SOUND ARCHIVE

Title: Living Linen Interview LL2_R00/73
Object Name: Sound Recording : Magnetic Tape, Reel
Maker: Yarr, William (Mr) (Primary maker)
Yarr, William (Mr) (interviewee)
Date Made: 05/10/2000
05/10/2000
Description: Sound Recording on Reel: Doagh Flax Spinning Company, Lindustries Blackstaff. Library Transcript: Transcript. Summary: Like his father before him, Mr Yarr was to become a Director of the Doagh Spinning Co. It was against his late father's better judgement that Bill Yarr entered the linen trade. Doagh was run by the Wilson family. In 1957 Mr Yarr entered the firm as a management trainee. In addition to the mill at Doagh the company owned a second mill in Ballysillan. The original factory in Mayo Street was replaced by Mallory factory on the Castlereagh Rd opened. Mr Yarr spent three years at Doagh - including some time in the work study department. He spent a further year at Mallory. On Archie Wilson's insistence Mr Yarr took a degree in textile technology. Although Doagh concentrated on viscose rayon spinning they still processed a little dry-spun flax. Their flax was brought in from Russia and Belgium. Doagh specialised in slub yarns. While most of the yarns spun at Doagh went directly to Mallory, a percentage of the produce was sold outside of NI. Doagh had an agent in Bradford and would later develop their European and wider markets. Mr Yarr's impression of Mallory is that the ethos was to produce as much cloth as possible with little regard for quality or definite orders. He recalls jobbers regularly purchasing bale upon bale of unsold cloth. In 1963 Mr Yarr became assistant manager at Ballysillan mill. Ballysillan was run by Harold Corken and produced a very similar range of yarns to Doagh. Ballysillan mill employed some 250-300 people, all from the immediate area. In more recent years the mill introduced a structured training and recruitment programme. Labour turnover was a problem, particularly with a largely female workforce. The management countered this by offering part time employment and introducing various welfare measures. Doagh owned terraced houses in the grounds of the mill. When Ballysillan closed in 1965 Mr Yarr was moved back to Doagh and then transferred to Prospect Mill. By this stage the Doagh group was owned by Lindustries (the old Linen Thread Co). On the Crumlin Rd, competition for workers was keen and every attempt was made to create a warm and friendly working environment. Part of Prospect mill was taken over by the British Army - the compensation for loss of capacity was more than equal to the loss of revenue!. Mr Yarr became development manager and then sales and development director for Prospect and Doagh. Blackstaff Holdings, which included the Crumlin Rd weaving factory, bought over the Doagh and Prospect mills. In addition to the viscose yarns the group also manufactured carpet and upholstery yarns. A fibre dyeing unit was installed at Doagh to process carpet yarns in latter years. Blackstaff Holdings appointed a number of agents throughout the UK and Europe. Product development is a two way process. Mr Yarr received regular feedback. The cost of yarns was always to the fore, but fashions were changing and the spinning companies had to keep abreast of developments. The company had a clear policy not to spin to stock. This meant that they were reluctant to take on small orders. Blackstaff was treated as an ordinary customer as the mills often supplied Blackstaff's main competitors. This caused a lot of rows on the Board. In 1975 Mr Yarr changed direction altogether, due in no small part to the amount of time that he was spending away from his family. He qualified as an accountant and after working for LEDU joined the RUAS. When he left both Doagh and Prospect were still running. Prospect closed shortly afterwards and Doagh eventually closed also.
Catalogue Number: HOYFM.R2000.138
Copyright: National Museums NI

Placeholder image - no image is available for this record

National Museums NI holds over a million objects in the collection, as well as this we manage the records and associated images for each object through a working database. The national collection has been almost 200 years in the making, and we recognise that thinking about collecting and collections has evolved over this time and continues to evolve. As a result, some of our records may contain language and views that we now consider offensive and unacceptable, for example, reflecting racist attitudes. We are committed to addressing these issues, and to reviewing and updating our records accordingly. Working with researchers, communities and academic partners we are learning more about the stories behind objects, and we are committed to sharing these with our audiences. We welcome feedback. Please email [email protected]