Building – Page 78 – What Was Pebble Mill?

Attachment Allowance Claim Form

Thanks to Giles Herbert for making this 1988 Transfer/Attachment Allowance Claim Form available.

Staff going on Attachment (when staff were transferred temporarily to another department, often in another building elsewhere in the country) would fill in these forms to claim the allowances they were due.

The Attachment scheme was a great way for staff to develop, and try out departments and jobs they might always have wanted to work in, but without either the member of staff or the new department having to commit permanently to the arrangement. It allowed many members of staff to move from into more challenging positions.

The following comments were left on the Pebble Mill Facebook Group:

Andrew Godsall: ‘I didn’t do attachments at Pebble Mill but did two when I was in London. It was just a great system that allowed you to broaden your horizons in all kinds of ways. It was really forward thinking and one of the best things about being a member of BBC staff.’

Steve Dellow: ‘Hmm…sounds like an good excuse to go in my loft and dig out some T&DE forms, and some of John Malby’s excellent Radio Links planning sheets! Sched A anyone?! My favourites were the Cash Advance forms! ‘

Fiona Barton: ‘What about leave forms – remember when we got bisque (sp?) days? And ERR forms…extra responsibility reward – when did they go?’

Bex Pitt: ‘I used to work for Relocation Unit in Cardiff when it transferred from London. It inspired me to move to Pebble Mill!!’

Stuart Gandy: ‘and remember the cash office on the 6th floor where we often used to collect the results of these forms.’

Andrew Godsall: ‘Oh there were disturbed meal break forms and short turn around between shift forms too….what were they called?’

Stuart Gandy: ‘It was an MHW, meal hour work-through.’

Peter Poole: ‘ERR is extra responsibility reward. It’s paid to staff working at a level above their job description.’

Dave Bushell: ‘As I remember, ERR was calculated by some esoteric formula which meant that even is you were a Technical Assistant standing in for the DG, you only got about an extra 45p a day.’

Pete Simpkin: ‘When I was an engineer I once was away from base for three days covering a cricket match and whilst there had to record the audition of a would-be commentator. In those days each recording had to be accompanied by a recording report . I duly filled this in including the mileage details base to OB site in miles etc.and including the details of the mileage. I missed a tiny box labelled ‘shared’ (with the OB) so when expenses received it my boss was reprimanded for letting me loose on exes for three days including two overnights for a twenty minute recording! Happy days!’

Gail Herbert: ‘Attachments – weren’t they wonderful! I had a terrific year in London at TVC in 1980 working for costume allocations. It was a great place to be then, so vibrant, & I met some lovely people who I sadly lost contact with over the years. Even got to visit the Top of the Pops stuido on a regular basis and stand next to the likes of Rod Stewart. TVC was under seige on those days but it was great fun. And yes, Jimmy Savile was creepy!!!’

Peter Poole: ‘I remember the “Stop Knocking” form. This was given to anyone doing noisy building work. They then had to stop work for the duration of the recording session.’

Susan Astle: ‘We, in make up and costume, had loads of disturbed meal break claims! Susie Bankers.’

Pebble Mill model

Thanks to Pauline Pearson for making this cutting from Ariel available, and for keeping it safe!

The photo is a model of the Pebble Mill building before it opened in 1971.

Included left to right are: John Grantham (Engineer, Services), Tony Pilgrim (Management, Communication and Engineering Services), Pauline Pearson (Producer’s Assistant, ‘The Doctors’), P. Hodges (Engineer, Services), E.R. Deighton (Head of Programme Services and Engineering), Ruth Taylor (Secretary to Head of Regional Television Development), Alan Rees (H.N.P.C.)(pointing out areas of the building), J.M.N. MacQueen (Head of Personnel and Finance).

The following comments were left on the Pebble Mill Facebook Group:

Ruth Barretto: ‘Collette Foster (who became a series producer on The Clothes Show) used to work for Tony Pilgrim and then George Henson took over the job of Manager Communication & Engineering Services (MCES). I used to work for John Grantham – (not in 71 but back in 83).’

Mike Workman: ‘Points of note, multi-storey carpark on the left of that image wasn’t completed, Studio C not shown in that image wasn’t built due to the substation and the front entrance didn’t protrude as much from the building!’

Stuart Gandy: ‘My goodness, they all look so young. John Grantham was one of the first people I ever met at Pebble Mill. This was early in 1979 when I went for my preliminary interview for the post of Technical Assistant. I remember he recommended a particular book to read on electronics. It must have worked because later that year I met him again on the formal selection board which got me the job. Then when I first started at Pebble Mill in early 1980, in TV ops, Peter Hodges was by then a Vision Super who I worked with for a while, always ensuring that high standards of picture output were maintained.’

CMCR9 (CM1/North3) – Jerry Clegg

Article by former sound supervisor, Jerry Clegg from BBC Manchester, about the outings that the newly restored CMCR 9, outside broadcast scanner, which was Pebble Mill’s CM1, and later Manchester’s North 3, has had this year.

The article appeared in a recent edition of Prospero.

CMCR 9 Vision Crew

Photo by E.M. John Abbott, no reproduction without permission.

The photo is of the Vision Crew of the outside broadcast scanner: CMCR9, Pebble Mill’s CM1 in the 1970s. This scanner went on to become North 3, in Manchester.

The truck was used on programmes like ‘Gardeners’ World’ and ‘Songs of Praise’, as well as dramas and sport.

Included in the photo are: Ian Dewar at the back, Ron Pickering on the phone, Rod Bach at the front and John Allinson on the right. (Thanks to Janet and Ian Collins for the identification!)

Eurwyn Jones in Studio A Quick Change

Photo from Eurwyn Jones, no reproduction without permission.

Floor Manager, Eurwyn Jones, liked to pop in to the quick change room of Studio A, for a chat with the girls in Costume.

The Costume girls include Alison Mitchell top left, Di Lester top right, Joy Pugh front left and Janet Sandles front, right hand side.

The photo probably dates from the early/mid 1980s.

It was probably taken during a Studio day for the drama series ‘Nanny’, which featured Wendy Craig. Joy Pugh was Wendy Craig’s dresser.