Pye in the 70s

Paul Bird

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Mar 10, 2014, 6:21:25 AM3/10/14

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I'm sure somebody here knows enough about Pye to answer this question.

I have a revisionist career where I left school and went to work for Pye
on an apprenticeship scheme instead of all the other daft things I did
instead and just wonder if that would have been possible. Were they
taking on people on that basis in the early 70s or were they even then
in the process of winding down?

Just wondered. Thanks for any replies.
--
PB

I write the housing blog <http://singleaspect.org.uk/>

Alan

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Mar 10, 2014, 7:06:58 AM3/10/14

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On Mon, 10 Mar 2014 10:21:25 -0000, Paul Bird <pa...@nospamcamtutor.co.uk>
wrote:

> I'm sure somebody here knows enough about Pye to answer this question.
>
> I have a revisionist career where I left school and went to work for Pye
> on an apprenticeship scheme instead of all the other daft things I did
> instead and just wonder if that would have been possible. Were they
> taking on people on that basis in the early 70s or were they even then
> in the process of winding down?
>
> Just wondered. Thanks for any replies.

They were. I joined as a sponsored student in 1975, and they still had
and ran the apprentice training school in Arbury Road then.

--
Alan

Paul Bird

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Mar 10, 2014, 7:30:00 AM3/10/14

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Thank you. That's very interesting.

Alan

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Mar 10, 2014, 9:30:39 AM3/10/14

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On Mon, 10 Mar 2014 11:30:00 -0000, Paul Bird <pa...@nospamcamtutor.co.uk>

wrote:

> On 10/03/14 11:06, Alan wrote:
>> On Mon, 10 Mar 2014 10:21:25 -0000, Paul Bird
>> <pa...@nospamcamtutor.co.uk> wrote:
>>
>>> I'm sure somebody here knows enough about Pye to answer this question.
>>>
>>> I have a revisionist career where I left school and went to work for
>>> Pye on an apprenticeship scheme instead of all the other daft things I
>>> did instead and just wonder if that would have been possible. Were
>>> they taking on people on that basis in the early 70s or were they even
>>> then in the process of winding down?
>>>
>>> Just wondered. Thanks for any replies.
>>
>> They were. I joined as a sponsored student in 1975, and they still had
>> and ran the apprentice training school in Arbury Road then.
>>
> Thank you. That's very interesting.
>

Philips acquired PYE in 1967, and completed assimilation in 1985 I think.

http://www.pyetelecomhistory.org/ is also quite interesting.

--
Alan

tony sayer

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Mar 10, 2014, 9:21:27 AM3/10/14

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In article <lfk7ne$dsj$1...@dont-email.me>, Paul Bird
<pa...@nospamcamtutor.co.uk> scribeth thus

I joined Pye Television transmitters, TVT, back in err 67 I think it was
and was on an apprentice scheme of sorts but left there after a while
due in the main to political differences betwixt me and my Irish foreman
George Hickson, anyone remember him?..

Mind you it was no great loss, the writing was on the wall they weren't
long for the world .. best in class management as usual...

--
Tony Sayer

Keith Willshaw

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Mar 10, 2014, 10:25:47 AM3/10/14

to

On 10/03/2014 10:21, Paul Bird wrote:
> I'm sure somebody here knows enough about Pye to answer this question.
>
> I have a revisionist career where I left school and went to work for Pye
> on an apprenticeship scheme instead of all the other daft things I did
> instead and just wonder if that would have been possible. Were they
> taking on people on that basis in the early 70s or were they even then
> in the process of winding down?
>
> Just wondered. Thanks for any replies.

They offered me a job in 1972, in the end I went to work for ICI instead
but they were definitely recruiting.

Keith

zulu

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Mar 10, 2014, 12:30:45 PM3/10/14

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"Alan" <e-s....@ourmailbox.org.uk> wrote in message
news:op.xcic5...@sepura800.sepura.co.uk...

> On Mon, 10 Mar 2014 11:30:00 -0000, Paul Bird <pa...@nospamcamtutor.co.uk>
> wrote:
>
>> On 10/03/14 11:06, Alan wrote:
>>> On Mon, 10 Mar 2014 10:21:25 -0000, Paul Bird
>>> <pa...@nospamcamtutor.co.uk> wrote:
>>>
>>>> I'm sure somebody here knows enough about Pye to answer this question.
>>>>
>>>> I have a revisionist career where I left school and went to work for
>>>> Pye on an apprenticeship scheme instead of all the other daft things I
>>>> did instead and just wonder if that would have been possible. Were
>>>> they taking on people on that basis in the early 70s or were they even
>>>> then in the process of winding down?
>>>>
>>>> Just wondered. Thanks for any replies.
>>>
>>> They were. I joined as a sponsored student in 1975, and they still had
>>> and ran the apprentice training school in Arbury Road then.
>>>
>> Thank you. That's very interesting.

:-((
I was hopinng to find a photo of their aerial mast.
I used to be able to see this from my bedroom window some 60 years ago
It stood near the entrance to the Pye Sports Field.

--
zulu

tony sayer

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Mar 10, 2014, 1:33:39 PM3/10/14

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In article <XMlTu.31557$Zj.2...@fx12.am4>, zulu <zulu.romeotangohotel@n
tlworld.com> scribeth thus

There is a picture of that in the Pye TVT story which in effect is the
history of TV in the UK!, come to that most of the world apart from the
USA...
--
Tony Sayer

rosen...@cix.compulink.co.uk

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Mar 10, 2014, 2:37:48 PM3/10/14

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In article <op.xcic5...@sepura800.sepura.co.uk>,

Philips only had a majority of the Pye shares from 1967 to 1985. The Pye
group retained an independent existence as a result.

--
Colin Rosenstiel

Alan

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Mar 10, 2014, 3:39:32 PM3/10/14

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I was wondering about that - that oracle of the internet, wikipedia, says:

"Foundering, the Pye group of companies was bought outright by Philips in
1976"

But the Pye Telecom History site says:

"Philips Electronics UK acquired the entire Pye Group in 1967"

and

"Philips, however, soon acquired first, a 60% shareholding and later, an
85% shareholding, and finally took control of Pye in early 1967"

--
Alan

rosen...@cix.compulink.co.uk

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Mar 10, 2014, 9:07:11 PM3/10/14

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In article <op.xcit7...@sepura800.sepura.co.uk>,

We were there. I'm sure that Philips only had a majority shareholding until
they abolished Pye of Cambridge Ltd.

--
Colin Rosenstiel

Alan

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Mar 11, 2014, 4:47:01 AM3/11/14

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I know - but I was only a mere child :-) and can't remember to be honest.

--
Alan

algra...@googlemail.com

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Mar 11, 2014, 2:07:48 PM3/11/14

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On Tuesday, March 11, 2014 1:07:11 AM UTC, rosen...@cix.compulink.co.uk wrote:
> We were there. I'm sure that Philips only had a majority shareholding until
> they abolished Pye of Cambridge Ltd.

A majority shareholding of what company though? Pye Telecommunications Ltd.
would have been a separate company from what became Pye Unicam in York St.
Could it be that Philips owned all of Pye Telecommunications by 1967 but
didn't get Pye Unicam until 1976? Did they in fact own any of Pye Unicam
before 1976?

rosen...@cix.compulink.co.uk

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Mar 11, 2014, 6:39:24 PM3/11/14

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In article <02fdb938-2e6d-4fac...@googlegroups.com>,

The group company, Pye of Cambridge Ltd was what Philips owned a majority of
the shares in. The Chairman was Lord Thorneycroft, ISTR.

--
Colin Rosenstiel

rosen...@cix.compulink.co.uk

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Mar 11, 2014, 10:09:15 PM3/11/14

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In article <op.xcjuo...@sepura800.sepura.co.uk>,

I don't remember the dates. You can't have been that much of a child if you
got back anywhere near as long as me.

--
Colin Rosenstiel

Alan

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Mar 12, 2014, 4:36:30 AM3/12/14

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Alright - I joined in July 1975 at the tender age of eighteen.....

--
Alan

rosen...@cix.compulink.co.uk

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Mar 12, 2014, 5:24:33 AM3/12/14

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In article <op.xclou...@sepura800.sepura.co.uk>,

e-s....@ourmailbox.org.uk (Alan) wrote:

> On Wed, 12 Mar 2014 02:09:15 -0000, <rosen...@cix.compulink.co.uk>
> wrote:
>
> > In article <op.xcjuo...@sepura800.sepura.co.uk>,
> > e-s....@ourmailbox.org.uk (Alan) wrote:
> >
> >> On Tue, 11 Mar 2014 01:07:11 -0000, <rosen...@cix.compulink.co.uk>
> >> wrote:
> >
> >> > We were there. I'm sure that Philips only had a majority shareholding
> >> > until they abolished Pye of Cambridge Ltd.
> >>
> >> I know - but I was only a mere child :-) and can't remember to be
> >> honest.
> >
> > I don't remember the dates. You can't have been that much of a child if
> > you got back anywhere near as long as me.
>
> Alright - I joined in July 1975 at the tender age of eighteen.....

Not far behind me then!

--
Colin Rosenstiel

Keith Willshaw

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Mar 12, 2014, 2:49:42 PM3/12/14

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As I recall it the spiel at the interview they gave me was that Pye were
part of the Philips group but the letter asking me to attend was on Pye
notepaper. That would have been around 1974.

Keith

Bill

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Mar 12, 2014, 3:02:01 PM3/12/14

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In message <9%1Uu.36666$wb6....@fx22.fr7>, Keith Willshaw
<ke...@kwillshaw.demon.co.uk> writes

Ditto.

1974 my job offer was definitely Pye. PTCL No written mention of
Philips at all.
--
Bill

rosen...@cix.compulink.co.uk

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Mar 12, 2014, 5:34:53 PM3/12/14

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In article <hI5r9nBp...@birchnet.demon.co.uk>,

> Ditto.
>
> 1974 my job offer was definitely Pye. PTCL No written mention of
> Philips at all.

That's because the Pye group had a separate legal identity until Philips
bought out the minority shareholdings in the 1980s.

--
Colin Rosenstiel