I worked at Richards for a short time 1966/67 as a machine tool fitter after moving from Harvey & Longstaffes metal pattern shop just off Sinderland Broadheath, the reason that I left Richards was that the American company Stavely Industries were buying out Richards and taking all the good machine work such as horizontal and vertical borers and leaving us to make shaping machines etc (the low quality machine tools), I could see the writing on the wall so to speak and got out. I started there for a white haired old foreman by the name of Bill Kennerly but whoa betide anyone that called him Bill they were quickly informed that you were to address him as Mr Kennerly, we assembled and adjusted facing heads for the boring machines, a simple fitting job and when they assessed your skills and capabilities, if suitable you moved on to the more complex engineering jobs, before I moved on I worked on a massive vertical borer that was being produced for the Bhopal shipyard in India that was to be used to bore out the propellers for the new super tanker being built to transport crude oil around the world, I had a photo of all the shop floor lads plus a small lorry on the facing head, I'm not sure but I think it was the largest machine of it's type in the world at the time beating the one they made in 1948.