Legendary Kettering scrap man Frank Beale to retire
Proud to say he’s ‘Kettering born and bred’, Frank Beale has served the motor trade for more than 50 years – but now he’s set to retire from the scrapyard business.
Frank, 78, who now lives in Barton Seagrave, will hang up his overalls next month and pick up his golf clubs, a far cry from the hustle and bustle of his breaker’s yard.
His long career in scrapping didn’t start away – after leaving Henry Gotch School he got a job at a pig farm on land that is now the Ise Lodge estate.
He took on a milk round, and given the nickname ‘Gold Top’, then trained as a welder, a move that brought him to his dream job working with cars.
Frank said: “I always loved cars. I had a workshop FDB Welding in Brittania Road, I had to come out of there, it was another court case, and got a place near Barford Bridge, I started off there scrapping cars. The council got on my back so I moved to Cohen’s Yard.”
Cohen’s Yard was an area of disused railway sidings off the A43 that is now Cransley Park, home to a car supermarket, industrial units and a restaurant.
The huge scrap yard became a hunting ground for people looking to pick up vehicle parts – and Frank was there to break cars, vans and lorries.
He said: “I was there for quite a while. I was approached to see if I wanted to buy it from the owner for £80,000. It was a lot of money then. It was sold a couple of years ago for £68m!
"I had to get out of there because there was blue asbestos in the ground. From Cohen’s Yard, Kettering Borough Council found me a place in Desborough. They were very supportive.”
In his time breaking cars he’s helped thousands of people not only dispose of unwanted vehicles and gather components, he has reunited people with lost items.
He said: “We picked a car from Desborough and a bit later I had a phone call from the wife saying there was a gold ring lost in the car. We found it down behind the dashboard – she was happy as Larry.”
Another instance he came out into yard and found a wallet with a huge wad of notes and a plane ticket inside. It was hastily returned to its owner.
In his time he’s scrapped all makes of cars from Porsches to Citroen 2CVs and he says he remembers them all.
Frank’s now looking forward to hitting the golf course to fill his hours.
He said: “It’s been a very very good life, but I’m finished with cars. My brother is a keen golfer so I’ve bought a new set of golf clubs. I’m also joining Rushton Hall.
"I’ve been working seven days a week, so I need to find something to do. I will miss it but modern cars have changed the business – old cars are best for breaking.”