Clock winder who kept town's time for 32 years honoured for service: 'I always loved doing it'

Graham Tebbs
-Credit:Reach Publishing Services Limited


Graham Tebbs might just have retired, but the gleam of excitement is still in his eyes as he looks up at the Yarm Town Hall clock.

"You can see the minute hand moving, look," he enthuses, just before it strikes noon. Then, looking at his watch, he declares, with customary good humour: "It's six seconds fast." He should know. The 76-year-old has been keeping time for the people of Yarm for 32 years.

Now, as the High Street's central timepiece winding mechanism has gone electrical, he is able to watch the clock like anyone else. "That's life, isn't it? You've got to progress," he said.

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Once a week, come rain or shine, he rode from Kirklevington Yarm on his bike, pulled the ladder down and climbed inside the tower to wind the clock manually since 1992.

"Never forgotten in 32 years," he says with palpable pride. "And loved it every time. I always loved doing it. I never thought, oh no I've got to do the clock."

And he revealed he had given people a tiny helping hand over the years: "It was always either right or a little bit fast, half a minute or a minute. But never ever slow, never. In case people missed the bus."

Graham Tebbs, former winder of the clock at Yarm Town Hall for 32 years (right), with his predecessor Jim Rose (left), pictured in 1992
Graham Tebbs, former winder of the clock at Yarm Town Hall for 32 years (right), with his predecessor Jim Rose (left), pictured in 1992 -Credit:Evening Gazette

He took over from the previous winder Jim Rose: "My mam told me he was retiring and they wanted somebody to do it so I went to see Jim, he said to see the council and I just took it from there. I was fascinated by the mechanism of course. I loved clocks and I used to repair clocks. I just loved the idea of doing it and I was really pleased when I got accepted.

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"You stopped the pendulum. Originally I'd listen to the radio, or phone the speaking clock, and as soon as it's right you'd set the pendulum going again. In later years I got a watch that gets the signal from the atomic clock.

"In spring you'd wind it forward for daylight saving time, then in autumn you stop it for an hour.

Graham Tebbs, former winder of the clock at Yarm Town Hall for 32 years (right), with his predecessor Jim Rose (left), pictured in 1992
Graham Tebbs, former winder of the clock at Yarm Town Hall for 32 years (right), with his predecessor Jim Rose (left), pictured in 1992 -Credit:Evening Gazette

"There's been times when it's stopped. The pendulum snapped once, so I made a new spring out of an old saw and machined it in my workshop. I think I charged the council £25. It lasted for years.

"It stopped a time or two with the weather when the pointers froze, but I went down, warmed it up and gave it a bit of a shake. The strangest thing was when covid was on and there was just nothing, no cars. It was eerie."

He traces his interest back to playing with Meccano as a boy. Born in Urlay Nook, he worked for the Pilkington glass company and was a technician at Egglescliffe School for 18 years, where he ran an engineering class at lunchtimes, while fitting the clock around his work and "tinkering on" in his own workshop.

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"My old school," he said. "I absolutely loved the job. I'm an amateur engineer. I made model steam engines."

'The time was right to retire'

He helped numerous young people, both showing them around the clock tower and working with them as they made things in his workshop. He has made plaques for the Yarm Town Council and for other people.

He last wound the clock at Remembrance Sunday, as always to make sure it was absolutely correct for the event, with his uncle Walter named on Yarm's war memorial: "I went at 10.00 to double-check it was right and I made an adjustment.

"I'd already handed my notice in. I felt the time was right to retire.

"Jim retired at 75, same age as me. He said: 'It's too heavy now.' I thought, 'It's easy this, I can do it with one hand.' I can't now."

'A very, very clever guy'

It was not Graham who last wound the clock, but his son Philip, 44, himself an engineer, design and technology teacher and school department head, while he was on holiday. "He won't let me forget it," Graham joked.

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"He knows how to alter it and adjust it. Every time I went on holiday he did it," added Graham, a dad-of-two and grandfather-of-six.

Yarm Town Council honoured him for his service to the community in a special meeting. Council chairman Cllr Brian Newcombe said they wanted to recognise his dedication and contribution.

Councillor Barbara Wegg, whose husband and fellow councillor Bob is Graham's lifelong friend, said: "Graham is a very, very clever guy. He's a very kind guy.

Graham Tebbs, former winder of the clock at Yarm Town Hall for 32 years (centre) with Yarm Town Council members, chair Cllr Brian Newcombe and Barbara Wegg
Graham Tebbs, former winder of the clock at Yarm Town Hall for 32 years (centre) with Yarm Town Council members, chair Cllr Brian Newcombe and Barbara Wegg -Credit:LDRS/applicable for all partners

"For 32 years he's wound that clock, and he's gone out in all weathers, at 2am when the clocks go forward and back. He's made parts for the clock over the years, he's got little old pennies he's used as weights to regulate the clock.

"He tells me he's enjoyed every second of doing it, and I thoroughly believe that. One big thank you to a great guy who worked tirelessly for the town. You were one of the most important people in Yarm, because everyone looks at that clock."

He was presented with a letter of thanks, a £100 voucher and a framed picture of him inside the clock. He said: "I'm humbled, but secretly it's really nice for people to say nice things."

Friend Terry Chapman said: "They don't make them like Graham anymore. He's one of the nicest people I've ever met in my whole life, a genuine lovely man. He's been part of the community for such a long time, seen and unseen."

Graham may have retired, but some things never change. "I'll be in my workshop, messing on," he shrugged.

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