Stories Of London

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Following his demobilisation, Len returned to work at the London & Lancashire Insurance Company.  Unfortunately at this time, theatre organs were being removed from many cinemas throughout the country and, as a result, finding a position as a full-time theatre organist was now out-of-the-question.  However, at this time the Government decided to reduce the amount of tax levied on cinema tickets if there was an element of live performance alongside the feature presentation.  A consequence of this tax relief was that Mr. Joseph Seal was to regularly telephone Len at his office and offered him part-time bookings to play in a number of cinemas still equipped with a theatre organ when spectacles, such as The Nun’s Story, Ben Hur etc, were screened.

These live organ performances gave Len the opportunity to play the theatre organs of a number of venues including the ABC Edgware Road, ABC-Regal Putney, ABC-Regal Old Kent Road, ABC-Regal Walham Green, ABC-Regal Uxbridge, ABC-Ritz Ipswich, Ritz Chatham and the Ritz Luton.

ABC Cinemas where Len played during his early career
Top Left: ABC Edgware Road; Top Right: ABC-Regal Old Kent Road;
Bottom Left: ABC-Regal Putney; Botton Right: ABC-Regal Uxbridge

Mr. Seal was careful to offer Len venues within the reach of his home either in or around London so as not to interfere with his full-time employment.  These performances allowed Len to receive his first professional payment – fifty pounds per session.

Some of the Wurlitzer Theatre Organs of the ABC-Circuit
that Len played during his early career
Top Left: Noel Briggs (1920- ) seated at the ABC-Regal Ipswich Theatre Organ; 
Top Right: The Auditorium & The Theatre Organ of the ABC Waltham Green;
Bottom: The Theatre Organs of the Ritz Chatham (Left) & the Ritz Luton (Right)

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In addition to playing theatre organs in cinemas following the completion of his National Service, in 1963 Len also had his first opportunity to deputise on Monday evenings and holidays for John Bowrey, the organist at the Streatham Ice Arena.  For several years Len continued to play here and would arrange his annual leave from the insurance company to coincide with that of Mr. Bowrey.  For this he received the payment of five pounds per session, which was beyond the usual union rate of three pounds and twelve shillings or £3.60 in today’s money, and which he saved towards the eventual building of his own home.

Streatham Ice Arena – Built in 1931 & Demolished in 2011

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Mocking Bird Hill played by Leon Berry (1914-1996) on a Wurlitzer Theatre Organ

Mr. Berry was known as the Dean of the Roller Rink Rock

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At the Arena, Len got to play a C3 Hammond Organ (which he remembers as being a magnificent instrument) for Ice Dance or Dancing.  Ice Dance was very popular at this time in the U.K.  and there were a number of fine players who specialised in playing strict tempo music for both amateur and professional skaters.

A C3 Hammond Organ

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Len believes this opportunity, as well as playing the theatre organs of the numerous cinemas that he visited at this time, was the result of yet another recommendation from George Blackmore.  He also credits this time as being an education in that it helped him learn about the world of the professional musician.

-oOo-A City Gentleman circa 1955

Len began his work at the London & Lancaster Insurance Company Limited at 155 Leadenhall Street in 1954 as a Junior Clerk.  Between then and 1956 when he took leave to undertake National Service, he moved through the Company’s Underwriting Departments.

Victorian Clerks – often characters in the stories of Charles Dickens (1812-1870)

Once he was demobbed from the Army, he returned to the Company, and went to work in what was known as their Comprehensive Department, which is the Department where the clerks  underwrote Householders’ Insurance Policies.

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• Homeowners Insurance is a form of property insurance that covers losses and damages to an individual’s house and assets in the home. 
• The policy usually covers interior damage, exterior damage, loss or damage of personal assets, and injury that arises while on the property.
• Every Homeowners Insurance policy has a liability limit, which determines the amount of coverage the insured has should an unfortunate incident occur.
• Homeowners Insurance should not be confused with a Home Warranty or with Mortgage Insurance. 

 Homeowner’s Insurance by Julia Kagan, 16 January, 2020

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Len remained here until he let The Head of the Department, Mr. Peter Mills and a Member of The Executive, Mr. A.H. Edwards, know of his interest in getting out-and-about rather than remain in a purely office-bound clerical position.  Luckily for him, Mr. George Odell who Len describes as a high-flying individual, was developing a role for himself as the first Employers Liability Surveyor in the City of London in addition to covering Risks throughout the country.

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EMPLOYERS LIABILITY SURVEYOR

An Employers Liability Surveyor is a person who travels outside the insurance office in order to evaluate a property  (both industrial and non-industrial) to be insured.  The survey included preparing reports of the processes being undertaken at the premises being inspected.  In addition, reports were also prepared regarding any dangerous equipment in use and on any unsafe working practices found.

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RISK

Most insurance providers only cover pure risks, or those risks that embody most or all of the main elements of insurable risk. These elements are due to chance, definiteness and measurability, statistical predictability, lack of catastrophic exposure, random selection and large loss exposure.

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Len was introduced to Mr. Odell, and following several occasional working days together, he invited Len to become part of his team of investigators.

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During this time, Len traveled throughout the U.K. and surveyed a number of industrial sites including: the Vauxhall car plants at Liverpool and Luton; Tate & Lyle Sugar Refineries; Forties Oil Field; Sainsbury’s Food Processing plants; Lansing Bagnall fork lift trucks plant; Berk Spencer Acids; and many other sites.

In 2016, Lyle’s Golden Syrup tin is awarded a Guinness World Record as the world’s oldest branding

After two years or so, Mr. Odell was elevated to a new position at the Head Office of the Royal Insurance Company, which was in the process of taking over the London & Lancashire Insurance Company Limited.  Following Mr. Odell’s promotion, Len was given the opportunity to assume the role of Employers Liability Surveyor at the Royal Insurance Company, which required him to move to their offices in London’s Lombard Street.

As the Employers Liability Surveyor for the Company, Len reported on the first industrial computers  installed in the City of London.  In addition, he surveyed and reported on Risks associated with a variety of industrial operations including car manufacturing, oil rig production in the North Sea and chemical industrial sites.

Len says that in order for the Underwriters to fully evaluate the various Risks & Hazards associated with an industrial plant, and thereby gain a better insight into the operation than what could be gleamed from merely looking at a proposal form, it was necessary to visit the various sites and observe, investigate and evaluate before accepting the risk and deciding the Premium.

Once the survey was complete, Len was able to provide a fuller picture of the Risks & Hazards for the Underwriters who were then able to pass on his recommendations for Risk Improvement.

In order to perform his duties to the best of his ability, Len was given specialist training, which included various Health & Safety seminars and courses organised by various Government Departments as well as specialist organisations and numerous regular up-date lectures in London given by H.M. Factory Inspectorate.

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In 1971, Royal Insurance Company closed their offices in the City whereupon Len was given the opportunity to move to the Head Office in Liverpool.   After careful thought, he decided against moving.  Evidently, the Company decided that it wanted to keep Len in their employment and gave him a Nationwide Brief with his Employers Liability Surveys & Reports and provided him with an office at their Watford Branch, as his home base.  In addition, the Company provided him with a private secretary, an all-new Dictaphone machine for saving his comments, thoughts and reminders during a visit together with a car for traveling to the various sites.  Len says that he thoroughly enjoyed the responsibility of helping to break new ground in the Insurance Industry.

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Len and his wife, Judith, are still in touch with his typist, Christine, from his London & Lancasshire days, and also with his secretary, Gwen, from his time at the Watford Branch of the Royal, as well as his secretary, Cathy, from his Yamaha days at the Milton Keyes office.