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Post by baronbeeza on Oct 2, 2012 21:24:45 GMT 12
I was reminded of this earlier this evening. I had almost forgotten about it.
The early morning taste of the air to accompany breakfast. I seem to remember it came from the industrial area over the other side of the field but have forgotten what we thought it was now.
We may even get a range of answers or possibilities here.
When did it start and finish ? Any ideas ?
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Post by corsair67 on Oct 2, 2012 21:32:34 GMT 12
Meat works around Hayton's Rd/Washbourne Rd area, or maybe the fertiliser works on Main South Rd?
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Post by Dave Homewood on Oct 2, 2012 22:23:47 GMT 12
Ravensdown fertilisers often stank on Main South Road as Craig said. Especially the time it caught fire!
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Post by bobajob on Oct 2, 2012 22:51:49 GMT 12
1968 & 1971 at 2TTS EM24 & EF22 had some classes up at the big school, very smelly. The story was if you hung a slice of bread out the class room window. In a few minutes you had a Meat Sandwich.
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Post by phil82 on Oct 2, 2012 23:18:15 GMT 12
Wasn't it a meat works? Yes, I do recall the smell ! It could have been the airmanry of course!
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Post by Dave Homewood on Oct 2, 2012 23:27:58 GMT 12
Woodfire smog and avtur fumes from the Freindships are the main smells I recall from Wigram.
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Post by corsair67 on Oct 2, 2012 23:33:35 GMT 12
Actually, now that I think of it, the 'meat' works may have been more of an offal processing place where the offal was broken down for use in other products*?
(* I used to buy meat pies from a bakery on Watts Road, and I swear they sometimes used offal in their pies! ;D ).
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Post by baronbeeza on Oct 2, 2012 23:55:23 GMT 12
This is going well. It was a meaty smell and that has jogged the memory. It seems it was there as early as 1968 as Bobajob has mentioned. It may have finished by the '90's though from Dave's comments. I really don't know when I last had a whiff of it. I worked at Wigram on and off from 2002 to about 2008. Didn't do early morning starts though. I can recall it real bad in the early '80's..... we used to joke that you could almost chew the air.
The meat sandwich idea had me smiling also.
What were they doing, boiling up dog food or something ?
I recollect it was bad around 8am.
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Post by beagle on Oct 3, 2012 4:14:41 GMT 12
yes I remember the meat smell from my time at Wigram in the early 80's. It was quite bad when we used to do parade practises.
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Post by normnz on Oct 3, 2012 7:24:12 GMT 12
Hi bobajab
Wow "2TTS EM24" and 'the smell' - brought back almost forgotten memories. I was on EM6 at 'The E&W School'. Jeez that was a long time ago.
Norm
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Post by normnz on Oct 3, 2012 7:52:37 GMT 12
Whoops sorry, make that bobajob
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Post by Dave Homewood on Oct 3, 2012 9:45:08 GMT 12
I dont recall any meaty smells at all from my days there 1991-93. Maybe the council had gotten onto them or the works had closed?
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Post by baronbeeza on Oct 3, 2012 13:05:37 GMT 12
Wow "2TTS EM24" and 'the smell' - brought back almost forgotten memories. I was on EM6 at 'The E&W School'. Jeez that was a long time ago. Norm Hi Norm, so I am guessing EM6 was a few years ago now. It seems that you can remember the 'smell' as well. Was it about in the early 60's ?
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Post by ngatimozart on Oct 3, 2012 15:21:19 GMT 12
I was at Wigram 74-75 & 76 - 79 and the smell was meat works especially in a north easterly. sometimes it was a bit hard on the stomach especially if one was somewhat ill from the night before. The Ravensdown smell was different and not as stomach churning.
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Post by Dave Homewood on Oct 3, 2012 15:37:51 GMT 12
Must have been the main meat supplier to the Airman's Mess?
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Post by raymond on Oct 3, 2012 16:54:42 GMT 12
I remember that smell.....At 2TTS in the late 70's and early 80's Im sure it was gone by the late 80's.
During a hot day we had the choice of opening the windows and savouring some of that smell or keeping them closed and roasting a bit. We normally kept them closed...
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Post by normnz on Oct 3, 2012 18:00:13 GMT 12
A little earlier than that - try round 53/54. Good memories of Wigram though :-)
Norm
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Post by corsair67 on Oct 3, 2012 23:06:20 GMT 12
Now that I think about it, I'm sure it was the meat works near Hayton/Washbournes Rd somewhere, as the high school I attended wasn't that far from Wigram, and we used to cop it there too sometimes too.
I recall biking around the site in the very late-80s, and at the time it was being demolished - which would match up with what others have said about the smell disappearing.
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Post by eieio on Oct 4, 2012 7:13:23 GMT 12
I think you will find the freezing works stink was from the rendering plant,turning bone and guts into blood and bone fertilizer which we cant use now on animal pastures due to the mad cow disease thing.I dont remember a works that did not have a perfume.
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Post by baronbeeza on Oct 4, 2012 7:27:22 GMT 12
It was certainly a 'thick' odour. This was in an almost residential area though and access to that location has never been easy. I can't recall seeing stock trucks or indeed any yards in the area. Do any of the aerial photos of the Base show what was over there ?
In many ways I wish it was still there, it would have put a dampener on the rampant housing development invading the airfield.
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