Sydney S. Bird Factory and Family in Enfield 1939
16mm film Black & White Silent c.1939 16:19
Summary: Travels at home and abroad for the Bird Family, as well as a short tour of the family-owned factory, Cyldon Works, which was located in Enfield. Final section shows colour scenes of a well attended horse racing event.
Title number: 20620
LSA ID: LSA/27178
Description: The film opens with colour footage of a French coastal town. We see a busy harbour market, French tricolour flags hang from buildings, a teenage boy and his mum sit on a bench and smile for the camera. The camera then shoots from a ship, pulling away from the coastline.
We then see black and white footage of the Sidney S Bird Cyldon factory floor. Shots of busy, working machinery from various angles and workers on the shop floor.
Shot of an exhibition featuring two 18th century warships, followed by shots of wharf and cranes. Mrs Bird reads a paper onboard a boat in a harbour, possibly Portsmouth. Two warships D44 and D03 are anchored in the bay. Mrs Bird in onboard a private boat, interior shots also feature. A small rowing boat approaches the boat, possibly the son carrying some milk.
New location, a large paddle streamer is on the sea. Son and Daughter in Law lounge on sundeck on a motor launch. The son is filming with a cine camera. Mrs Bird lounges on afterdeck,. A man dangles his feet from the deck side in the water. A shot of a sea plan by a very large building with the sign 'Saunders' possibly an Aircraft hangar. A large single engine passenger plane takes off, a autogiro plane. Planes land with autogiro taking in the back ground.
The autogiro is in flight, followed by a formation of five planes overhead. Each of the planes are featured in flight. The autogiro taxis after landing with bystanders about, A sight seeing plane takes off withe ariel shots of the countryside from plane.
Ariel shot of stately house, large houses with gardens, a small town, with a railway line and smaller domestic houses. Passengers get out of plane, with family members and young son in school uniform. Shot of pilot in cockpit, further shots of plane. Mr Bird is kayaking on a lake, and master Bird is in a paddle boat, Mr Bird lounges in a full body bathing costume on the beach. The son poses and sunbathes, Mrs Bird brings out a tray of tea with her daughter-in law, which the family enjoy.
Master Bird rides a horse on the beach.
A colour film of a horseracing event, with a very large crowd. Horses are presented to he crowd, advertising hoards feature, including Mann Crossman Paulin brewery features.
Further information: 1920 Sydney S. Bird and Sons - Business established by Mr. Sydney Samuel Bird. In 1935 The company moved to a purpose-made factory in Enfield. By 1936 they were manufacturing Instruments and condensers which were supplied to the shipping, aircraft, electrical, engineering, radio and cinematograph industries.
The company was located in Cambridge Arterial Road, Enfield, Middlesex. In 1946 Sydney S. Bird retired and was replaced as managing director by S. E. C. Bird, who had been works manager.
In 1947 Listed Exhibitor Sydney S Bird and Sons British Industries Fair. Manufacturers of presses for making models in metal, measurements being present enabling unskilled operators to work to fine limits. Kits of Parts and detailed Drawings, available for Models, Toys and Domestic Articles. (Olympia, 2nd Floor, Stand No. J.2274)
One of the major products of the Bird factory was the Turret Tuner, which enabled old BBC-only TVs to be converted to receive the new independent TV channels, which did not go down too well with the manufacturers and retailers of new TVs. It was the demand for this product, and insufficient space at the Enfield site for expansion, that prompted Bird to relocate.
1953 A partly-built factory was completed in Fleets Lane, Poole. Only 40 key personnel moved from Enfield with the company.
The new workforce was recruited from the Poole area, where, by 1957, Bird was the town's largest single employer of labour, having some 1,000 people on its staff. Bird's company offered great employment opportunities to the women in the area, and they made up 75% of the work-force.
The teletuners were despatched in their thousands each week, along with smaller radio components in similar numbers. Everything was stamped, pressed, drilled and tapped, spot welded and turned, in its own machine shops, and there was a self-contained plating department and tool room.
Sydney S. Bird marketed all its electrical equipment under the Cyldon trademark. This name was the suggestion of Bird's sister-in-law, and was an amalgamation of two of his son's names, Cyril and Donald. Cyril died at a fairly young age, and the company was run by Donald, and Cyril's son, also called Cyril. An elder brother, Sydney, is thought to have gone out to Australia in the early 1950s.
Sydney S. Bird did not appear in the electoral roll of 1959, by which time he would have been elderly and may have passed away.
1979 In June, the fortunes of the company took a downturn. The total staff numbers were down, and in March 1980 a token walkout by staff against proposed redundancies was made.
1980 In June, more workers were finally made redundant, due to competition from the Far East, high-interest rates and poor foreign-exchange rates. Since the redundancies were announced, the group had diversified into video-display equipment, which projected life-like images from a TV, video cassette or camera, and could be used to promote sales of records with full-size video shows of pop stars. By October a one-day week for the machine shop had been introduced and a three-day week for assembly workers and admin staff. The American market had collapsed.
1981 On 3 March, the receivers were called in after a property deal fell through. The remaining jobs were at risk, although trading was allowed to continue. The company was bought out firstly by Seafarer Navigation International Ltd then by the American company, Standard Communications.
Keywords: Factory; family holiday; Horse racing
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