The Duncan Sandys Defence White Paper of 1957 meant austere times for the British aviation industry. In Kingston there were protest marches by workers and Frank here recalls how a fifty percent cut in Toolroom staff was dealt with. 

I served a further two years, until I was twenty five, when Hawkers came on sticky times and half of the tool room personnel  had to be got rid of. And although Stan Thompson, the Superintendent, was a man with a fist of iron, sort of thing, he earned my respect by deciding as to who was to go in this virtual redundancy. And he decided that he wouldn't  get rid of the older people, or the people who had just come there, he decided on getting rid of all the young people to make up his fifty percent.  And he said as they stand the best chance of getting further work and although I never really liked the man I respected him for this decision.