Letters May 2005
From Lorraine
I am trying to locate an Invention by Captain William Forbes
Portarlington, Melbourne who in 1905 went to England to submit his invention
The Distance and Course Recorder to the British Admiralty. In 1909 after much testing
and discussion with the Navigation Dept of the Admiralty, Hydrographer, Admiral
Field and Captain Bacon Director of Naval Ordinance the project was taken over by
Elliott Bros. o f Lewisham who altered its design and manufacture. It was alien
known as Forbes Patent Log. I believe this equipment was used not only by the
British Navy but also by the Cunard Shipping Line.
I have tried to find the Elliot
Bros. records of the time plus locate the Admiralty records given that the
invention was used on a lot of navy ships. Are you able to assist me or put me
in touch with the appropriate organisation?
From P. Haney
You recently published an enquiry from me about Duresco and the
Riverside Works, Charlton. I had one reply, which was extremely useful. Thank
you. Could I request a further enquiry through your newsletter? Does anyone
have any information on a company called "Griffiths Fletcher Berdoe"
operating in the Charlton area pre 1880? Berdoe could possibly have been Walter
Berdoe an industrial chemist. Is there any information on vinegar making around
Charlton pre 1880?
From Benjamin Fragner
We are honoured to invite you to the 3rd International Biennial
Vestiges of Industry 2005, which will take place n Prague on September 19th -
23th, 2005. The programme of the biennial includes a conference reflecting on examples
of European experiences and on the relationship between industrial heritage and
culture, a number of exhibitions, excursions and cultural events in Prague and
in the nearby industrial town of Kladno. The biennial and its events are
organized by the Research Centre for Industrial Heritage (VCPD) at the Czech
Technical University in Prague, the Technical Monuments Committee of the Czech Chamber
of Certified Engineers and Technicians EKAIT, the Czech Union of Civil
Engineers (ESSI) and the City of Kladno, with the direct support of the
International Visegrad Fund (IVF).
We look forward to welcoming
you to the 3rd International Biennial - Vestige of Industry to share your knowledge
and experience with the other participants
Research Centre for Industrial Heritage Czech Technical University in
Prague
From Neil Bennett
Congratulations on a brilliant web site. My interest is in the Merryweather Company
which, as well as featuring among my childhood toys and models, l worked for in
South Wales after it left Greenwich. I have worn out my printer downloading the
Merryweather items from your Newsletter. Didn't know there was so much to Greenwich!
I am part of what may or may not be a growing Merryweather nostalgia industry,
and I'm researching for a book initiated by Paul Pearson(a fire vehicle
restorer) and contributed to by Tony Armstrong (MW chief engineer early 1980s, South
Wales) and myself (draughtsman same period). The book is intended to relate the
post-W.W.2 history of the company but I collect information on the whole 3+
centuries. I would offer some snippets as follows:
The company left Greenwich apparently because its workforce was aging
and perhaps the building was aging although it and the land were worth a vast
sum, making mechanical engineering production there unrealistic. Taken over by
the Siebe Gorman Group, grants were sought from the Welsh Development Agency
and other sources and a modem factory unit taken in Rassau, pronounced Rassa, near
Ebbw Vale. South Wales. It did not seem to be very successful and is reported
to have had a succession of managing directors. On Friday 13th April 1984 it
did a moonlight flit to the Tecalemit Garage Equipment factory in Plymouth. The
chairman of Siebe Gorman was interviewed by Roger Cook on Radio 4. The company became
T.G.E. Merryweather, where it only produced fire extinguishers. Sometime later
Siebe Gorman merged it with a historic but little-known company, John Morris
& Sons Ltd to become Morris Merryweather in Hyde near Manchester. have a
sales brochure of its fire-fighting products including the Merryweather
extinguishers. This company was later reported to have gone into receivership. Recently
the Merryweather & Sons Ltd name survived, the name having possibly been
taken on by its last managing director in South Wales, Paul Abbot. An address
for the company is found in Ashford, Kent or alternatively in Croydon,
supplying fire alarms etc.
These facts are however subject to confirmation and further research
I was very interested in the proposition that Eduard Butler built the
first British petrol engined car in the Merryweather Greenwich factory. Was
there any feedback on this? The website Mysterymotors.com won't come up on my
computer, and normally I'd be wary of internet claims unless backed up by
evidence. However there does seem to be some evidence as the authors of a book published
in 1901 by the Merryweather Company, "A Record of Two Centuries" does
refer to a 'petro cycle ' being made (the last in a list of non-fire-related
products). At that time apparently nobody saw the potential (or potential
threat) of the invention, and it is ranked somewhere after 'tanks for camel
transport ' which must have been useful to someone.
In one newsletter Neil Means enquires about fire boats. If they have
not yet made contact, l suggest he gets in touch with D.O. Pat Cox at the Fire
Service College, Morton in Marsh. He is said to be the authority on fire boats
although I have yet to contact him.
Hope some of the above is interesting. Some points I am wondering: is
the Greenwich factory building still standing / listed / demolished / would it
be described as Art Deco or what architectural style? (I don't live in the
area). Was Edward Butler of petrocycle fame continued as a London resident?
Interested in MW's wartime products including turntable ladders mounted on
amphibious vehicles for the D-Day landings, (mentioned in 'Engineering '
journal 1 1.1. 1 963), and extending ladder vehicle for artillery spotting. Any
other interesting stuff about the company or its products, for which I would be
grateful or would swap some of my own material.
I am seeking to further enlarge my collection of information on Merryweather.
In exchange for new pictures, information etc, I could offer similar, or
sincere thanks/modest payment. In Vol I Issue 4 the 'Flexible Metallic Tubing
Co ' is mentioned. Around 1980 I worked for Ransomes & Rapier Ltd, Ipswich.
They made the NCK Rapier cranes which can still be seen working, mobile (wheeled)
cranes, giant walking dragline excavators and among other things the turntable
6or the revolving restaurant in the Post Office Tower. While there my drawings
included a piece of flexible exhaust pipe (3 or 4 inches diameter) for a
diesel-engined crawler-crane which came from the United Flexible Metallic Tubing
Company. lts address was probably not given as Greenwich or l would have
remembered it as a neighbour of MW&SL. If it is the same company the
addition of the name 'United ' might suggest that it merged with another company
at some point and may have moved. Later (1983) I looked them up and they had
become T.I. Flexible Tubes, but apparently I did not note their address. The Tube
Investments group now has a web-site featuring T.I. Automotive, Their products
don't look at all similar, but anyone keen to know more might enquire there.
Keen to support industrial heritage but on a tight budget, and unlikely to make
it to many of the meetings...but please give some details of what the society
offers.
From Iris Bryce
With reference to last newsletter and the piece on War Memorial
Hospital, 'artefacts relating to the Hospital are stored
'.. I wonder whether they still include the Roman remains mentioned in THE
ROMANS IN THE GREENWICH DISTRICT by Reg Rigden 1974. He mentions finds from the
site of the Memorial Hospital, Shooters Hill giving evidence of occupation
during the 1st century. The finds included pottery, flint, animal bones and possibly
a piece from a thatched roofed hut. The book was published by the Borough of
Greenwich. Reg Rigden was a very oId friend. Owen and Reg first met when they
were founder members of the first Revival New Orleans Band in England in 1943.
Reg became curator of Plumstead Museum. I'm still trying to find a publisher
interested in my collection of essays on life in Wrotham, Kent from the early
50's. Any ideas?
From Veronica Hampton
I ran an internet search on "the Old Sheer Hulk" and Jack Vaughan's
article 'The Old Sheer Nonsense ' came up Mr. Vaughan, quoted a booklet on
'Woolwich, Plumstead and Neighbourhood ' and reproduced some of the info on the
pub in your newsletter. I am interested in any further information contained in
this booklet on The Old Sheer Hulk. My interest is family history, and a cousin
by marriage was the publican at the Old Sheer Hulk from 3 1 July 1952. I am in
the process of transcribing oId Ietters written during his term of tenancy at
the pub. To date the letters have been only mostly about family matters and the
'new life indoors' at the pub. It was a Watney's establishment in 1952 "The trade here is
not too bad, but not fortune to be made. I can sum it up by saying I work harder
and get about the same money, but can't get out to spend as much. This place is
not small. Large public and Saloon Bar, kitchen, scullery, sitting room and 5
bedrooms. I employed a batman at first but found trade hardly merited it and he
could only do mornings and not weekends. We have two cleaners. Overheads are
pretty heavy but trade is about second best along here. I find things a bit
awkward because my predecessor did not leave me any figures as a guide. Still
we are managing and now preparing for the Christmas orders. I can't say I'm
entirely struck on this trade because you've no time off and you never know whether
it’s going to be a busy night or not, but as Tom says, I'll get used to it in
time. H.J. STEED, Sunday Nov 2nd 1952"
Now for the pub, it’s quite homely and the people not too bad, but they
don't stay long, they go 6 pm one to the other, you see there is about 4 Houses
within five minutes walk. L STEED, Sunday Nov 2nd 1952"
From Museum of London
The Postcodes Project website is a new resource aimed adults with an
interest in local history. It showcases a wide variety of objects from the
Museum's collections, highlighting one for each London postcode area. In addition
there are numerous links to local museums, libraries, archives and adult
education centres to encourage people to get more involved in local heritage. The
really exciting aspect of the site is a system that enables individuals and
members o f community groups to submit their own stories about an area. These
will gradually build up to create a website which is as rich and diverse as the
city it portrays. You are welcome to visit the site online, and submit a story
of your own, at www.museumonondon.org.uk/postcodes.
From Bill Sanman
It seems very little information has been preserved on London
shipbuilding. In particular I am looking for any information about the ships
built in the following yards:
Ditchburn & Mare,
Blackwall John & William
Dudgeon, Millwall, London
Green. Blackwall
Thames Ironworks, Blackwall
Wigram, Blackwall
I have seen no citations whatsoever for Ditchburn & Mare, John
& William Dudgeon and Wigram. There is a very limited amount of information
about Green and Thames Ironworks. Perhaps you, or some of your colleagues
within the society, know of sources relating to these yards. There may be a
local or regional library that contains files in their facial collections. Or
there may be a local expert who knows of these shipyards. I am interested in a
number of ships that later served in the Confederate, Spanish and Japanese
navies. I am trying to locate any information that may be available, such as contracts,
specifications, and plans: drawings, sketches or other images. They may have
all been launched from the same port but they later found themselves in the
thick of maritime history around the world.
From contact at the AIA
What a contrast we are with the
Swiss Transport Museum at Lucerne. It has just announced that the paddle
steamer Rigi, which has been on display there since 1958, is to be completely
refurbished and put back into steam on the lake by 2009. Rigi is about Reliant’s
size and, ironically, was built at Greenwich in 1848. So all credit to the
Swiss for showing what can be done in a positive way to preserve maritime
heritage for future generations.
If anyone could provide a good translation of this German language site
-- we would be happy to use it as a future article here
From Richard Budd
I am interested in researching my family tree and my Grandfather,
Harold Charles Cleall Budd (1892-1968). He was a long-term (49years) employee of Messrs Siemens Brothers
& Co in Woolwich, Kent, England. I was wondering if you had any information
on Siemens and if there any chance that Archive material could be held concerning
W J Graham and the work that he performed for the company? I understand that he had extensive experience
in the Power Cables Department. In the 1920s he managed a cable laying
expedition in the West Indies on the cable ship CS Faraday.
From Nick Banks
I work for a not-for-profit energy agency based in Southwark. We are
interested in the idea of converting old mills and waterwheels on London's
rivers to generate electricity. You may have seen that there have been some similar
schemes in Devon and Cornwall recently. We would also be particularly
interested in getting hold of any maps showing waterwheels and mills in the
Greater London Area.
From Rob Fantinatto
Scribble Media is proud to announce the release today of Echoes of
Forgotten Places", a DVD about Urban Exploration, Industrial Archaeology
and the Aesthetics of Decay.
From Camilla Way
I am trying to find information on the mines and caves under Greenwich
I understand that there is a picture of Sutherland Champion in the Town
Hall at Woolwich. Does anyone know anything about this?
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