| Ford's 80 Years At Dagenham | ||
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(Thu 14 May 09) This Sunday (May 17) is the 80th anniversary of the day Edsel Ford, son of Ford Motor Company founder Henry, cut the first turf at the site of the Dagenham factory.
It was not a universally popular move. The Dagenham site, which Ford had bought five years previously, was more or less a wasteland, and Ford of Britain's first Chairman, Lord Perry, described it as "almost the worst possible choice" of a location for a new factory. But you would have to say that Ford persevered, and to pretty good effect. In the eight decades since Edsel Ford got to work with his shovel, Dagenham has built just short of 11 million cars, trucks and tractors, and although it no longer produces complete vehicles it is turning out engines at a prodigious rate - around 37 million in its history and more than one million last year alone. Among current production there are four basic engine types, built in nine different sizes from 1.4 to 3.6 litres. Dagenham engines are shipped to locations around Europe, and as far away as Japan, to be used not only in Fords but in cars and commercial vehicles sold by Citroen, Fiat, Jaguar, Land Rover, Mazda, Peugeot and Volvo. And it's not just about engines - Dagenham also produces body panels which, again, are shipped to factories in other countries. And finally, some trivia to keep you amused and possibly help in a future pub quiz. The Dagenham-based Ford Works Military Band won major European championships in 1954 and 1958, and played in the 1958 Royal Variety Performance. Each blade on the two electricity-generating turbines on site is as long as the wing of a Boeing 747. And former Dagenham employees include Eurovision Song Contest winner Sandie Shaw, fellow singer Billy Ocean, former WBO World Heavyweight champion Henry Akinwande and Henry Allingham, the UK's oldest man and only surviving World War I veteran. |
