Cadbury was a Runaway Success

I recently received an email from John Gingell and chatted to him on the telephone about his family from Bristol. In last month's Bristol Evening Post was the following story...



Cadbury's Keynsham factory has produced some of the country's top athletes.Its extensive sports facilities and the firm's support for workers on the track or pitch meant employees had the chance to excel at sport.

John Gingell, now 68, who worked at the factory for 40 years, won scores of medals and trophies for athletics.

He won the 800 metres race at the World Peace Games in 1966. He held 50 county titles, 12 midland titles and won 27 England and UK races.

He was in the top three in Europe and in the top 10 in the world at 800 metres indoor races.

Mr Gingell, from Kingswood, said: "In my era, from 1960 to the 1980s, we had four international athletes and another five county athletes.

"Eddie Strong became a world cross country champion, Nick Rose was a national cross country champion and won a commonwealth medal and Ivor Edmonds raced in Berlin for Britain. We were all coached by the production manager at the time Ron Rowles, who used to be a middle distance runner.

"I began training at 15. I used to run to work in the morning and home in the evening and would train two or three times a day. The company used to allow time for training."

Mr Gingell, once the South West's Sports Personality of the Year, said: "Cadbury's has been my life. My national athletics career was due to them. I was just dumbfounded when a neighbour came over and told me they wanted to close the factory. It will be a tragedy if it goes, particularly if the sports facilities are lost."

Full story at -

http://www.thisisbristol.co.uk/...

View John's family tree at -

http://www.gingell.com/familytree/?tree=11686