SOUND ARCHIVE

Living Linen Interview LL2_R00/28

Sound Recording : Magnetic Tape, Reel

Orr, William (Mr) (Primary maker)
Orr, William (Mr) (interviewee)

07/04/2000
07/04/2000

Sound Recording on Reel: Library Transcript: Transcript. Summary: The firm of John Hennings was the major employer in Waringstown. Mr Orr's father originally worked as a tenter in the firm before travelling to Belfast. On his return he was employed as a watchman/security guard and lived in a small cottage (now in a poor repair and uninhabited) just in front of the main factory gates. Mr Orr's mother worked in the factory canteen. Billy himself started with the firm in 1943. The then Factory Manager, Mr Harrison, told Mrs Orr that he was looking for a boy. Mrs Orr went to the school at lunchtime and Billy began work that very afternoon. During WWII Hennings manufactured a lot of aeroplane linen for the Ministry of Defence. The Ministry's specifications were exacting. Quality Control was extremely strict. During the war the factory observed the blackout - all of the windows were whitewashed with lime and water. Although a number of men worked on munitions and were sent to Belfast on 'fire-watching' duties at the company's warehouse in Arthur Street, few employees enlisted in the war. Hennings produced cotton as well as linen. They had some 200 looms including a couple of wide sheeting looms. The individual looms could weave either linen or cotton using the same shuttles. Linen and cotton warp beams were interchangeable. Most of the workforce lived close by. The boilerman sounded the factory hooter at 7:30 and again at 7:55, for an 8:00am start. The hooter also signalled lunch and the end of the working day. The whole of Waringstown, including the farming community, lived their lives according to the hooter. Mr Orr served a five year apprenticeship as a Maintenance Fitter. He also attended a course in Lurgan Tech for two nights a week, paying his own fees. The fitting team worked under a foreman - Jimmy McKeown. A Maintenance Fitter's job was to repair, and in many cases fashion replacement parts for, the various pieces of machinery and fittings in the factory. The firm had two lathes, a smithy fire and welding apparatus. Replacement parts could not always be ordered and although the firm did keep a stock of the more essential parts and those most prone to failing, self-sufficiency was very important - particularly given the location of Hennings. The firm often ordered in a supply of 'blanks'. These could have been cogs, shafts or wheels which had then to be turned on a lathe to make a replacement part. When new machinery was purchased, it was wheeled in ready assembled and installed by the foundry fitters. The foundry fitters then gave a demonstration of the workings of the machine to the operatives and the factory fitters and, providing everything was working smoothly, left the machine in the hands of the factory fitters. Most machines came with a guarantee and servicing arrangement. Fitting was not hazardous providing the proper precautions were taken. Machines were always disconnected before the guards were removed or the machine touched. Mr Orr would also have been responsible for the upkeep and maintenance of the boiler. The boiler was overhauled once a year, during the July closure so as not to disrupt production. The fitters also ensured that the heating system and the humidification plant in the weaving shed were kept running smoothly. Mr Orr left Hennings in 1950. Once fully qualified the firm could not afford to keep him on at a Journeyman's wage. His skills and training were not however wasted. He found a job in Short Brothers where his experience with textile machinery was directly applicable to his new work.

HOYFM.R2000.65

National Museums NI