Fairless Engineering on Parkin Street in Stockton. c1986 
Picture Stockton Archive
A Pictorial History of Stockton-on-Tees
Fairless Engineering on Parkin Street in Stockton. c1986
Did the females work on the capstan lathes as they did at Head Wrightsons, Thornaby? They were employed in WW2 & only needed to be semi-skilled machinists to operate them,they were kept on after the war because it was cheap labour, as they left or retired Head Wrightsons did not replace them.
My first job in 1975, apprentice turner, my boss was an ex navy man and he was a workhorse, Bill Featham. Foreman was an Italian, Albert Di Suca, we called him Di. George Speight from Hardwick kept gettin me out of trouble by doing my job because I couldn’t do it but I survived my 4 years there. We had capstan lathes and big presses for deck tubes, it was like a tardis – small from outside but had a lot of machines fitted. There were more females worked there than men! I left there and got a job at Gladstones, Portrack within a week – you couldn’t do that these days.
This is the workshop of Fairless Engineering which the ends of the factory were in Langley Street & Allison Street, I think their shop on Bishopton Lane was the office. Phil Veitch a well known athlete was a nephew of the owner.
The end of the building with the two big doors was in Langley Street,St.Marys church can be seen to the left of the building.