--- title: "Flame Keepers — case study | Discover More" description: "Recording the people who built Ronson lighters in Newport, before their memories are lost." url: https://discover-more.co.uk/projects/flame-keepers/ --- Case study · Oral history · Newport # Flame Keepers Recording the people who built Ronson lighters in Newport, before their memories are lost. ![Flame Keepers](https://discover-more.co.uk/_astro/flame-keepers.BUIcrpYI.svg) ![A Discover More project](https://discover-more.co.uk/_astro/a-discover-more-project-primary.qA7T5s-u.svg) ![Black-and-white photograph of a Ronson factory worker in a white coat seated at a workbench covered with tools, pointing at the camera and grinning.](https://discover-more.co.uk/_astro/fk-workbench.DnWtx5Vm_Z28J2uU.webp) At the bench, Ronson factory, Forest Road. Photo lent by Derrick Saines ## At a glance The factory Ronson, Forest Road, Newport, 1961–1984 Recorded 5 in-depth interviews, April–October 2026 Archive 200+ photographs lent by former workers and families For schools Free 22-page KS2 teachers’ pack Where to hear it Online, in all 11 Island libraries, and on Talking News Project site [flamekeepers.uk ↗](https://flamekeepers.uk/) ## The story In February 1961, Ronson started production in Newport, in buildings left empty when the Saunders-Roe aircraft work was cancelled. It opened with 35 staff making shavers, hairdryers and shoe polishers. From 1967 the factory made lighters.1 **1**Grants were offered to bring new employers to the Island after the aircraft project was cancelled and jobs were lost. Most of the people on the production lines were women, many of them 16 when they started. Much of the work was piecework, timed by “time and motion” men. By 1979 there were 430 people on site, and the Island’s MP later told Parliament the factory’s productivity had been the highest anywhere.2 **2**Stephen Ross MP, House of Commons, 14 December 1982 (Hansard). Ronson announced the closure in January 1981, with the loss of 327 jobs. New owners carried on with a much smaller workforce until June 1984, when lighter making moved to North Shields. The buildings were later demolished.3 **3**Dates come from Isle of Wight County Press reports, Hansard and workers’ memories, which don’t always agree. The project records both. Nearly 600 people worked there over the years, yet many people now don’t know the factory existed. Flame Keepers set out to change that. Between April and October 2026 we recorded in-depth interviews with five women who worked on the lines, and gathered photographs from former workers’ albums.4 **4**Interviews recorded in Newport, Ryde and Sandown by Simon Perry for Meeja. In May 2026, Ronson Reunited brought former workers together at Independent Arts in Newport. Many brought photographs, pay cards, lighters and letters to share. > “You felt like you were all on one level, very friendly, very sociable.” Sue Tout, Comet line, float and rectification ## The voices [Listen on flamekeepers.uk ↗](https://flamekeepers.uk/people/) - ![Colour portrait of Pat Kennedy](https://discover-more.co.uk/_astro/fk-p-kennedy.Crd5IV2p_Z1WDi6p.webp) ### [Pat Kennedy](https://flamekeepers.uk/profile/pat-kennedy/) Valve department and valve-to-shell testing, 1977–1981 - ![Colour portrait of Sue Tout](https://discover-more.co.uk/_astro/fk-p-tout.1PhGL79g_ZGnzGJ.webp) ### [Sue Tout](https://flamekeepers.uk/profile/sue-tout/) Comet line, float and rectification, mid-1970s to closure - ![Colour portrait of Gillian Cocker](https://discover-more.co.uk/_astro/fk-p-gcocker.Brvk8-wu_Z2mRKNQ.webp) ### [Gillian Cocker](https://flamekeepers.uk/profile/gillian-cocker/) Polisher, float girl and rectifier, from 1970 - ![Colour portrait of Sheree Ash](https://discover-more.co.uk/_astro/fk-p-ash.DBR9_fVY_yXvJ6.webp) ### [Sheree Ash](https://flamekeepers.uk/profile/sheree-ash/) Ancillary department, joined at 17 in the mid-1970s - ![Colour portrait of Julie Cocker](https://discover-more.co.uk/_astro/fk-p-jcocker.DcOnIk8U_Z20Hzu.webp) ### [Julie Cocker](https://flamekeepers.uk/profile/julie-cocker/) Comet line, float girl and training instructor, 1976–c.1980 Portraits by Julian Winslow, October 2026 ## From the archive [See all the photographs ↗](https://flamekeepers.uk/photo-gallery/) ![Black-and-white photograph of a woman operating a hand press at the Ronson factory, with a manager watching in the background.](https://discover-more.co.uk/_astro/fk-press.DRX4zxzo_jQeKE.webp) Operating a press, 1965 or 1966. Lent by Mary Messenger ![Colour photograph of the rear of the Ronson ‘Seascape presented by Ronson’ carnival float travelling down Newport High Street, with crowds lining the pavement.](https://discover-more.co.uk/_astro/fk-float-street.xVm-bawz_ByxBm.webp) Ronson’s Seascape float on Newport High Street. Lent by Patricia Kennedy ![Black-and-white newspaper photograph of Ronson workers on a pavement during the strike, holding hand-painted TGWU picket line placards.](https://discover-more.co.uk/_astro/fk-strike.D__W9Kw2_Z255XS8.webp) On the picket line, 1979. Isle of Wight County Press, from the collection of Andrew Dore ![Colour photograph of six women from the factory smiling together at a Christmas celebration in 1980.](https://discover-more.co.uk/_astro/fk-xmas1980.BfYj5bFU_Zyny0.webp) Christmas celebrations, 1980. Lent by Patricia Kennedy ## What the project made - Five in-depth interviews, each with audio and a full transcript, also preserved on the Internet Archive - A public gallery of more than 200 photographs and documents, from the factory floor to the carnival and the picket line - A free KS2 teachers’ pack, with five activities built from the interviews, photographs and a Parliamentary debate - Talking News broadcasts and full interviews on USB for Sight for Wight members - Free access on public computers in all 11 Isle of Wight libraries - A permanent home for the recordings at Carisbrooke Castle Museum ### Funded by Past Futures, a Hampshire & Isle of Wight Community Foundation programme delivered with Creative Island, with support from The National Lottery Heritage Fund, thanks to National Lottery players. ![The National Lottery Heritage Fund](https://discover-more.co.uk/_astro/fund-tnlhf.BbhSzh8N.png)![Hampshire & Isle of Wight Community Foundation](https://discover-more.co.uk/_astro/fund-hiwcf.COeM2nX9.png)![Creative Island](https://discover-more.co.uk/_astro/fund-creative-island.C75nISNj.png) ### Partners - Sight for Wight - Isle of Wight Library Service - Carisbrooke Castle Museum - Independent Arts, Newport - Creative Island Education ## Credits Sally Perry Project producer, Discover More CIC Tracy Mikich, Square Peggy Project management, transcription and cataloguing Simon Perry, Meeja Oral history interviews Meeja Audio production, website design and build Julian Winslow Portraits and event photography Caroline Barnes Evaluation **Photographs lent by** Lyn Webb Baker, Helen Bevan, June Brett, Kate Britton, Marian Chiverton, Tim Cousins, Andrew Dore, Shirley Dore, Catherine Hodges, Patricia Kennedy, Christine McDermott, Jenni McKeown, Mary Messenger, Peter Piper, Gayna Ryan, Derrick Saines, Valerie Sainsbury, Valerie Sly, Elaine Storey, Sue Tout, Karen Whittington, Stanley Whittington, Teresa Williams and Jim Wollwebber. Archive images reproduced with permission of the Isle of Wight County Press. Interviews, transcripts and teachers’ resources © Discover More CIC, licensed CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. [About the licence](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/) ## Did you work in an Island factory? We’d like to hear from you about future projects recording Island working lives. [Register your interest ↗](https://flamekeepers.uk/) [← All projects](https://discover-more.co.uk/projects/)