Brymitre

Did you work there?

Rupert Easter who worked at Brymitre and is MD/CEO at Gas Compressors Ltd, UK sent this message


Bump into Ricky Staley every now and again. Hardly changed. Always on the move. Still lives in Hadlow.


Terry Goodwin (Kev’s father), used to work on the routers with Ian Laker. Lived in Hadlow. He died a few years ago.


Ian Laker still seen around Tonbridge occasionally. I believe he uses the Six in One Club.


Bump into Dennis Deacon occasionally. I believe he still works for Crutch Bros.


Kev Davies lives in Tonbridge. Can be found in the Nelson sometimes.


Gary Buss I have known for years. He has worked for me the last three years.


I see Damian Payne in Tonbridge quite often. I used to work with his brother Mark when I was roofing. Glenn is friend on Facebook, but I have not seen him since a funeral about fifteen years ago. Apparently their mother Carol still lives in Crowborough area, and is OK (well, was OK a couple of years ago!)


Other names I remember, that I have not seen mentioned.


Pat Derrick


Gwen Bridge


Jack Deacon plus his two sisters


Brian Mann (actually I think I may have seen him driving about, when I lived in West Malling, about thirteen years ago)


Jimmy Fortune


Joe Cano


Jim Ashby (aggressive persona, always sporting a vest whatever the weather)


Dave Roots. I bought my first Mk4 Zodiac from him, plus a Suzuki GS250T


I'm ancient so how many old hands are still alive?
In the 1980’S this company was situated In Fenpond Road Ightham and made Vinyl covered chipboard cabinets for the Hi Fi and Television trade for people like Bose, Waltham and Amstrad. It enjoyed amazing growth where year on year it frequently doubled in size. An average of ten thousand speaker boxes per day were produced and they often struggled to keep up with the volume of sawdust produced.  It had a big machine shop, a laminator shop, packing bay, massive storage for the chipboard and extensive office space. They employed over 200 staff and always seemed to have a happy atmosphere.


Since I have left the old firm I have met many former Brymitre personnel, hence this page was created. Sadly in the late 80’s the company closed and the site is now a housing estate. Should anyone have photos of the old place or any information on old employees please contact me  or join the Facebook group and I will add the information to this site.


This page has been redundant for years and used to be on another website so much of this information could be out of date.


Carol     Works Study, lived in farmhouse next to factory entrance


Fran     Likes sitting on her front garden wall and watching people people walk past (That's how she met me). She still likes cold baked bean sandwiches.


Karen    Still a lively as ever, her two children have grown up and she enjoys life to the full.


Jeff    Works study


Maxine    Worked in accounts, moved to Sevenoaks and got a job in the Sony Centre shop.


Nancy    Worked in sales and lived in Wrotham.


Ricky    Was engaged to Caroline John Wilson's assistant.


Sandra    (Sandy) was working in the Taxi office Borough Green station.


Sandy (Leonard Santer, father of Kevin)    Looked after incinerator; I had delivered milk to him in Seal  before I worked here. Died about thirty years ago


Tony    Works study


Arrow    Helen    Helen Arrow (now Goodwin) as she married the accountant from Brymitre. She has 2 children and lives in West Malling.


Ashton    Ray    A true craftsman and was making some wonderful oak furniture with Tudor Oak, tried his hand at working with Dave Sutton at Westerham heights joinery but it did not appeal to him.


Barnes    Bruce    Was health and safety officer for the Post Office


Blunderfield    Charles    Buyer. No longer with us.


Buss Sian Sean   Was working  at Seal Chart making kitchens he is now a granddad. Rupert saw him in a shop in Tonbridge not so long ago. Looks same as he did in mid eighties.


Brigden    Ian    Last heard off working as a manufacturing agent and still lives near Crowborough


Church   Michelle   Now on the Brymitre Facebook group, Rupert has seen her walking down Tonbridge High St occasionally. Still looks same as 35 years ago.


Daniels    Richard    Financial Director


Denton   Joyce    Played Bingo at Maidstone but has never been known to win ...Julie and Debs have won lots


Dicker    Albert    Well known for wearing his trousers up round his armpits. Retired and lives in Southend


Dockree    Dave    Married with 3 kids and ,has a “tribute page” on Facebook, so it does not look good for him. Mick Syrett is shown as friend, so may know more. Rupert kept in touch with him for some years after he left Brymitre. He was landlord of the Crown in Seal for a while, and also the pub in Kemsing. His brother was killed in a car crash, which hit him hard.


Easter   Rupert     Now MD/CEO at Gas Compressors Ltd and can be contacted on the Facebook Group.  Married in 2007. Divorced 2016! Four children aged six to twelve. His brother also worked at Brymitre for a short time. Unfortunately he had a bad motorbike accident in 2004 and been in a wheelchair since


Fahy    Chris    Benenden School Teacher Technician


Fahy    Vera    Married Chris Fahy brother and has a daughter. She runs a kiddies nursery in Tonbridge.


Faulkes    Stan    A very experienced engineer with a wicked sense of humour, sadly passed away


Feaks    Gordon    Is now a builder


Fenton    Mick    Retired, not interested in joining the Facebook group but I talk to him occasionally on the phone


Goodwin    Kevin    Married his childhood sweetheart, have a little girl and live next door to a pub in Tonbridge


Goldfinch  John    Technical Manager


Goldsmith    Julie    Divorced Mick and has two teenage kids Emma and Claire and works at Enerlon as works coordinator (Posh job)


Goldsmith    Debbs    Is now Debbs Straeche, has two kids.


Gray    Sid     Married with two kids. His brother also worked at Brymitre


Gregory    Eddie    Better known as Eddie Bubble, engineering manager. I once saw him trying to cut down an Allen key (hardened steel) with a hack saw


Healey    Mick    Had the misfortune of working with Mick Fenton after leaving Brymitre


Healey    Roger   Was sales and marketing Director.


Herrington    Steve    Worked in warehouse, has sadly died, worked with John Wilson's ex wife at British Sailkraft in Strood. Keen badminton player.


Herrington    Ian    Became the buyer after Charles Blunderfield


Hobbs    Peter    Been married over 14 years and has 3 children , Lewis, Rianne, and Jake and lives in Barming with wife Sally.


Hourigan    Julie & Steve    Julie Radmore married Steve Hourigan, have 2 sons Matthew & Ashley.  They emigrated to South Africa 1991 relocated to Lesotho 1997, relocated to Swaziland 2001 Steve is general manager in the largest furniture factory in the country. They are now living back in South Africa, Nelspruit, 30 miles from Kruger national park. Julie owns her own business, and does the administration and accounts.


Hurdle  Sonia   Packing bay chargehand and first aid girl now lives in Pevensey bay


Hurdle Jackie    Sonia's daughter, now called Jackie Manser


Jackson  Richard  married Sharron who worked there  ....  Dave Sutton is trying to track him down as he was Godfather to his son and his son is in need of some godfatherly advice :)


Johns   Francis    Worked on the Lehbrinks and can be contacted on the Facebook Group


Kavanagh    Neil    A  Brymitre success story as he has his own recording studio 
https://www.oldbarnaudio.co.uk/  He did the sound for my Rupert's wedding reception in 2007.


Kilpatrick     Jimmy    Very sad news. He was knocked down in Borough Green High Street and suffered head injuries and died in hospital. He will be sadly missed as he was a very good friend of my first father in law Jock Syme .


Kneller    Lee    Draughtsman


Lee-Amies    Bob    The man who trained me on "the line" Chatted to him in Borough Green and he looks as fit as a fiddle. He is retired and still lives in Ightham


Lee-Amies    Richard    I saw him in Ightham church looking after the grounds, has not changed a bit.


Lidlow    Nancy    Sales


Martin    Sheila    Bill Rae's secretary


Mellish    Marion    Sales


McFarland   Gordon   Accountant, lived in Ightham


Milton    Jean    Last heard off living in sheltered accommodation


Moon    Jess    Retired but still fit and healthy at a ripe old age of 93 (posted this aug 2020)


Osborne Ted   Not sure if I have spelt the surname correctly but we became very good friends at the time and in the years afterwards whenever I built a staircase (I was a joiner) I used to think of Ted and how his attempt to build a new staircase his the cellar turned out.


Plevin    Malcome    Retired


Pointer   Bill    Skilled craftsman in charge of the pattern and jig making shop, sadly passed away.


Rae    Bill   The main man and MD .. was there from 73 until 86 and got fired because he refused to put the new Chairman’s number plate on the wall!  Now Chairman of a P.P.E. business in south Manchester.


Randell    Barbara   Retired and can make a really special cake. I occasionally get treated. Visits me every so often


Randell    Jackie    Married with kids


Ripton    Brian    Went to Regent furniture as MD  and then retired to Norfolk.   Sadly we lost him to cancer after a very brief battle in April 2019


Roots Dave    Was electrician and also had his wife working there, liked his CB radio


Ryder    Tony    Has two kids and lives in East Peckham


Salt    Colin    Has his own pest control business


Salt    Ken    Works in the partitioning business, has two sons and lives in Leybourne


Santer    Kevin    Lives in Seal. Dave Sutton's son met him when he had problems with his van.


Scawn    Ray  Employed on the selling front.  Furniture fittings and precision locking devices.


Sexton    Pete    Seems to be a bit of a "wandering minstrel" I applied for a job with a company in East


Grinstead many years ago and I was told that he had just left (I did not get the job) Ray Ashton told me he also left Tudor Oak. Pete is obviously a believer in variety is the spice of life.


Shepherd     Chris    Retired and not in the best of health, I have seen him in Hospital on a couple of occasions


Shepheard    Dave    Works at Rugby Cement as a foreman fitter


Smart    Loretta    Now lives in Bedlinog in Wales and has two daughters Charlotte.and Melissa. She has bought a house and is renovating it.


Summers    Terry    Worked for Rupert for two or three years, after he left delivering bread for Ireland’s in East Peckham. Then suddenly upped and left, and joined a sewer jetting company. Rupert heard through the grapevine that he had a bad stroke, and is out of action. Maggie Broad is his mother in law.


Sutton  Dave    Was the machine setter. Retired. Former Graphic Artist and IT manager Used to work for Hyders. he can be contacted on the Facebook Group.  He was Rupert's milk man in Seal in the 70s. French’s Dairies. 


Sutton    Ricky    Dave Sutton’s son    Worked as a labourer at the sweet age of 16 is now a millionaire Chief Executive officer of an online business and has branches all over the world.


Syrett    Mick    Still looks 30 years old, has been landlord of pub, worked in music industry,  has a 2 teenage daughters Georgia and Nancy and a son who is boxing at a good standard. He can be contacted on the Facebook Group


Theobald    Mike     Taught me everything, was a service engineer with Dawsons, he has traveled the world with them. He has two grown up sons, one is a farrier and one is a BT engineer. Sadly passed away 2008.  Rupert is friends with the boys, Jamie and Phil.


Watson    Barbara    Purchasing assistant to Charles Blunderfield


Wilson    John    Draughtsman and then manufacturing manager now has a consulting business


Wise    Ken    Caught his jumper in a machine cutter and was lucky not to have lost his arm, I have it on good authority that he can still lift a pint .


Wise   Heather    Ken's wife, he used to serenade her with the song "For heather and heather and heather you'll be the one"


No longer with us


Sadly Eddie Duncan, Roy Emms, Mick Cooper, Dennis Blackburn, Mick Theobald, Bill Pointer, Steve Herrington, Jimmy Kilpatric, Stan Faulkes,Terry Goodwin, Dave Dockree, Charlie Blunderfield, Sandy Santer, Brian Ripton and Richard Chapman have died.


Does Hank the tall American still pilot a router (or patch his jeans with the caravan's curtains)