Spring - John Laing

Transcription

Spring - John Laing

Retired
SPRING 2013
Employees’
News
Rigged for success
Michael Vincent on the
amazing story of Laing
Offshore’s oil race.
Team Spirit past
What was going on
in the Company 25
and 50 years ago.
New website details
Guide to improved
layout and info on
Laing Past & Present.
contents
Main
News
Horses for courses
with new-look mag
CONTENTS
Main news 3-5
Round up of top stories from the Company
Team Spirit Past
6-9
Snippets of news from 25 and 50 years ago
Reader news
10
Laingpastandpresent website upgraded; an OBE for Mervyn and details of engineers’ reunion
Photo competition results
11-13
Winners and shortlisted finalists for the 2012 Laing retirees’ photo competition
Laing Offshore
14-15
A brief history of Laing’s part in paving the way for the successful British oil industry
Festive luncheons
16-17
Meet the new club members
Readers’ page
18
An English Heritage event, letters and more
Club news
19
Events and news from the clubs
Your anniversaries
20-21
Two pages of special anniversaries
News for the Third Age
22
Round up of general news for retirees
In Memoriam
23
Pensioner Publishing
Please address news stories/queries to:
Pensioner Publishing
5 Harpenden Close, Bedford, Beds MK41 9RG
Tel: 01234 313055
Mob:07774 259542
Email: alex@retirement-news.co.uk
Please address other correspondence to:
John Laing Welfare Dept, 33 Bunns Lane
London NW7 2DX
Tel: 020 8959 9683
Printed by: White Hart Press, Bedford.
COVER shot: Aerial shot of Laing Offshore’s
Graythorp site, kindly loaned by Michael Vincent.
DEADLINE FOR NEXT ISSUE:
APRIL 30, 2013
2
John Laing Retired Employees’ NEWS
WELL it’s been an eventful year so far what with horse
meat creeping into supermarket alleged beef meals and
the first Papal resignation for 600 years.
More relevant to retirees are the announcements over
the future of state pensions and social care. You can read
more details about these in the general news section on
page 22.
News stories seem to go in cycles. During 25 years as
a journalist I have seen various situations reappear. There
are no new headlines, just as there are no completely new
jokes – as regular readers of this column will testify.
An example of recurring news themes cropped up as I
was going through Team Spirit from 1963 which referred
to austerity measures 50 years ago (see page 6).
When it comes to news I must apologise that we had to
curtail some of the Readers’ News, to fit in items such as
the festive lunch write ups and photo competition results.
However, all those who have submitted items will be
included in the next issue, such as pictures and details of
retirement dos for Ray Hanson and W F Percy.
As you will know, this magazine is purely for John Laing
retirees and we strive to make it just as you like it. During
the festive outings, I made a point of asking what readers
thought of the new design and was delighted to hear that
people were generally very happy with it. Two people did
mention that they had trouble reading the orange text on
the white pages, so we have tried to address that this time
round. It’s more courses for horses than the other way
round.
So, to the jokes, although, as always, these are true
stories! A poorly-looking horse limps into a bar with a
bandage round his head. He orders a glass of champagne,
a vintage brandy and two pints of Guinness.
He downs the lot and says to the barman: “I shouldn’t
really be drinking this with what I’ve got?”
“Why, what have you got?” asked the barman.
“About £2 and a carrot.”
On a slightly deeper note, a young boy enters a barber
shop and the barber whispers to his customer: “This is the
stupidest kid in the world. Watch while I prove it to you.”
The barber put a pound coin in one hand and 50p in the
other, then called the boy over and asked, “Which do you
want, son?” The boy took the 50p and left. “What did I tell
you?” said the barber. “That kid never learns!”
Later, when the customer left, he saw the same young
boy by an ice cream van. He called out to the boy: “Hey,
son! May I ask you a question? Why did you take the 50p
instead of the pound coin?” The boy licked his cone and
replied, “Because the day I take the pound coin, the game
Alex Finkenrath
is over!”
Main News
Preferred funders chosen for hospital scheme
M&G Investments with SMBC and
the European Investment Bank have
been appointed as preferred funders
of Alder Hey’s new hospital following
an extensive funding competition by
Acorn (John Laing, Laing O’Rourke and
Interserve).
The Acorn consortium was announced
as preferred bidder for the planned
redevelopment scheme for Alder Hey
Children’s NHS Foundation Trust last
May.
It will involve the creation of a £237m
world-class hospital, built next door to
the current site on Springfield Park. The
new ‘Alder Hey in the Park’ will include
a new hospital building, children’s park,
multi-storey car park and reinstated
parkland.
A proportion of the scheme will be
funded by the Trust’s own financial
resources alongside charitable
donations. The remainder of the scheme
is being funded through Private Finance
Initiative (PFI).
Sue Lorimer, Alder Hey Finance
Director said: “As a Foundation Trust we
are able to generate a surplus each year
by managing our finances effectively and
growing our services. The PFI contract
is similar to a mortgage so the bigger
the ‘deposit’ we put down the less we
have to borrow and the lower our regular
payments are.”
In summer 2012, Acorn embarked on
a competitive funding process where
organisations were invited to submit bids
to provide the external finance for the
project. The process provided Acorn with
the ‘best deal’ available in the market,
ensuring the most affordable interest
rates and terms.
The funding competition attracted
strong bids from several commercial
banks and other groups, all supportive of
lending long-term into the Public Private
Partnership (PPP) healthcare sector.
The arrangement will involve M&G with
SMBC and the European Investment
Bank co-financing £130m of the project.
Peter Ward, Acorn sponsor said: “This
has been a comprehensive funding
competition and we would like to
thank all those who participated. It
has illustrated that there is a strong
demand from institutions to invest in
Artist’s impression of the new Alder Hey project, below, how it looks now
well-structured, good quality and well
maintained social infrastructure for
the long term. We’re very proud to be
sponsoring this much-needed project
in partnership with Alder Hey and to be
leading the first such financing in the
market – which has yielded important
lessons in how to give the Trust the very
best value for money.”
Louise Shepherd, Chief Executive of
Alder Hey Children’s NHS Foundation
Trust said: “Following an extensive
funding competition, we are confident
that M&G, SMBC and the European
Investment Bank are offering the most
affordable funding solution and we look
forward to working with them on the
project. This is another step forward and
great news for Alder Hey as we look to
begin building work on the new hospital
early next year.”
The project is expected to achieve
financial close in Spring 2013 and the
official opening of the new hospital is
planned for Autumn 2015.
“...we are
confident that
M&G, SMBC and
the European
Investment Bank
are offering the
most affordable
funding solution
and we look
forward to
working with
them...
Louise Shepherd
3
COMPANY News
Four decades
of John Laing
infrastructure
“This is a fantastic
milestone, which
is testimony to
the hard work,
experience and
skills of the John
Laing workforce,
both past and
present.”
Adrian Ewer
Chief Executive
for John Laing
John Laing is celebrating the
achievement of 100 infrastructure
investments, following the financial
close of the Intercity Express
Programme (IEP) in July 2012.
Having secured its first investment
just over 40 years ago, the majority of
John Laing’s investments have been
made within the last ten years or so.
In 2001, the Company restructured
its business to focus on investment
in social and economic infrastructure
assets for the public sector, and has
since made over 50 infrastructure
investments both in the UK and
overseas.
These include ground breaking
schemes, such as the Greater
Manchester Waste Management
Private Finance Initiative (PFI), Forth
Valley Royal Hospital in Scotland,
Cancer Centre in Canada and, most
recently, the IEP.
The IEP is one of the largest private
public partnerships to be awarded in
the UK (with a total value in excess of
£4.5 billion) but it is also John Laing’s
100th infrastructure investment.
Adrian Ewer, Chief Executive for
John Laing, said: “This is a fantastic
milestone, which is testimony to the
hard work, experience and skills of the
John Laing workforce, both past and
present.”
Among the earliest infrastructure
investments highlighted in the booklet
are the Europistas Toll Road in Spain
and Birmingham Airport signed in
1969 and 1990 respectively.
You can download the booklet for free
at the Laingpastandpresent website, or
through the Company website: www.
laing.com.
Prince meets John Laing’s ‘game changers’
On 4th December 2012 at Business in
the Community’s (BITC) AGM, David
Micciche and Mick Hamilton of John
Laing received the first ever Game
Changers Award, a one-off accolade
coinciding with BITC’s 30th anniversary.
The award recognises inspirational
individuals working behind the scenes
to advance the Responsible Business
movement. David Micciche was recognised for ‘creating a step change in both
the quality and quantity of John Laing’s
Corporate Responsibility activity by identifying issues and programmes’. Michael
Hamilton was honoured for using his
knowledge of the local communities’
needs to ensure grants are put to best
Michael Hamilton and David Micciche, left, meeting HRH Prince Charles
use.
4
COMPANY News
Wind in the sails of
new energy plan
Wear Point Wind Ltd, a consortium
consisting of John Laing and wind
developers Infinergy has achieved
financial close on the 8.2MW Wear
Point Wind Farm near Milford Haven
in Pembrokeshire. John Laing and
Infinergy own an 80% and a 20% share
in the facility respectively.
The plans for the wind farm have been
developed by Infinergy and planning
permission was granted in May 2010 by
Pembrokeshire County Council.
It is anticipated that the facility will
generate enough electricity to meet the
needs of approximately 4,500 homes per
year - according to UK Energy.
Ross McArthur, Head of Renewable
Energy for John Laing, said: “We are
delighted to have achieved financial
close on Wear Point Wind Farm and
look forward to working with our
partner, Infinergy, to help deliver clean,
renewable electricity to communities
across the UK”.
The wind turbine technology, hubs,
blades and a full 15-year service
package will be provided by REpower
UK whilst the towers are anticipated
to be produced by Mabey Bridge in
Chepstow.
Each MM82 wind turbine will have a
generating capacity of 2.05MW. The
overall height of the turbines will be
99.9m. Infinergy and its parent company
KDE Energy will provide the asset
management services for the project.
The balance of plant contractor will be
Raymond Brown Cymru from Bridgend,
which tendered successfully again after
having constructed Infinergy’s Castle
Pill and Ferndale Wind Farms in Wales.
The total net investment for Wear Point
Wind Farm will be £14.3m, of which a
significant amount will be flowing into
the Welsh economy.
Work to install the wind turbines and
supporting site infrastructure is due to
start early next year and the project is
scheduled to be fully operational by the
end of 2013.
John Laing and
Infinergy’s onshore
wind farm in
Pembrokeshire
“... to help deliver
clean, renewable
electricity to
communities
across the UK.”
Ross McArthur, Head
of Renewable Energy
for John Laing
More solar parks on the way
John Laing signed contracts with an
affiliate of Moser Baer Clean Energy
Limited in December to develop three
new solar parks situated near St Austell
in Cornwall.
John Laing is 100% investor in the
sites, securing the Company’s position
in the solar power sector adding to the
acquisition of two operational solar
parks in Sussex and Hampshire in
August 2012.
The parks, which are currently under
construction and are expected to begin
operation in Spring 2013, will have a
combined peak energy capacity of 15MW,
exporting to the grid the equivalent of
around 4,500 homes’ annual electricity
consumption.
Andy Harmer, Head of Environmental
Infrastructure for John Laing, said:
“We are delighted to have secured the
development of the three new solar
parks so quickly after entering the
renewable energy sector earlier in the
summer.
“The three sites have established John
Laing’s position within the solar energy
market, and have helped us to further
develop our skills and experience so that
we may consider future opportunities in
the renewable energy sector not only in
the UK but also overseas.”
The Engineering, Procurement and
Construction (EPC) contractor, and
Operations and Maintenance (O&M)
contractor for the parks is Daylighting
Power Limited, an affiliate of Moser Baer
Clean Energy Limited.
5
team News
spirit 50 years ago - 1963
Main
extension to an existing dock at
Elk Falls.
The Group Public Relations
Department released ‘the first
film to show the construction
of a nuclear power station from
start to finish’. It had been
made for the Nuclear Power
Group Company, and was highly
technical. It covered the story
of Berkeley Power Station from
planning to turning on the
reactor. Team Spirit reported that
filming required a lot of expertise
given the stringent ‘clean
conditions’.
A summary of Company
projects in Canada included
the following synopsis of the
political situation “…before the
election, assurances were given
repeatedly that there was no
financial crisis; then came the
election and within hours we
were in serious trouble. Austerity
programmes were hastily drawn
up, departmental forecasts were
cut back drastically… it has
already markedly reduced the
amount of work on offer in our
industry and the full effects have
not yet been felt.”
Laing however had many major
projects ongoing. These included
the giant Port Mann Bridge in
British Columbia (see picture
above). This mammoth project
was nearly complete with a
separate contract coming later to
construct the bridge deck.
The Burnaby Freeway was a
complex road project which
would bypass Vancouver with
four separate contracts for
overpasses including a railway
bridge and river bridge.
There was also the Mayfair
Shopping Centre in Victoria
where construction of the
foundation was well underway
during a tight 12-month
schedule.
A large physics building, valued
at $1.25m and an electrical
engineering building were under
construction at the University of
British Columbia.
An aircraft parking area at
Victoria Airport was valued
at $3m, there was also the
Shaughnessy Street underpass
for the city of Coquitlam an
The Company had just won two
contracts in the North east. 260
flats and 170 maisonettes in
four storey blocks in Sunderland
was worth £1,339,000. The other
project was for a chemistry,
geology and mathematics
building at Durham University.
Maurice Laing was appointed a
Director of the Bank of England
on February 21.
John Laing Research and
Development was accepted
as a supporting organization
for the International Council
of Building Research Studies
and Documentation. The
primary purpose of the nonprofit-making organisation
was to ‘facilitate, encourage
and develop international cooperation in building research
internationally’.
This involved technical, economic
and social aspects of building.
The Paternoster
Development was
already changing the
landscape of London.
Pictured here are
some of the team:
from the left: G Otley,
concreting ganger and J
White, Foreman joiner.
P Enright, walking
ganger and R Coxhead,
carpenter/joiner.
6
team spirit 50 yearsMain
ago -News
1963
Mrs Anna Rees
Miss Mary Weymouth Miss Betty Gibson
Miss Pauline Gibbs
Miss Gladys Attwood
Team Spirit sought to ‘cheer ourselves up –and we hope readers as well’ by publishing a page of ‘bright
smiles’ from some of the women working through the London region of the Company.
At Apsley a new factory for John
Dickinson and Company Limited
was erected in just 59 weeks.
The 12-acre site on the banks of
the Grand Union Canal featured
three main buildings: a steel
framed production block, flat
paper and reel store and a stock
baling and dispatch building.
The team overcame problems
including much more excavation
than anticipated, 50,000 cu yds
of manly peat, but also a very
large area of reeds. They also
had to contend with a very high
water table. Meanwhile a spinning
Mill at Wigston in Leicester was
completed in just 31 weeks, and the
Edinburgh branch of Woolworths
was finished six-and-a-half weeks
ahead of schedule.
‘A television in every bedroom,’ exclaimed Team Spirit as it reported
the opening of the Albany Hotel in
central Birmingham. It was opposite the Ringway Centre, completed by the Company in 1960 and
200yds from the Bullring which the
Company was also working on. The
Albany was 14 storeys high and the
first to be operated outside London
by Strand Hotel Limited. It had 254
bedrooms and each room had a
private bathroom and shower.
1963
The Queen Mother and
world skating champion
Donald Jackson.
Team spirit - 1963
A major leisure project for the Company was the Silver Blades
Ice Rink in Streatham. It was opened with a performance
attended by The Queen Mother on December 18 following
a 21-week ‘transformation’ undertaken by the Company.
After creating new offices for the management, a curved
balcony had to be taken down to make way for restaurants,
a bandstand and a tropical dance floor surrounded by palm
trees. Technically they had to take up 9 miles of pipes, in pairs
– each pair weighing two tonnes before laying the new rink.
There was also a fountain with 500 jets and a cocktail bar with
‘the Milky Way’ created above it.
7
team News
spirit 25 years ago - 1988
Main
Some of the EPL team
subcontracted to install maintain
and remove a 630KVA 3300V3
phase transmission for LEIC
at Severn Bridge. The design
was carried out at Elstree and
utilised secondhand equipment
from the MPA project in the
Falklands. Pictured from left are:
Julia Hammond, Donna North,
Nicky Walker, Andy Chisman,
David Boyes, Jim Johnston,
Derek Hoddinott, Dick Crabtree
and Martin Tiffin.
John Laing Construction signed
an agreement with a German
company for marketing and
distribution in the UK of a new
transparent roofing material
called Texlon. It had been used at
Sherwood Forest Center Parcs.
Laing Homes was sponsoring
The Walford Boys Club, better
known as cast members
from East Enders, for a
number of charity football
matches. Homes donated
£500 per match along with any
money raised from tickets,
programmes and raffles.
After six games, the team
had raised £17,122 in total.
Pictured are Laing Homes
Scotland Sales manager Jan
Jeram handing a cheque
to Tom Watt (Lofty). Also
pictured is the full squad with
Derek Jamieson.
Civil Engineering Division
had recently completed the
infrastructure for Capability
Green, a 900,000 sq ft business
park, a private development
within the 4,000-acre grounds of
Luton Hoo. The contract, valued
at £4.5m, included extensive
landscaping and planting. The
site was adjacent to Airport Way,
Luton and the contract included
dualing part of that road, an
interchange, overbridge and slip
roads.
Civil Engineering had also
recently completed a six mega
litre service reservoir and
pumping station near Hertford
Heath with a value of £693,000.
The Laing Group chose a new
charitable challenge for 1988
following the vast amounts of
money raised for the NSPCC
the previous year. The new
beneficiaries would be children’s
hospitals and the Company
pledged to match monies raised
pound-for-pound up to £100,000.
EPL starred on Tomorrow’s World
which featured a Cramer UB20
Underbridge Unit which was being
used at the Greta Bridge on the
A66 in Cumbria. It was the only
one of its type in the UK.
The Queen Elizabeth II Law Courts
were opened in Birmingham. The
four-storey, 12 court building
was among the largest legal
complexes in Europe and was
expected to deal with 3,000
criminal cases each year. The
£6.3m contract was built on the
site of an old car park in Newton
Street.
Just after its first birthday Wessex
Region celebrated it’s largest
contract win so far, a £13m
project for development of 167
prestigious apartments adjacent
to the new Port Solent Marina. It
would feature two linked sevenstorey blocks.
In Turkey, 200 three-ton jacks
took the strain and started the
formwork for two vertical port
silos which formed part of a grain
storage project. The 32-metre
climb would take eight days and
require 100 men.
8
1
team spirit 25 yearsMain
ago -News
1988
One shop contract finished in time
for Christmas was the Orchard
Square development at Fargate
Square in Sheffield. The £17m
construction was completed within
a tight 21-month timescale. The
project included shops, a food
house and offices. Among the
features were a natural stone
façade to the six-storey office
block, feature windows and a
glass ‘wall-climber’ lift to the food
house. Pictured above are some of
the team:
From left: Ian Brown, Cliff
Cochran, Ian Webster, Tim
Goodall, Vic Robertshaw,
Jonathan Cummings, Paul
McLoughlin, Steve Townsley,
Bill Rodham, Mick Martin, Tony
Beaumont, Lisa Smedley, Mel
Jacques, Trish Meakin, Stuart
Franklin, Maureen Henshaw,
Peter Smyth, Sheila Stevens,
Robert Hudson, Noel Dolan,
Andrew Hall, John Laver and
Danny Doherty.
n Christmas shopping had also
been busy at recently completed
Eldon Square Food Court (£5.2m)
in Newcastle and a four-storey
shop unit over Blackett Street
(£3m) to be occupied by Hennes.
The 80,000 sq ft food court was
built on three levels with 11 new
shop units.
The picture right shows Bob Wetherall and Richard Branson
signing a joint venture agreement to acquire and develop a number
of hotels. Branson’s Voyager Group and the Laing Group formed
Woodhouse Securities Limited to create a chain of hotels around
the UK. The first property was acquired in Edinburgh, the Norton
House Hotel. The breakfast signing took place in November 1987,
but was published in the January edition.
Three Laing projects were named in the
1987 Civic Trust awards:
New Concordia Wharf - Southern Region.
Judges praised the vision, commitment
and skill in converting the Victorian
warehouses into a mixed use development
of offices, studios and apartments.
St Oswald’s Hospice Gosforth – Northern
Region. Judges called it a building of
‘architectural excellence’ and described
the handling of space, light and form as
‘superb’.
Aikenhead House, Glasgow – Scottish
Region Judges commended the restoration
of one of the last remaining examples of a
country house by architect David Hamilton.
They said it had been transformed from a
‘ruinous state’.
Above the Roman
West Gateway at
South Shields (Laing
Northern) and left
the Nisi Prius Court
in Carlisle (Laing
Stonemasonry),
which won
awards at the
Design Awards
for Natural Stone.
Team spirit - 1988
1988
9
READERS’
NEWS
Main News
Get online with revamped
Laing Past and Present site
Engineers’
reunion 2013
This year’s annual
gathering of Laing
architects and
engineers takes
place at the Sports
Club in Rowley Lane
on March 21 from
12noon with a buffet
lunch at 12.30pm. The
cost is £12.50 payable
on the door. Please
advise John Clark if
you wish to attend as
numbers are required
for catering. Email:
jgpa.clark@btinternet.
com, or tel: 01582
454984.
The website for John Laing retirees
has been upgraded to provide an
even better service and source of
information for users.
Laing Past and Present (web address
www.laingpastandpresent.co.uk) is
a safe and secure online facility for
use by former staff such as retirees
and also those who are still with the
Company.
It offers many useful features including ‘Where are they now?’. This
allows former colleagues to get in
touch whilst protecting individual’s
private details. Club information,
newsletters, useful links and other
information is being added to the site
on a daily basis. There is a gallery
section which we will shortly begin
to populate with images from various
club events when these are received.
Teresa Pettican, based in the Welfare Office in Mill Hill looks after the
site and said “It is a really useful tool
and easy to use. Many ex staff had
signed up to the original Laing Past
and Present website and should find
that their passwords still work.”
If you are not already registered or
The website home page
have mislaid your log in details just
go to www.laingpastandpresent.co.uk
and click the ‘Register’ button on the
front page.
This will take you to the registration
page which asks for simple information such as, name, email address
and password. After submitting the
information requested you will receive an email back to say that you
have full access to the site. If you
have any problems signing up please
email Teresa at teresa.pettican@
laing.com and she will help you with
your registration.
Mervyn delighted to scoop New Year Honour
Mervyn Richards OBE
10
Former Laing man Mervyn Richards has
received an OBE in the New Year Honours
for his services to the construction
industry, in particular Building
Information Modelling (BIM) and is a
member of the Government Construction
Strategy BIM Task Group.
Mervyn Richards spent 32 years with
Laing based mainly at Mill Hill and then
at Hemel Hempstead as IS Manager.
Mervyn said: “In 2007 I wrote British
Standard BS1192 based on work we
started at Laing. This was taken up
by the Government and I became part
of the task group seeking to reduce
construction costs by removing the waste
from the process.”
The work follows on from the Sir John
Egan report of 1998 looking to reduce
construction costs by 20% with the use
of spatially coordinated 3D models and
associated data. Mervyn added: “Much
of the waste of time, effort and materials
is down to incorrect, incomplete,
uncoordinated and ambiguous
information. We know it is possible to
undertake a construction project without
waste by ensuring all parties know
exactly what is to be done and how that
will be achieved.” The group is chaired
by another former Laing man Mark Bew
MBE.
Mervyn is currently working on the
Crossrail project in London. He added:
“Laing was always held in high esteem
throughout the industry and wherever I
go I bump into former colleagues.”
Favourite projects include Severn
Second Crossing, Glaxo (Stevenage) the
Dome, Heathrow Express and Terminal 5.
2012 photo
results
Main
News
2012 Photo Competition results
Welcome to the results of the 2012 Laing
Retired Employees’ Photo Competition.
Thank you to everyone who sent in their
images and well done for the continuing high
standard of entries.
This year the judges have chosen two equal
first prize winners. Congratulations to Mike
Hooper and Trevor Manning who both captured exact and exquisite moments. It is purely a coincidence that they both feature wildlife,
please don’t let that put you off sending in
your beautiful pictures of people and scenery.
Both winners will receive a book token prize.
We have included the best of the rest on the
next two pages. We apologise that we only had
room for the shortlisted finalists and to those
of you who submitted more than one entry.
Thanks for your continued support, we are
now accepting entries for the 2013 competition.
Remember you don’t have to be an expert to
snap a classic image. More details in the next
issue due out in June.
Leopard
Taken at Sabi Sands South
Africa, by Mike Hooper in
December 2011.
Laing Homes
For All
Taken by Trevor
Manning, at
Chester Zoo in July
2012.
11
Main News
‘‘Will no-one buy my lovely veg?’
Taken by Cecil Cherns, at Trogir during cruise
from Cannes to Venice in July 2012.
“High Tide” picture by Audrey Hamer.
“The Look of Love” taken by John Bourne at his
niece’s wedding. It was a special day for him as he
has no daughter and gave Becci away.
“Red Arrows” taken by Rowland Seymour while
at the Bournemouth Air Display.
12
“The church in Oaxaca” taken whilst on
holiday in Mexico by Vic Allen.
Main News
“Manchester night out at the Shambles” by Dave Markall.
“The Beauty of the Vatican”
taken by Tom Carrol.
“Making Friends” taken by Phil Rendle some
time ago during a trip to Australia.
“The Golden Age of Steam” taken at an East
Lancashire Railway weekend by Roy Woodham.
“Garden Birds” taken by David Barnes.
“The Golden Face in the Catherine Palace
St Petersburg” taken by Peter Donaldson in
September 2012.
13
FEATURE
ARTICLE
Main News
Making oil business history
With no prior oil rig
experience Laing
Offshore successfully
bid for a contract
which arguably paved
the way for Britain
to start extracting
its own oil from the
north sea in earnest.
We hear how the
Company worked flat
out, beat seasoned
competitors
and complex
specifications to
achieve one of
the Group’s most
successful projects of
all time.
14
After the 1967 Arab-Israeli war, (the SixDay War) the Suez Canal was closed by an
Egyptian blockade. This eventually led to a
massive affect on the cost of oil in the UK
which had to be shipped right around the
southern African cape.
In October 1970 BP announced that oil had
been struck 110 miles east-northeast of
Aberdeen in 350 feet (110 m) of water. They
needed a rig which was able to bring the oil
from 11,000 feet below the seabed to the
surface. The culmination of these events
sparked a race which would see the birth of
Britain’s off-shore oil industry.
In the late 60s the Ministry of Energy
sponsored a meeting for experts from
around the world as the UK wondered
how it could build the rigs to extract its oil
from massive undersea fields off the coast.
Natural gas was already being extracted
from the sea, but there has been no official
oil strikes by that stage.
Among those invited was Laing Pipelines
Manager Jack Stein. He had no experience
of rigs or drilling for oil, but Laing’s onshore pipelining operation had been highly
successful with its French partner GTM and
they called in another jv partner EPTM which
had built some small rigs off coast of Africa.
A young Quantity Surveyor with an
excellent head for figures, a talent for
negotiation and an unlimited view of what
the Company could achieve suddenly found
himself at the centre of one of John Laing’s
most successful contracts of all time.
Michael Vincent is a problem solver. He
was offered a place at Imperial College
London to study maths aged just 16, but
turned it down. After a spell in the army, he
joined John Laing as a QS in 1951.
Michael Vincent
“Prior to the oil rig contract I had been
working with Jack Stein on pipelines,” he
said. “People referred to our ‘non core’ part
of the business as ‘The Funnies’.
“Our French partners had built oil rigs, but
nowhere near as big as what was required to
extract oil from the North Sea. Not only was
it far deeper, but the conditions in the North
Sea were much more treacherous than
virtually anywhere else in the world.”
Determined to win the contract Laing
invested £4m up front to buy Graythorp
former shipyard and get the necessary
equipment, including two of the world’s
biggest cranes at the time. They formed a
joint venture company with GTM and ETPM Laing Offshore, bid for and won the contract
to build BP’s first major oil rig. Here’s some
examples of how big it was:
n In 1970 Laing bought the Graythorp
shipbuilding site adding gates to create
n 100-hectare (250-acre) dry dock, at the
time the largest in the world.
n The two cranes required for the work
stood 350ft below the hook
n Specially designed equipment included
the new dock gates (which are a story in
themselves, see below) and the means of
enabling the two giant cranes to move –
together – during the construction process
n From a standing start Laing offshore had
to find 1,000 employees within a month (the
workforce reached a peak of 3,000 men full
time)
n The initial let (contract deal) for the first
rig was a nominal £10m excluding materials.
By the time the first rig was finished BP
agreed to pay the Company £36.5m.
From the moment the contract started it
FEATURE ARTICLE
Thanks to Ali Thompson for this shot of Laing Civils staff who took on a concrete rig contract at Graythorp in 1989
was virtually running at full speed.
The French partners were worth their
weight in gold when it came to design,
not only in putting together the groundbreaking rigs, but the equipment at the
dry dock needed to build them.
Added to this was the extra pressure
of a direct competitor working on a
similar project for BP up at Ardersier
at Moray Firth in Scotland. This
involved Brown & Root in partnership
with Wimpey. It was impossible for
the Laing Offshore not to compare its
own progress with that of its northerly
competitors. The American partners
had built hundreds of rigs already out
in America and had been working with
Wimpey during the 60s on UK off shore
gas sites.
“It was a race,” said Michael. “Both
competitors were working to get
their rig finished first, Graythorp 1
or Highland 1. However being new to
the oil rig business we came across
various problems, largely in design.
“The rigs were bigger than anyone
had realised, even on their side they
were 300ft tall when everyone had
thought we would only have to lift the
parts 220ft. We managed to get giant
cranes in from America and our French
partners designed special tracks
so the cranes could move together
in tandem to reposition the giant
fabricated sections. Each crane could
carry 1,000 tons.
“The biggest design problem though
turned out to be the giant gates we had
to come up with so that we could keep
the dock dry whilst we were putting the
rig together - and then open when we
needed to float it out into the sea.”
Each weighed 30,000-40,000 tonnes
and everything from, building, hanging
and opening them was a mammoth
engineering feat. The competitors
up in Scotland were having the same
trouble, but it was one of Laing
Offshore’s French designers who first
to cracked the problem.
Michael said: “We got the gates done
and then handed the designs over to
our competitors up north for free. BP
were going to stop the other contract
otherwise. It made business sense to
stay in with our client (which would
benefit from both its sites’ progress)
but also these were untested and if we
had charged for the gate designs, we
would be accepting responsibility for
them.”
Everything at Graythorp fell into place
in terms of progress and production of
the rigs and it was down to the efforts
of its 3,000-strong workforce.
“It was not unusual for people to
work a 60-hour week,” added Michael.
“Everyone knew what they were
supposed to be doing, knuckled down
and got on with it.
“I was never so busy in all my working
life. I remember a three-day period
when the only things I ate were in a
British Rail buffet car as I traveled
around the country.”
The Company had however taken
a major risk with labour during the
taught economic times of the early
70s. Strikes were rampant and the
possibility of workers downing tools
might have brought the whole project
to a halt.
“We did not lose a single hour on
building the rigs,” said Michael.
“Even when civil engineers and other
construction employees around the
country announced they were striking
in the UK, all of our workers came in.
They were bused through the picket
lines and carried on as normal. Our
workfoce was 100% committed, we
all wanted to get the job done ahead
of the Scottish team. We felt we were
breaking new ground, helping a new
industrial era dawn for the UK.”
This attitude, along with the excellent
relations between Laing Offshore
partners and their clients were
instrumental in winning the race to get
UK’s first proper off-shore oil rig up
and running.
According to the book ‘Offshore
Pioneers: Brown and Root, the History
of Off-shore Oil and Gas’ ‘… after a
series of troubling delays at HiFab [the
Scottish site], the Laing-ETMP jacket
was the first to be installed in the
summer of 1974.’
Having completed Graythorp 1, the
second and third rigs were much
easier. Designs, processes and
equipment were all in place. Not only
that but the cutting edge plant on
site meant the Laing Offshore was
being offered more and more other
contracts.
Among the equipment was a highly
specialised oven. Michael added:
“For some very complex pieces of
fabrication we would ‘heat-soak’
complicated pieces for a week to destress them. Suddenly people were
sub-letting us to do that work from all
over the North East. We had the best
equipment available.”
Laing Offshore had built up a massive
and successful industry bringing
the former shipyard at Graythorp
back to life. But the bright flame
of achievement did not burn long.
Graythorp 3 represented a great
advance in the field of rig building, in
just three years. Destined for Thistle
this rig would go almost 100 feet
deeper than any of the others and was
built to cope with even rougher waters.
It was the last Laing Offshore project.
Michael added: “I was heading back
to the site and the driver picked me up
from the station as usual. I apologized
to him that we had not won the next
big oil rig contract which would have
kept Laing Offshore going. He said
‘there’s no need to apologise, these
have been the best five years of my
life.’ And it must be said, that was the
general feeling from the 3,000 strong
workforce. ”
Laing Civils did use the basin to build
one more concrete rig, but that was
the end of the Company’s association
with Graythorp which is now used
for dismantling ships. However, the
project’s legacy lives on in the billions
of barrels of oil now produced in
Britain’s offshore fields.
15
NEW
MainCLUB
NewsMEMBERS
New Members
SOLARE
Colin started
with HWA
in 1957 as a
joiner retiring
as a Project
Manager 37
years later
in 1994. As
a joiner on
Ros & Colin King
the Bank of
England Colin had to work on
Saturday afternoons and Sundays
when the bank was shut, and
enjoyed the overtime and said the
Company’s standard of work was
second to none.
During his time he spent four
years upgrading Laing’s Mill Hill
HQ and is proud of turning it from
ordinary offices into something
more akin to the Bank of England
using quality materials including
a lot of mahogany. He worked on
many famous people’s private
residences, including Elton John.
“He was great to work for,”
added Colin.
REALM
Starting
out as an
apprentice
engineer,
Steve spent
32 years with
the Company
and became
Anne & Steve Maxey District
Manager in
2000. He remembers sleeping
in the Laing bus which picked
them up for work when he started
out and had no digs. His first
job was working on warehouses
for Boots in Nottingham. He
also worked on the Cardiff
Millennium Stadium and JSCSC
in Watchfield. He carried on with
Laing O’Rourke working on North
Staffs PFI Hospital and Terminal
2A at Heathrow. He added: “My
favourite times were the old Laing
days in the late 80s and early
90s.”
16
William
Meadows
worked 33
years with
the Company
from Joiner to
Site Manager.
He recalled
working on
William & Anna
the Leicester
Meadows
Royal
Infirmary residences, and then
20 years later they were doing
the refurbishment of the same
place. He spent eight years with
another company and ended up
working for Laing O’Rourke. His
favourite projects were prisons,
purely from the construction
point of view as they were not like
normal structures.
CARLISLE
Joining John
Laing Design
Associates in
1977, Robin
worked all
over the
Company
until 1993.
He had spells
Jean & Robin
at HWA,
Goodeve
John Laing
Contracting and Southern
Region. Mainly he coordinated
M&E Subcontractors.
He enjoyed his time with the
Company and among his most
interesting projects were:
Mansion House, for the Lord
Mayor of London and the Saudi
Ambassador’s residence.
LNER
Brian Appleby
joined Laing
in the 70s
mainly doing
labouring,
but a jack of
all trades. He
finally left the
Company on
Brian Appleby
his birthday in
2003 having moved around a bit
in his career. It was great to be
reunited with old colleagues. One
highlight was seeing the Sage at
Gateshead in all its glory when
he was invited to a Christmas
concert on the finished project.
Jimmy Pyle
started out
concreting
in 1973 but
also turned
his hand to
scaffolding
and driving.
During many
Jimmy Pyle
years with
the Company he worked on the
Norwich Union Office block,
Wansbeck Hospital, Newcastle
Airport, The Royal Victoria
Infirmary, the law courts and the
quayside. “I very much enjoyed
my time with Laing.”
John Mitchell
joined the
Company in
September
1966 as
a joiner
spending a
total of 45
years there,
John Mitchell
and following
in the footsteps of his late father
Jack who was also a member of
LNER. During his time he moved
into Laing management and
in 1995 looked after the giant
Hyundai project in Dunfirmline.
He worked all over the country
and Northern Ireland.
Stuart joined
the Company
in 1994 as a
joiner working
on various
projects in
Newcastle
including
the Centre
Stuart & Celia
For Life,
Standring
Fenwicks,
Sage and Quayside. He said: “The
Sage stood out for me for the
design of the building and the
excellent team working on it.”
Club christmas
lunches
Main
News
Festive luncheon round-up
The 2012/13 round of festive
luncheons started with Solare at
the Anntoinette Hotel in Kingston
on December 5.
Among the guests was one of the
rare civil engineers in this neck of
the woods, Roger Stride.
He started with the Company at
Kingsnorth in 1963 and finished
at the Isle of Grain Power Station
in 1992, where he was the last
man out of the door. He had only
planned to work there for two
years, which ended up as 20.
Chairman Ken Jones welcomed
the guests and new members and
thanked Welfare, the committee,
the club secretary Bill Blamire
and their ‘editor in chief’ Mike
LeMonnier for their efforts during
the year. The raffle raised £180
and the club’s nominated charity
for this year will be St Raphael’s
Hospice.
Realm met up at Ansty Hall on
December 10. Firstly, a mysterious
extra ‘e’ crept onto the end of Ann
Roberts name in the summer
outings write up, and we are happy
to put that right.
Phyllis Sturgeon brought a
postcard with an Olympic stamp
featuring her foster daughter
Stephanie Benjamin - a podiatrist
who worked with the UK
Paralympic team.
Chairman David Barnes
welcomed guests and new
members and thanked the
committee for their efforts.
The most popular day for
Christmas Luncheons was
December 12 when three club
events coincided. Welfare Manager
Margaret Staines joined REAL
Realm lunch
in London and
Dave Markall
Manchester. I
was at Carlisle
where it was
interesting to
hear the strange
circumstances
George Harris
which brought
from Saltire
the newest
member to the club.
Robin Goodeve bumped into
fellow member Lorna Ledgerwood
while they were both on the same
holiday in Austria. Laing came up
in conversation by chance and next
thing he had joined up.
Another coincidence was that
members Alf Mumberson and
Alan Sim had both worked at
Arkleby Farm, before Laing’s.
Stranger still, it was owned by the
grandfather of another member,
Joyce Nanson (nee Miller).
On to Newcastle on December 13.
There is no shortage of amazing
stories from Laing retirees. Aiden
Kelly shared his experience of
being arrested by the East German
police during a weekend in Berlin
while he was working for Laing at
Oclawek in Poland.
His ‘crime’ – holding Polish and
British currency, when they were
only supposed to be carrying East
German marks. He and a friend
were taken away, searched and
then locked in separate rooms.
The main thing Aiden was
worrying about was getting to
work on time on the Monday. When
finally released late on Sunday
night, all their money was taken
away. Somehow Aiden just caught
the last bus to the site, not having
had time to sleep or change.
The raffle raised £175 and
Chairman Bill Jackson thanked
Welfare and the committee
for all their efforts during the
year. He also welcomed guests,
which included Steve Taylor and
other staff from the John Laing
Newcastle office who continue to
offer support to the LNER club.
The latest lunches took place in
2013, starting with Elstree at the
Toby Carvery at Borehamwood.
Another successful day featuring
the traditional chairman’s speech
by ‘Deadpan’ Elsie Roberts.
Among the guests were Malcolm
and Marion Smith who had
recently attended a pantomime in
Brighton with another retirement
group. They were having such a
good time that one of the stars,
Sue Pollard, joked from the stage
that they were worse than the kids.
It was also a carvery for South
West luncheon in Brent. Among
their guests were two visitors from
REALM club, Rob and Ann Warren.
He had spent a lot of his Laing
career in the South West.
Guest Jan Little from St Peter’s
Hospice received a £700 cheque
from the club.
The final luncheon was in
Glasgow for Saltire Club. Another
coincidence from Sam and Sue
Ferguson who, returning from
a trip to Harogate, stopped in
the same car park as a coach
full of Carlisle Club members
on their own trip. Apologies to
George Harris whose picture
was somehow missed out of the
summer write-ups, see above.
Carlisle Lunch
17
READERS’
NEWS
Main News
Seemed like a good
idea at the time!
An archive
thank you
The John Laing
photographic
collection consists
of over 200,000
items and visually
documents John
Laing Plc’s work
from the 1910s to
the 1990s.
As a thank-you
to the John Laing
Charitable Trust
for its support,
English Heritage
would like to invite
retired employees
to explore the
collection, to share
memories and to be
taken on a tour of
the Archive Store.
There are 30 places
available and lunch
and refreshments
will be included.
The event will
take place on
Saturday 27 April,
11am – 2pm at
English Heritage,
The Engine House,
Fire Fly Avenue,
Swindon, SN2 2EH.
If you are interested
in attending please
contact Alex
Finkenrath (details
on inside front
cover).
18
Last year Laing retiree Leigh Richardson completed a quest to cycle from
John O’Groats to Fuengirola.
“As far as I can recall it all started
when my daughter, who lives in Madrid,
said that I hadn’t been to see her for a
bit,” said Leigh. “I’ll cycle there” I found
myself responding. This was a bit of
a surprise to us both, especially as I
didn’t own a bike.”
Committed to the plan he bought a
gleaming new bike and told everyone
he knew what he was going to do,
including ex-neighbour, David Craigen,
who asked if he could tag along.
“That allowed me to cheat by starting
from his house in Hampshire instead of
mine in North Yorkshire,” said Leigh.
Planning and training then began in
earnest, although it later became apparent that practising on flattish routes
in fair weather was no preparation for
scaling hills in all weather with two full
panniers with you.
A route on minor roads was planned
from just outside St. Malo in France to
Madrid and, after an afternoon pedalling
through leafy Hampshire and a pleasant ferry crossing, the serious business
began, heading off along Route Barré in
light rain. Just 16 days later they arrived
in the centre of Madrid.
They enjoyed it so much that they
went back the next year and biked from
Madrid to Fuengirola by taking a wide
arc through Extremadura. Then it was
a quick dash from North Yorkshire to
Hampshire before moving on to Inverness to John O’Groats and back.
Finally, last year they completed the
missing link – North Yorkshire to Inver-
Leigh Richardson (right) and David Craigen.
ness. We went during that week in early
May when it never stopped raining.
Fortunately, the picture in Scotland was
different and we returned home lightly
tanned to the envy of all around.
Leigh added: “All over now. 2608
miles. Just one puncture. Three broken
spokes. One disintegrating tyre. And
I fell off my bike in Falkirk Tesco car
park. Never a cross word in 47 days
on the road. No mean feat for an old
grumps like me.”
Among the things they learned:
n a showerproof jacket isn’t very;
n crossing the Pyrenees in torrential
rain is best described as characterforming;
n cycling 60+ miles day after day is a
guaranteed cure for insomnia; it also
enables you to eat and drink as much
as you like and lose weight;
n French drivers are incredibly considerate to cyclists and put us all to
shame;
n when it comes to the crunch, water
is the greatest drink of all; the far north
of Scotland is absolutely spectacular.
Leigh finished: “All we need now is a
new project.”
Berkeley story prompts memories
Dear Sir,
I read Phil Rendle’s memories of
Berkeley Power Station with interest
and in one respect some envy.
He says he worked a 12-and-a-halfday fortnight. I was on secondment to
John Thompson Water Tube Boilers
where we worked a 19-day three-week.
I was an engineer on the construction of
the pressure vessels.
One of my after work activities was
a member of the Company’s team
in a local skittles league. One of the
attractions was that each skittles alley
was located in a pub!
Our ‘home alley’ was at the Berkeley
Arms. Saturday evenings were a freefor-all: I think we each paid 6d and the
winner took all, then was expected to
buy everyone a round! Those were the
days.
Walter (Wally) Paterson
CLUB
Main NEWS
News
CUMBRIA
Monthly meetings at Wigton
Methodist Hall.
March 6
Talk ‘My Work in Prisons’ by the
Rev Tricia Rogers.
April 3
John and Dorothy Bell present
a talk about Blind Veterans
charity (formerly St Dunstan’s).
May 7
Talk and slide show about
Watchtree Nature Reserve by
William Little.
June 5
President’s Day Summer
Luncheon Leeming House
Hotel, Ullswater CA11 0JJ.
ELSTREE
Weekly meetings
St Michael and All Angels Church
Hall, Tuesday 2.30pm.
May 22
Luncheon at the Bedford Arms
Hotel, Chenies, Rickmansworth,
Hertfordshire WD3 6EQ.
Club Events
LNER
March 6
AGM at the Assembly Rooms,
Newcastle.
April 15
Trip to Bishop Auckland with a
visit to Auckland Castle.
June 3
Luncheon at the Judges Country
House Hotel, Kirk Levington
Hall, Yorks TS15 9LW.
NORTH WEST
March 27
AGM at Salvation Army Church
Hall in Sale from 2pm.
June 6
President’s Day Sumer
Luncheon Nunsmere Hall
Hotel, Northwich, Cheshire
CW8 2ES.
REAL
Monthly meetings at Allum Hall,
Borehamwood.
March 6
Fish and Chips Lunch followed
by a general knowledge quiz.
April 3 Tea and Hot Cross buns.
April 17
Trip to Bletchley Park.
May 1
Cheese and Wine.
May 21
President’s Day Lunch,
Grovefield House Hotel,
Buckinghamshire SL1 8LR.
REALM
March 13
AGM at the Methodist Church
Hall, Station Approach,
Solihull, with buffet lunch
available at 12.30 p.m.
June 7
Luncheon Alveston Manor
Hotel, Stratford upon Avon,
Warwickshire CV37 7HP.
SALTIRE
Monthly meetings at St.
Stephen’s Church, Glasgow.
March 12
Talk by Gilbert Cox CVO MBE
JP, about his experiences as
former Lord Lieutenant for
Lanarkshire.
May 1
Visit to the Kings Theatre to
see High Society.
June 4
Outing Murrayshall House
Hotel, Scone, Perthshire, PH2
7PH.
SOLARE
May 23
President’s Day Summer Outing
at Ockenden Manor Cuckfield,
West Sussex RH17 5LD.
SOUTH WEST
March 21
Skittles and Lunch
Woodborough Inn, Winscombe.
April 18
Spring Lunch, Cameley Lodge.
May 20
Luncheon – Leigh Park Hotel
Bradford on Avon, Wiltshire
BA15 2RA.
Elstree
Shirley Napier
t: 020 8207 5110
e: shirley_napier@hotmail.com
CLUB
CONTACTS
Club events
Cumbria
Alan Crowther
t: 01228-528887
e: alancrowtherpg@aol.com
LNER (North East)
John Crosby
t: 0191 262 4978
e: johnvcrosby@talktalk.net
North West
Dave Markall
t: 07787 744392
e: david.markall@laing.com
REAL (Nth London)
Pauline Bryant
t: 020 8907 2166
e: paulinemum@aol.com
REALM (Midlands)
Jane Barnes
t: 01827 61267
e: mjbarnes99@yahoo.co.uk
Saltire (Scotland)
Jim Saunders
t: 01324 638896
e: saund@blueyonder.co.uk
Solare (SW London)
Bill Blamire
t: 01737 553174
(Email c/o Chairman Ken Jones)
e: laird1964@yahoo.co.uk
South West
Geoff Luckett
t: 01934 843077
e: geoffrey.luckett@tiscali.co.uk
Contacts
Please address general club
queries to:
John Laing Welfare
Department
33 Bunns Lane
London NW7 2DX
Tel: 020 8959 9683
19
MAJOR
BIRTHDAYS AND ANNIVERSARIES
Main
News
Diamond
Anniversary
20 December
Lou & Elsie
Pamplin
Golden
Anniversary
17 November
Hector & Rita
Eugene
15 December
Ian & Maureen
Minton
5 January
Bill & Sylvia
Randall
If you would like your
anniversary pictures
and details published,
please send or email
them to Pensioner
Publishing or the Laing
Welfare Department
at the addresses on
the inside front cover
of this magazine.
Ideally include info
on how you met and
your career with the
Company.
20
Diamond light is
still sparkling
David and Pauline Scott
Diamond Wedding
January 10, 2013
The couple met after returning
to Norfolk following national
service.
David said: “Pauline has
been the light of my life and
continues to be.”
David’s late brother Donald
managed to introduce him to
the Company as a carpenter.
When the work dried up in
Norfolk, but being in touch with
the Company meant that David
was offered a contract in Oxford
in 1960.
During his 34 years’ service
with Laing, David contracted a
‘life-threatening illness which
changed his woodwork skills to
management.
He continued working
on various contracts, the
highlights of which included
Oxford, St Thomas’ Hospital and
ending up in Plymouth.
They have five sons, nine
grandchildren and six great
grandchildren. The picture
shown was from the couple’s
Golden Wedding ten years ago.
The Golden boy
from next door
Danny and Hannah Wilkinson
Golden Wedding
December 22, 2012
The couple met after Danny
moved in next door to Hannah
at Newgate. The couple only live
a quarter of a mile away from
there to this day.
Back then Danny worked on
farms cutting moss, but soon
moved to Laing as a labourer
where the work was less
affected by the weather.
He spent 22-and-a-half years
with the Company and enjoyed
every minute. He said: “They
were all happy memories, I
would not like to pick just one
out.”
He retired 19 years ago
having worked mainly around
the Carlisle area, a lot of it on
the many council houses the
Company built there.
The couple celebrated their
anniversary by taking their
family to the White Heather
Hotel at Kirkbride.
They have three daughters and
seven grandchildren.
MAJOR BIRTHDAYS AND ANNIVERSARIES
Main News
A 60-year marriage
follows polytechnic
John and Margaret Beale
Diamond Wedding
January 31, 2013
The couple met at Regent’s Street
Polytechnic where John resumed
his architectural studies following
national service and Margaret was
doing a secretarial course.
Having worked initially for the local
authority John joined the architect’s
department at Laing in Mill Hill and
eventually ended up working with
Laing Management Contracting.
He retired in 1989 after 27 years
with the Company and the couple
moved to Suffolk. They have always
considered it ironic that having
married in St Albans on the day of the
East Coast Floods in 1953, they have
ended up living just a few hundreds
yards away from that coast.
They have a son and a daughter,
both living abroad, three
grandchildren and one great
grandchild.
The couple celebrated their
anniversary with a surprise weekend
in London organized by their family.
It included a trip to the theatre to see
Top Hat and lunch at The Savoy for 25
family and friends.
Birthday greetings
h
t
0
0
1
February 22 – Jack McDowall
(pictured right).
95th
h
t
0
9
Many of the
couples we
interview regarding
their Golden
and Diamond
anniversaries
speak fondly of the
married person’s
tax allowance.
This was backdated and so many
people married in
March, ahead of
the April deadline.
John Laing also
provided moving
costs for married
couples at one
time.
26 December – George Taylor
8 December – George Harris
14 December – Ted Mee
18 December – Leo Czerwionka
21 January – Reg Clarke
23 January – Laszlo Matusz
21
NEWS
FOR THE THIRD AGE
Main News
State pensions
State help
deadline
As we went to press
it became clear that
pensioners over
the age of 80 who
are in receipt of the
Guarantee element
of Pension Credit
can get an automatic
payment of up to
£130.
The deadline for
claiming this is
March 13!
It is paid direct to
the energy suppliers
which are listed and
can be used to offset
the cost of electricity
usage only.
Visit: www.direct.
gov.uk/warmhome
for details, it is too
late to apply by letter
now, but you can
telephone direct on:
0845 603 9439.
22
EXISTING pensioners will not be
affected by proposed changes to
the UK pension system outlined in a
Government white paper in January.
The newly announced flat-rate state
pension will affect those who retire
after 2017. They stand to benefit as
the basic payments will increase
from £107.45 to £144, in today’s
money. People who stay home to raise
children or care for family members
will have that time contributed
towards their pension as well, unlike
today.
However, the reforms also mean an
end to both additional state pension
and means-tested benefits for future
pensioners.
Social care
THE Government released details of
its plans to put a cap on the amount
individuals should pay towards their
care in old age in England.
On Monday February 11, Social Care
Minister Jeremy Hunt announced
that the Government will introduce
a £75,000 cap on the costs of
social care – excluding the costs of
accommodation and food – in April
2017.
It is planned that there will also be
a £12,500 cap per year, per person on
the amount paid for accommodation,
food and heating.
Currently only people with assets
of less than £23,000 qualify for state
help with their care costs. That will
be raised to £123,000 under the new
plans, which includes the value of
their home.
The details have yet to be finalised,
but nothing will start before 2017, and
it is anticipated that the Government
will not start paying towards care
costs until 2019 as individuals will
have to pay the first £75,000 towards
their own care first.
According to the Laing & Buisson
(healthcare company), Care of Elderly
People Report 2012/13 average annual
care costs per region in England
varied from £24,076 to £31,096.
Inheritance Tax
The Government announced it will
freeze the inheritance tax threshold
at £325,000 in order to pay for the
proposed social care changes.
However, a surviving spouse will
inherit their partner’s £325,000, which
means that they will be able to leave
£650,000 without paying tax.
Housing Benefit
Changes to the housing benefit
system from April 2013 will not affect
current pensioner claimants.
The so-called ‘bedroom tax’ will
mean 660,000 people in social housing
must pay an average of £14 extra per
week to stay in their homes.
It involves people receiving less
benefit if they have unused bedrooms
in their homes, which might
reasonably be assumed to affect older
residents in social housing whose
families have left.
Pensioner claims
Research from Just Retirement
Solutions reveals that failure to
claim State benefits worth hundreds
of pounds a year is continuing to
squeeze the income of more than half
UK pensioners.
Its 2012 survey of clients found
that 23% were failing to claim any
benefit they were entitled to, losing
an average of £655 income each year
with the highest amount unclaimed
£3,631 a year. In addition, 33% who
were claiming some benefit were not
receiving their full entitlement, with
£213 a year on average lost and the
highest amount unclaimed £2,365 a
year.
For help with housing, rent and
council tax, contact your local
authority.
The Pension Credit Application
Helpline number is: 0800-991-234 or
call 0845-606-0265 for inquiries.
There is loads of information online
at direct.gov.uk and on the AgeUK
website: www.ageuk.org.uk.
In Main
memoriam
News
Wilf Gibbs, formerly a
Purchasing Officer with
Printing & Stationery, Mill
Hill, died on Monday, 12
November 2012. He was
94 and retired in 1983 after
18 years’ service.
Tom Morris, formerly
an Estimator with South
West Region, John Laing
Construction, died on
Monday 19 November 2012. He was 82 and retired in
1991 after 13 years’ service.
Michael Hanley, formerly
a Site Manager with South
East Region, JLC, died
on Monday, 24 December
2012. He was 77 and
retired in 1994 after 28
years’ service.
Gordon Morton, formerly
a Plant Advisory Engineer
with EPL International, died
on Saturday 8 December
2012. He was 87 and
years’ service.
Charles Murray, formerly
an Electrical Supervisor
with EPL, died on Tuesday,
13 November 2012. He
was 83 and retired in 1992
after 35 years’ service.
Joe Sloyan, formerly a
Foreman Joiner, South
East Region, John Laing
Construction, died on
Saturday, 8 December
2012. He was 93 and
years’ service.
In Memoriam
Maurice Hayes, formerly
an Estimator with ETE, died
on Tuesday, 18 December
2012. He was 89 and
years’ service.
Douglas Ingelbrecht,
David Browning, formerly formerly an Associate
Scientist with Laing
a Design Engineer, Mill
Hill, died on Wednesday 21 Technology Group, died
on Sunday, 25 November
November 2012. He was
85 and retired in 1992 after 2012. He was 84 and he
years’ service.
Ernest (Ernie) Carter,
Jim Kelly, formerly an
formerly a Project
Admin Officer with OC
Manager with Laing
Wessex, died on Sunday, 6 Summers, died on Monday
31 December 2012. He was
January 2013. He was 81
90 and retired in 1987 after
and retired in 1992 after
Fred Allen, formerly a
Construction Manager
with L I E & C, died on
Monday 21 January 2013. He was 70 and retired
in 1995 after 14 years’
service.
23
at the
heart of the
community

Spring - John Laing

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