Seeking Photos: Welwyn Engineering & the "Magic Roundabout" (1970–2010)

[Mark J]

Hi everyone, I’m putting together a career memory book for my father, Hugh Jefferies, who was an Engineer at Welwyn Electronics for many years.

He is incredibly proud of his work on the factory’s automation, especially a machine nicknamed the "Magic Roundabout." I’m looking for any photos or scans that might help bring those memories to life for him:

• The "Magic Roundabout": Any shots of this or similar assembly/indexing machines.
• The Factory: Photos of the engineering offices or production floor (1970–2010).
• The Team: Candid shots of the engineering department, staff presentations, or old company newsletters.

If you worked at Welwyn during this era or have any old photos tucked away, I would be so grateful for a digital copy or a lead on where to find one. Thank you for helping me celebrate his time at Welwyn! Best regards, Mark J

[threegee]

Hi Mark!

I only ever got into the factory two or three times, and remember the IBM computer doing the wages, and the resistor banding machines on the metox precision resistor line. In fact, I probably still have some of the floor sweepings and production overruns gifted in a large paper bags by Dr Kirby (the head of research) as a thank you for very occasionally helping him with electrical and electronic bits and bobs he required urgently.  Latterly, I also knew John Storey, who worked in engineering there, and was an assistant flying instructor at Newcastle airport in his spare time.

The Magic Roundabout sounds like an interesting machine.  Keen to know more.