Letters January 2004
From Sue Bullock
I read with interest a letter posted
by Ted Barr concerning the Silvertown explosion on your website. My grandfather
was serving with the East Sussex regiment and was in attendance and at the
aftermath of the explosion, and was injured himself in the process.
From Mary Cousins
I wonder whether your society has
any information on the engineering firm, Lister Bros, which was situated in
Nightingale Vale, Woolwich, SE18, demolished in the ‘60s. Or any information on
Belmont Laundry situated in the same road, established around 1900 – proprietor
Maria Lister.
My father
was Samuel Lister who owned Lister Bros and the 'derelict laundry' next door,
the Belmont Laundry. He was about 74 when I was born in 1948 and unfortunately
because of the age difference with my relations I did not keep in touch. I
remember the house in Nightingale Vale, no 59, and running down a steep slope
to enter the laundry and of course the engineering works.
I have no
family and eventually any bits and pieces I have will most probably end up on a
bonfire when I die. I have a couple of photos of the laundry at the end of the
nineteenth century with my father and some of the girls that worked there, plus
some architectural drawings of buildings my grandmother had built for
collection of the laundry in 1901 and wondered if anything like this would be
of interest to anyone - maybe some archives somewhere?
From Mary Sheppard
I am having a real problem locating
a great grand father. Thomas Knight who we believe was in the Royal Horse
Artillery at Woolwich in 1861. Have you
any suggestions as to where to go for information.
From Rob Ward
I read in your newsletter a letter from Jon Garvey
concerning a bakery ran by the Tyler family.
I am researching the Ward family in Woolwich and
Greenwich who were also bakers. I am interested in Mary Elizabeth Ward
(daughter of John Ward, baker and meatman) who probably married John James
Tyler in 1823. I would be most grateful
to see if there are any connections.
From Mr. Hambly
I looked at an article by Mr. Harry Pearman on the
Plumstead chalk mines in Wickham Lane, well - when I was a young boy in
approximately 1967 -68 we used to crawl on our bellies down into the chalk mine
which is near if I can remember Abbey Wood camping site just up Bostall Hill on
the right. Can any body remember this mine, which we played in. As far as I can
see it was sealed off in the late 1960-s I hope this is some use.
From Debbie Burchell
Myself
and my cousins have just started the process of tracing our family tree. I have
been informed that our Great Grandparents (we think!) were shareholders in the
Lovibonds Brewery and had links in the Brewery Trade. I am really asking your
advice on how we can find out further details about the brewery and whether
they were actually shareholders!!
From
Iris Bryce
Re Janet Haworth's History of Woodlands (in our last issue) I wondered if at the time that it was built if land went as far as the street in which I was born, and the surrounding streets as they all have names relevant...i.e.: Woodland Street (renamed in the 1930's to Woodland Walk,.
Woodland Grove, Walnut Tree Road,
Earlswood Street?
From M.J.Chalk
My
grandparents and parents lived in Wood Wharf until the 1940s. I am particularly
interested in R.H.Green & Siley Weir where my grandfather and father worked
on boiler makers plates. I would be grateful for any information.
From Ann
Coats, Secretary, Naval Dockyards Society
Currently we have over 200 members throughout the
world, including many ex-dockyard personnel, family historians researching
their dockyard worker ancestors, and academics. Our first issue of books and
articles relating to naval dockyard facilities is available and the latest
edition is on our website.
In 1999 the Society started to creating an index and
database of a class of documents at the Public Record Office which will
increase access to a rich source for dockyard history. The last workshop was at
the National Maritime Museum Greenwich, looking at Navy Board Letters 1738-1775
in ADM/B. It also introduced members to the process of creating a computerised
database to further our knowledge of dockyard history. We urgently need more
volunteers.
As well as news and other snippets, the site contains links to other sites of
interest to naval dockyard enthusiasts and maritime history in general. The
site depends on input from members so any contributions are welcome especially
pictorial.
From Nick
Bartlett
I am seeking any information on a watchmakers’
shop at 4 Wellington Street, Woolwich which was in business in the 1870s. It
was probably under the name of John Willmann, an immigrant from near Freiburg,
Germany.
From Peter Trigg
Now that the water tower of the Brook Hospital has been partly rebuilt
to incorporate a flats, does anyone know if any of the original pumping
equipment survives?
It is possible that the pumps were steam powered and converted to
electric power in more recent times. Even old electrical equipment has a lot of
interest and it would be a shame if any such equipment is destroyed.
From Howard Chard
One of my Christmas presents
this year was ‘Lost Railways of Surrey’ by Leslie Oppitz (Countryside Books 2002). On page 74 is a picture of a Greenwich
built Merryweather tram at Bisley Camp
in 1907. In the text it explains that a
tramway was built at the National Rifle Association’s original site at
Wimbledon in 1864 to carry people from the firing ranges to and from a camp. In
1877 a ‘steam tram car was made available to the NRA comprising a boxed in
design and weighing about 4 tons’. The locomotive was named Wharncliffe and
inaugurated by the Prince of Wales. In
1898 the NRA moved to Bisley, taking Wharncliffe with them. The book gives details about the further
history of the line built there – and the remains which are still to be seen.
But nothing about what happened to Wharncliffe itself!
No comments:
Post a Comment