Posted 22-11-19 . Well its been 2 months of silence since my last post here, unfortunately this was due to an extended visit in the USA doing my day-job as a Packaging Engineer, being away from the Ditchburn office has left things quiet for a while, but as usual things have been happening in the background, and i will spend the next week updating the website in my free time with these items, so here is the first few updates … Firstly a great addition to the website is a copy of the 1969 Ditchburn News sent to us by John Crompton from TheJukeboxshop.co.uk It shows quite an insight into the company during the latter years, the newspaper was only given to employees at Lytham and the regional depots. you can read and download a PDF copy here Also sent to us by John Crompton is the Music Maker service hints book, this is a compilation of useful hint sheets that was given to the field service engineers and covers useful info for many jukeboxes and BGMs that Ditchburn operated View the Music Maker Service Hint Here I was contacted by Felix De Cuveland from the German Jukebox magazine and they asked if they could do a feature on the Ditchburn website and the recent translation I did of their cover story about Tonomat, well it was an honour to be asked and at the end of September they sent me a copy of the magazine … i have added the article here with the original magazine translation The Serial Number Database has also been added to the website if you have a Ditchburn Jukebox we would love to add the info to the database, no personal data will be shown, just the Model, number and Location See the Serial Number Database HERE I have added a Factory Layout drawing sent to us by Stewart Sutton it shows the manufacturing areas of the Dock Road Building. See the Floor Plan Here I have also added the TheJukeboxshop.co.uk to our Link page here Posted 22-09-19 . Just completed the last of the Site updates this weekend, we have something very special, i have put on the People page two new additions, the first is Sutty’s Story by Stewart Sutton, I have moved this from the “Tell Your Story” page because people have told me how fantastic the story is and how it shows the many different people and characters that worked at Ditchburn in the 1960s and 1970s, more than anything this story is really about the “People”. but the second addition to the People page is a person that is mentioned in Stewart’s story and that is “Posh Peter” this guy joined Ditchburn’s straight out of university but was thrown in the deep end he had fun poked at him because of his posh voice… but he worked hard and learnt from the engineers on the shop floor and this helped him sell his first Vending machine and he never looked back .. check out both the stories here The next addition to the website is also on the people page and this is under the workforce section, we have some great photos that were sent to us by Stewart Sutton that are from his sister Yvonne showing the many social times at Ditchburn, enjoy and View the photos here Arthur Phillips has sent us some info on the people in the photograph DB433 from Tom Dolman, I have added Arthur’s recollections below the photo Here Posted 21-09-19 . Over this weekend i am doing a large update to the website, you may notice some slight changes now… it should be a lot easer to navigate through the History sections using the back and forward buttons on each page, also the pages are now set out chronologically so it will be easier for me to add extra pages in the future, also the Jukebox section has had a makeover and all the technical info, manuals, Restorations etc. are now on the main Jukebox Page here We have also updated the message board section on the tell your story page…. see here I have also added the parts and Schematic diagram for the Ditchburn T100 that was kindly sent to us by Hildegard Stamann from www.jukebox-world.de and she has kindly helped with some corrections on the site regarding the Tonomat machines more things will be added over this weekend see the new additions to the T100 section here Posted 19-09-19 . A quick update on yesterdays post, i have added a new page in the people section above, to show the photos taken of the staff and workforce of Ditchburn there are 3 new photos added sent to us by Tom Dolman via his partner Elizabeth, if anyone can help with any missing names to the faces please let us know and we will add them SEE THE DITCHBURN WORK FORCE PAGE HERE Posted 18-09-19 . At Last… Tonight I finally finished an update to the website, i have changed the History Section now so it is chronologically in order, although it is still not fully complete but is work in progress, and will hopefully make it easier when i add future items, of which i currently have a huge backlog, we have 2 very important additions tonight, the first is probably the most important one i have ever added to the site as it answers quite a few questions about the early days of the company, and the article is a transcript of a speech by G N Ditchburn himself when he visited the USA , so it is 100% factual and comes from the horses mouth so to speak. Read the complete article HERE The second addition is the first part of some documents given to me by John Crompton from the Jukebox Shop in the West Midlands, John worked for Ditchburn in the 60s and and has a great knowledge of the company, he was heavily involved with the service and sales of Jukeboxes in the Midlands area and has spent his life working with Jukeboxes, John gave me some negatives that he had taken in the late 50s, i got these developed and enlarged to find they were taken at the Ditchburn Sales conference in 1959 that was held at the savoy Hotel in Blackpool, the conference was attended by the staff and families of Ditchburn and also by the founders of Tonomat, that year they had a display of all the machines that had been operated since the start of the company in 1947 Visit the 1959 Ditchburn conference HERE Lastly I have also added some photos above taken at “The Ditchburn Project’s” New HQ in Lytham St Anne’s, the 1st photo shows me with 2 machines that are currently under restoration… lit up is a Music Maker Telematic 200 and on the right of that is a Mk2 16 play machine, the second photo shows me and a restored 30 play Music Maker MK2R and the last photo shows the Ditchburn Symphonaire “Back Ground Music” system. Posted 08-09-19. Currently revamping the History section before we do the new update to allow easier navigation between the History pages through the years, more coming soon Posted 26-08-19 WOW…. is it really that long since my last post here … over 3 months .. and it’s not as if i have been doing nothing all that time … so much has been happening in the back ground, so many questions to be answered and many of them now will be … to be honest, i have had so many conflicting pieces of information regarding how Ditchburn started back in the late 40s, that i got to a point that i was not willing to post any more of my research on this website until i had enough proof of what was really true…. but the last 3 months of evenings i have spent trawling newspapers and magazines of the late 1940s and early 1950s, also going through more telephone directories than i care to think of, i have found an interesting speech by Geoffrey Norman Ditchburn form 1958 which gives a few more details of the early years and i plan on posting this soon. I had another great meeting with Arthur Phillips who told me that from his time at Dock Road he knew that Ditchburn had another facility in at Freckleton Street in Lytham, ( Arthur has his take on the history of Ditchburn which i will publish soon ) but finally i am able to fill in the missing pieces of the premises of early years of Ditchburn … surprisingly the majority of these early times were not on the Fylde coast as we were thought to believe, but somewhere far away … i wondered why on my Ditchburn BTH Amplifier Label it states … “Liverpool, Blackpool, London.” ? now i know why … and this also answers the question on why the company disappeared from the local Fylde telephone directory between 1948 and 1952 … so for the first time i bring you the timeline of “where in the world was Ditchburn” …. this covers the early years … l will finally update it with the later years after 1959 i have all the info but need the time to complete, Anyway enjoy the first part of “Where in the world was Ditchburn” Check the Timeline out by clicking HERE Posted 11-05-19 Hello Fellow Ditchburner’s, It been a couple of weeks since my last post, Quite a lot has happened recently, firstly i have just acquired a Ditchburn Music maker T200 ( Tonomat Telematic T200 ) that is in desperate need of restoration, so I’m currently in the process of looking over it, finding out what’s not working and ordering parts that are needed, more about that to come in future updates. Also today i have added a new Service Manual to the downloads section, This is for the Music Maker T100 ( Tonomat Telematic 100) written in English and is a great accompaniment to the German Manual. Download it here Also today i have amended the Downloads section as what i thought was the Telematic 200 manual was actually the Panoramic 200 Manual, i should have looked at it more closely, that can now also be found here Download it here With the kind assistance of Hildegard Stamann of www.jukeboxworld.de i have amended some incorrect Amplifier information on the Tonomat models in the Jukebox section. is i get more familiar with the Tonomat / Ditchburn machines i will update and add further information. Rita Diefenhardt-Schmitt, who is the daughter of Alfred Josef Diefenhardt, one of the founders of Tonomat, has sent me some more photos from the early days of Tonomat including a photo taken in a ballroom in Blackpool when her father was visiting Ditchburn. Check out the Tonomat Connection page Here Posted 25-04-19 Hello again, Firstly the Juke Box feature on Radio 4 went out on air yesterday, and what a great boost for Jukeboxes, they even promoted the Jukebox show in Brighton this weekend, thank you to the producers for making it such a positive feature, i didn’t expect to be on the show as much as i was, i thought i would be cut down to just a few seconds. it was a great promotion of Juke boxes and also more importantly the influence that Ditchburn had on music to the young generation of that time. listen to it on BBC catch-up here We also had a message from Alan Wilson who lives in Lytham, Alan’s father had a connection with Ditchburn and used to licence the Back Ground Music to Ditchburn though his company Disc Imports Ltd of Manchester Read the story HERE Yesterday also brought other great things to the wonderful world of Ditchburn, i was contacted via email by Rita Diefenhardt- Schmitt, who is the daughter of Alfred Josef Diefenhardt, He together with Walther Triefenbach and Norbert Acker were the founders of the former German Jukebox Manufacture "Tonomat” as most of you will know Tonomat played a big part in the Ditchburn Company, and there was a very close bond between them and Norman Ditchburn. Rita has sent us some fantastic photos that i have published on a new page called “The Tonomat Connection” there is even a picture of Mr Ditchburn Smiling, which is a very rare photo moment. i am hoping that Rita will help us provide more amazing information on this company that her father helped establish. Check out the Tonomat Connection page Here Posted 25-04-19 Hello Everyone and welcome to the latest update of the Ditchburn Project. I recently visited Blackpool Library and discovered the answer that i had been desperately been seeking for some time, The Hawtin’s - Ditchburn connection. and the answer was in the 1948 Preston area telephone book. it showed me that Hawtin’s and Ditchburn at this time shared the same address and telephone number which proved that when Ditchburn bought the Jukebox business from Hawtin’s, he set up within the Hawtin’s factory on Preston New Road in Blackpool. i have updated the History page with these details Here. It was great to get a call this week from Radio 4 for a program that they were doing featuring Jukeboxes. they wanted to know about the first British Jukeboxes and Jukeboxes as an investment. I recorded a short interview that is part of the “You and Yours” program that will be aired on Friday 26th of April 2019 at 12:18 or listen to it on BBC catch-up here Posted 03-03-19 The updates are a bit behind at the moment due to work commitments and life things, but hoping to get back to schedule soon, lots has been happening behind the scenes over the last couple of weeks, i went to Terra Technica in the Czech republic for a long weekend and had a wonderful time, i will publish a full review with photos of my trip soon , whilst there i picked up a copy of the German Jukebox magazine called “Die Musikbox das magazin” my attention was drawn to it because of the Tonomat Panoramic on the front cover, although the text was in German i noticed the name Norman Ditchburn on the front cover also, so was even more intrigued to find out the story inside… so much that i decided to translate the article. Considering my knowledge of German is zero, i knew this would take some time, but with the wonderful internet technology of online translators, i managed to translate the article over a three day period, and I’m so glad i did as it told the story about the Tonomat and Ditchburn connection, Last week i was granted permission by the Author, Felix de Cuveland, to publish the translated article on this website, so it is with great pleasure to give you the story of Tonomat Jukeboxes: Fast Rise, Sudden Fall… Click here to View the article Also last week i had a visit from Arthur Phillips ( Ditchburn’s Chief Audio engineer ) to my home, for a coffee and a chat, well 3 hours later we were still chatting and talking all things Ditchburn, and a fascinating time it was… we came to the conclusion that there are still big gaps in the history of Ditchburn from 1947 to 1955 that i need to investigate, but Arthur has kindly given me some pointers and interesting stories that will help with this investigation, i must say i had a very enjoyable time talking to Arthur. on the same day i had an Email from Ken Adams who was the sales manager of the Vending division at Dock Road, I have added Kens story to the message board on the Tell Your Story Page here posted 10-02-19 Today I have great pleasure in presenting to you Sutty’s Story in the Tell your Story Section, Stewart “Sutty” Sutton, was mentioned in Arthur Phillips account of his working days at Ditchburn, although Sutty and Arthur worked in different departments, Sutty contacted us after reading the website and told us he would write a autobiography of his time at Ditchburn, Sutty’s Story is a fascinating and Humorous tale ( i was laughing out loud on many occasions reading it ) of his working days at Ditchburn and a very informative insight to working in a factory during the 1950s - 60s, To Enjoy this wonderful story CLICK HERE We have also have 4 new sections in the “Ditchburn in Print” area, Firstly articles featuring Ditchburn Jukeboxes that were published in the Jukebox Journal Magazine with kind permission from Ian Brown, second section is a review from a 1994 Record Machine Magazine of the Ditchburn Music Maker T200, Thirdly we have an article from the 1955 edition of New Musical Express discussing the Ditchburn Jukebox Boom In the UK, and Lastly Tony Holmes sent us a few various unseen Ditchburn related articles from worlds Fair, so i felt it only correct that Tony should have his own area to display these wonderful articles. To View these sections CLICK HERE And our final addition is a new Downloads Section, were you can download Service Manuals, Electrical Diagrams, Parts Brochures and much much more To Visit the DOWNLOAD section CLICK HERE posted 19-01-19 Some of the regular readers here may have noticed a new picture on the website home page, the artwork is of a early Mk2 machine, this comes from a brochure kindly sent to us by Tony Holmes, it is one of the finest examples of Hawtin’s / Ditchburn advertising artwork we have seen, so it would be an insult not to display it on our home page, again its another historical piece of artwork that opens up more questions regarding the Hylton / Hawtin’s / Ditchburn relationship, as the brochure was produced for Hawtin’s of Blackpool between 1946 and 1947, but there are no Jack Hylton references to be found in the brochure, and Jack Hylton’s name has been removed from the Jukebox, the rear cover has been amended by Ditchburn with the Hawtin’s name crossed out and rubber stamped with Ditchburn Equipment. so it can be assumed that Hawtin’s severed any business ties with Hylton at this time, please view this amazing and historical sales brochure here posted 06-01-19 Its Sunday evening and there’s nothing like finishing the week off by watching a movie or two, so get your popcorn, sit back and watch the latest releases … and first up are a couple of fantastic videos kindly sent to us by Tony Norris of his beautiful 1960 Ditchburn Music maker Teleramic. Click here to view the Teleramic Videos Our next Videos for your enjoyment feature The Jack Hylton MK1 from Tony Holmes the first shows the machine being tested before reassembly and the second has a country flavour. Click here to view the The Jack Hylton Videos posted 05-01-19 Today i have added the second and final part of my restoration of my Ditchburn MK2R Jukebox, including some videos as well, it now gets played every day when I’m at home. check out the MK2R restoration HERE posted 04-01-19 I mentioned on the 28th of January that i was going on a very Ditchburn related road trip last week, well i took a trip down to Devon and returned home to Lytham with a Ditchburn Mk2 Jukebox that needs restoration. I have added some photos in the tell your story section … Read about my road trip and the Jukebox here. posted 03-01-19 A very happy new year to all our readers and contributors at the Ditchburn website. the website started in March 2018 and has grown rapidly in a very short space of time and is still growing, i still have a folder of items that need to be added to the website and areas including vending etc. to be completed. i have added two vital pieces of documentation today, the electrical wiring diagrams for the Jack Hylton MK1 and the Ditchburn MK2 Jukeboxes. these diagrams can be found in the jukebox sections here Hylton MK1 and here Ditchburn MK2 they can both be downloaded in PDF format if required. CLICK HERE to see previous WHATS NEW posts From 2018 in the WHATS NEW Archive

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