Jensen Motors Paint Shop Employees A-Z
The Paint Shop at Jensen Motors included the red oxidising & priming, through to painting and final undersealing, before the body moved to the start of the assembly track. Former Paint Shop Operative, Peter Stait, remembers how the foreman would hand over the paint for each car coming through the booth. “As painters, we didn’t know what colour each car was going to be painted. The foreman would hand over the paint for each car, after he had checked the build sheet. That meant after every car, we had to thoroughly clean out our guns in readiness for the next car in line.”
PAINT SHOP MANAGEMENT | FOREMEN
STAN YATES – PAINT SHOP MANAGER
Start / finish dates not known. Was working at least from 1972 – 1974
JOCK McGLIESH – PAINT SHOP MANAGER
Start / finish dates not known. Former employee, Clive Kendrick, remembers that Jock McGlieish’s son, Ian McGliesh also joined Jensen Motors as an apprentice. Later he left, but didn’t like the job he moved to. His father managed to get him back into Jensen Motors.
ERNIE FELLOWS – PAINT SHOP SUPERVISOR
Start / finish dates not known. Was working at least from 1972 – 1974. Former painter, Tony Stait, mentioned that at one point Fellows was also the main paint mixer at Jensen Motors.
JACK GILLCRIST – PAINT SHOP SUPERVISOR
Start / finish dates not known.
BOBBY SHAFTOE – PAINT SHOP SUPERVISOR
Start / finish dates not known. Former employee, Clive Kendrick, remembers that Shaftoe was a very tall man (about 6′ 4″), usually wore a check suit, and had gold rim glasses.
BILLY HUGHES – PAINT INSPECTION FOREMAN
Brother of Gilbert Hughes. Working at Jensen Motors from at least early 1960s through to 1975/76. Andrew Bee, Chief Quality Engineer, Jensen Motors, states Billy Hughes was one of the most exacting paint inspectors, and could detect a paint issue that most couldn’t even see.
ARTHUR MOSS – PAINT SHOP FOREMAN
Start / finish dates not known. Was working at least from 1972 – 1974.
FACTORY FLOOR
DICK ATTWOOD – FLATTER | RED-PRIMER
Start / finish dates not known.
BILLY BOWKETT – PAINT SHOP OPERATIVE
Start / finish dates not known. Was working at least from 1972 – 1974
ALAN ELLIS – PAINT SHOP OPERATIVE | HOSPITAL BAY
Start / finish dates not known. Was working at least from 1972 – 1976. Ellis was asked to work in the Hospital Bay, attending to any paint issues before the car went to sales. Ellis left Jensen Motors in 1976, but went on to work at Jensen Parts & Service from 1982 until they closed.
BRIAN FOXALL – PAINT SHOP OPERATIVE
Start / finish dates not known. Was working at least from 1972 – 1974
DONALD HUGHES – PAINT SHOP OPERATIVE
Start / finish dates not known. Was working at least from 1972 – 1974
ALAN KENDALL – PAINT SHOP OPERATIVE
Start date not known. Left Jensen Motors in 1974 / 75 and found a job as a painter at the West Bromwich bus station.
LES PALMER – PAINT SHOP OPERATIVE
Start / finish dates not known. Was working at least from 1972 – 1974
COLIN PEARSON – PAINT SHOP OPERATIVE
Start / finish dates not known.
DENNIS ROCK – PAINT SHOP OPERATIVE | HOSPITAL BAY
Start / finish dates not known. After working as a sprayer, Rock was asked to work in the Hospital Bay, attending to any paint issues before the car went to sales. Peter Stait mentioned to the Museum that everyone called him Little Dennis (for obvious reasons).
LAWRENCE STAIT – PAINT SHOP OPERATIVE | HOSPITAL BAY
Start / finish dates not known. Only worked at Jensen Motors for a short time in the earlier 1970s.
PETER STAIT – PAINT SHOP OPERATIVE
Started at Jensen Motors in 1972. After working as a sprayer, he was asked to work in the so-called Hospital Bay, attending to any paint issues before the car went to sales. Made redundant in January 1975
Three painters, and keen darts players, Tony Stait, Alan Ellis, and Peter Stait.
TONY STAIT – PAINT SHOP OPERATIVE
Start / finish dates not known. Was working at least from late 1960s through to 1976
TERRY TOMBS – PAINT SHOP OPERATIVE
Start / finish dates not known. Was working at least from 1972 – 1974
ALBERT WHITTAKER – PAINT SHOP OPERATIVE
Start / finish dates not known. Was working at least from 1972 – 1974. Former employee, Clive Kendrick, remembers Whittaker lived in Bridgnorth. He would sometimes drive over to Kendrick’s home at Kingswinford in his Morris Minor, and then they would travel together in Kendrick’s car to the factory.
‘ARTHUR’ – GENERAL LABOURER WITHIN THE PAINT SHOP
Surname not known. ‘Arthur’ worked as a general labourer in the Paint Shop. According to former assembly line employee, Clive Kendrick, ‘Arthur’ did a variety of jobs around the Paint Shop, but would often be found outside chipping off the dried paint on the bogies. During the time Jensen Motors was operating, ‘Arthur’ had the distinction of being the only person of African-Caribbean descent employed by the factory. He left around 1972 / 73, and according to Kendrick decided to return to Jamaica.
Richard Graves (Marketing Director) introduces Penny Plummer (Miss World 1969) to ‘Arthur’ during a factory visit. The photograph is taken by the entrance to the Paint Shop. Works Manager, Bill Sylvester can be seen with glasses mostly hidden by Graves. In the background (wearing a dark coloured top) is Alan Kendall.
‘Arthur’ (left) holding the main swivel point for a Jensen FF shell. It seems there was an issue with the track, and so the bogie wheels aren’t on track. The man to the right in the white coat is Ken Castle, a so-called ‘Floating Foreman’. He would take over in various areas as required.
Jensen Motors Paint Shop Employees A-Z
REQUESTS: Did you work in the paint shop at Jensen Motors. If so we would be very interested to hear from you. please contact us at archive@jensenmuseum.org, or telephone +1694-781354.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS: Clive Kendrick, former assembly worker at Jensen Motors | Peter Stait, former paint shop operative at Jensen Motors.
COPYRIGHTS: Jensen Museum
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: If you have any additional information relating to this feature, please contact us at archive@jensenmuseum.org, or telephone +1694-781354.
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