The Gunmakers Trust-funded Masters and Apprentices’ Workshop held on the 10th and 11th of April 2024 at the London Proof House was a resounding success. It brought together eight apprentices from around the country, with three Master Craftsmen and others. Each of the apprentices attending was supported by a bursary from the Gunmakers Trust.
The Master Craftsmen were Bill Blacker, Chair of the Certification Panel of the Worshipful Company of Gunmakers, a barrel maker, Dickie Bayley, a stocker, and Richard Barnes, an actioner. Gunmakers’ Certification supports the art and craft of gunmaking by recognising the skill and insight of craftsmen in the trade. In master classes, Bill, Dickie and Richard directly shared their craft skills and knowledge of the trade, its terminology, and the different ways in which it works. Amongst many things, this emphasised that the trade is living – it changes with time – and maintains a careful balance of sophisticated craft and machine skills to deliver both aesthetics and perfect function. The key intent of these master classes was that the apprentices understood the expectation of the Master Craftsmen when it was time for them to present their work to the Certification Panel. Importantly, the Panel also monitors the written reports that are submitted by the apprentices every six months, these are key to building evidence of progress.
Further sessions focussed on the legal and regulatory environment that the apprentices work in and other key topics. David Miles, Proof Master, led a supervised session in the Proof House Workshop introducing and sharing resources on Proof. Paul Green of the Gun Trade Association gave a practical guide to the complexities of being a Registered Firearms Dealer (RFD) and a servant to an RFD. Looking forward, the Upper Warden of the Gunmakers, Richard Hefford-Hobbs, reflected on the techniques that have already come into gunmaking from modern manufacturing engineering and those likely that are likely to impact on the trade in the near future. On the evening of the first day Simon West, the current Master Gunmaker, took everyone on a journey into the past of the trade. This began at the Tower of London, took in the site of the first Proof House and introduced us all to the key locations in Whitechapel including where the great gunmakers Henry Nock and Ezekiel Baker had their workshops. The tour included a couple of stops for refreshment and ended with a convivial curry – this helped to build a network amongst the apprentices themselves and with the master craftsmen. The workshop was organised and facilitated by three Trustees of the Gunmakers Trust: Prof David Williams, Francis Pearce, lead for the Bursaries Group within the Trust, and Peter Hiscocks.
A key part of the workshop was working with and listening to the apprentices and the master craftsmen. A brainstorming session involving everyone revealed the richness of the perspectives on quality across gunmaking. Encouraging the apprentices to personally set themselves the highest quality standards was a central theme of the workshop. The closing working session of the two days was led by Francis Pearce and facilitated by Peter Hiscocks. This stimulated the apprentices to reflect on what they were taking away from the workshop and think about the specific topics where the Gunmakers Trust could further contribute to the training of apprentices. Detailed written feedback was also collected through the workshop to identify areas for improvement and where the apprentices wanted to learn more.
In the final session the apprentices were awarded Certificates of Attendance signed by Simon West, the Master of the Worshipful Company of Gunmakers, and the Chair of the Gunmakers Trust, James Horne. The apprentices also took away a Gunmakers Trust ‘goodie bag’ containing a Gunmakers Company history, a personalised Gunmakers Trust steel rule and a unique Crown over GP (Gunmakers Proof) marked Moleskine notebook. The latter had, of course, pages of notes in it taken during the workshop but enough space left to record other important and relevant learnings.
Initial feedback from those attending the workshop is that it ‘exceeded expectations’ and that it represents a significant step for the trade with promise for the future. The two things that really made the workshop – moving it from ‘good’ to ‘great’ – were the level of commitment of everyone there and that the master craftsmen were open and sharing and stayed for the whole of the workshop. These encouraged the growth of a community and cemented the relationships between the generations. The event also demonstrated the work that Gunmakers are doing in support of their sponsored apprentices and the continued relevance of the Company. This hopefully will encourage membership by apprentices on completion of their ‘time’ and Certification.
This initial workshop was always intended as a pilot with the hope that it would create a community, give the apprentices a unique insight into their trade, and identify what the Gunmakers’ Company and the Gunmakers’ Trust could do to enhance the training opportunities for our apprentices. The workshop succeeded in all of these. There are some clear short term training targets and more ambitious aims for the longer term. These, with other work done over the years, give a springboard for moving forward and to work with key stakeholders. The key next step for the Trust is to analyse what we have learned in the context of the current national approaches to apprenticeships to see if we can leverage more resource and encourage new faces into the trade. Moving forward, we will share these thoughts widely.
As workshop director, I would like to thank the apprentices, the master craftsmen and others who directly contributed to the success of the workshop, and the employers and mentors for permitting and encouraging the attendance of the apprentices. Thanks also to all those at the Proof House who jumped in at key moments to keep us on track.
Finally, grateful thanks are due to the Patrons and other sponsors of the Gunmakers Trust without whom none of this could have happened.
Article written by David Williams
