Charlie Gibb
32 Victoria Street, Dundee
Charlie Gibb learned to wield a torch as a a shipbuilder in the Caledon Yard in his native Dundee.
He started his Victoria Street operation in 1936/37, setting himself up as a cycle engineer and agent a short distance away from Dundee's best-known builder, DW Lindsay.
Charlie, who was also a dab-hand when it came to wheel-building, had a reasonable output of frames for a one-man operation. He built both solos and tandems, earning a good reputation for his skill.
It's been said that some of his earlier frames were a bit "agricultural" but he seemed to be learning on the job and, by the 1950s, was turning out quite polished work.
Charlie, who was known as "Gibby" to local cycle club members, retired from the business in 1965, the last year in which his shop is listed in the trade directories.
