OLD PHOTOS: barges, seed bags, and the BOCM oil mill at Selby

The Olympia Oil and Cake Company - which traded under the name OCO before being taken over by Unilever and then BOCM - specialised in crushing linseed, cotton seed and soya beans to press out the oil they contained for use as animal feed.

BOCM went on to become one of Selby's largest employers, with its factory buildings dominating the Selby waterfront and a fleet of barges carrying seed and oil up and down the River Ouse.

Now, the Parish of Hemingbrough Historical Heritage Society (PHHHS) has put together a definitive history of the company for which generations of local people worked.

The History and Memories of BOCM Selby does exactly what it says on the cover - setting out the history of the company, and gathering memories (together with scores of old photos) from those who worked there down the years.

Near to the OCO factory (and later also to be absorbed by BOCM) was the ARDOL plant, which opened in 1914 to 'harden' oils and fats for OCO.

ARDOL had a tragic beginning in Selby, as an article in a local newspaper in 1913 attested. The plant was still under construction when one of the men working on it, a Tom Lyons, was killed.

"The deceased, who resides at Underwood's Yard, had ascended one of the iron girders of the structured building, it is said to lower a ladder," the newspaper reported. The ladder seems to have overbalanced, however, knocking Mr Lyons off a rafter. "He fell a distance of some 16 to 20 feet and in the fall his head came into violent contact with the ironwork and concrete floor." He was rushed to the local cottage hospital, but sadly died the following day. "(The) deceased was thirty four years of age, is a married man, and leaves a young family," the newspaper reported.

The Selby toll bridge after being damaged in 1930

It was an inauspicious beginning, but both ARDOL and OCO were in Selby to stay. OCO went on to build up a fleet of barges - at one time 35 of them - which carried solid loads and also oil up and down the river. In 1930 one of them - the Agility - belied its name by running into the Selby Toll Bridge so hard the bridge was actually dislodged, and had to be closed for more than two weeks. "This caused much disruption to the river traffic and (to) cargo being delivered to the mill," notes the book. There is even a photograph from that long-ago collision.

In 1961, meanwhile, the people of Selby were shocked by news of another tragedy. One of the company's tug boats, named the OCO, had been sunk. "Leaving Hull in the early hours towing three dumb barges loaded with seed for Olympia Mill, the tug was in collision with motor vessel Henfield, which resulted in the tug sinking almost immediately," the book relates. "The crew of four were swept overboard and tragically Captain J Sumpton and Engineer H Jackson were swept away and drowned."

The History and Memories of BOCM is packed with old photos, which will bring the memories flooding back for anyone who has worked for BOCM.

The tugboat OCO hauling barges

There are also some wonderful memories, from people like Marjorie Tune.

Marjorie started work for BOCM in 1940, aged 18. She worked in the baghouse, where sewing machinists repaired damaged seed bags.

"There were thirty treadle sewing machines in the baghouse, a girl at each one overseen by the supervisor Mary Cassidy who had a glass partitioned room and watched over the girls while they worked," she recalls in the book.

"The girls wore no gloves so it was heavy work and hard on the hands dealing with these heavy sacks day in and day out."

Betty Sykes, meanwhile, started work for ARDOL (part of BOCM) in 1948 as a shorthand typist, aged 16.

In those days, she recalled, it cost her threepence (three old pennies) to cross the Selby Toll Bridge each week to get to work.

Betty and Dennis Sykes on their wedding day

After working in the typist's office for a while, she was moved to the laboratories, where she worked on an early adding machine, a Brunsviga calculator.

As was often the case in those days, there were some great facilities for those who worked for the company - including canteens, a laundry room, a dance hall, a recreational ground, and even a surgery with a permanent nurse.

There were also organised sports days, trips to the seaside and other events. "Wednesday nights were the regular dance class where myself and friends enjoyed learning to dance," Betty writes. "We also went to the organised dance nights and it was at one of these dances where I met my husband Dennis." Dennis had followed his father to work for BOCM, and after doing his national service, he returned to the company and worked for it for over fifty years.

"He was presented with a gold watch for recognition of his services to BOCM," Betty writes.

• The History and Memories of BOCM Selby, compiled by the Parish of Hemingbrough Historical Heritage Society, is available, priced £9.99, from Selby and Barlby libraries.