A lot of these photographs were taken at a staff party in St. Cross House which at that time served as the brewery offices at that time, the date was the late 1970's, my sister Jacqueline Mitchell took the photographs, I wasn't there as I'd started full-time work abroad (well, anyway, on the mainland).

Left to Right. Brian Bucket, Peter Winchcombe, Terry Myers, Cyril Chambers and charge hand, Bill Brewer.

Bill Hunnybun (left) grins at the camera as Melvin Flux turns to share a joke with Ted Williams.

Alan Sibley, fondly known as "Wedgehead", beams beside Bill Hunnybun getting out his cigarettes.

Left to Right. Bill Brewer, Cyril Chambers, "Benny" Goodman, and by the looks of it a toast by the Manager.

Left. Mr. Leeming, manager smiles for the camera.     Right. Les Thompson, "the old boar", chomps on a Polo mint and drives his Brickwoods Austin lorry, complete with its new Whitbread brown colours, off to some unsuspecting pub in 1976.  I was his poor mate!  Les had an an amazing capacity for driving well when he was 3 times over the limit and badly when he was sober.  Despite numerous "near misses" throughout his 25 years of driving, he received a gold watch for being a good driver! At the presentation reception, however, he tried to kiss one of the Company secretaries, thankfully he got a slap around the chops for his troubles!

(Left) Jack Cook.  He did a summer at Whitbread's on the "empties".  He was a chimney sweep by trade who lost his driving licence by being one over the limit.  Simple mistake!  He then got a call from a rather posh lady from west Wight who wanted him to sweep her chimney.  "Okay", he said, " but you'll have to collect me, I've got no driving licence".
She drove to Horsebridge Hill where he lived and knocked on his door.  Jack opened it to be confronted by the magistrate who'd sentenced him and had taken away his licence.  Revenge was sweet.
  The "empties" really was the place to work when Jack Cook was there, he'd constructed a small bar to the rear of the stacks of pallets entered only by a carefully constructed maze of cases which were stacked in their thousands as they arrived back in the brewery yard.  On offer was a wide selection of alcoholic beverages "acquired" from the nearby bottle store.  The bar or "Jack's snug" boasted a corrugated iron roof, a bar and tables and chairs constructed from empty cases.  Denny Curtiss (the yard foreman) searched in vain for its location, but the shifting piles of cases defeated him.  Notice how old Jack beams triumphfully in the rain.  In later years he was to go blind, but even in year 2000 I still had a drink with him in Newport Social Club.  Jack sadly died in the early part of 2001.

Left: A very serious Roy Morris beside his newly acquired Austin lorry whilst with Brickwoods in the mid 1950's.  Roy was my driver when Whitbread's took Brickwoods over in the early 1970's.  Roy wasl my best mate and we've been having a drink together for the best part of 25 years.
          

Right:  Roy, centre with Bill (Curly) Matthews and his wife soaking up the atmosphere in France.  I don't believe I've drunk with anyone in so many places for so many years, he was my oldest mate.  Sadly Roy died on 16th December 2002. God bless you, Roy. 

"Here, can you see a bottle of Guinness up there, nipper?"
"No, Roy, I can't".
"Two pallets back, left hand side, one case down, nipper, you'll find it!"  He also had a wonderful Brickwoods bottle opener, which instead of bending the bottle caps off, clawed them off intact, making them easy to snap back onto the empty bottles and pop back into the corner of their case. How the landlords would have cursed but I suppose the Whitbread bottling plant got blamed.  Wonderful days!  I miss them.

Right: Les Thompson on a day trip to Windsor, obviously he's had a few.  I was mate to Les on his lorry for a couple of seasons.  He wasn't an easy man to get on with and we had our differences.  I miss him though.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Left:
Reg Jackman, Peter Winchcombe's mate, on a trip to Jersey.  Silly bugger, apparently they got invited up to the flight deck when the radar system suddenly crashed.  All old Reg's metal badges had reacted with the equipment.  They were escorted out "tout suite!"
 
 
 
 

Bill Brewer expresses his enjoyment on the French trip, I still see him at Newport Social Club, he's on the Committee and very important, he told me so himself!
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Above, the very end; the old brewery site finally closes and the last of the old crew go, only a couple of original staff were to stay on to man just two lorries from the once mighty Whitbread fleet.  I always think back to 1976 when besides their own sizable fleet of lorries, hired vehicles from all over the Island were called in to help get the beer out in that famous year of the heatwave, when the Isle of Wight was hotter than Greece.  In the words of the famous, or infamous, Roy Morris, my driver, which he always quoted in times of major disaster
                                                " the beer must get through at all costs!".

Eight years on in August 2000, both Peter Winchcombe and Melvin Flux featured in the newspaper article have died.
            They and the others who have also gone to the great brewery in the sky are listed below:-

                                R.I.P.
                                            Melvin Flux
                                            Gordon Pitman
                                            PETER WINCHCOMBE
                                            Ray Cooley
                                            Harry Ryall
                                            Alan Sibley
                                            Jim Williams
                                            Albie Knight (senior)
                                            (Bennie) George Goodman
                                            Bill Matthews
                                            Les Thompson
                                            Aubrey Heyward
                                            Cyril Chambers
                                            Arthur Sexton
                                            Vic Cantelo
                                            Reg Jackman
                                            Andy Ash
                                            ROY (ARTHUR) MORRIS

                                Those who are still with us are:-

                                                                    Brian Buckett              (drayman)
                                                                    Ted Williams              (forklift driver)
                                                                    Bob Jolliffe                   (forklift driver)
                                                                    Walter Evans               (drayman)
                                                                    Cliff Martin                  (brewery manager)
                                                                    Andy Newnham           (forklift driver)
                                                                    Bill Prince                    (drayman)
                                                                    John Trevitt                  (forklift driver
                                                                    Bill Brewer                   (chargehand)
                                                                    Mike Milledge              (manager)
                                                                    Albert Knight (junior)   (drayman)
                                                                    Tony Wilkinson           (drayman and still working for Whitbreads)
                                                                    Colin Waters                 (drayman and still working for Whitbreads)

If you were there or remember those days, then email me on  insula.vecta@btopenworld.com
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