Getting up steam

In 1926, Belinda’s great grandfather William Easy bought a reconditioned steam tractor and threshing machine from Garretts at Leiston. He’d moved to Theberton to take a small farm and also took on contracting work, threshing corn for neighbouring farmers. Belinda’s father Michael can remember working with him as chaff boy in his school holidays.

50 years later, my father was manager at Barclays Bank in Leiston, and while he was there, had to deal with the closure of Garretts, losing both his biggest customer, and seeing many others lose their jobs, as Garretts was then the town’s largest employer. This was a turbulent time for the town.

Now, in 2023 I have joined the trustee Board of The Long Shop Museum, a charity that occupies many of the former Garrett buildings and helps visitors learn about the Garrett family, their innovative company and the way the growth of the Works led to the expansion of the town.

The museum has recently secured a large grant to refurbish and improve the buildings, and I’ll be looking at how we can grow both the museum’s visitor numbers and its impact in the wider community. It would be brilliant if the museum could bring more visitors to the town.

I can’t think of a better place to apply my entrepreneurial and marketing skills than right here in the town where I grew up.