Page 32 • The HERALD • 29th October 2026 v SHOP LOCALLY FOR SERVICE AND VALUE v Acorn Building Contracts Ltd u Reliable, local builders offering affordable, quality workmanship u Our employees are fully qualified and fully insured u All aspects of building undertaken including extensions, structural alterations, roofing, ground works, kitchens, bathrooms, carpentry and plastering u Drawings arranged u Insurance work undertaken u Local Approved Contractor For free quotations and friendly advice please call Office: 023 8024 3336 Mobile: 07786 656865 Email: acornbuilding@gmail.com or visit our website: www.acorn-builders.co.uk You will not be disappointed Leaky taps, wonky shelves, flat-pack nightmares, squeaky doors, pictures hung straight, TVs on walls and most of those other jobs you need doing. Reliable, tidy, fully insured, and won’t leave you with a bigger mess than you started with! New Forest & Waterside: SO40–SO43, SO45, SO51 Jim – 07379 383307 HANDYMAN NO JOB TOO SMALL 93-YEAR-OLD RETURNS TO FAWLEY WITH INVITATION TO HISTORIC 1951 OPENING Derek Newcombe, 93, has returned to ExxonMobil Fawley carrying the original invitation he received when Prime Minister Clement Attlee o cially opened the re nery in 1951. Seventy- ve years a er standing among the crowd at one of the UK’s most signi cant post-war industrial developments, Derek revisited the site where his career began, Returning during ExxonMobil Fawley’s 75th anniversary year, Derek toured locations connected to his early career, explored the transformation that has taken place since and viewed archive photographs capturing the site’s earliest years. Meeting with Joel Mizen, Fawley Site Manager, at the location where Attlee delivered his address, Derek re ected on both the ceremony and the changes he had witnessed since his time at the site. “We were given the day off to attend the official ceremony, and I remember it being a very pleasant, warm day. It was my first glass of wine and the first time I had ever tried coleslaw. It felt like a very big occasion,” said Derek. He added, “To remember the site in its early days and then return after all these years is quite overwhelming. The scale of the transformation and the progress made is outstanding. There is so much that has changed, but there are also parts I still recognise that immediately bring back a lot of memories.” During his time at Fawley, Derek worked across the instrument department, machine shop, mechanical tting roles and drawing o ce, gaining specialist knowledge and experience at a time when the new re nery was still taking shape. “I used to cycle to work for 8am,” he said. “It was very hands-on. In the mornings I’d change charts and collect recordings from the transmitters, and in the afternoons, I’d be assigned to whatever work was taking place. When the new site opened, I was calibrating instruments under the guidance of American engineers. It was all very new.” Re ecting on the impact Fawley had on his career, Derek said, “Fawley gave me selfconfidence and laid the foundations for my career. I gained knowledge and experience that I would never have had without that background, and it helped shape the rest of my working life. My advice to young apprentices would be to build a good, enthusiastic routine and never stop asking questions.” ExxonMobil Fawley supports approximately 2,500 jobs and has welcomed more than 200 apprentices over the past 20 years, with more than half continuing to work at the site today. Following Derek’s return to the site, Joel Mizen said, “It was a privilege to welcome Derek back to Fawley during our 75th anniversary year. Hearing his memories of the site’s opening and seeing the invitation he has kept since 1951 brought an important part of our history to life. While the site has changed significantly over the years, the opportunities it creates for people remain just as important today. Derek’s story is a reminder of the generations of people who have helped shape the site and the lasting impact it has had on local families and workers.” Joel and Derek with his invitation A Concert of Transport Themed Music Join Marchwood Prelude Orchestra and Friends for ‘Trains and Boats and Planes’ – a concert of transport themed music – on Sunday 6th December, 4pm at Marchwood Village Hall. Tickets, including refreshments are £10 adults and £2 for under 16s and available from https://www.ticketsource.com/ marchwood-music-society or email: tickets@marchwoodmusicsociety.com Proceeds from the concert will go to Rose Road Association. PRINT & STITCH e next Print & Stitch session is Monday 2nd November, 10am – 12noon at Lepe Country Park. Create a decorative piece of work of your own design combining contact/nature printing, lino stamps, frottage, Indian ink drawing and stitch on to a material base. Material, thread, stamps, and ink will be provided (nonwashable ink). Bring your own needles and embroidery hoops if desired. To book your space, please visit: www.hants.gov.uk/ thingstodo/countryparks/lepe/whats-on or call: 023 8089 9108. £7.50 per session and usual parking charges apply. bringing with him a remarkable piece of history that he has carefully preserved for more than seven decades. e Esso Re nery was o cially opened by Clement Attlee on 14th September 1951. e occasion marked a major milestone for the region, helping transform employment opportunities across the Waterside. For Derek, who had gone from working as a butcher’s boy in Black eld to joining Fawley as an 18-year-old apprentice, it was an occasion he never forgot.
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