SOUND ARCHIVE

Title: Living Linen Interview LL2_R02/45 1 of 2
Object Name: Sound Recording : Magnetic Tape, Reel
Maker: Mills, Robert (Primary maker)
Mills, Robert (interviewee)
Date Made: 13/06/2002
13/06/2002
Description: Sound Recording on Reel: Stevensons & Sons, Moygashel. Library Transcript: Transcript. Summary: The Mills family owned a farm in Killyman. Bobby Mills recalls flax growing on the farm in the 1920s. The flax was scutched at Mullan's mill and sold at markets such as Dungannon, Banbridge or Lisburn. Mr Mills was interviewed by James Ernest (known as J.E.) Finney of Stevenson's in 1930. Mr Mills also worked closely with Major Stevenson. The senior management team at Stevenson's shared a passion for rugby and the Dungannon ground - Stevenson Park - is named after the Major. Stevenson's dates back to the 1790s, when two brothers began buying and selling flax. Major Stevenson was the 3rd generation of his family in the firm. Mr Mills was a contemporary of a number of young up and coming managers who would play leading roles in Moygashel after WWII. These men included J E Finney, Max Eitel and James Lee. By the mid 1930s, Mr Mills was in charge of the shipping operation and was based in the Dungannon warehouse. The warehouse complete with a stitching dept and a full-size badminton court was a splendid building. Stevensons produced a lot of pure linen apparel fabric for both the men's and ladies' wear. They also produced some plain household linens and canvas. Printing was carried out by Clendinnings of Lurgan. The Hollands and Buckrams woven for the suiting trade were beetled at Stevenson's mill in Rostrevor. Mr Mills remembers the first viscose rayon being produced in the late 1930s for the fashion industry. The firm's trade held up well throughout the 1930s and cloth was exported to over 100 countries. Stevensons had offices in London and New York. The latter was run by Hamilton Adams. Within the warehouse there were 3 major sales divisions: Home trade, American trade and Overseas trade. Stevensons only began making clothes in 1942 when Mr Mills was sent over to a bombed garment manufacturing factory in Nottingham to salvage machinery. The garment making division was called Tyrone Ltd, the gents division became known as `Steegan'. They later purchased other firms including 'Strelitz'. Stevensons masterminded a huge flax growing operation in WWII, most of which went to Braidwater mill in Ballymena - Stevenson's major yarn supplier. Mr Mills continued to export cloth throughout the war and lost a number of shipments. Stevensons contributed directly to the war effort; manufacturing aero linens and hose pipes. The aero Linens were also finished in narrow strips wound onto drums. These were used for patching `holed' planes. In 1950, Stevensons, along with Smyths of Banbridge and Braidwater formed Moygashel. Pat Herdman was a Director for a period. In the shakeup, Dungannon became the administrative HQ. The sales and warehousing operation also centred on Dungannon. Mr Mills was made a Director of Stevensons and put in charge of `B' dept which included interlinings, canvas and ducks. Mr Mills' dept in particular was badly affected by the closure of the railway in 1963. Moygahsel put a lot of faith in textile exhibitions. The making up operation was moved to Forestbrook at Rostrevor. In later years Mr Mills established a working relationship with Harland & Wolff Moygashel supplied most of the curtain and upholstery fabric for liners such as the Canberra and a number of passenger -carrying vessels. Courtaulds bought Moygashel in the late 1960s and introduced a number of changes. Moygashel was still in a period of transition when Mr Mills retired in 1980, having completed 50 years' service.
Catalogue Number: HOYFM.R2002.87
Notes: National Museums NI

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]