Percy Dunning came to work at the factory in September 1936 as an assistant in the engineers' spare-parts stockroom. His enthusiasm soon earned him promotion and within a month he was put in charge of the stockroom, controlling nearly 20,000 spare parts for all type of machinery in the factory. Three months later he also took over the buying of spare parts.
During the past year, Mr Dunning has occasionally deputised for foremen when they have been ill and in this way he gained considerable practical experience in the machine shops.
At the beginning of the new half year, Mr Dunning was rewarded for adaptabiltiy when he was promoted to foreman of Department 705, controlling the overhauling and maintenance of every machine in the factory.