'You could smell someone' who worked at Raleigh

Image source, Getty Images

Image caption, At its height, Raleigh employed 8,000 people and produced thousands of bikes a month

ByGreig Watson

East Midlands

The news the company that owns Raleigh has begun insolvency proceedings means one of Nottingham's most prestigious manufacturing names may have reached the end of its journey.

From being one of the city's big three employers - along with Boots and Players cigarettes - with 8,000 staff, it may have finished its days being little more than a logo.

But during the decades of its existence, it touched the lives of countless people, both those who worked there and those who enjoyed its bicycles.

Some of those tell their stories about what Raleigh meant to them.

Image source, Getty Images

Image caption, For decades Raleigh exported its bicycles across the world, including this shop in Paris

Mark Hallam grew up being able to see the Raleigh factory from his backyard.

He said: "Raleigh - Players and Boots too - came to the school offering careers and since it was so close I went for Raleigh.

"I started in 1978, starting with how to build brakes and put spokes in wheels.

"It had such a great atmosphere, though you had to be able to take having the mickey taken out of you!

"It was diverse and so friendly, so full of characters, the social club was a great place."

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"One weird thing was you could smell if someone worked for Raleigh. I think it was the metal mixed with grease and oil.

"And the factory dominating the area. I once walked past the gate just before four o'clock and everyone was pressed up against it, ready to run.

"People would say, 'get the bus before Raleigh chucks out'.

"But here's the thing, I never rode a Raleigh as I couldn't afford one," he said.

Image source, David Marsland

Image caption, David Marsland (pictured centre) was present for a visit by Princess Diana in 1990

David Marsland reluctantly followed his father into the company.

He said: "I wanted to be a surveyor but couldn't get a job.

"I had grown up with Raleigh and joined in 1973, and I gained new friends at every stage of my 47 years and met my wife there, so it was very much the background to my life.

"There used to be so many people working there we not only had a football team, we had our own league.

"But then the redundancies started coming - I don't know how many times I walked into an office not knowing whether I would have a job when I came out.

"One time we had all these plans for a new factory in Bulwell but when it became clear that our steel bicycles couldn't match the prices of aluminium bicycles from the Far East, it all got binned.

"I think that was the moment Raleigh changed."

Image source, Historic England

Image caption, Some staff covered the distances inside the factory by riding bikes

Sarah Nixon, from Daybrook in Nottinghamshire, said her parents met at the company.

She said: "My mum worked in the offices and my dad was a work study engineer, this was in the 1950s.

"They described it as a really great place to work, it was very social, more of a community than a workplace.

"The other thing they would talk about was the size of the place, which is something I don't think we appreciate these days.

"My dad told me they used to ride bikes between the departments because it was just that huge."

Image source, Alamy

Image caption, The 1960 movie Saturday Night and Sunday Morning featured a lead character who worked at the factory

For Maureen Vines, Raleigh was also a family affair.

"We lived near Faraday Road, opposite the White Horse pub," she said.

"Most of my uncles worked at Raleigh, my aunts worked at Players, but I remember the road being full of people on bikes.

"When they filmed Saturday Night and Sunday Morning - the main chap in that works at Raleigh - they filmed it in the road outside.

"One of my uncles, Charlie, he rode his bike for that and you can still see him in the background, in the film, riding down the street.

"It's one of the firms which built Nottingham."

Image source, PA Media

Image caption, Some Raleigh bicycles lasted for decades, being used to carry several generations

Helen Crowder's family is linked with Raleigh in a slightly different way.

"We lived in Grantham in the 50s and I was promised a Raleigh bicycle if I passed my 11+ [the exam to get into grammar school]," she said.

"Luckily I did that and my parents said, 'right, we'll have to go to Nottingham' which was quite an adventure because we had to get the train.

"But I had that bike for a long, long time.

"I was tall, so I got a full-sized bike and I used it through school and my teens and used it when I started work.

"I moved away when I married and I left it with my mother, but when we came back I got it again and rode with each of my three children in turn on the back.

"It was a super-strong, well-made bike, really excellent and I only had to give it up when it was really worn out.

"I must have ridden it for the best part of 50 years."

Image source, Getty Images

Image caption, Even in the 1980s, Raleighs were still a popular choice for children

Andrew Dutton, from Silverdale, was loyal to the brand, even if he could not keep the same bike.

"I got my first one aged about six and I had a Grifter, then a Sprinter Racing bike and a Raleigh Super Burner BMX," he said.

"It would be a Christmas thing. You'd give your parents a decent idea of what you wanted but it would still be a nice surprise on the day.

"Then you would take it out no matter what the weather, rain or snow.

"We were in West Bridgford then and I'd ride down the road, with my brother on his new bike, we'd ride to the car park and there would be all the other kids doing the same.

"They were great bikes, really well made.

"I have to say it - it's the end of an era."