To Mackies Men
I was watching some programmes of Joanna Lumley touring India (she was born in Kashmir) when lo and behold they visited a jute mill which had been operating for over one hundred years.
They stopped by what looked like a combing machine which processed the raw material into strands.
Miss Lumley shouted " Gosh this machine was made by Mackies of Belfast" to which the guide replied "there are many Mackie machines here."
BTW the three programmes were very interesting

YOU ARE ALL FAMOUS
LR

Lowroader
Here are 2 videos which may interest you, are about Mackies = Men of Steel and the 3rd is a report in the Ulster Star about Marion Mackie who lived in a Care Home in Lisburn and celebrated her 104 Birthday there. She was originally from Germany and met one of the Mackie sons who was there selling her father, owner of a shoe making firm machinery. I served an apprenticeship in Mackies from 1960 until 1965, we had a saying " Mackies men = worth Shorts men ten"!
I was a very hard apprenticeship but it hardened me up for later life.
donald

https://vimeo.com/4042856

https://vimeo.com/4180990.

http://www.lisburntoday.co.uk/news/marion-marks-her-milestone-birthday-1-4929152

Hi Donald and LR.,



I worked in Mackies in the Stores Accounts dept.1957/1964. My Brother Bobby served his apprenticeship in the Drawing Erection 1955/1960 and worked for the firm a total of 38yrs. Most of his time was in outside erectors(India/South Africa/ USA/Australia/Scotland) a lot of the time he worked with John McCready from Hillsborough, John died recently.

I only worked in Mackies for 7yrs., I have to say I did enjoy it.



Beano

Lowroader
That maschine could have been a jute drawing machine, the principle off which was raw jute ( or flax ) being processed ( drawn out ) between 2 sets of rollers, the back ones where the material entered running slower as the front ones where the material left the process. The result was that it was drawn out ( thus the name drawing machine)Upon leaving the front set of rollers the processed material was forwarded into high cans and transported to the next process ( spinning). Between the rollers the material was combed by metal hackles which ran in horizantal screws with a speed faster than the material being drawn out, upon reaching the front rollers they fell into other screws turning in the opposite direction which brought them back and lifted them into the rollers where the material entered the process. Thus the name "fallers ". These fallers had to have the hackles replaced and this was done by a trade known as "hackle setters ). A school friend of yours, Billy Gallagher was one of the last of these tradesmen employed in Hilden mill. The other tradesmen used to banter him by sayin " A hackle setter is a fitter with no brains"! These fallers were cleaned by a team who worked on the night shift, they were known locally as "daisy pluckers" One of your neighbours, Jock Dunsmore was the foreman.
donald

Donald, was the Jock Dunsmore you mention from Leamington?

Ann
Correct, he lived next door to the Davis family in the new houses.
donald