Page 68 - Redditch People

Redditch People

Life and Times of Vince Green

Vincent Green was born in Redditch on the 1st September 1939 to Edward Arthur Green
(1915 - 1974) and Beatrice Edna Wright (1913 - 1976).

Vincent re-established Sprite Fish Hooks in 1974 following the death of his father Edward
(Ted) Green who had learned the trade of hook making first at John James at Studley and
then at Samuel Allcock in Redditch.

At the time of the acquisition of the Allcock Company in 1969 by Norris Shakespeare, Ted
was Foreman of the fish hook making department. However, Shakespeare ceased
manufacturing in Redditch, moving production to the far-East and he was made redundant.

So he decided to use his experience to start his own business, which he called ‘Sprite’,
making commercial sea hooks for the North American market.

When he died in 1974 Vince, who had done an engineering apprenticeship at Entaco, an
amalgam of the Redditch needle and fishing tackle manufacturers formed in the 1930's,
felt he had the skills necessary to carry on his father's business.

He decided to concentrate on sporting fishhooks for salmon and trout fly dressing.

Initially the hooks were made by hand but as the pool of skilled fishhook workers steadily
dried up Vince decided to automate some of the processes increasing production at the
same time.

Sprite hooks gained a good reputation over the years for consistent quality and reliability
and hook sales steadily increased.

Unfortunately this came to an end in July 2012 when Vince had a stroke while cycling and
he realised that at the age of 73 that it was time to retire. He decided not to sell the
company to someone else since they would be unlikely to have the necessary skills
needed to carry on hook manufacture.

Sadly, Vincent died shortly afterwards in March 2013 and his gravestone in the Abbey
Cemetery bears the inscription ‘The Last Fish-Hook Manufacturer in Redditch’

Thus ended over 200 years of fishhook making in Redditch and the UK. Fish hook making
started in Redditch at the beginning of the 19th Century by companies such as Henry
Milward, Samuel Allcock and William Bartleet and ended at the beginning of the 21st
Century with the death of Vincent Green.

.

Page: 68 © RLHS 2015