Enduring, if not endearing, memory......
During my senior school years (1960-65) I commuted from my parents' flat on the Lyndhurst Estate, Erdington to Harry Lucas School, Hockley (Why? It's a long story, but the reason is within the Harry Lucas School Topic), byway of the 64 bus to Aston Cross where I changed to the Inner Circle 8 to school. An enduring memory is the fragrance that pervaded the Aston Cross area on my return journey (about 4.30pm) - a mixture of beer and HP Sauce.
OK, enough reminiscing, it would be easy to conclude automation is a relatively recent innovation but the photo below tells otherwise. it shows the new bottling plant at Ansells in 1937, that's 87 years ago.
P.S. Surely that large canvas cover upper centre must be a contender for the largest beret in the world.