Local Stalwarts 5
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Barwicker No. 99
Local Stalwarts 5
Hugh Hawkins
September 2010
A series describing how individuals in Barwick and Scholes reflect
their own times through their life and work.
Hugh Hawkins was born on 17th November 1926, his family lived
at Cross Flatts Terrace in Leeds. His father George and mother Ida
Isobel established a safe and happy home, later adopting a little girl
Jean to complete the family. Hugh had a happy childhood and
considers that he was well brought up by his 'firm' but loving
parents.
His father worked at Crabtree's making printing machines and he
also travelled widely 'on the road' selling presses. His parents were
devoted to each other and when his father was away from home,
they corresponded daily. Young Hugh had the task of mailing a
letter from his mother each morning as he went to school or work.
Hugh attended Burton House School before transferring to
Cockburn High school at the age of 11. He was an average scholar,
leaving school at the age of 14 in 1940 to take up a seven year
printing apprenticeship as a lithographic printer at Waddington's.
This was a pivotal moment in Hugh's life because it satisfied his
major ambition. Hugh came from a printing family; he says
printing, like wooden legs, runs in the family and printing ink runs
in his veins. His grandfather had been a foreman at the Electric
Press in Leeds and during the Great War his father worked in an
army printing unit after being transferred from the Army Medical
Corps.
The Second World War impacted on Hugh's life and he took the
opportunity to become a lithographic printer. The printing trade
was highly regarded as an elite craft with well paid tradesmen
represented by powerful trade unions. It was an excellent
opportunity to learn a superior craft and the young Hugh took his
chance.
Leeds was the national centre of the growing printing industry with
firms like Crabtrees and George Mann making world famous
machines for printers like Waddingtons and Alf Cooke.
Hugh was fortunate in his training and he had some excellent
experience. At Waddington's he worked with De la Rue the
specialist banknote manufacturer of foreign bank notes, printing
Chinese and Brazilian banknotes. He also printed food labels for
Heinz soups and beans, as well as the pictorial cards for
Waddington's world famous playing cards. Hugh was particularly
interested in printing maps. At Waddington's he became friendly
with Ted Aveyard, a press minder who encouraged and stimulated
his interest in photography.
During the war the Armed Forces needed tremendous numbers and
different varieties of maps and Hugh and his colleagues printed two
main kinds. Special maps were printed on linen for airmen and a
translucent vegetable based fabric was used on which to print maps
of key towns in France and Germany; the maps could be swallowed
if required.
Hugh led a very demanding life as he learned his craft and attended
technical classes at night school on three nights every week. Later
in life he became a part-time instructor and his career was to
develop as he passed his City and Guilds Lithographic Certificate,
First Class. At the time, Waddington's were short of skilled labour
to use their advanced presses and Hugh advanced quickly as
opportunities arose. He relaxed by going to watch Leeds United and
other teams play football at Elland Road on Saturday afternoons.
In 1944, before he was 18, Hugh volunteered to join the army. He
wanted to join the Royal Engineers Survey section, with a view to
working in the Army map printing unit. After basic training near
Carlisle he was posted to a camp in North Wales where he took a
storeman's course and then a sixteen week's litho printing course at
an old mansion in the locality. Hugh was then sent to Croydon
where he was attached to an Ordnance Survey unit for a year; he
was delighted to learn that his army printing work counted towards
his apprenticeship.
On his arrival at Leeds railway station for his 14 days embarkation
leave prior to being posted to Egypt, he was met by his father and
he became aware that his dad spoke with a Yorkshire accent. Hugh
has always been interested in dialects and accents and being out of
Yorkshire had sharpened his ears.
He was posted to a camp near Cairo to print maps on Crabtree
presses. At the time survey teams were surveying and mapping
areas which had never been properly mapped before. The hot
weather meant that they only printed at night time and soldiers
often escaped the heat when off duty by going to Fayid on the
spectacular Great Bitter Lake to cool off. There in the buoyant salty
waters, Hugh was taught to swim by Sergeant Major Bob
Cresswell, as they were watched over by ocean going ships waiting
to steam up or down the Suez Canal,
Towards the end of the war Hugh was posted back to Croydon and
he was there on YE Day. The celebrations were a bit of a damp
squib for him because although he travelled to London he could not
get into Trafalgar Square to enjoy them because of the immense
crowds, so he caught a train back to camp.
Hugh enjoyed his army career and could have stayed in the service
as a trainer, but he was demobilised and went back to Waddingtons.
He was restless though and changed jobs; he went to work for
Manders Brothers in Wolverhampton who made printing inks. He
joined the unit testing synthetic resins which had replaced linseed
oil in making the inks and travelled the country visiting printing
firms helping them to use and blend the inks properly. Like his
father he enjoyed travelling, particularly to Scotland.
He lived in lodgings in Wolverhampton and continued his interest
in football often going to watch the Wanderers play at Molineux
from the 'Cowshed' stand. He saw some of the famous Russian and
Hungarian teams of the time. When his adopted team played Leeds
United he says he did not know who to cheer for! He also followed
the career of John Charles who became Player Manager of Hereford
Town.
In summer he often went to watch county cricket matches at
Edgbaston and Trent Bridge. There he made friends with the lady
who printed and sold the score cards and programmes; sometimes
he would drive up to see her in his Standard 9 car and they would
drive to Chatsworth.
Hugh's parents moved to Barwick to live in a new bungalow in
Gascoigne View, unfortunately Mr Hawkins died a year later.
Hugh's mother's health deteriorated quickly and Hugh selflessly
felt he ought to come home to look after her. Thus at the age of 54,
in 1981 he retired; he took his watch and pension, packed all his
possessions into his Morris Minor and came to Barwick. He was
glad to do so and was able to ensure that his mother's remaining ten
years were safe and happy.
Hugh immediately fell in love with Barwick and its people; he
enjoys the friendly nature of the villagers and their customs. He met
and became friendly with Bart Hammond when he was sketching
the maypole one day. Bart was a commercial artist who had a small
shop in York. Hugh also came across other people with a shared
interest in local history and culture and the result was that he, Bart,
Jane Deacon and Sadie Healey formed the Barwick Local History
Society. They decided to start The Barwicker and Arthur Bantoft
who joined the group over a year later, volunteered to be the editor.
Hugh typed the articles and took responsibility for presentation,
photography, production and distribution. The rest as they say is
history.
Hugh enjoys visiting one of the three village public houses some
lunch times and he is a well known patron of local shops. He joined
the Horticultural Society and is a member of the local Probus
branch and the Methodist Luncheon Club. He is an intrepid
traveller on train and bus services and regularly travels long
distances visiting Yorkshire towns and cities. He loves Ripon
Cathedral and because of his interest in Lewis Carroll he enjoys
seeing the carvings of his characters in the choir stalls.
Hugh is popular and very well regarded by his neighbours and
friends; he is most independent and self-sufficient after living on
his own as a bachelor. When he was seriously ill a few years ago he
was extremely grateful to his godson David Blakeley and his wife
Veronica for helping him to recover and for re-decorating his
bungalow.
Hugh is very modest, quiet, calm, utterly dependable, good
humoured, dignified, and unassuming and he retains his craftsman
eye for the many errors made by scribblers who write for and edit
'The Barwicker!'
He has all the virtues representative of a Local Stalwart. In fact
Hugh may lay claim to being known as 'The Stalwart's Stalwart.'
MARTIN TARPEY
 |
Hugh working a Crabtree two colour printing press |
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