BICC Computer Centre, Warrington Road

[stephen nulty]

I came across this picture in my files, taken some years ago before they demolished the building to make way for the housing estate.

 

I worked in here from 1977 to 1986, from Trainee Computer Operator through to Senior Programmer.

 

I also recall that when I worked as an Operator and we were on nights, then when it snowed, we would go on to the roof and throw snowballs at passers by, then hide.

 

Bear in mind that it was the middle of the night and most of said "passers by" were well oiled from a night out. Great fun

[Thumpa lumpa]

Some right bloody hooligans in Prescot Ste,

[stephen nulty]

Guilty as charged

 

[leschip]

Was the old house that belonged to Johnson's still there then?

A chap named Pennington (?) who went to Prescot Methodist Church worked there at that time, did you know him, Steve?

[stephen nulty]

The BI systems were originally LEO but by the time I Started it was an ICL1904S, just licards were still used extensively, as was paper tape.ke in the picture below.

 

We mainly used KeyEdit tapes, brought in from the punch room, as input, but cards were still used extensively, as was paper tape.

 

We often had visitors from other companies who were looking at possibly buying mainframe computers. Eeee, those were the days !!

[gypsygeoff]

When I was at Tech in the late 60's we went round Pilks computer room,they reminded me of large washing machines.

[tessmop]

It was like that at the Royal Insurance Records office in Aigburth.Great company to work for.

[Dicky D]

Not a coffee cup in site in that pic Steve.

[Thumpa lumpa]

Wonder how many mobile phones it would take to replace all those machines now??

[RATTY]

You mean an adding machine or comptometer NS. I remember those, got quite a speed up I did adding up all the bus drivers receipts.

 

 

I knew two people who worked at this office in early eighties, One called Leyland and one called Ratcliffe

[gypsygeoff]

When was you at Sidac omnibus?

[leschip]

Any of you Sidac people remember the union official Ken ?. He died at a young age in '78 and lived on the High Hill Estate.His catchphrase was "it's scronged) when owt went wrong.

[vinceprince]

What I used to like with old technology was when I was at British Sidac.I was a cost clerk and used a Burroughs accounting machine.When I used to have to input all my cost data onto the sheets,the damn machine used to bounce all over the desk.I clearly remember the comp operators as well-must have had sore fingers!!!.I did find in one cupboard one of those calculators where you used to have a handle on right side and used to turn it up and down as you added or subtracted(anyone remember the name?).I know this thread was about computers but think all these machines were incorporated in todays laptops,ipads etc.No Hackers eh.

They were called Facets

 

What I used to like with old technology was when I was at British Sidac.I was a cost clerk and used a Burroughs accounting machine.When I used to have to input all my cost data onto the sheets,the damn machine used to bounce all over the desk.I clearly remember the comp operators as well-must have had sore fingers!!!.I did find in one cupboard one of those calculators where you used to have a handle on right side and used to turn it up and down as you added or subtracted(anyone remember the name?).I know this thread was about computers but think all these machines were incorporated in todays laptops,ipads etc.No Hackers eh.

Sorry, FACIT not FACET

[stephen nulty]

As late as 1983, when this picture was taken, the Computer Programmers did not have "computers" on their desks. Instead, the office layout as shown has all the programmers sitting at their desks writing programs by hand onto coding sheets.

 

And next came the big technical advance !!

 

Instead of handing the coding sheets into the punch room for data entry, a half dozen "dumb terminals" were placed around the office - you can just about see them at the back of this picture - and the programmers typed their programmes in line by line (mainly COBOL but some FORTRAN and PLAN) before compilation. There were more programmers than terminals so you had to "book" your slot on them !!

 

The room in this picture was on the ground floor of the Computer Building, on the opposite side from that shown on the initial picture.

[Phyll]

"Facits" Well, you learn something new every day.

I never heard of them and I worked in an office,

don't think we had one of them at the time.

Are these the ones?

 

http://home.vicnet.n..Facit/Facit.htm

 

Oh, looking at the bottom of the link,

I think we used the newer electronic ones,

it says they were introduced in 1966.

Isn't technology amazing!

[Dave]

Situation vacant - teller-offer about quoting wanted. Must be prepared to feel unpopular.

[Phyll]

I volunteer Dave.

I mentioned it to someone last week about shouting, (in a nice way).

[Dave]

Thanks Phyll - don't be too keen else you'll get a reputation.

[Phyll]

LOL, You mean I don't already have one?

So do I get the job?

[Phyll]

Hi NSSO, Not sure why you used that Quote, I was talking to Dave.

Anyway, I do remember using Carbon Paper very well, it was fun.

As for your Machine, is this the one?

Don't forget to look at my other link with Facits on Post # 20.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:BurroughsCorporationAddingMachine.jpg

[quartz14]

Hi Stephen,

 

I found the pictures of the BICC Computer Centre interesting, especially as my mother was telling me recently about working at the BICC in Helsby in payroll. She said they would have to rush to get everything sorted by a certain time so a taxi could take the payroll to Liverpool for processing through a computer. I had no idea where this computer might be but I found your forum post in an internet search yesterday.

 

Also my mother had found this lengthy but interesting looking paper (if you like this sort of thing):

 

http://www.aehe.net/xcongreso/pdf/sesiones/historia/automation%20and%20management%20accounting%20in%20british%20manufacturing%20and%20retail%20financial%20services.pdf

 

Tell me Stephen, are all the pictures you've posted of the BICC computer centre and do you have any more? I have an interested in computing history so I'd also love to hear more about working life at the computer centre if you'd be happy to do so.

 

regards

Al

[underdog]

I worked there myself briefly round about 1982ish, just before they closed down & moved all the computer work to somewhere else - can't remember where exactly.

When they announced they were closing down the Prescot site, a couple of people decided to jump ship & get a head start on looking for work elsewhere. I'd done a computer course a few years earlier at St Helens Tech & my brother (Phil Jones, you should know him Stephen), got me into the BI site.

 

The night shift was er .. unusual. We had a record player in the tape safe so we'd get it out & play records all night. One of the shift leaders (John Meade, anyone remember him?) had a huge record collection, he used to go down to Penny Lane Records every month & buy 30 or 40 albums. I think the night shift was the only way he could manage to listen to them all. He kept a file listing all his collection & used the night shift to update it. He printed a copy for me once & it was nearly an inch thick!

 

Disk drives the size of washing machines with disk packs like van tyres

Printers the size of a mini

 

and .. (dramatic chord) .. the dreaded BLUE ROOM

 

I spent many a night shift up to my neck in carbon paper & multi-part paper. Still, could have been worse, I remember one time a roll of punch tape had sprocket holes which were slightly too small so someone (not me luckily) spent an entire shift sitting in offline heating an unfolded paper clip with a lighter & carefully burning every sprocket hole bigger.

[gypsygeoff]

Hi was only at Sidac 1965.I was originally working in Liverpool and cos of high travel cost was looking nearer home.Then went onto sthelens corp after sidac.Friends worked at sidac one went to new zealand and others found jobs as it was wound down.I worked just inside gates next to lodge.used to watch men/women coming in and clocking in/out.Some really good ways to try and beat wages office.They used to overclock several times so you couldnt read their time.Time taken off!!!!!wouldnt get through today would it.hope you wasnt one of those overclockers!!!!

Was one of your mates who went to NZ George Allanson?

[gervassutti]

 

 

It needed all my calculating equipment to solve the Lotto 2-liner, nearly ran out of pebbles. Sorry about the cross-threading.

 

 

"Facits" Well, you learn something new every day.

[stephen nulty]

Al

 

The main factory payroll was split into two, confusingly known as Payroll 3 and Payroll 6. All data from the factor (including Helsby) had to be in the Computer Room to be entered into the Key Edit machine by the Punch Room staff by Tuesday lunchtime, as I recall.

 

The data was “vetted” during the afternoon by a program and then the all clear was given to run the payroll. This took place on the afternoon shift and resulted in the printing of many thousands of payslips around 9:00 pm.

 

These then went into the dreaded “blue room” (as referred to by Underdog above). It was known as the blue room because the language used in there when

the decollating machines, guillotines etc. destroyed payslips/invoices/statements, etc., causing reprints to be done.

 

Payslips then went to the wages department first thing Wednesday morning and into paypackets for Thursday afternoon.

 

Before I started there, I believe they operated a LEO (Lyons Electronic Office) computer. Lyons had merged with English Electric and then the “big” merger with ICT happened, and International Computers Limited (ICL) came into being.

 

When I started in the Computer Room (1977), the main machine was an ICL1904S running under George III Operating system. In the early 1980’s, the BI upgraded to the 2900 range, running first of all under DME then VME. They moved their mainframe infrastructure to Penrith in 1981 and then also opened an office in Gloucester a year or two later. By this time, much of the programming was done using ICL’s “Application Master”, part of the Quickbuild Product Range.

 

Other parts of the company used different machines, and there were Burroughs mid-range systems running LINC, and I also recall some peculiar Singer machines running under some strange operating system. Data entry was on Key Edit using UPL and UPL+ before Direct Data Entry became big in the mid-1980’s.