In 1974 I was employed by Knapp Drewett in Kingston as a Proof Reader.

When I joined the firm it was a thriving Printing firm with the main emphasis on printing Local Newspapers. At that time we printed The Surrey Comet, Saturday and Wednesday editions, the Middlesex Chronicle and the Putney Herald. There was a large jobbing section which printed magazines, books and railway work. It was a very busy printing works right in the centre of Kingston. As the years went by it was obvious that modernisation was needed to keep pace with the changes that printing was undergoing. Towards the end of the seventies Knapp Drewett decided to invest in a photo-typesetting system. This was an exciting time for all of the employees.

Unfortunately one section of the Composing department refused to operate the new system unless they could keep the old system of rates of pay they had enjoyed for many years. As the Management could not accept their demands the new typesetting equipment was kept upstairs under wraps and was not brought into operation. This was a very sad time for the majority of the employees.

Just about this time it was decided to close the General Printing side of the business. To see the Composing Department being dismantled was one of the saddest sights I can remember in my 50 years in the Printing Industry. Several of the Compositors purchased some of the machines and typecases and other bits and pieces to set up their own businesses in a smaller way. It was about this time that a move was afoot to Lower Ham Road and as there did not seem too many prospects of good employment for Proof Readers I moved on. When I now go back to Kingston and see Boots the Chemists on the site where I enjoyed many hours working at Knapp Drewett it makes me reflect on the past great era of Printing which sadly is no more.

(One memory I have of the comradeship we had at Knapp's was when one of the night Proof Readers passed away. This unfortunate man lived in a caravan on his own, had no known relatives and his funeral was arranged jointly by the firm and the composing room and the only people present at his funeral were colleagues and staff. What a sad ending to a life of Print.)

From John Macdonald.

91 West Street , Ewell, Epsom, Surrey KT17 1XN

Telephone: 0208 393 3364.