Films like this go beyond just being interesting memories from a lost past, they are national treasures. Following the manufacturing process from the foundry right through to 'out the door' showed Fodens were justly proud of what they built. Plus we get to see the processes and tools that were 'cutting edge' for the day. Thank you for saving these valuable films. Ray, Australia
This is one excellent video I am 73 yrs. old and I remember these vehicles on the road have great memories of seeing them dailey, I have since owned my own trucks TK. Bedford, Dennis. this history is wonderful.
Good thing you found the time and money to get this old film ,shot on cellulite film stock , preserved onto video when you did. Few more years and the damage to the film may have been at a point it would be impossible to do that. So many old films , very early films like this and many other types of things are being lost because of the cellulite breaking down and the history lost. Thank you, I enjoy all these old film reels even tho I hail from N.America.
I remember my mother,who grew up living in Butt Lane, telling me about seeing Foden Chassis’s being driven through her village from factory to body shop factory to have the cab and body fitted.
I like the way many of the men wear a tie ( a sign of rank at the time ). Little did they know that lots of them would soon be making tanks or guns etc, and some of the younger ones would be off fighting
Brilliant video, thank you for uploading it! A whole industry within an single company, very impressive. These vehicles must have cost a fortune in relation to a worker's wage. Hundereds of workers manually producing parts and doing things that are automatic today.
Kudos to the gent who salvaged this from the trash. An interesting look at a sadly now-defunct company. Is there a plan to do some restoration work to the film so the skipping and tearing of the sprocket holes can be minimised?
That double-decker was interesting, that type did not appear until after the war and then only a handful at that - literally. Although they did build one or two in the mid 30's. Looks to me like you have 2 or 3 films together their especially with the WD types in it as well. Most interesting all round.
Fascinating. I like the performance parameters mentioned frequently. Also a very well made film. Those overhead moving shots must have taken quite a bit of work.
I WAS LUCKY TO DRIVE 8 LEGER'S 1980 ODA868X WITH A 6LXB180C AND THAT BACK TO FRONT GEAR BOX FIRST AND SECOND NEXT TO EACH OTHER USED TO GET PART'S FROM A PLACE IN LICHFIELD
Strange that , because E R Foden who founded ERF lorries in april of 1933 designed diesel lorries before foden did with the help of ernie sherritt who was a designer at foden before joining E R Foden . Founder of E R F is edwin richard foden ..
Hi there, so sorry for the hiccup... We thought it was simply public archive... We'll feature your channel instead... I hope there's no hard feeling! x
Thank you for responding, and the quick removal. No hard feelings at all, I think what your doing is a wonderful idea, grouping vintage films together in one place saves hours trawling through youtube. Maybe a good idea to ask permission from the copyright holder though. A channel link or feature is perfect as all the comments and viewing figures come through and can be answered by someone who knows about the film and subject. Best regards and good luck with the project.
@6:37 a worker stands with bent back to do his work. It's no body's job to think of raising the work to a height that will not wreck his lower back and ruin his later years. @6:57 A worker sprays his eyes with molten metal because that's how it's always been done. @7:10 another worker works with a very bent back without thinking of the state he will be in by the end of his working life. Neither does his employer think of his well being. @23:45 the boss looks quite comfortable knowing that all is well and that knackered employees can be easily and cheaply replaced.
I take it this was made just WW2 with the woman still working in the machine shop maybe wrong there I have never seen any film of a wooden cab been made before all impressive stuff to me When Foden wound up where they still making many trucks ??? or had it ground to a trickle ??? From times we will never see again thanks for sharing
There are clips from the forties and fifties in this film, maybe one of the old Foden guy's can answer about the women working their. It is an interesting film giving an insight into the way things were. Foden's were never a big volume builder, I think at the end in 2006 they were building around 600 chassis's a year, the then owners Pacar who also build Peterbilt and Kenworth wrongly thought Foden buyers would automatically buy DAF's that they also owned instead, but many replaced their old Foden's with Japanese HINO's.
The man speaks of a place where the Crusader tanks were being made (during the war) and now returns to peacetime production. So this part of the movie must come from after 1945 ??
I think this is made up of pieces from different era's the 'DG' cabs date from 1936 to 1948 so that cover before and after the war and there are some clips from the 1950's.
Love leaning about sir E Foden as he was my great great grandfather.. as many do not know he had a daughter called Mary foden my great grandmother.. she fell in love with one of his workers John Higham which sir E Foden disapproved of and then disconnected her from the inheritance.. FACT....
Why did you add the odd clicking noize to make listening to the narrative less enjoyable? I never had it on my bicycle,it seemd silly as a boy of 14. In what way is it appropriate over the soundtrack of a film?
Why you would think that anyone would add an irritating noise like that on purpose is a mystery, however, if you had read the description it does say there is projector noise. It is clearly produced from cine reals rubbing the film whilst the film is being projected onto a screen, it was then recorded off the screen with another digital camera. This is how the film was given to me, noise and all, sorry it spoiled your enjoyment but it's out of my control.
"Found in a skip'...that's where Foden should have been. Noisy, uncomfortable, slow, smoky, Not called 'Governors motors' for nothing. Ditto those pieces of garbage carrying the ERF badge. Only thing worse than an a ERF was an Chinese 6 Atkinson.
The Fodens I drove weren't that bad,The Foden Army wreckers were great,And had a heater,I didn't like the civilian Fleetmaster fibre glass shed with a 180 Gardner would pull your hat off.The 4300 with caterpillar engine was good.13 speed fuller box.
