OLD CAMPAIGNERS

In the coming months I will be recording the memories of people who worked on a number of landmark post-war civil engineering projects across Britain. If you know anyone, of any nationality and across all skills levels, who would like to put their experiences on record, get in touch...

The five decades following the end of World War Two saw building and civil engineering projects undertaken in housing, transport, energy, and communications on a scale not seen in Britain since the pioneering days of the Railway Age. Fuelled by a major capital injection from the Marshall Plan enthusiasm compensated for lack of experience and at every level the construction industry’s labour force demonstrated an unprecedented degree of commitment and consensus. This resulted in the completion of a series of strategic infrastructural projects which completely transformed Britain. The men who built them – the engineers, architects, construction managers, and operatives, are now elderly and, like many of their major works - such as the first generation of nuclear power stations, are unlikely to be with us for very much longer.

It is imperative that we catalogue these works and record the memories of the men who executed them without further delay.

This is a unique opportunity to put on public record, in a form accessible to all, the voices of The Men who built Britain. It may not come again...