Back in August I was thrilled to be asked to create an image bank for the Heritage Skills Academy at Brooklands Museum. They needed HiRes imagery that could be used across multiple platforms to promote the training courses they offered.
Takes me back…
Many years ago, after leaving school I became an apprentice panel beater in the Greater Manchester Police central workshops. Then when my family moved south, it transferred and finished my apprenticeship in a Rolls Royce bodyshop. I was attached to an Irishman who was nothing short of a wizard with a sheet of steel and a hammer and dolly. The type of craftsman that if a new panel wasn’t in stock for ease, he would set about making one from scratch!
The Brief….
My aim over these visits this year and into 2026 was to capture students in the range of courses the Heritage Skills Academy has on offer. Metal Fabrication, Welding, Panel Making, Panel Beating, Trimming, Mechanical Engineering, Glazing, Fuel Systems. Repairing and restoring classic cars require all these skills and much more, but they are dying out! The dedicated team of instructors at The Heritage Skills Academy are trying to do something about that. Passing on their knowledge to students from car repair companies from all across the country…
They are literally Shaping The Future By Restoring The Past.
The students have the opportunity to learn new skills they might have never done before at their place of work. Modern cars have new parts readily available but with classic cars some spares are often long out of production. Fitting a whole new body panel might not be possible, so making a small section to fit perfectly is a real skill. Car panels are made up of multiple shapes and curves. Students learn how to use classic workshop tools to shape, stretch and curve the flat sheet metal.
Fabrication and Welding…
Time to put some of the early practice into fabricating an actual 3D item that would put to use…. design and make a fuel tank.
Once the various pieces of their fuel tanks had been fabricated, it was time to put them all together. Check the fit, adjust if needs be and then weld them into their finished fuel tanks.
Giving it a second life…
A perfect example of what the Heritage Skills Academy is all about, giving a second life to old things. I was given some old photography equipment some time ago, one item was an original 1960s Bowens Flash Reflector. This large 12″ reflector would have been great to use but unfortunately the aperture was too big to fit my modern strobe lights. I had a spare S Mount disc but it’s diameter was much too small to fit on the reflector. Modern 12″ reflector cost about £60 but it felt wrong to throw away an original one….
On one of the shoots I decided to take it with me and see if the team at the Heritage Skills Academy had any ideas….
“Have I got any ideas?” said Mark…”Give it me, I’ll sort that out for you no problem at all.” He wasn’t wrong either! In what felt like no time at all he had measured, cut, folded and curved two pieces of aluminium into a collar.
I carried on with my student shoot, all the while keeping half an eye on Mark and what he was doing with the reflector. He checked, measure, trimmed, filed and adjusted. Before finally drilling and riveting the new collar onto the old 60s reflector. It looked as if it had just arrived from the factory and always been that way… It was perfect!!
Mark’s metal fabrication skills had given something that was essentially about to be thrown in the bin, a second life. I put it straight to work, mounted to my strobe light. I’m sure it will last longer than I’ll be taking photos too!!!
Heritage Skills…
Panel beating and Metal Fabrication are essential restoration skills. A old classic car needing repair or restoration doesn’t always require metal work though. The interior trim, the engine or gearbox might also need work. Windscreens or door glazing might need removing or replacement. All very different skills to working on modern cars in todays ‘fit a new one’ culture. The Heritage Skills Academy offer these courses for students.
Working together…
Being part of a commercial workshop often means working together as a team. While certain things are done by a person working individually, often they are contributing to an overall project. At the Heritage Skills Academy the students will make a section working solo, but it will then be welded with all the other pieces to make a finished front wing for example.
In the Trim Shop, the students will discuss design ideas with their instructor before starting on the new seat cover.
I’m looking forward to coming back to the Heritage Skills Academy at Brooklands Museum in 2026 for a few more shoots. We have different things to cover with different students but all with the same aim and end result…. Shaping The Future By Restoring The Past.
