Inside the final days of Liverpool's lost Meccano factory - generations of workers given just 20mins notice

Most people from Liverpool will know someone associated with the old Meccano factory on Binns Road in Old Swan. It became Britain's biggest toy manufacturer and provided jobs for hundreds of locals.

Created by Liverpool-born Frank Hornby in 1898, Meccano - originally known as Mechanics Made Easy - became one of the world’s most well-known toys and by 1914, the huge factory was needed to keep up with production. Becoming the company’s headquarters for more than 60 years, the Binns Road factory went on to produce thousands of popular toys, including Dinky and Bayko products - before sadly closing down in 1979.

The sudden closure shocked people across the country, but what’s more shocking is that employees are said to have not been given any warning that their jobs were going to be lost.

Liverpool historian, Jonathon Wild, tells the tale of the shock closure through childhood memories, uncovered letters, census findings and archived photographs.

Jonathon recalled his late father, Peter Wild, working as a Toolmaker at Meccano and regularly bringing home pre-production toys for he and his brother to ‘test’. “I think most of these ended up being buried in the garden after their use and destruction, not realising their worth until many years later,” he said. Though he does still own some impressive items, such as a The Queen’s Silver Jubilee 1977 Dinky double decker bus.

The family’s employment at the factory long preceded Peter though, with Jonathon discovering that, in the 1939 Census, his Grand Aunt Dora was listed as a Toy Factory Clerk, and his Great Grandfather, James Wild, was listed as a Steel Tool Treater. While he isn’t completely sure when his great grandfather’s employment at the factory began, Jonathon said: “He certainly did up until 1953 when his wife, Alice, was presented with a letter from the Managing Director of Meccano with the ‘deep regret of your husband’s passing, during his long and faithful service to the Company’.”

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His grandfather, Albert Wild, began working at the factory the same year - as Foreman of the Meccano Department - earning a salary of £675 per annum. Employed by Meccano right up until its closure, Albert was planning to retire and had found a flat in North Wales for he and his wife, Olive, to spend their retirement. The pair lived apart during this time, and Albert sent her numerous letters, keeping her up to date with what was happening at work.

Albert passed away at the age of 97 and Olive lived to an impressive age of 102 and, when their estate was passed over to their grandchildren, they were gifted with all of Albert’s letters. It is from these writings that Jonathon found first-hand accounts of what happened when Meccano - then owned by Airfix - announced its closure in 1979, and the months leading up to its demise.

“We have been told by the firm they need one million pounds to see them through until March. This is the end of the financial year. They say they have a cash flow problem, the money owing to them is not coming in fast enough, so they have stopped all overtime,” Albert wrote in early 1979.

In a later letter, Albert told his wife: “The only news about Meccano is they are meeting Airfix next Saturday. There are all sorts of rumours being spread so the be thing to do is to wait til Saturday. One minute you have the hope of some cash deal for us, the next minute things look very bleak, so we must wait.”

While the letters appear to show that Meccano employees - or at least those of Albert’s seniority - were kept in the loop about the company’s struggles, the factory’s closure just weeks before Christmas came as a shock to its more than 900 staff - including Jonathon’s father, Peter.

On the day of the closure, Friday, November 30, Albert wrote: “Meccano had all the factory in the canteen at 4:10pm today and said the factory was closing for good at 4:30pm! (twenty minutes notice!). It was the first I had heard about this sudden closure, and I sat there with my fellow workers – I did not get prior knowledge even as Foreman! All 900 of the work force. Some are sitting in all weekend as a protest. We are entitled to three months’ pay by law, plus redundancy pay etc. This was on the news at 5:45pm!”

Over the weekend, Albert recalled the news of the closure being on Radio Merseyside, and MPs asking for the issue to be raised in the House of Commons. He wrote: “In the morning we have been told to go to work at 8am to hear what they intend to do. By law they have to give you 90 days’ notice or pay you the money. We are entitled to redundancy also. Well, it is now Monday. I went to work, and we all had a meeting in the canteen. The papers and television were hanging around. The result what came out of this meeting was they are to meet Airfix board with the local MPs on Wednesday 5th December.

“There is silly talk of about trying to carry on. But, we are waiting until Wednesday which I think must be the end of the line. It was terrible in the factory this morning; all sorts of things had been stolen. In my case I took mine and Peter’s tools home with us for safe keeping as it is now known we will not get any wages for this week. My redundancy is £2,500 which is guaranteed.”

Following the closure, staff staged sit-ins for a number of months, taking it in turns to occupy the building in groups. Albert told his wife he took part on Tuesday, December 4, and noticed all of the company’s tackle had ‘been pinched’ from the tool room. He continued: “From what I can see this is the end of Meccano. There is a big meeting on Wednesday morning at 9:30am with the Airfix board and the local MPs about the 90 days’ notice.”

Liverpool MPs visited the factory to offer support and Albert told his wife he was set to receive his redundancy pay on December 13, and severance pay on December 20, though many employees actually waited months for redundancy payments, and a hardship fund was set up. After this letter, there was no mention of Meccano in his correspondence. Jonathon’s father found new work as a Toolmaker on the Wirral and sadly passed away at an early age, leaving Jonathon with treasured Meccano toys and leaflets.

The occupation of the Binns Road factory ended in March of 1980 and the production of Meccano and Dinky toys continued at factories abroad. Purchased by Spin Master in 2013, Meccano’s last-standing dedicated factory - located in Calais, France - announced its closure in 2023. While Meccano products will still be made at factories alongside other toys, its reign over the industry has come to an end.