Family Memories Birmingham MEB

Dale End

Dale End in the centre of Birmingham was then the HQ of the City of Birmingham Electric Supply Dept, comprising at that time a relatively small frontage but of great depth with its alternators and convertors, the section to which I was allotted dealt with wages but other duties were included such as those applicable to a very junior clerk. To obtain a job at all in those days was fortunate in days of massive unemployment. Below is an old map of the centre of Birminghan showing the position of Dale End (to the right and below Coporation Street).

The ground floor was allocated to a Commercial Dept. The main Staircase led to the Chief Engineers and Secretaries offices and a long counter where customers came to pay their bills and to conduct other business. Behind this counter were the clerks with their large ledgers in which the customers' accounts were kept. At the front of the first floor was the Committee room where City Councillors who comprised the Electric Supply committee conducted their business. To us it was a very special place with its carpets, pictures on the wall, a long highly polished table with armchair type of seating. Opposite the committee room was the office of the Chief Engineer and the Secretary. These offices and the top officials were to us very awesome although they themselves acted in a very subservient manner to their bosses, the committee men when they happened to be present.

Our Accountants Dept was a continuation of the main public counter, with rows of tall desks, a rail for the account books and tall stools for seating. There were no "biros" in those days, all writing was done in pen and ink. Replenishment of ink was from a large bottle kept in some handy corner of the large office. We felt like characters from a Dickens story, perched up on our tall stools at a sloping desk with our large ledgers. The Accountant himself had a corner of the office, which was partitioned off leaving clear glass so far up so that he could keep a watch on his staff. Often he would tap the window if he saw anything happening which warranted correction. If a person was required by him for interview he would leave a note on his desk "Please see me". I remember that one of these notes was retained by a colleague and put on a lady's desk when she was out at lunch. She invariably stretched out the lunch hour. Imagine her red face when she returned and saw the note and also the face of the boss when she obeyed the presumed summons to his presence.

On the top floor, the highest and best part of the building, were further offices containing a typists room, a large office for the draughtsmen and separate offices for mains, substation and other top engineers. Here a rest room was set apart for female staff only.

Below ground floor level was a small canteen, where dinners were provided and tea during the day for chief officials and other staff who could un-noticed slip down there for break purposes. It was really a small cellar room and extremely unhygienic and unattractive, reached by a narrow staircase and with no other means of entrance or exit. Strictly speaking it was out of bounds to staff during their working hours but towards 10.15 am the odd members would disappear into the depths for a ten minute break and with the hope that no-one would miss them or see them go below stairs. Another unofficial short break was for toilet purposes and some staff would be renowned for their departure for this purpose at an exact time. They would conceal their newspaper under their coat saying there was no telephone in the office to which they were going.

On commencement my 'salary' was 15/- per week paid monthly. These were the days when the Electric supply was expanding very rapidly, when whole streets at a time were being added to the supply system. The public counter was always very busy and Saturday mornings exceptionally so, with throngs of people with their enquiries and paying their accounts. Dale End had to be enlarged and resembled a rabbit warren with all sorts of additions corridors and staircases with us as the rabbits almost losing ourselves in the maze. Premises back, front and sides were absorbed with connecting corridors, passageways, staircases and dead end ways leading to tucked away offices. One exit came out into nearby Albert Street by a small unsuspected small door and which was very useful for staff getting a quick getaway for lunch. Another exit coming out to the Fazeley Street corner was down a long dangerous length of iron staircase past the monster alternators with their frightening roar and out into the car park at the rear. Another staircase took us to the spacious cellars where old records were stored and where space was allocated for letters and the readers who booked in and out. Even now on looking back I do not know of many of these bye-ways and what they were used for - if used at all. Some premises were even rented away from the main centre in Albert Street and in Fazeley Street.

The Arcade premises about 50 yards down Dale End from the main office were obtained and brought in to form part of the existing maze. It was a small nearly derelict shopping centre with a balcony around its first floor. It once had a bizarre clock and clockwork figures which tapped out the time, but this was removed just before the C.B.E.S.D. took over. Above the frontage facing the street further rooms were put to use to house the staff. These arose to three stories, the highest was too dangerous to use but came in handy for office colleagues to over winter their geraniums and other plants. The roof of the arcade was a danger and wire netting had been slung beneath to catch any glass, which might become dislodged. Ornamental plasterwork had become rotten over the years and slamming of a door on one occasion brought down a large chunk. Even this extension to the offices did not suffice and the Y.M.C.A next door was next to be taken over. The Assembly Hall, dormitories, the lot were used. I often wondered what happened to the wonderful carved wooden fireplaces, the commemorative plaques and the fixtures and fittings.

It was to all this that I had to become accustomed. Tumbledown cold second hand offices, dangerous staircases and obsolete toilet facilities.