profit base of the company, although perhaps the factories were also getting rid of themselves at the same time.(the beginning of the end of "Boom Town"?)