Per Nordström, who worked at FSL in the 1960s as a stereo operator in the Plotting section, has sent in memories of his time in the UK:
Dear all,
This year your website once again gave me the pleasure to watch photos from the Fairey reunion. Ever since I worked at Fairey Surveys more than 60 years ago I have had rather close contacts with many of my former colleagues and I have also participated in the reunions a couple of times. Your website gives me a good opportunity to be kept abreast with what is going on.
At that time in the sixties, I worked in the Plotting section as a stereo operator. The business was good and the production was enhanced through shiftwork. My machine partner on the other shift was Mike Neighbour who later moved to Rhodesia as it was then called. We met several times both in Africa and Sweden. He got some special allowances from some source that made it possible to make study tours to Sweden for technical purposes. After many years I lost contact with him, but he might have returned to the UK.
The supervisor in the Plotting section was Bill Clark (Bix). We lived quite close to each other, and I became a frequent visitor in his home in Belmont Park Avenue. He used to say that ‘if you are bored with life let’s be bored together’. We had a common interest in music which we listened to in his lovely living room. Since he later moved to Edinburgh the contacts became more sporadic, but together with some other former colleagues I visited him there in connection with his 90th birthday many years ago.
My closest friends throughout the years have been Peter Forsey and John Parfitt who both came to see me in Sweden with their wives on different occasions. When I took part in the reunions I stayed with Peter and Ruth since they still lived in Maidenhead. Since they are not around anymore my only remaining friends are now John and Anni Parfitt with whom I still have on-going email correspondence.
There are of course many others I remember very well from that time more than 60 years ago but whose names I cannot include in this short message. It was however a very friendly and nice atmosphere in the company which made such a great impact on me, and I enjoyed working there very much. I remember with emotion the father-like personality of the Production Manager Tom Phillips who walked around the engineering and said ‘good morning’ to everybody every day. When we had lunch together in the canteen at one time, he asked if I had yet got any girlfriend. When I said no, he got a bit upset and asked why he had to do everything himself and then shouted to Sarah who worked in the canteen if she could investigate this matter and do something about it.
It is nice to see from the photos that one of the directors is still around – Lawrence Scott. Some 20 years after I left the company, I attended a mapping conference in London and suddenly ran into W.P. Smith. Much to my surprise he said he still remembered me. He was then the head of Ordnance Survey. Another person from the management team whom I should mention is of course Bill Cheffins. He was the first person I met when visiting Fairey the first time and he also helped with contacts to seek employment. The demand for stereo operators was high at the time, and it was quite easy with my background from similar work in Sweden. I also remember him as a technical genius. Since he was a keen folk dancer, he took me to one of those festivals in St Albans at one time. I remember that his kids came along as well.
At one time I bought a car from somebody in the company. If I remember correctly his name was Stan Vicker or something similar. It was an Austin A30 which I had great fun with. Perhaps I should have kept it. It might have been worth a fortune these days.
Personally, I stopped working on the technical side after a while when I got back to Sweden and was educated in economy and eventually became a CFO in a company owned by the government which was engaged in real estate cadastral matters, mapping and consultancy services in various parts of the world. I am now retired since nearly 20 years at the age of 84.
I have been back in Maidenhead on several occasions and have thus seen the transformation of the town. It is hard to remember much of how it looked like this long time ago, but I suppose that is what happens when urban areas are expanding. The time in the UK had a great impact on me. I was in my twenties and quite receptive in my mind to everything including the British way of life and has ever since felt a bit ‘half-British’. I at least follow the somewhat turbulent political life and much else that turns up on the news from your part of the world.
With best regards to everybody who reads this,
Per Nordström