Sid will bow out tomorrow after putting on his overalls at Link 51 Brierley Hill for more than half a century – during which time he has never been late.

He started at the Mill Street plant just months after it opened in 1951, doing five 12-hour shifts each week for the princely sum of £35.

And he had so much fun that when he came to retire, the workaholic turned it down.

The diminutive character has become a bit of a celebrity within the firm and around Brierley Hill over the years, but says he still recollects his first day.

“I remember it very faintly and all the machinery seemed so new at the time,” he said.

“I didn’t think I’d still be here more than 52 years later, but I’m more than satisfied with my stay. I’ve never had any problems with anyone and I’ve made a lot of good friends.”

Sid served as a mechanic in Burma and India with the Royal Artillery 16th Field regiment during the Second World War, before he started at Link 51 as a machine operator.

He later became a quality inspector, before taking up his current role of overseeing workers’ uniforms.

He would walk the three miles to work from his home in Kingswinford, but now it is problems with his legs that have forced him to call it a day.

Today he recalled the “good old days” before the firm had a canteen.

“I remember we used to put a couple of pieces of gammon and a couple of eggs on a big shovel and cook it over the coal fire,” he said.

“That was really nice that was. The legs might have gone, but the memory’s still there.”

Sid lives with his second wife, Marjorie, and left no-one in any doubt he has no plans to sit idle around the house now he is retiring.

After his final day tomorrow he will be joined by dozens of colleagues for a farewell meal on Monday.

One colleague, Matt Mecrow, said the place would not be the same without Sid’s scurrilous banter.

“In particular his sense of humour will be missed by all,” he said.

By Richard Williams

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