BRIGG MEN OF STEEL

In the excellent book compiled by Dr Frank "Toddy" Henthorn to mark the 300th anniversary of Brigg Grammar School in 1969, headmaster H. B. Williams wrote a very interesting article about boys of the school during the first six decades of the 20th century, where they went to work and what their fathers did for a living.
The headmaster pointed out that many Briggensians left to go into the steel industry and became professionally qualified as a result of studies undertaken while in the employment of Appleby-Frodingham, Redbourn and Lysaght's. These included degree courses.
Other boys took apprenticeships and others went to work in administration, technical trades and commercial functions.
In short, the Scunthorpe steel industry became a huge employer of BGS pupils.
We were reminded of this today when we chanced upon a copy of the Appleby-Frodingham News magazine for Autumn 1961, which reported  the promotion of H. W. Pilkington to plant engineer at the ore preparation plant.
It explained that he had joined the works in 1938, straight from Brigg Grammar, and become an apprentice at the Frodingham ironworks.  He then worked his way up the ladder with a succession of engineer/management posts.
Today the steel industry no longer takes on the huge numbers of young people it once did, which is a shame.