A photograph of ICI apprentices taken at the ICI Billingham Apprentice Training School in 1967. I am in the middle row, far right. Who else do you recgonise?
Photograph and details courtesy of Ian Bell.
Picture Stockton Archive
A Pictorial History of Stockton-on-Tees
Picture Stockton Archive 
Does anyone remember an apprentice Tiffy called Stan English from Hartlepool in the 1967/8 intake ?
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Did anyone know John Leeming who worked at ICI until 1969?
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I started as an apprentice fitter in 1967. So this does look like 1968. We were a much bigger group, a few of us did the discoverer course at Ingleby Greenhow. The only people I can remember was Albert Hart and Brian Cohen – does anyone have a 1967 picture?
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Tony, I started my apprenticeship in 1967. From what I remember it was a large group, but split up into two groups under different instructors during basic training?. I also think there was a couple of intakes during that year depending on birth date during that year, as I started with 4 mates from school and know of a couple of others but weren’t in the training school at the same time?. I do have a photo of 1967 but it only shows 19 apprentices. You may be on it?. I’ll try and forward a copy to Picture Stockton.
Dave.
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Dave, I’ve seen the photo and not on it. The guy in the middle looks like an instructor, he looks like John Fletcher who used to be involved with the Discoverer course. I also was made redundant in 1971, spent a few years in various motor fitter jobs, then went into health care until retiring in 2010. I can still use the skills learned in those days, ICI were ahead of the times then, as I found when I joined the NHS.
Tony
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Hi Tony,
I was also in your intake. After finishing ICI I worked in brewery maintenance for 35 years. Am pleased to say am now retired and aged 67
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Hi Robert. Great days yes I was at north tees when made redundant
Also did time in the commercial garage, when all the fiitters got HGV class One by putting in log sheets for six months. People think these licenses have been around forever. They used to let us drive HGVs around the compound. Crazy looking back
Tony
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Is Paul Atkinson in this photo?
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Hi Ian
The gentleman in the white coat in the picture is my grandfather Bernard Francis McNeill. My godmother Karen Chapman has already mentioned this gentleman.
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Victoria and Karen, what I remember of Bernie all those years ago, he was a really nice and good trainer in the training school. Mind you, they were all good and I suppose that is why they were in that job. ICI gave us all excellent opportunities.
Dave.
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The staff member is Bernard McNeill a great family friend, he was my Dad’s best man and they served their time together at Pickering’s Lifts before moving to ICI!
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Ian, could this year be 1968?. The lad at the far right back row I believe to be Ray Walker. Ray was a year younger than me, I started 06/06/66 as a messenger boy then in 1967 started in the apprentice school as a turner. Ray became a turner and because of our love of motorbikes and racing etc became best of friends throughout all our working lives. Sadly Ray died some eight years ago through leukemia. The lad 3rd left at the back looks like a lad I vaguely knew through friends, could it be Dave Corey?, became a welder?, could be wrong.
Dave.
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Yes you are right it’s 1968.
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The boy in question looks very much like my cousin David Corey. Ian are you the Ian Bell that lived in Glaisdale Ave?
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It is David Corey. That year there were two apprentices called Ian Bell. I am not the one from Glaisdale Avenue.
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There were two Ian Bell’s who started the same year which caused a little confusion. I lived in Hardwick at the time.
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