Actor Sam Wanamaker may have been the public face behind the rebuilding of London’s Globe Theatre, but behind the scenes, another man was diligently making sure it progressed when funds and donations allowed. His name and face went unrecognised – until now.
Ted Hampton, formerly the theatre’s site manager and now its clerk of works, was delighted to receive an MBE for services to construction in the new year’s honours list.
The diffident clerk is one of the industry’s unsung heroes, with a career that spans half a century of work on site and training young site managers.
His quiet contribution to the industry began in 1951 when he was site manager on the construction of Pinner Park School in London. He joined Lovell in 1956 and, after 33 years with the firm, was poached by the Globe Trust to act as site manager on the construction of the replica theatre at Bankside.
“Whichever way you look at it, the Globe is a once-in-a-lifetime project,” he says proudly.
Hampton saw the project through thick and thin, making sure work was done as money dripped in. To recreate the building of 1614, he used a gang of four labourers and construction techniques of the time, such as plastering the walls with lime, sand and goat hair.
Training the workers to use lime plaster on the Globe is only a small part of Hampton’s contribution to education in construction. For 22 years, he lectured on site management at the Brixton School of Building and for the London Construction Safety Group, as well as working full time as a site manager.
But as far as Hampton is concerned, the industry has lost its way since the 1970s. There is no longer an emphasis on producing skilled operatives. That in turn has caused inefficiency on site. “I can agree completely with Egan that there is a lot of waste,” he says.
Hampton may share a horror of inefficiency with Sir John Egan, but, unlike the construction guru, he is not about to retire. “I will stay with the Globe as long as they let me,” he says.
The late Sam Wanamaker worked hard to fire the public’s imagination about a project that seemed pie-in-the-sky, but without the skills and dedication of Ted Hampton, the Globe would not be here now.
Tom Carroll
Tom Carroll was a carpenter when he joined Laing 32 years ago. Now managing director of Laing Partnership Housing and Laing Training Services, as well as a director of Laing Homes, he has received an MBE for services to urban regeneration and construction training in London.
Carroll dedicated the award to his wife and two daughters, who he says were “thrilled” with his gong, and to his colleagues.
“It is not just me, it is the people that work with me and for me that have achieved this award. It’s the business and the culture that have achieved this,” he insists.
Carroll believes that the award is recognition of the contribution that Laing Partnership Housing – a division of Laing Homes that specialises in local authority and housing association work – has made to urban regeneration in the South-east. “We’re a major player in the regeneration field. We have won awards for projects such as the Hackney Holly Street redevelopment and the regeneration of five estates in Peckham.”
The MBE also recognises Carroll’s role as head of Laing Training Services, an approved New Deal training provider and one of the only trainers in building trade skills in the South-east. It sets up training centres in deprived areas near Laing Partnership Housing estate regeneration jobs. “We are training people for Laing and for other companies, but the most important thing is that we are getting people back to work,” says Carroll.
Hazel Dunn
When Hazel Dunn received a letter in November telling her she had been nominated for an MBE, the senior clerk at Hawkesford, a builders merchant in Market Drayton, Shropshire, put it to the back of her mind. “You get a letter five or six weeks before, but I didn’t think it was anything definite – just me and a million others,” Dunn explains. But when the local paper telephoned in the new year for an interview, she was “absolutely delighted” to hear the news confirmed.
In her role at Hawkesford, she is one of the “ordinary people” who keep the construction industry ticking over. The 58-year-old joined her local builders merchant nearly 43 years ago as a school-leaver, and her colleagues say she has developed an encyclopaedic knowledge of materials and customers.
The Shrewsbury Town supporter admits to seeing enormous changes in the builders merchants sector, the most dramatic being the cost of materials. “When I started, cement was half a crown for a hundredweight bag. Now it is sold in 25 kg bags at £2.50, which is half the amount,” she says.
As for the future, Dunn’s customers will be pleased to hear that Hawkesford is not about to lose its popular senior clerk. Dunn has no plans to retire yet. And the honour that she put to the back of her mind in November is now considered the highlight of her career.
Michael Underwood
HBG Construction managing director Michael Underwood attributes his successful career to “just enjoying your job and trying to be good at it. I just enjoy everything about building. I think it’s magic”.
The 60-year-old is also a firm believer in teamwork – he dedicates his OBE for services to construction to his colleagues. “I am pleased, obviously; and pleased for all the people I have worked with over the past 20 years. I have had a pretty loyal team working with me and it’s some recognition of all their hard work as well.”
Underwood joined Scottish contractor Gilbert Ashe 20 years ago as construction director. When the directors staged a buyout from P&O/Bovis in 1984, he became managing director of GA Construction, a role he retained when HBG acquired GA in 1992. After HBG bought Higgs & Hill in 1997, Underwood became managing director of HBG Construction, incorporating GA, Kyle Stewart and Higgs & Hill.
He believes he owes his award to his five years’ service, between 1994 and 1999, on the Scottish Office’s Building Standards Advisory Committee, where he advised on environmental issues.
When not working, he indulges his passion for mountaineering. “All the high mountains in Scotland are called the Munroes. I’ve climbed all 284 and a few peaks in Germany, Switzerland, Austria and Spain.”
