your comments
John Fletcher, Abertillery
I started work in Ebbw Vale 1967. I worked on No1 ETL - the first Electronic Tinning Line in Europe. What a great place to work and what a great workforce. At one time almost all my family worked at the works.
Marianne Forrest, Hertfordshire
A request! I am researching for comments about the closure and events surrounding the final days of the Steelworks to be included in an artwork for Ebbw Vale (no names will be shown). If anyone would like to be included I would love to hear what you have to say, good or bad.Many thanks.
Greg Thomas - Aberkenfig
Having worked at this steelworks for 6 years up to 2000, it was with a heavy heart that it came to an end. The buisiness played such an important part in the community. I travelled 94 miles each day to enjoy the privilege of working amongst very proud and honourable people.
Mike Webb, Cape Town
I worked at RTB as did my Father, who was in the hotmill - anyone remember Bob Webb? We worked there in the 50s, and when he died I left to go to South Africa, and have worked the length of Africa ever since from Cape to Cairo. Great piece of history, great shame it closed.
Graham Morgan, Brisbane, Australia
My dad Bill Morgan was a boilermaker. Great memories ... hard times ... Great people and personalities. Thanks!
Steven Harris ,Swansea
Well done Noel, great archive footage/photos.I followed in my fathers footsteps (Wyndham Harris)in becomeing a fitter/turner and worked at E.V.from 1971 until closure 2002.Am now at Trostre Works but great to see the old site and will certainly be making an effort to visiting your collection. Many thanks.
David lewis, Berkshire.
Apprentice Electrician 1977 - 1981. Even though the Hot End was almost closed when I started I did have the privelige of seeing the Open Hearths working. The Blooming Mill and its enormous motor, absolutely staggering. The Tinning Lines had been modernized by the time I had got there. The looping pits were much bigger. No:1 ETL was being used to recover tin. I put the labels 'trap 1' and 'trap 2' on the new toilet doors of the new engineering workshops between no3 and no4 tinning line. (strange memory that one funny at the time!. Joe 90 was on my shift, 'c' shift, Boss Hog' so many other names faded from memory. Thirty one years on I am now in the paper industry and look back at these films with fond memories. Ebbw Vale stood me in good stead. I am proud to have worked there. To think that when I started Ebbw Vale was (so I am told) the only profit making steel works in BSC. They shut our Hot end down when Llanwern came online. Llanwern only rolls steel now. Gone to is their hot end to. So much for progress. Regards. And thanks for the memories.
John Sullivan Wirral
I started work in the Cold Mill in 1952. I initially worked in the Mellingriffith tinning process. When I returned from the army in 1956 I worked in the Open Hearth. I started as a labourer, which sometimes entailed working on the furnaces as a "fourth hand". I eventually ended up working on the Pitside as a "slagger", which involved shoveling up the slag which had spilled over from the tapping of the furnace. When I left I with great delight threw my clogs into the ladle of molten slag.
Harald Finster, Aachen, Germany
Thank you very much for making this outstanding material available. I traveled many times to Britain (and especially to South Wales) in order to take photographs of industrial installations. Unfortunately, I missed the steel works at Ebbw Vale. So, I am really delighted to be able to watch the historic films.
Ken Williams, Rhymney
I worked there from 1969 (started in the blast furnace temp for 2 months) till the end of the Coke Ovens, then went to the hot mill. This brings back a lot of memories,I am sure this film was shown to us on the induction to the works. I think this film was made in the 50s & nothing changed to when I worked there. Health & Safety would have run from there screaming! I remember working on top of the blast furnace for danger money (7 shillings & sixpence a hour - 37p) I must say though, the best thing for Ebbw Vale was the end of steel making, the whole valley got a lot cleaner.
Dave Herbert, Ebbw Vale
Compliments to the producers of this film - memories flood back of a workforce second to none and a product that we were proud to say was produced by a truly dedicated hard working personnel. I was lucky enough to have served my apprenticeship as a fitter/turner and had many years of employment at Ebbw Vale. There cannot be a better way to appreciate the history of the valley, especially after the dismantling of the works.
J Milne, Newport
What a great shame that the steelworks is gone in ebbw vale! Some of the old structures like blast furnaces or coke ovens should have been kept and turned into a world heritage site! Great film footage. Its important that people can view this material for posterity!
Martin Trainor
I served part of my apprenticeship at Ebbw Vale, before transferring to BSC Tredegar. Over the three years I was there, I worked in most of the departments. It was such an exciting place for a teenage lad; gigantic machinery, hot metal, sparks... I'm glad I didn't spend my life working there (all the dust and fumes must have had an effect on those who worked there), but I'm so glad I had the opportunity to experience the place.
Tony O'Connor, Chesterton, Indiana, USA
Great archive footage, I worked in the Hot mill for 10 years from 1967 to 1977 and done a lot of jobs shown on the film in both the Slabbing mill and Hot strip mill including the Slabyard and Scarfing facility. Such memories also of the hot ingot rakes travelling to the soaking pits by locomotives that my father done for so many years. Thank you.
Owen Pritchard, Rhymney
A fascinating insight into the technology and communications of the time. The jobs that the works provided and the expansion that it brought were still evident in my youth, but sadly declining now. I'm not sure that what they are proposing as a replacement is what Ebbw Vale needs.
Bob Jones, Forest of Dean
What a excellent film. Having been there with my father in a lorry loading steel from the Ebbw Vale works I can say it was an experiance i will never forget. What a great loss and I hope people will not forget the Vale.
bob honeyfield--ebbw vale
what a wonderful series of films--the memories came flooding back as i had 15 wonderfull years at ebbw as a fitter/turner from 1963-1978 and consider myself lucky to have to have worked with such wonderfull people.
Les Brindley, New Zealand
I worked at RT&Bs from 1952 - 1962, at which time I emigrated to New Zealand. I worked in all departments apart from the hot metal section as a maintenance fitter and turner (five years as an apprentice + five years as a journeyman). This certainly brings back many memories that I cherish.
Simeon Hall, Glasgow
A fascinating period piece! Very enjoyable...
David Mears from Blaina
What a film - brings back memories even though it was in the seventies I worked there, and on that old tinning line.
Sandie, Abercarn
Truly fasinating to watch and very educational. Never seen steel made before and always wondered how corrugated sheets were made and tin plate. For someone living in Ebbw Vale, it must have been a devastating loss after the closure of the steel works. It is wonderful to have access to this footage for posterity.
