I worked at GEC/Marconi from 1990 until redundancy came along 11 years later. I remember John calling in to collect boxes of out-of-spec components and any scrap equipment (scopes etc.) that were lying about.
I used to call in regularly during dinner times and so did many others. When John used to get fresh equipment in, word soon got round the factory and there would be a mad dash the next day to get hold of whatever-it-was. The liquidation stock was the best of all.
When the Carholme Road site where I worked was closed (
) the HP 9000 mainframe was de-commissioned. We loaded all the HP terminals into the back of a van and took them to the shop. We were let in to the back yard, which was just like the shop, totally full of stuff.
The Carholme Road site is rapidly being turned into a housing estate, but Birketts lives on. Happy days indeed................
Mark.