Andy Anderson
1999/105 Andy Anderson interviewed in his own home by Dr Heather Holmes on 11 June 1999
000 Starting at Nelsons; age; duration of employment
028 Reaction to closure of Nelsons; quick change in the appearance of the Nelson factory area
047 Bowling club; centenary; social section; numbers of Nelsonians in the bowling club; Nelson membership decreased
046 Applying for a job; printer’s exam; application procedure; work in main hall; start of apprenticeship
048 Starting work in the main hall at start of apprenticeship; changing population in main hall
109 Reason for becoming a binder
121 Movement around industry; shop practice; changing nature of printing industry; changing location of printers
140 Son and his work
148 Changes in binding trade; nature of market
154 Work in Edinburgh University bindery; changes in binding
162 Application process; day release at Heriot-Watt; meeting of boys from other firms
175 Printing examination; number of candidates; scope of exam
200 Good place to work; atmosphere
215 Joking among apprentices; working with boards; laxity in work
246 Journeymen and their relations with apprentices; apprentices’ notebooks; writing down processes
261 Day release at Heriot-Watt; subjects; location
270 Learning from journeymen who worked in different firms; trade union magazine with hints; splitting sheets of Bible paper
297 Age of employment of men; splitting paper
307 Teaching from journeymen; learning of different techniques; learning trade through new ideas
317 Work in gilding; workers from a range of backgrounds; learning from incomers
326 Different methods brought in to factory; learning different styles
346 Learning from journeymen; learning methods; length of time learning skills; learning machines; notebooks; learning faults on machines; referring to notebook
387 Old men in leather binding; preparing a leather bound book for the Queen Mother at Balmoral
398 Relationships in Nelson’s; binders falling out; binding a book for Queen Mother; techniques in leather binding; rows
446 Delight at blunders; spread of news of blunders; scandals; spreading news of scandals
458 New folk appeared; largeness of factory
468 Size of bindery; location; automation
483 Case making; appearance of factory
490 Physical appearance of Nelson office building; location
496 Physical outlay of factory; floor levels
497 Hydraulic trolleys for moving paper; playing on trolleys
504 Playing on trolleys; knocking over off Ronnie Nelson
519 Size of bindery; state library in Adelaide; work in library; bindery at Edinburgh University Library; work at library
533 Location of binderies
540 Laddies making themselves scarce; difficulty of foreman getting boys to go messages
543 Social side; annual trips; location; number of workers participating; organisation
553 Dances; Christmas dance; location; flannel dance; location
561 Institute; holding of dances; societies
562 Football team; football dances
563 Location of Institute; sports and recreational activities held in Institution
572 Canteen held in Institute; use of Institute for activities
518 Bowling club; football team
584 Ladies hockey team; tennis court and other recreational facilities
591 Greensmen to look after bowling green
599 Nelson field; sitting on the field in the summers
619 Use of Nelson grounds
622 Trips; people who went on trips
635 Family members in printing industry; trips; dance tickets
645 Dance tickets; printing of dance tickets
656 Social activities with printing apprentices
662 Bindery; number of employees; trades in the bindery
680 Leaving the factory; workers rushing out
687 Numbers of apprentices; length of apprenticeship
694 Strike of 1959; apprentice dispute and sorting out the apprentices; numbers of bindery apprentices
716 Rate of apprentices to journeymen
729 Working areas; benches
738 Apprentice allowance; relations between unions and bosses; importance of the union
750 1959 strike; extent of strike; impact of strike; introduction of wage rises; decline in industry; reasons for decline
788 Modernisation in Nelsons; introduction of new machines; types of new machines
807 Attitudes towards introduction of new machines; negotiation for introduction of new machines
839 Relations between bindery chapel and Nelson management; nature of relations; instances of personal relation with Works Manager
887 Father of Chapel; election; regularity of meetings
900 Female representation on chapel; attitudes towards election on committees
920 Difficulties of electing members
928 Reaction to being Father of Chapel; aspirations; aspiration of other chapel members
949 Location of chapel meetings; support at meetings
959 Frequency of general gatherings; reasons for holding general gatherings
END