Ronald William Earp made top and bottom dies for war pressings and stampings from the moment he started working at the Austin (as an apprentice) but he never did an apprenticeship to learn how to make them, his job was making them straight away as an apprentice. This is the most amazing apprenticeship story of Ronald William Earp Austin Die Sinker Apprentice in the 2nd World War.

Ronald William Earp stopped Adolf Hitler by what he did- an Austin Apprenticeship in the South Tool and Die Shop in the war years. He was previously a budding 15 year old artist trying to compete with Monet, Picasso (and was equally as good as them) and the like at the B’ham Moseley Art School but was told, by his father William Earp in Longbridge Lane, a war was coming and Ron got out of art school and applied for a job at Cadbury’s and the Austin. He got a temporary job at West Heath B’ham Furniture manufacturers but one day his mom turned up and pulled him off the job and he went straight down the Austin Personnel Office in reply to his letter for a job there.

The personnel officer a small man behind the desk told dad the Austin wanted Trade Apprentices and would he like to fill in the form for one. Ron did this in 5 minutes and asked when he’d find out if he had the apprentices job. Ron’s application was accepted instantly (they did things quick in those days)was taken over the 100 yards to the Austin South Tool & Die Shop and told he was now an Apprentice and would be paid from that day on and the times to report Monday to Friday each morning thereafter. Ron could not believe he got the job so fast- he was introduced to the other Tool and Die Sinkers and made the tea that day. Compared with later apprenticeships where the application took months or even years and you needed GCE’s(later GCSE’s), or a degree; this rapid application and acceptance is unheard off and unique solely to Ron Earp. It was a time of acute desperation on the behalf of the Austin Personnel Department because Die Sinkers were being conscripted into the Forces. Getting Ron to be an apprentice die sinker meant he did the same job as the die sinkers but got apprentice wages approximately £1 19 shillings and 5 1/2pence per week.  

Whilst Hitler was using submarines, V1 missiles(later V2), Blitz Krieg and Bombing to conquer the British Isles he had not reckoned on the decisive effort to the war Ron (also known as “Earpy”)and people like him would make.  Ron settled into making the top and bottom dies for the 2nd world war ordinance production at the Austin. What the Austin produced won the war.

Immediately upon the outbreak of war, the change-over from peace-time to war-time production began. The same machines and hands that a short time back had turned out highly finished cars, took in their stride the production of a whole miscellany of intricate parts for the nation's war machine. The variety and quantities of articles produced were staggering. Over one-and-a quarter million rounds of 2, 6 and 17 pounder armour piercing ammunition and twice as many ammunition boxes.  Over half-a-million jerricans, nearly as many steel service helmets, and almost as many assemblies of one sort or another for mines and depth charges. A hundred thousand bogey suspension and driving gear units for

Churchill tanks was considered almost a side-line.  And all this against a steady output of wheeled vehicles of various types to a total of over thirty-six thousand.

Photo Avro Lancaster Bomber

The shadow factory at Cofton Hackett, which started production with Fairey Battle light bombers and Mercury and Pegasus aero engines, ended by turning out Lancaster four engined heavy bombers. The latter were too big to be flown from the Longbridge flying ground and so they were assembled elsewhere, as were the Stirling bombers which preceded them. Nearly three thousand of these aircraft, along with Hurricane fighters, were ultimately produced, in addition to aero engines, Horsa Glider, Beaufighter and Miles Master fusilages.

Photo Hurricane Fighter Plane

Lord Austin died on May 23rd, 1941, after a short illness. He was succeeded by E. L.Payton, who retired four years later on November 28th, 1945, whereupon L. P. Lord became Chairman and Managing Director.” Taken from the 2nd War publication of- Austin 50 years of Progress.

Ron Earp began his apprenticeship in 1939 and was immediately doing the same jobs as the other men in the department. Not only that he but had to replace men who were tool makers and die sinkers who were called up. Ron at 15 had to take their place in a busy war effort factory that ultimately turned the war. Being 15 they could not conscript him and later on he was designated so valuable they would have no one to make the dies if he left so they made him “Reserved Occupation”.

Shortly after the declaration of war the Austin was on full war production and the only defence the factory had was camouflage paint which suddenly appeared in large consignments of 1000’s of 50 gallon drums. All windows, roofs, and sides of the Austin were plastered with it to camouflage in with the Lickey Hills. No light came from the windows and that was all the Austin had to protect it from bombing as at that time there were not enough fighters to defend Birmingham let alone the Austin.

Ron reckon’s the Luftwaffe used to dead reckon from the reservoirs and canal(at Barnt Green) and follow the Bristol to B’ham railway lines to the (camouflaged) Austin and just drop their bombs even though they could not see it (they could well see it but it looked like the Lickey’s from the air). Fortunately the Luftwaffe often mistook Elmdon (now B’ham Airport) and the reservoirs and canal nearby there for the markers from 25,000 feet up to dead reckon the Austin and dropped their bombs relatively harmlessly around there.

When apprenticed Ron was told to do night school first at Rubery then later at Suffolk Street Technical College (now Aston University). Ron used to travel down from Longbridge Lane to B’ham on the tram. Whilst at college a single Hienkle bomber dropped bombs on the Austin. They hit the 4 railway lines and parts of the factory but not in any essential war production parts. Imagine doing an apprenticeship with all this going on.

Not only did Ron have to attend night school but he had to man an Anti Aircraft Ack Ack battery in the Home Guard at night-Ron apparently did not get much sleep in those days. His social life was very restricted (to the Saturday night dances around Selly Oak and Northfield) by the low apprentice wages, day and night school study and the Home Guard Ack Ack battery work.

Photo Ron Earp Home Guard 1941

The Austin put on a night shift in the Tool and Die Shop and they worked in pairs over night. However there was an uneven number of die sinkers and Ron (an apprentice) ended up having to do a night shift on his own. This would be unheard of in later apprenticeships. One night a stacker truck dropped off the dies from a 6 cylinder crank shaft in the centre aiselway of South Works Tool and Die Shop. Billy Biston explained to Ron, “It’s job nobody could get right”. The stamp shop was knocking out a prototype crank shaft but the machine shop nearly destroyed their lathe when they tried to machine it as it was out of balance. Ron weighed up the dies had not been finished properly and set about machining one side more. By mid night the stamp shop was knocking out the hot stampings from his finished dies. The supervisor of the machine shop put the crank shaft stamping in the chuck and centre and started the machine cautiously. There was no need it was perfect and the supervisor said if he ever had another difficult job he’d send for Earpy to do it as he said Ron was as good as the best die sinkers they ever had. The supervisor gave Ron a packet of Capstan cigarettes as a reward. This night shift job earnt Ron his reputation- after that he was accepted as equally as good if not better than any of them as a die sinker.

Ron never knew any other apprenticeship. He never knew about moves to new departments, nor did he have the luxury of 9 to 5 day work, or studying at your leisure. Ronald William Earp stopped Hitler in his tracks and supplied dies that made pressing and stampings all through the war for the war effort. Not many apprentices could say they did that. Not only did Ron do the full job of a Die Sinker in the war and work under a tremendous busy work load- often working a whole night shift on his own- but they worked machining and grinding Stallite Steel with no dust extraction equipment and just used a cloth face mask. It never bothered Ron he just got on with it and did every job they put in front of him.

Photo of Ron Earp at his Austin Bench circa 1968

Do you recognise him?

Ron knew many Die Sinkers over the war years and in the 48 years he worked in the South Works Tool and Die Shop. He remembers Jim Blick (now deceased 1999) who was a Die Sinker and later Foreman. Jerry Burbridge (now living in Redditch, Frank Golding, also Foreman later, also knew Ron. Ron would be interested to receive communications with anyone from the Austin who knew him.  

Photo of Ron Earp July 2008

Ronald William Earp is now 84 years old and lives in W’ton with his wife Jean and has lung cancer and before he dies he wanted two things- to be registered as an Ex Austin Apprentice and to have his “Ronald William Earp 5 Year War Apprenticeship 1939 to 1944 Story” told. I think you will agree it is one of the most unique and unusual apprenticeships in the country let alone at the Austin ever.