Our sincere condolences are with the Queen and the Royal family today. We wanted to share this special memory with you as we remember H.R.H. Prince Philip.
The Duke of Edinburgh visited the Ideal Works on 1st December 1948. Fog lifted and crowds descended around National Avenue where, fully an hour before the Duke’s arrival at Ideal Boilers and Radiators Limited, a crowd of 1,000 gathered outside the factory. The weather did not dampen their enthusiasm.
The company had not been told that the Duke would include the factory in his tour until the Saturday before but they managed to get together over 500 yards of bunting to decorate the drive from the main works entrance to the main factory.
The Duke was accompanied by Mr Wade, General Plant Manager and the tour included the Machine Shop, then a visit to the Core Room, the Radiator Unit and Cleaning Rooms. The Duke appeared particularly interested in the mechanical side of the works and the radiator assemblers and spent some time chatting to operators S Hodgson and S Penrose.
The Duke received terrific cheers in all sections of the factory he visited. With the exception of those working on machines inspected by the Duke on the tour, all other departments stopped work to give employees the opportunity to see the Duke.
To watch footage of the visit please click on the image below.