Sowerbutt's Persuasion

The retired writer for the East London Pioneer, who still has the notebook from his interview in the early 1960s with Jimmy Sowerbutt, said: "Lots of problems in the building game after the war; so much construction going on. Black market in everything. Often you had to spread hard-earned around to get your bricks. Then you would wait five or six months for delivery. Unless you had transport or petrol coupons.
"Apart from the unions, there were the tradesman rackets. You would have to put something under the counter to get a carpentry firm on the site.
"Sowerbutt was a whirlwind. After sorting out the unions, he got his bricks from the London Brick Company up in Bedfordshire where he had mates. For transport, he used his contacts in the army - a lot of lads were still in in '46 and '47.
"The tradesmen were funny. Sorbay and his boys would pop round to the carpentry firm. 'Get stuck in or I will get stuck in', he'd say, and slam his cosh on the counter. Nine times out of ten, they'd be round the site in minutes. Occasionally someone got clever and ended up in hospital.
"The Poplar families got housed quick smart. Houses and flats up like clockwork and roads repaired. Well ahead of some of the other places."

 http://www.amazon.co.uk/Colour-Lemon-Surrender-1940-ebook/dp/B008USR7FA