These are the memoirs of four expatriate members of the management staff of the Dunlop factory at Sahaganj, District Hooghly, West Bengal, covering the years 1936-1965 and written in 1987. The four are John Bawcutt, D.J. Birch, F.G.W. Jackson and David Osborne. A note about W.H. Burdock, a fifth member of the staff who died some years ago, is written by John Bawcutt.
The five papers describe the fortunes of the Dunlop Tyre Company in India from its beginnings in 1936 until the mid 1960s. Its expansion to Ambattur in Madras in 1959 is referred to. The Company was to continue for another 15 years, until the mid 1980s, when it was sold to a local conglomerate.
The pros and cons of the job are discussed. The founding of trades unions and the difficulties in the supply of raw materials are referred to. Social life for management staff, welfare projects for workers, accommodation for management and workers are described. The process of Indianization in management is also discussed.
Notes on tyre manufacture are attached to John Bawcutt’s paper and a note on the environs of Sahaganj, ‘The Hooghly’ is attached to David Osborne’s paper.
