Coventry Radiator Company

[ezza1946]

Trying to find any info on the Coventry Radiator Company as it was in 1943. My father worked there, as an Acetylene Welder, for a number of years in the 40's having previously been employed in the same capacity within the aircraft works, presumably Armstrong Whitworth. Do we know what goods/services CovRad provided other than just radiators?

[dutchman]

Hi Ezza and welcome to the forum.

I'm afraid I'm not aware of any products they made unrelated to radiators.

Do you know which factory your father worked at as prior to 1967 they had one in Spon End which was replaced by council flats as well as the one in Canley?

If it was Canley then he may previously been employed at the neighboring Standard works which made aircraft back then.

I knew a lot of CovRad employees as they used to drink in Craven Street when I lived there, Eddie Hunter in particular. He once used the plating baths at CovRad to re-chrome our kitchen taps for us!

Some pictures of the Canley works can be found here:

https://www.28dayslater.co.uk/threads/c ... 21.130018/

[ezza1946]

Hi Dutchman

Unfortunately I have no other info other than originally my father was a carpenter by trade. He started his apprenticeship at Humber and then from 1938 to late 1942 he was an acetyline welder at Armstrong Whitworth. In 1943 the Cov Telegraph reported him as being fined £10 for consistenly being late for work whilst working for Cov Rad, he never mentioned Cov Rad to me in his lifetime. I'll forgive him for his lateness as it was wartime and he was living in Leamington at the time. Family birth certificates always listed his occupation as an acetyline welder up until the end of the war when I presumed he returned to his original occupation as a carpenter, which he continued with up to his death in the 70's.

Thanks for the link to the Cov Rad factory