THESE were probably the most popular people at the Morris Motors’ car factory at Cowley.

They paid the wages of the thousands of employees at Oxford’s industrial powerhouse.

The picture shows the staff who worked in the wages and accounts departments at the car factory in the 1960s.

It was sent in by Norman Bailey, of Hendred Street, Cowley, who worked at the plant for 50 years.

He worked as a timekeeper checking what hours the production staff worked during the days of piecework, so he had a close connection with wages and accounts.

These were the days when wages were paid in cash every week.

Thousands of pounds would be delivered by the bank and it was then all hands on deck to get the wage packets ready for the Friday payout.

With 10,000 employees, it was a major operation.

Mr Bailey often helped out and recalls one occasion when he was given a large bundle of notes to count, to check it was the right amount.

“There was £50,000 there,” he recalls.

When Friday arrived, staff would walk around the factory handing out the money to workers in the various departments, and they would have to give back a tear-off slip to confirm they had been paid.

Mr Bailey has forgotten many of the names of people in the picture, but those he recalls include Charlie Merry, Pat Young, Reg Wearing, Bernard Pocock, Norman Langford, Phil Parker, Ray Willoughby and Bob Webb.

He is not sure why the picture was taken, but assumes it was at a presentation or similar event.

Can we add any more names to the ones Mr Bailey recalls? If so, let me know.