What is now - Asda, Hunts Cross (images restored)

[viscount]

Well, I never ever expected to be starting a thread in the 'Liverpool aviation nostalgia & Memories' section headed 'Hunts Cross Asda'!

These two shots are taken in the early 60s, I'd guess '62 or '63. Certainly I remember the area as cereal crop fields, but not sure if that was before or at the time I started school at Hillfoot Hey in '61. The occasion is the official ceremony of cutting the first turf for the Standard Triumph factory to house the production line for the Triumph TR7 sports car. Many of those factory buildings still stand behind the Asda and Matalan buildings.

The helicopter is a Bristol 171 Sycamore. BEA Helicopters had three, G-ALSR on lease from the manufacturers 11.51 to 10.54 and purchased two, both delivered 6.53, G-AMWG sold 7.56 and the one in the photos, G-AMWH, sold 8.64. Initially in the maroon '50s scheme, here it is a reverse variation of the red square logo scheme of the early '60s ie red body with white square BEA logo.

The scene is viewed from Speke Hall Road (between where KFC is now and the Asda junction traffic lights), which is where Alan was living at the time. The view is looking towards the railway line and Allerton Cemetery (trees block the view through to the gravestones today), with Hillfoot School (1956-circa 1990) in the very right of the lower photo. The marque tent must be somewhere around where the Asda Petrol Station and MacDonalds are today, the helicopter in the area of the front entrance to the shopping mall.





Not the only helicopter to have landed in the area. I can recall a Hughes NOTAR calling at the industrial park in the former TR7 production sheds there a number of times some 10-15 years ago.

As a life-time resident of the area, a fascinating bit of local history, thank you Alan for keeping these shots for all those years!

[cliveh]

The landing was to bring Mr Alick Dick director of Standard Triumph Group who was greeted by Alderman John Braddock leader of Liverpool city council. The ceremony was in 1960. A small correction the factory was to build the thoroughly underwhelming Ttriumph TR7. A dog of a car if ever there was one.
I would love to say these pearls of wisdom were from my vast archive of knowledge, however British Pathe has a video of the ceremony!, I lived near Hillfoot Hey at the time and can recall going and watching the earthmovers in the building of the plant. A TR7 was in a glass case near Matalan until a few years ago

[mb]

I don't quite get what is being said here.The original Triumph factory in Speke (end of Edwards Lane? Can't quite remember) was opened in 1959/60. The British Leyland/Triumph Speke Number 2 factory(Asda site) was opened in 1974 for production of the TR7( the Stag so far as I know was only built in Coventry) which after disastrous production ceased to be built at Speke in 1978( production being transferred to Canley, then Solihull).If this photo was in 1960 as Clive says ( and with the Sycamores,it looks like it) then it was probably the nearest landing site to Speke No 1. I doubt it was for cutting the first sod for Speke No 2 as this would have been (probably) in 1970 ie sometime before production commenced in 1974.

Either way,it certainly is the Hillfoot roundabout fields next to the railway line and cem.We wild kids from Speke tried to topple the 81D bus over every morning by crowding the back platform and stairs.When we failed to do that the"lucky"ones would leap off the platform whilst the bus was going round the roundabout onto the small island in the middle of Hillfoot road.

I was incarcerated at Hillfoot Hey '57 to 64.Anybody remember Peter Howard or Robert Ballard, 2 spotting nuts?


Veritas Vincit

[cliveh]

The Date of this is deffo 1960 as it confirms on the Britishpathe.com clip, it states to inspect the site. Possibly they did not commence building until much later. Interesting for you ex Hillfoot Hey boys in the picture of the sycamore on that clip you can see Hillfoot in the background. a day like this makes me recall the good sledging to be had on the mound on the sports field. Aaaagh must be getting old.............

[owensy]

Another ex Hillfoot Hey person here, but this was all before I was born :-)

[viscount]

Sorry, the Stag reference I knew was totally wrong the moment I read 'TR7' in Clive's initial post.

Do seem to remember that having been reshaped by earth-scapers/movers (there is one in the background of the top shot) the land was left for some years before the factories were built towards the back (far end of the site).

My association with Hillfoot Hey High School is between 1961-1969 and as Hillfoot Hey Comprehensive 1974-1986. So clearly an overlap with Peter and Robert in post #2, although no memory - mind you 5th years (as the numbering system was then) would have had little to do with 1st year know-it-alls! Contemporaries I recall are Eric Dilworth and John Pope (2 yers above).

What is odd about the Triumph factory is that I never went, either as pupil or staff on a tour around - Cronton Colliery, Wylfa Nuclear Power Station, Ffestiniog Pumped Storage Scheme, RAF Shawbury, Viscount flight, Bandeirante flight, Mersey Tunnel, Fords (even though they didn't take tours round), Colomendy, holidays abroad & on the canals, yes - but never ever around the Triumph factory on the doorstep!

[mb]

Ah yes the mound on the sports field.Almost as good fun as the cinder encased snow balls with the cinder /snow off the running track.And as for 5th fth Formers, well we 6th gave even them a hard time after we had finished exterminating the 1st Formers.

My Dad did me the greatest favour in my life by getting me on a tour of Dunlops including the chamber of horrors known as the Carbon Black Mill.Thereby ensuring that I never,ever, wanted to work in Dunlops.So when all else fails.......you run away to the Air Force.

[jake3]

mb, the stag bodies were built at hunts cross but I think they were built at the Press Steel Fisher plant in Edwards lane.I clearly remember while walking to school seeing Stag and Dolomite bodies going past on there transports.

[cliveh]

Fascinating as viscount says how a thread can generate such interest. For car buffs theTR7 was aimed at the US market but was originally built as a fixed head coupe when it appeared that convertibles in the states were to be outlawed altogether. That was from 1976. A convertible did follow, as did the TR8 with a 3.5 litre engine which for imperial people is I think 31.6 cu in. Amazing the rubbish a memory contains. No idea what I did this morning though!

[gerrymanning]

A word about the above from somebody who actually worked for Triumphs. I started in July 1965 at the Woodend Avenue/Edwards Lane plant that had been Milners Safe Company prior to making cars many of the staff being retained when it changed. When I started they built the complete body of the then new Triumph 1300 in a bare metal state and moved it to Coventry for finishing. The TR4A was then being built at Speke in a complete painted and trimmed body but NO engine or chassis. I had been there a couple of years before they said that No.2 plant (the Asda site) was to be constructed. Cannot remember exactly when No.2 opened but I worked in it for a couple of years and left the company in March 1973. By then complete cars drove off the line, I think it was the Triumph Toledo.
I well remember going over to work in No.2 site (as it was called) as I took over the office that had been vacated by the Works Manager, he had moved to a new management block, and I got his phone extension, it was extension 1. When I talked to people from Coventry they all had 4-digit ones and were surprised by mine.

[viscount]

The date would appear to be 30th March 1960, as PHB's transcription of ATC records show G-AMWH Sycamore of BEA Helicopter Division arriving and departing to Coventry. Additionally the MGAE in 'Northern Aeronews' state that G-AMWH was on Charter to Standards, f&t Baginton (Coventry Airport), no mention though of it having landed at Hunts Cross!

[hawkt2]

good nostalgic story's this is what i like about nwan then again is this clip on another thread seen it somewhere but dont know where
it shows the the sycamore landing
www.britishpathe.com/video/new-standard-car-factory-site-inspected-by-directo/query/Speke+road+triumph

[peterr]

I know that this thread was a long time ago but perhaps I could put the record straight about the Triumph connection.

No. 1 factory was on the South side of Edwards Lane (occupying the whole of the road length). I believe that the main building which fronted Woodend Road was previously a Milner safe factory - the other end of the road may have been Milner's as well or may have been something to do with Garston Co-operative Society - if anyone knows, pease tell me. Milner Safe was taken over by Chubb in 1956 and I believe that sometime after that the main building was occupied by Hall Engineering, a company supplying bodies to Standard Triumph in Coventry. In 1960 Standard Triumph bought Hall Engineering and continued to use the factory to supply bodies to Coventry. This was known as Triumph Speke (or later on as Speke No. 1 factory). 

Also in 1960, Standard Triumph looked ahead and thought that a second, larger factory could be useful and started to build what would become Speke No.2 factory. This was stsrated in 1960 but Standard Triumph started to run out of money and shelved the building work. Following this difficult financial time, Standard Triumph were taken over by Leyland Bus & Truck (or whatever their name was at the time) to become Leyland Cars. The Speke No.2 plans were still in place but work was slow. However, the factory was finished in time to contribute to the building of the Toledo and the Stag - both launched in 1970 - and the TR6. Toledo, Stag and TR6 bodies were built in Speke No. 1 and transported to Speke No.2 for painting and trimming. Toledo may well have been finished at Speke No.2 whereas trimmed TR6 and Stag bodies were transported to the Canley (Coventry) factory where the engines, suspension, etc. were added and the cars finished.

Speke No. 2 was meant to be the most advanced car factory in the World when it was finished but it was only operating at part capacity and when Dolomite (in it's various forms) came along and TR6 became TR7, the idea was for these to be built completely at the two Speke factories. But, remember that by this time Leyland cars had merged with BMH to become British Leyland and, although the different divisions were somewhat autonomous, both the BL board and the Government (when they took over the company in 1974 or 75) were looking to cut costs and the union problems which were encountered meant that Speke 2 became a relatively early casualty in 1978 with Speke No.1 following in the early 1980s.

I hope that thsi explains what was and what was not buillt at Speke and why the first sod of No. 2 factory was cut in 1960 but the factory was not operational until 1970.

In my turn, I thank you for the wonderful Triumph information contained in the thread and particularly the access to the Pathe newsreel film as, up to recently, I was banging my head aganst a brick wall trying to find out where the two factories were (particularly No.1 factory) and what they are now.

Peter Robinson

Registrar

Stag Owners Club

   

[Deleted]

Peter, as a former Stag owner (loved that car to bits) and resident of Speke, who spent many of his former years hanging around Hunt's Cross (and not just because of New Heys - in joke) I salute you!

[peterr]

It's amazing what you learn in two years and as I don't like leaving incorrect information dangling, so to speak, the use of the two Triumh factories in 1970 onwards were:
No. 1 (Edwardes Lane) press shop for most panels used in Liverpool. Body build and phosphate for Triumph 1300 & 1500 Front wheel drive cars and then the Dolomite range. These were then shipped to Coventry for final paint, trim and final build. TR6 body build. These were then shipped to No. 2 (Speke Hall site) where they were phosphated, painted and trimmed. The trimmed bodies were then shipped to Coventry for final build (engines, suspension, brakes, drivetrain etc.) TR6 painting started at phase 1 of the No. 2 site in early 1969 but I have yet to find the date of the first car painted and shipped.
No. 2 (Speke Hall site) body build for Stag and Toledo, starting in late 1969 or early 1970. This was in the part of the factory now occupied by Matalan. These bodies were then conveyored over to the phase one building next door where they were painted and trimmed alongside the TR6. The Toledo bodies were then conveyored to the third phase building where they were finished, coming out of the factory complete from mid 1970. The trimmed Stag bodies were sent to Coventry with the TYR6 trimmed bodies and were finished on the same final line as the TR6s. In around 1974, the Toledo build was transferred to Coventry to be replaced by TR7 which was totally built at Speke in the same way that the Toledo was. TR6 production stopped in July 1976 and Stag production stopped in June 1977. TR7 build was transferred to Canley when No. 2 closed in 1978. No. 1 continued with panel pressing and Dolomite body build for a while longer (and was suplemented by Mini body assembly amongst other things)

Peter Robinson
Registrar
Stag Owners Club