Wigan Album

First oil rig I worked on in the north sea had plug sockets and phones made by Water Heyes of Wigan, they where all stamped with there name on.

A lot of Heyes electrical stuff was made to be sparkproof so it cold be used in pits, oil rigs or other places where it might come in contact with gas or other flammable substances.

In July 1971 I was at home at the end of my 1st year of university. I had a summer holiday job in Water Heyes, repairing faulty light fittings, junction boxes etc. As pointed ot above most of the products were relatively simple pieces of heavt duty equipment but had to be totally sparkproof because of the workplaces they were fitted in.

I have two wonderful memories of that time. On the 28 July Lancashire played Gloucestershire in the semi final of the Cricket Gillete Cup. The match was very exciting and people kept putting radios on to listen to it. The game eventually finsished at nearly 9 o'clock that evening long after we had gone home. The second was as a relatively innocent young man going into the assembly rooms which were largely staffed by women (highly skilled I would add). The comments ribald and highly amusing I received certainly added to my education! Happy Days

I remember Waterheyes Factory alongside the River Douglas.The workforce was mainly female,the shop steward was Cissy a formidable lady.

My great grandfather was one of the original Heyes. My grandfather (Abraham Vincent Heyes) took it on and when he died in 1956 my father, Robert Redmond (husband of Marjorie Heyes) became MD. I used to visit the works quite often and was always made to feel very welcome. I used to be fascinated by all export destinations!