'Honoured to be here': Restored memorial plaque is unveiled at poignant ceremony for fallen soldiers from historic Black Country factory

Civic dignitaries led by Sandwell Mayor Councillor Steve Melia were joined by the Lench family, residents and former employees in the company's memorial gardens at the junction of Carnegie Road and Yew Tree Lane. The restoration and return of the memorial, which carries the names of the employees who paid the ultimate sacrifice in the First World War and the Second World War, was the dying wish of former chairman Robert Lench, who died aged 89 in 2020.

The business was founded in the late 1800s and was in operation for more than a century, with the Excelsior Works famed for its Admiral nuts and bolts.

The memorial stone was originally installed in 1923 to remember those who fought and fell in the First World War of 1914-1918, also known as The Great War, with the names of those from the Second World War (1939-1945) subsequently added. There are a total of 30 names listed on the plaque, and 30 trees planted to commemorate each of the soldiers who did not return still stand in the gardens and in a nearby green space. 

Robert Lench's daughter Lindy Lench said: "I think the ceremony was fabulous along with the support from the local people. It was beautifully done with solemnity by Sandwell Council and the leader Councillor Kerrie Carmichael who worked very hard to pull it off. We were also very pleased to see the mayor here and to catch up with people who actually worked at Lench's. 

"It's been a very poignant day.

"Robert died in 2020 and it was his wish that the memorial came back to the gardens. When the factory land opposite was sold, one of the conditions of the sale was that this part would remain untouched so that the stone was relaid here. For him it was very important that this was done and that those who lost their lives would be remembered.

"Lench was the product of four generations and we are very proud and honoured to be here. As the fifth generation we still feel that our foundations are here in this community and we will always be a part of it.'"

She was among several family members based in Kidderminster, Bewdley and Worcester to attend the event, which comprised the unveiling of the plaque, an act of remembrance led by Blackheath Royal British Legion branch, the playing of The Last Post, a minute's silence and Reveille, wreath-laying and speeches followed by refreshments at the area's Britannia Park Sons of Rest hall.

Among those in attendance was former employee 88-year-old retired toolmaker Frank Hopwood, of Severn Rise, which is part of the new housing development built on the old factory site. He was taken on as an apprentice at age 17 and at that time was paid 30 shillings or £1.50 in wages per week.

"I worked for 38 years in total and I had stints at other places. I was a toolmaker for most of the time I was there and towards the end of my time I twisted bolts. I really liked working there. I liked the companionship and it was like a club. I think the women would have worked for free as they enjoyed being there a lot. They were known by the nickname 'Lench's Wenches'.  

"I lived nearby in Ross Heights so I would almost roll out of bed, get ready, cross the fields and be here in no time," Frank explained.

"I remember Mr Lench hired three trains and took the entire workforce on a day trip to Brighton. There was a bar put on and we all had a good time.

"When my wife Irene died in 1996 I remember getting a a really nice card from the family. I stayed on for another few years and left when I was made redundant," he added.  

Blackheath retired teacher Lesley Hayes, aged 72, recalled that her grandmother Elizabeth Lacey worked at TW Lench for 40 years before reluctantly retiring aged 65.

"She spent the entire time that she was there putting nuts onto bolts. She lived on the Lansbury Road estate. At Christmas the company gave the staff hampers and when she retired the company bought her a fridge because she didn't have one, and a TV.

"She died in 1982 when she was 79."

Blackheath Royal British Legion treasurer Tony Potter told the gathering how the company was founded in 1897 in a traditional small factory known as an 'oliver shop', in Ross, by Thomas William Lench making rivets. The oliver shop was subsequently dismantled and rebuilt in the grounds of the Black Country Living Museum.

The expanding enterprise moved to the Excelsior Works in Carnegie Road where its famous Admiral brand became a world-wide byword for excellence making screws, washers, castings, telegraph and telephone ironwork and railway fastenings among other industrial metal goods.

"A significant employer in Blackheath records how that by 1961 they had 1,500 employees," Tony said. "That's just the nuts and bolts of the enterprise, but people have been in touch to say what a great company it was to work for.

"We've heard about the black-tie balls, Christmas parties, recreational football pitches, testimonials from customers and suppliers about their sound business practices. 

"Often repeated was the phrase 'no-one has a bad word to say about them'."

Due to the effects of the international financial crash in 2008 and competition from cheaper imported goods, TW Lench ceased trading in 2012.