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Are there any left?

This topic has 38 replies, 24 voices, and was last updated 13 September 2019 at 19:07 by Frances IoM.

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21 August 2019 at 10:40 #35591
Graham Butcher
Participant
@grahambutcher80356
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21 August 2019 at 10:40 #425299
Graham Butcher
Participant
@grahambutcher80356
After having seen the recent Babini Press thread on here. I have been reading some old Practical Wireless and Practical Electronics magazines on there.

I was taken back to my youth with the number of advertisers for army surplus/ electrical bits and pieces suppliers there were then.

I can remember going to Tottenham court rd in London where nearly every shop sold stuff like that. I So the question is, are there any left?

Graham Butcher
21 August 2019 at 10:49 #425301
John Haine
Participant
@johnhaine32865
Anchor supplies

I went there once – all kinds of stuff (more than now listed on their website) including under a tarpaulin out front a jet engine!

Also http://www.bullybeef.co.uk/

Edited By John Haine on 21/08/2019 10:53:30
21 August 2019 at 11:27 #425307
ken king, King Design
Participant
@kenkingkingdesign
'Government Surplus' was the generic title of all those goodies. Huge and often bewildering variety of stuff, excellent quality, and all at knock-down prices. Happy Days.

Ken
21 August 2019 at 11:31 #425308
ken king, King Design
Participant
@kenkingkingdesign
Sorry, didn't answer your question as I was caught up in reverie. No, I think it was all snapped up and tailed off quite quickly, at least the useful stuff, but who knows …… lurking in a forgotten barn/cellar/storeroom … one can still dream of discovering treasure.
21 August 2019 at 11:33 #425309
Frances IoM
Participant
@francesiom58905
2 years ago walking up the hill to Lincoln Cathedral came across such a shop that took me back to the late 50s and early 60s with its collection of radio ‘surplus’ inc some that dated back then! I subsequently noted their adverts in one of the electronics mags but can’t recall seeing them recently so maybe it has ceased
21 August 2019 at 12:37 #425323
Nicholas Farr
Participant
@nicholasfarr14254
Hi Graham, I also used to go to Tottenham Court Rd. and rootle around in boxes for all sorts of electrical and electronics surplus and as you say at reasonable price. Proops used to have a shop down there on the left hand side when coming away from T C Rd. underground, there were a fair few of the same type of shops in some of the side streets off T C Rd. but you had to walk a little way to find them, it was way back in the late 60's early 70's when I used to go. Another place where you could get a lot of end of the line component left overs, was Henrys Radio in Edgware Road, they used to be one of my favourite shops back then as you could do mail order with them before Maplins was really up and running. As Ken says, I don't think there are many places that are quite the same now, I think we had their hay-day.

Regards Nick.
21 August 2019 at 12:51 #425325
Dave Daniels
Participant
@davedaniels93256
Posted by Frances IoM on 21/08/2019 11:33:32:
2 years ago walking up the hill to Lincoln Cathedral came across such a shop that took me back to the late 50s and early 60s with its collection of radio 'surplus' inc some that dated back then! I subsequently noted their adverts in one of the electronics mags but can't recall seeing them recently so maybe it has ceased

Probably this chap: John Birkett.

http://www.zyra.org.uk/birkett.htm

Used to go there a lot in the 70's.

D.
21 August 2019 at 12:56 #425327
Robert Atkinson 2
Participant
@robertatkinson2
Hi,

J Bull "Bullybeef.com" have long ceased trading. I heard a rumour that the owner was in jail but don't know for sure.

Anchor supplies are still going but are a shadow of their former self. Again I think someone involved was in trouble with the law.
The shop in Lincoln is J Burkett **LINK** Limited opening hours these days.
Government disposal has changed several times over the years with various contracts, auctions and tenders (direct or via agents) being used.
Most stuff ends up being available on ebay but there are a couple of direct dealers:

RAMCO

http://www.ramco.co.uk

Witham Specialist Vehicles ltd

**LINK**

Most of the "surplus" electronics dealers (M&B Radio, Johns Radio etc) have shut their shops (gone on line), closed down, or greatly reduced their operations.

Unfortunately this means the days of a weekend trip trawling through stockrooms for hidden gems have long gone.

Robert G8RPI.
21 August 2019 at 14:19 #425331
JA
Participant
@ja
I was once a Londoner and remember the shops and area (parts were dodgy).

Bassett Lowke had their shop at the west end of Holborn and I think Proops were next door. In the early 1960s the government disposal shops were split between Tottenham Court Road and Lisle/Little Newport Streets. The latter streets were infamous, the only businesses present were the disposal shops and brothels. The biggest building in Lisle Street was the London Hospital for Skin Diseases. By 1966, when I left London, the disposal shops had left Soho and later the Tottenham Court Road shops went into the HiFi market.

Occasionally I would return and by 1971 nothing was left.

JA

Just a comment, the goods stuff like HRO receivers sold for a lot of money.

Edited By JA on 21/08/2019 14:23:17
21 August 2019 at 16:30 #425360
Nicholas Farr
Participant
@nicholasfarr14254
Hi JA, I don't know if Proops had a shop in Holborn, as I never went there, but I did go into a Proops shop in T C Rd. and their current "About Us" page says they opened one there in 1946 **LINK**. If I remember correctly as you went in you went down a few steps and the ceiling seemed to be a little low.

Regards Nick.

Edited By Nicholas Farr on 21/08/2019 16:32:47
21 August 2019 at 17:55 #425377
Cornish Jack
Participant
@cornishjack
Started S&R helo flying in '64.The nature of the work required that we used throat mics rather than the conventional type. The RAF, as usual, failed to organise a supply so, on joining we were told to go to a particular surplus shop in Soho to buy an ex Army tank crew throat mic. – 7 shillings and sixpence, refundable on production of the receipt!! This item was then given to the Safety Equipment section who removed the connector and attached an aircraft compatible one. From memory, it was about 18 months before we received the custom designed replacements.

"Yes, dear, I was in Soho on Government orders"

rgds

Bill
21 August 2019 at 18:12 #425384
JA
Participant
@ja
It is a long time ago and one’s memory can play tricks.

I think Proops were in Holborn in around 1963. They were not there in 1960 and had moved on by 1966. So had Bassick Lowke. By 1963 Proops had left the disposal market and was more like the business it is now.

JA
21 August 2019 at 20:37 #425402
Simon Williams 3
Participant
@simonwilliams3
Rolling back to John Haines' post above, Anchor Surplus had a nasty fire about two years ago. Are they back up and running again?

Rgds to all,

Simon
21 August 2019 at 20:50 #425404
Robert Atkinson 2
Participant
@robertatkinson2
Anchor are still in business
https://www.anchorsupplies.com/ but a tiny store in Nottingham compared the old one. They had a "museum" collection which was lost in the fire. Their Ripley depot is still there.

Robert G8RPI
21 August 2019 at 22:09 #425420
Simon Williams 3
Participant
@simonwilliams3
Thank you Robert, in a previous existence I passed through Nottingham maybe two or three times a month, and frequently stopped in to see what delights Anchor could tempt me with. These days I need to make a day of it to go there, so I'm pleased to hear they made it albeit on a survival kit regime.

Their museum was something to behold, and I'm sorry to hear it was lost. Such is life.

I was seriously tempted by the the jet engine (a Gnome if I remember right) but it was a bit (quite a bit) more money that I wanted to sink. Nevertheless, what an experiment!

Rgds to all

Simon
22 August 2019 at 18:23 #425550
Robert Atkinson 2
Participant
@robertatkinson2
Well if you want a gasturbine engine try Everett

https://www.everettaero.com/

I like small turbines and had several some years ago but a change in curcumstances and job move means I don't have any at the moment.

Robert G8RPI.
22 August 2019 at 18:43 #425557
Neil Wyatt
Moderator
@neilwyatt
There was a good one in Morgan Arcade, Cardiff. I still have some of the boards I bought there to snarf parts off, around 1980.

Neil
23 August 2019 at 11:25 #425639
Nicholas Farr
Participant
@nicholasfarr14254
Hi Neil, well I'll have some chips with my fish for tea tonight and I expect they'll taste better than what you get off your boards. Having said that, I'm still procuring odd bits from boards out of a couple of old Telex machine cabinets that I got for free somewhere back in the 90's.

Regards Nick.
23 August 2019 at 12:34 #425651
simondavies3
Participant
@simondavies3
Posted by Neil Wyatt on 22/08/2019 18:43:29:

There was a good one in Morgan Arcade, Cardiff. I still have some of the boards I bought there to snarf parts off, around 1980.

Neil

Guess you would remember John Hall tools as well -think it was Morgan Arcade but it might have been one of the others around there. A constant source of things in those days as well as their industrial place underneath one of the motorway (?) flyovers. My main source of materials was a model shop on the western outskirts of Cardiff that did ME stuff as well including ST D10 castings.

Interesting days…!
10 September 2019 at 08:45 #428345
Nicholas Farr
Participant
@nicholasfarr14254
Hi, just for interest, I've just been browsing for something completely different when I came across this vintage ad.

Proops in Tottenham Court Road.

Regards Nick.

Edited By Nicholas Farr on 10/09/2019 08:46:58
10 September 2019 at 10:19 #428361
Rik Shaw
Participant
@rikshaw
Tottenham Court road was mostly hi-fi kit by the time I got there years ago.

There used to be a very interesting surplus/junk/treasure shop near Weymouth town bridge sadly now a Spa grocery.

In the 'fifties I used to love a good shufti after school round Cooks of Bedford for the surplus stuff, that's when they were located on the opposite side of the road to Mr.Horsenail the herbalist. Cooks have survived and flourish although these days are suppliers – among other things – of engineering tooling of the new and sparkly kind.

I used to love surplus now I am one!

Rik
10 September 2019 at 10:57 #428367
Martin Kyte
Participant
@martinkyte99762
Well there was H Gee in Cambridge up untill a few weeks ago when Gee's burnt down. Appropriately due to an electrical fault.

**LINK**

I did visit about 6 years back for a cheap soldering iron and the shop was identical to how I remembered from my college days including the staff.

regards Martin
10 September 2019 at 11:30 #428370
martin perman 1
Participant
@martinperman1
Posted by Rik Shaw on 10/09/2019 10:19:59:

Tottenham Court road was mostly hi-fi kit by the time I got there years ago.

There used to be a very interesting surplus/junk/treasure shop near Weymouth town bridge sadly now a Spa grocery.

In the 'fifties I used to love a good shufti after school round Cooks of Bedford for the surplus stuff, that's when they were located on the opposite side of the road to Mr.Horsenail the herbalist. Cooks have survived and flourish although these days are suppliers – among other things – of engineering tooling of the new and sparkly kind.

I used to love surplus now I am one!

Rik

Rik,

Thats a few years ago, I still use them for stuff as and when required, I find my goodies at all the vintage rally's I attend, my latest find was a milking bucket with a plaque attached which reads Listers Dursley England.

Martin P
10 September 2019 at 12:36 #428376
Robert Atkinson 2
Participant
@robertatkinson2
Thats a few years ago, I still use them for stuff as and when required, I find my goodies at all the vintage rally's I attend, my latest find was a milking bucket with a plaque attached which reads Listers Dursley England.

Martin P

That brings back memories. When I was at college in Bristol in early 80's I had a part time job repairing gaming machines and the Listers Dursley social club was one the sites Always a priority call, they had a habit of smashing the machine to get their payout if we didn't turn up quickly enough.
Back on topic there was Target electronics in Cherry lane at the bottom of Cheltenham road. Lots of surplus and new microtan computers. Further up Cheltenham road was Marshalls component shop.

Robert.
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