All sorts of news and reviews

LAST NIGHT -   Thanks to everyone who came to the Greenwich Industrial History Meeting last night and in particular thanks to Tracy Stringfellow and Charlie MacKeith who were the speakers.  Age Exchange, where we’ve met for the last 20 years, had a flood and we ended up in the garden house at the back of the Railway Pub in the pouring rain.  One lady had fallen and hurt herself - she went home and (I don’t know her name) but best wishes to her from all of us.  Thanks too to Steve who stood for nearly an hour in the rain telling people where the meeting was being held, as they arrived

It was a completely amazing talk from Charlie about Charlton House and the garden building - which has been used as toilets for many years. He was very interesting about all the work done on it and about the light it throws on to Charlton House itself and why it was built.  If you are a local history society - book him at once!

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We are aware of local disquiet on the issue of the railway bridge at Plumstead Station. Please Plumstead people as you have now finished Making Merry can somebody send me a note which I can publish here about what is going on?
https://www.change.org/p/network-rail-south-east-save-our-station-history-plumstead?recruiter=39955197&utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=facebook&utm_campaign=petition_dashboard&fbclid=IwAR1gzuxk9TkT8diJkCQ7hVDZa1YEEaT-L9QMrQDVQZDgcbu-2OlZYt2NsbM

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There are also a crowd funding appeal from the Deptford based Lenox Project for a visitor centre to showcase the area's shipbuilding heritage  https://www.spacehive.com/thelenoxproject

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A lot of newsletters and so on have come in since I last did this blog -so please read it - sorry but there is rather a lot of it. 

Woolwich Antiquarians Newsletter.   As ever this regular newsletter is full of interesting information.

They report on a meeting on Woolwich Women at War by Steve Hookins. This was about women of all sorts who worked in the Arsenal in the Great War- some called ‘Munitionettes’. Of course the women were thrown out when the war ended.  His sounds like a very lively report and the speaker great fun as well as informative

They also note another speaker on Recovery of the Tidal Thames and its Fisheries. Again this sounds very interesting going from when the Thames was declared biologically dead in 1957 to the present day. The speaker, Steve Colclough, described the whole process of degeneration of the Thames and the work done now, including the fish survey. The Thames is now an example of European best practice.

They also report on local conservation issues including Woolwich Town centre conservation – reminding me that we have still heard nothing about getting a blue plaque on the old Woolwich Labour Party Building.  Must get something done.

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Docklands History Group. They report on a meeting held in May about Lascars in Shadwell by John Seed. I remember Lascars when I lived in Gravesend as a child where Asian seamen would be seen wandering the streets having come from ships docked in Tilbury. John Seed described their lives in East London in the early 19th century.

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GLIAS Newsletter .  

The June newsletter is full of news of their 50th anniversary plans which include a celebratory meal to be held in October. In the Newsletter they are running articles on ‘themes’ relevant to the anniversary.  They start with reminiscences of industrial archaeology evening classes which inevitably feature Denis Smith’s famous evening classes at Goldsmiths in the 1970s and go on with many subsequent classes by Denis. Bob Carr’s numerous evening classes also get a mention in one line – and none of the others are mentioned at all

There is an item on London windmills which includes the Plumstead Windmill pub. 

Graham Dolan’s lecture on Greenwich observatory and the London County Council Tramways Power Station is mentioned and someone has written in with details from the Southern Railway minutes about their problems with the Observatory. This is a quotation from 1923 about correspondence between the Chair of the Railway Company and the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Transport about removal of the magnetic instruments from the Observatory and the money which the railway had to pay towards this.

A book review of Jim Lewis’s new book on the Enfield Small Arms factory mentions its origins in Lewisham at the Armoury Mill

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The Crossness Engines Record. The spring/summer edition begins with a wonderful selection of pictures from their birthday party for Sir Joseph Bazalgette. There is a large picture of the cake with his picture on it and others show guests like our Greenwich Mayor enjoying themselves at the event. There is also a poem by John Richmond to celebrate the 200th anniversary of Joseph Bazalgette’s birth.

The Record includes news – one of their members is making little wooden owls for sale - there is a report on the RANG railway which will run from along to Bazalgette Way and its receipt of money from a crowd funding projects - there is a report on asbestos problems and how this has now been overcome, much of it has been already removed – and there is an article on the history of the Crossness School which was for the children of the workers at Crossness.

All good stuff

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Greenwich Society Newsletter.  The society has taken to having historical of articles which I am personally very pleased about. The May June Edition has an article by Peter Van der Merwe on the Painted Hall and how it has been used, and the various restorations and works done on it since its inception. Along with that is a notice about the K2 chronometer which Captain Bligh and took on the Bounty in 1787. This is also by Peter van de Merwe

The other article is by me on the warship, Warrior, and how it was built just across the river at Bow Creek and the various contributions made by Greenwich workers to it.

There is also a brief note about Williams the Pirate in response to the article about gibbets on the Greenwich Peninsula by Pieter in the last edition.

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Journal of the Greenwich Historical Society 2019. The leading article is 'Mr. Spurgeon Magic Lantern' by Anthony Cross.  This is about the various photographs taken in the 1880s in Greenwich by Charles Spurgeon. They are obviously posed but nevertheless very interesting as is Tony’s article about them.

There is also a very important article on the Trafalgar Tavern by John Bold which describes its building and use in great detail. Another article consists of accounts of National Service by a number of well-known local individuals - including Peter Kent and several others. There is also an obituary to Darrel Spurgeon who of course was a member of GIHS and who wrote a series of guides to various parts of our local area

Finally we should appreciate the high quality of production of this booklet.  This is down to Rob Powell and it is an immensely impressive publication. 

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Industrial Archaeology News. This includes an article by me about George Landmann, the Royal Engineer who built the Greenwich railway and gives a bit of biographical information about him. I've always felt that strongly that Landmann is never mentioned in works on railway engineers although what he did with the Greenwich Railway in particular was ground breaking.

This edition also includes an article by Bob Carr 'On the Origin of Tall Industrial Chimneys'.  I am very aware that Bob has been looking all over the place for evidence of early chimney building. He mentions a numberof chimneys  in Woolwich and includes the two built in the Dockyard in the early 1840s, and says that there were others in the Arsenal.  So, all of you people who are researching the Arsenal - Bob would be very interested in anything about chimney design and construction you might have come across.

There is also quite a bit of news about Crossness Engines.  They note that planning permission has been given by Bexley Council for the installation narrow gauge railway and modification of an existing building for use as depot facilities. They also note the need for track and sleepers and so on.
there is also an article about the Bazalgette party and some details of the work being done at Crossness – which course would not be familiar to people from outside our area who would read IA News..

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And while I’m blowing my own trumpet – do people see the articles which I have been doing fortnightly in the Greenwich Weekender? The current one is about the Turkish ferries built on the Greenwich Peninsula by Maudslay Son and Field . One of them, built in 1871, was still in use in the late 1990s

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Forthcoming meetings – these are garnered from all the different newsletters I’ve got here:

19th GLIAS Walk 6.30 Medicine and More. Free. Meet Henry VII Gate, Bart’s Hospital Smithfield,
22nd June. Royal Greenwich Big Band and Eltham Hill Steel Pans. Greenwich Park Bandstand 3 pm
22nd June. Thames Barge Match Gravesend  www.boatingonthethames .co.uk
23rd June Countrypolitan Band Greenwich Park Bandstand 3 pm
23rd June Low Tide Walk through Deptford Creek. 11-1 pm Creekside Discovery Centre, 14 Creekside
23rd June Crossness Public Steaming 10.30-4 pm  Bazalgette Way, Abbey Wood
23rd June House Mill Guided Tour. £4 11-4 Three Mill Lane, Bromley by Bow (behind Tesco)
27th June The Great North Wood Project. Friends of Oxleas Woodlands. Shrewsbury House. 7.30 pm
30th June Here to Havana. Greenwich Park Bandstand 3 pm
30th June House Mill Guided Tour. £4 11-4 Three Mill Lane, Bromley by Bow (behind Tesco)
3rd July Chris Ellmers. A Very Very Naughty Boy. Docklands History Group. 5.30 Museum of London Docklands West India Quay Hertsmere Road.  £2
6th July. Jim Marrett. Royal Greenwich. Four World War 1 VC’s.    Woolwich Antiquarians Charlton house 2.00 pm
6th July GLIAS Walk 2.30 Dartford. Tickets from walks@glias.org.uk 
7th July KIX Jazz Orchestra Greenwich Park Bandstand 3 pm
7th July House Mill Guided Tour. £4 11-4 Three Mill Lane, Bromley by Bow (behind Tesco)
7th June Brockley and Ladywell Cemeteries Open Day. 11-4 pm
8th July. Art and Architecture of Calcutta. Dr John Stevens. Arts Society. Greenwich University, Old Royal Naval College, King William Court,  7.15 £10
9th July. Cricket Match. Greenwich Society v. Blackheath Society. Rangers Field, Greenwich Park.6.00 pm
11th July. Development of the Thames Tideway.  Harpinder Birdi.  London Museum of Water and Steam, Kew Bridge. Tickets £5. From www.waterandsteam.org.uk
14th July Heroes Band Greenwich Park Bandstand 3 pm
14th July House Mill Guided Tour. £4 11-4 Three Mill Lane, Bromley by Bow (behind Tesco)
17th July 19th GLIAS Walk 6.30 Tower Bridge to Rotherhithe. Free. Meet Riverside, City Hall
20th July. Restoring Urban Rivers. Charlton Society. Charlton House  2.30
21st July Meantime Band Greenwich Park Bandstand 3 pm
28th July South London jazz orchestra and Live Band Lindy, Greenwich Park Bandstand 3 pm
29th July House Mill Guided Tour. £4 11-4 Three Mill Lane, Bromley by Bow (behind Tesco)
29, 30, 31st July South East London Wool and Textile Festival. Woodlands Farm 11-4 pm
3rd August GLIAS Walk 2.30 Rickmansworth. Tickets from walks@glias.org.uk 
4th August Silver Ghosts. Greenwich Park Bandstand 3 pm
11th August Shadey scandals. Greenwich Park Bandstand 3 pm
18th August The Old Jelly Rollers. Greenwich Park Bandstand 3 pm
25th August Greenwich Concert Band. Greenwich Park Bandstand 3 pm
26th August Galaxy Big Band Greenwich Park Bandstand 3 pm
7th September GLIAS Walk 2.30 Camden Housing. Tickets from walks@glias.org.uk 
5th October GLIAS Walk 2.30 City Geology. Tickets from walks@glias.org.uk 
12th October. Pearly Kings and Queens. Clive Bennett and Gwen Jones.  Woolwich Antiquarians Charlton House 2.00 pm
9th November. The Conflict Archaeology of Woolwich. Andy Brockman.  Woolwich Antiquarians.  Charlton House 2 pm

And
12th GREENWICH ANNUALE. Exhibition of photographs by members of the Greenwich group of London Independent Photography 17th June to 30th June. Greenwich Gallery, Peyton Place, Royal Hill, Greenwich, SE10. Open weekdays 9.30am -5.00pm, Saturday & Sunday 1.00pm - 5.00pm.

FOND MEMORIES OF TUNNEL AVENUE

FOND MEMORIES OF TUNNEL AVENUE
1947 – 1954


I will always remember January 1947 in Tunnel Avenue, East Greenwich for several reasons. One was that it was my fourth birthday which also coincided with my family moving from an upstairs single bedroom flat with no bathroom into a wonderful three-bedroom house in Tunnel Avenue. Not only did I get lovely birthday presents but I got my own room to sleep in and a bathroom rather than an old tin tub in front of the fire. Our new home also had the luxury of hot water supplied by a coke fired back boiler which leads me to another memory of the winter of 1947.



About a week after we moved into Tunnel Avenue one of the coldest winters on record hit the country resulting in freezing conditions and massive demands on all types of fuel including coke. This therefore affected the heating in our house as we needed coke to keep the boiler running. My vivid recollection of that time is standing next to my mother with my baby brother in his pram queuing in the extreme cold.We had walked the length of Tunnel Avenue from the Fire Station at the top end down to the gas works which was close to the approach to Blackwall Tunnel. When we arrived, we stood for ages in line alongside the brick wall surrounding the gas works waiting to buy the coke which we either took back on the pram or possibly had it delivered. All I mainly remember is that it was a miserable experience especially as we did not have a car to make the journey but had to walk in the extreme weather. Thank fully the winter finished and we then spent several great years in the house in Tunnel Avenue.


My father was very ingenious and provided us with a magnificent view of the Metropolitan Gas Board sports ground which was located directly behind our back garden. Shortly after we moved in he removed the old wooden fence at the bottom of the garden.  Our favourite pastime was watching the cricket matches as the wicket was right in our line of sight. Except of course when the sight screen was moved across thus blocking our view of the proceedings. Thankfully this didn’t happen very often. Many happy summer days were spent watching cricket or the exciting athletics events that also took place.





Unfortunately, when the flyover was built to improve the road connections to Blackwall Tunnel it resulted in the end of the greenery of the sports ground and beyond to be replaced by modern retail and leisure outlets. However, that happened many years after we left. My memories will always be of the wonderful view across to the river where the old Thames sailing barges would often be seen plying their trade. Their red/brown sails could regularly be seen moving majestically up and down the major thoroughfare.Sadly, this sight has gone now however I can still picture it in my mind even now.



Just opposite our house in Tunnel Avenue was the East Greenwich depot of the British Oxygen Company (BOC). There BOC kept a large supply of gas cylinders which were distributed to customers around the local area. We could hear the clanking of cylinders being shifted around the depot or loaded on and off the delivery lorries. During one night in the early 1950’s there was a massive explosion at the depot. Luckily houses in the vicinity were not badly damaged and the nearest fire station was only a matter of yards away at the top of Tunnel Avenue. Therefore, the resulting fire could be tackled very quickly.


The sound of the explosion was heard miles away and broke windows in houses at Blackheath. It made headline news at the time. Of course, my family like others were all woken up by the incident    except for me.  Even though my bedroom was at the front of the house I had slept soundly through the whole thing. Something my parents were absolutely amazed at. Not only was there the sound of the explosion but all the bells and noise from fire engines, ambulances and police cars which attended the scene. Unfortunately, I believe several people were injured in the blast and that there were some fatalities.



One of the most famous methods of transport then were London trams which had been operating since Victorian times. However, the modern needs were overtaking the ageing system as the tramcars had changed little since the service had begun.


Tram tracks were laid in the middle of roads and passengers had to walk from the pavement to get on the tram. Car production was increasing and drivers wanted to drive more freely in the cities. Instead of updating the infrastructure to cater for this it was decided to close the tram system down and replace it with diesel buses. Under ‘Operation Tramaway’ which started in 1950,trams were being phased out and the last tram in London ran on 6^th July 1952. It started in Woolwich and terminated at New Cross Depot. As a young lad I stood at the bottom of Halstow Road and waved to the last passengers who were on the last tram to run in London. I can still picture that memorable sight with all the banners hanging off the sides of the tram and everyone cheering.



June 1953, the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II took place and in November a Royal Tour commenced which continued throughout the Commonwealth. In May 1954 the new Royal Yacht Britannia sailed up the Thames bringing the Queen, Prince Philip and their children back to UK. Tunnel Glucose had built a brand-new office suite which overlooked the River Thames. To celebrate the Queen’s homecoming the company invited the staff and their families to witness this historical event. On the day my parents, my brother and I were dressed in our Sunday best and journeyed down to the factory. By that time my father had acquired his second car. This being a new Ford Popular which replaced the old 1930’s Morris.


Unlike our trips down Tunnel Avenue in the bleak winter of 1947, we travelled in comfort and style to arrive ready and waiting for the Royal Yacht. I can remember well the excellent spread of food and drink that had been laid on by the company for all the families to enjoy. The room we were in I guess was the Board Room which had a large window that gave us all an excellent view of the river. As we were on the second floor, we could look out and see the Royal family standing and waving on the deck of Britannia. The Royal Yacht passed by very slowly and everyone was waving and cheering.

Compared with the first time I had seen the Queen in person it was a much more pleasurable experince. The previous time was when the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh were travelling across Blackheath. All the local school children were herded up to the heath and lined the main road close to the entrance to Greenwich Park. It was a hot summers day and we waited there for what seemed like hours. Then along came the Royal procession in their large cars. Unlike the slow-moving Royal Yacht, the cars sped past at a fast speed and it was over in a flash. We had seen the Queen but only a quick glance. Therefore, the much better memory was the wonderful time we all spent watching the majestic vessel sedately carrying the Queen and the Royal Family up the Thamestowards Tower Bridge.





 Later that year we moved out of our house in Tunnel Avenue and left London for a new life in Wiltshire which saddened me very much.I will always cherish my time growing up in East Greenwich, SE10.


Graham McDougal

26^th May 2019

Siemens - whales - Enderby - underground - George Elliott

Apologies for not putting it out earlier but have been working flat out on the new book which we hope to get out in time for the Greenwich Book Festival.   It’s going to be a rerun of ‘Greenwich Marsh’ but with 20 years more information.  Keep in touch

We have a ‘help help’ call from a member who has been asked to do some research on the Siemens site which is currently being developed.  He says “I cannot get access to the Siemens engineering archive ……………. so if any members of the GIHS have a particular interest in Siemens Brothers during the period of the report I would be grateful for any assistance they could give me in my research’.

This is of course because the Heritage Centre and archive are closed –so much for promises of access !!

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We have had a copy of the latest issue of the ‘Dockyards’ which is the newsletter of the Royal Dockyards Association. Of course this covers dockyards all round the world so it’s not all about Deptford and Woolwich.  


There is a report on a walk round Woolwich to see the remnants the Dockyard and the Arsenal. They comment that many of the older buildings are dwarfed by new blocks of flats.  They also note how disappointing it is to see the Greenwich Heritage Centre has closed and they have made representations to the Council about this – complaining that the proposed site at Anchor and Hope Lane is too remote to get to easily and will only be available for five years

There is also report of a meeting which we didn’t report on at the time – and probably should have done - which was ‘Hidden Deptford’. This was an event at St. Nicholas Church and 'Dockyards' Editor says how astonished he was to see such an amazing number of people in the audience.   The first speaker was David Davies, author of 'Pepys Ships' and also 'Kings of the Sea'.  He talked about the foundation of the Dockyards because it was easy it was to get there from Whitehall and the Tower of London as well as the Palace in Greenwich. The Thames was central for shipbuilding because in the 17^th century the amount of warfare in the North Sea and how Deptford and Woolwich became research and development yards. By the 19^th century the area was less accessible for large the naval ships.  He was followed by Richard Edensor talking about the women of Restoration Deptford – an iron contractor in Susan Beckford and Ann Pearson is a rat catcher/ he also talked about Deptford shipwright John Shish. There was also a series of folk songs by the South East London Folk Orchestra and then another talk about the proposed built building of the Lenox.

Naval Dockyards Society has put out a call for papers for their Conference on the 4^th of April, 2020 at the National Maritime Museum.  This is to be called ‘Where Empires Collide.  Dockyards and Naval Bases in and around the Indian Ocean.’  Details available from the Society and proposals should be sent before the 30^th of October 2019 to Philip McDougal (details from me)

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Thank you to Sue Allen for sending a copy of an article about Sir George Elliot’s - he is the man who is half of the firm of Glass Elliot who were largely responsible for setting up cable manufacture at Enderby Wharf.   The article is taken from Journal of the Gelligaer Local History Appreciation Society and is by Professor Bernard Knight. It gives details of the life and career of Sir George.  He describes how George began as the son of a collier in Newcastle and whose first job was at the age of nine working in the coal mine. A friend of the family taught and arithmetic and he later attended night classes. At the mine his engineering and financial talents led him to become a consultant and manager and he leased and eventually owned other collieries. He became a major industrialists and important politician – a close friend of the Prime Minister, Disraeli, and ended up with the sixth richest man in England.

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We have a copy of ‘Subterranea’ the Journal of Subterranea Britannica

I’m sorry to see in it an obituary to Harry Pearman who has come to speak to GIHS in the past about his research of all things underground for which he was well known. The obituary, by Paul Sowan, mentions that in his professional life Harry was an IT specialist and that he worked ‘for other local authorities’. This was in fact London Online Local Authorities which was based in Greenwich in John Harrison House which was demolished for the new University of Greenwich Architects Department buildings in Stockwell Street.  This was an extremely interesting and very unusual local government body. It was a consortium of local authorities, which included Greenwich, set up at a time when most of the population had never heard of computers - in the early 1960s.  We take for granted today the use of computers for things like working out rates payments and payroll –  but in those days a lot of what they had to do was just to try and explain to suspicious and disbelieving  Council Officers what it was about.  They were remarkable for having one of the first ever business computers – a Leo – which originated with Lyons Tea Shop company. No one worldwide had thought of using computers in business until Lyons did it and they had to make their own machines. This was revolutionary albeit it used paper tape and had no random access. Harry was a leading member of the team.

While Harry was at John Harrison House he added in a considerable amount of underground research in Greenwich which was published in the Journals of the Chelsea Speleological society in the 1960s. These articles have formed a basis which other researchers on underground Greenwich have followed up on. Harry’s initial research has been crucial in understanding what lies underground in Greenwich.

And very sorry to hear he has died.

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London and the Whaling Trade.  We have at last received the report on a conference held in 2013 about London and the whaling industry which includes two articles of interest to Greenwich historians.

One of them is by Charles Payton – ‘the Enderby family and their World’.  This is a very impressive article about the background of Enderby family over several generations.  It asks the question throughout of where did the family get their money from which allowed them to afford to run the very large fleet f whaling vessel and sponsor the explorers.  The article tracks three generations and their links with other businesses particularly with people in the Americas. Towards the end he also talks about their use of various chemicals and links with various chemical companies - I had also realised this and was very interested to see his comments on Kyan’s timber preservation work as well his work with naphtha on rubber for rope and cable manufacture. It’s a great article and please read it.

Another article is by Kevin Reilly and Guy Thompson about the ‘Bay Wharf whale and some early Thames strandings’.  It is about the whale skeleton found at Bay Wharf buried in the foreshore which is thought to be from the 17^th century. They also established that it was killed there. I am sorry that the article doesn’t include Chris Ellmers very amusing talk - which he gave at the Conference -about 17^th century pamphlets on stranded Whales. Perhaps we should be pleased to say our latest whale at Gravesend seems to have swum off unharmed. 

More bits of news

Congratulations to Woolwich and District Antiquarian Society on the on the publication of an Occasional Paper (No. 5)  called "Sweets and Schooldays'  and is a series of reminiscences from WADS members on the sweets they ate and the schools they went to.

At the last GIHS meeting Richard Buchanan told us about street furniture in Greenwich and Woolwich.  A report of a talk  by Richard on this subject was given in a recent WADAS newsletter .

SO - the other reason for congratulating WADAS is that at last they have got a web site!!  The report of Richards talk can thus be read at https://woolwich-antiquarians.org/newsletter

FOGWOFT
On Monday night was the Annual General Meeting of the Friends of Greenwich and Woolwich Foot Tunnels.  They seem to have got a bit bogged down in trying to get new bylaws passed  - the scheme seems to be held up in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets.  One report to the meeting was about a plan for a cycle crossing at Rotherhithe this is for a bridge, but there is apparently an alternative plan for electric ferries run by the Thames Clipper people.  See http://www.pla.co.uk/assets/session302geoffsymonds.pdf.

We also understand that the Woolwich Foot Tunnel is to become end of the English Coast path. See http://www.pla.co.uk/assets/session205fracescasanchez.pdf   We also understand that Ian Blore is to lead an walk through the tunnel for the organisers of this initiative. Details soon.


ANGERSTEIN FOOT CROSSING
There had been a bit of a kerfuffle in Westcombe Park and Charlton through the abrupt threat of closure of the Angerstein foot crossing by Network Rail.  The Angerstein railway itself can only be known to a few people in the Borough and the foot crossing itself only known by the few hundred people who use it on a daily basis.  A bridge to the crossings runs from Westcombe Park station across the Blackwall Tunnel Approach Motorway. an article about these should appear in the w
Weekender in due course. In the meantime Network Rail changes their collective mind about immediate closure plans following a petition set up by the Westcombe Society, a letter and phone calls from our MP Matt Pennycook, and a letter from the Council legal department!1

NEW DRAWDOCK
We understand or that there is plan to re-build a draw dock at Riverside Gardens (that is what people used to call Lovell's Wharf or Greenwich Wharf).   I think that was a drawdock originally set up by the Greenwich Board of Works in the 19th century. More info would be good.



ARCHAELOGY
We understand that archaeological work is about to start on Building 10th Southern block, Royal Arsenal.

AND ………………….

GIHS had an e-mail from someone who was concerned that gutta percha decoration around the door of Enderby House had disappeared.  But no - the leaves were a feature on the building adjacent to Enderby House which unfortunately has been demolished by the developer. Gutta Percha was the substance used successfully as an insulator on early under water cables.

Enderby House itself is supposed to be a pub opens by Youngs.  Something seems to have impeded the pub opening and we look forward to try and find out what it is and making sure that Youngs include the correct historical information when it is fitted out.


The Greenwich Archive Users Forum have published their third newsletter and this can be obtained from e.pearcey@gmail.com,


Can anyone help with this enquiry??

"I am looking for any information relating to Wakeley Brothers of Otterham Quay, Rainham,Kent nd their barges They had offices at Honduras wharf in London. 

I would like to find an image of a Wakeley barge in full sail advertising their 'Famous Hop Manure’. 

Greenwich's Black 'Ole

Greenwich’s secret war time location. 

‘The Black ‘Ole’ in Tunnel Glucose.

Unless you worked at the Tunnel Glucose factory during or shortly after the Second World War you might not know what the ‘Black ‘Ole ‘was. It certainly was not a hole but it was really black as I can personally vouch. My father, who worked at Tunnel Glucose from 1935 until 1954, used to tell me anecdotes about the war time work carried out there. Even after the war finished the ‘Black ‘Ole’ continued to operate and I visited it several times with my father to see and wonder at the fantastic colours and experience the acrid smells that were being produced.

What was the ‘Black ‘Ole’ you ask. Very simple it was the location of a massive crucible that smelted down scrap metal at extremely high temperatures to produce magnesium. As this then went into the production of armour plating for armoured vehicles e.g. tanks etc. it was classified as a reserved occupation. Therefore, my father was not called up but both he and my mother became members of the Auxiliary Fire Service which helped fight the fires that resulted from bombings during and after ‘The Blitz’.

My uncle Dick worked in the ‘Black ‘Ole ‘after the war and I used to see him labouring in the filthy, baking hot environment. In the middle of this old building was the crucible full of molten meatal which was positioned over a massive furnace. The smelted metal would be poured into waiting receptacles and at that point there were sparks everywhere lighting up the dark and dismal work area which was full of black soot. So, it became commonly known as the ‘Black ‘Ole’. We often visited my uncle and aunty who lived in Dupree Road and was used to see him bathing in a tin tub in front of the fire. He was always known to my brother and I as ‘Dirty’ Dick due to the dirty condition he came home in after work. My father used to really tell us off if we referred to my uncle as anything other than Uncle Dick. As an ex-soldier my uncle joined the Corps of Commissionaire when the smelting process closed and he subsequently got a job as a security guard on the main works gate at Tunnel Glucose.

One of the other stories my late father used to tell me was about the time he had a visit from a scrap metal merchant during the war. The person trying to sell the scrap to the works manager asked my father to give his boss a box of cigars which was a gift from the supplier. My father duly took the present into his boss but before he went in, he noticed the seal on the box was broken. Being a nosy person, my father opened the lid to find that one of the cigars was missing and in its place was a roll of banknotes the same size as a cigar. He duly closed the lid and on entering his boss’s office handed the box over and left the supplier to start the negotiations with his boss on the value of the scrap metal. My father was never sure what the quality of the scrap was and what it would have yielded for the war effort.

My father was not necessarily always an innocent party during the war as confirmed by another tale he told me of an event that happened during a fire in the East End. As mentioned previously he was in the AFS and was called out to a major fire in a bonded warehouse. On arriving at the scene, he and his crew were advised by the police on duty that if they looked in the fire hydrants when fixing their hoses, they might find something of interest. Being a bonded warehouse full of alcohol I will leave the details of their finds to your imagination. Quite a few people were seen leaving the building clutching its contents!

Very fond memories and I am sure that my father had many more tales to tell .

Graham McDougal

1 May 2019

Belated news

I'm sorry that nothing has been on here in the way of news for some time, very remiss...………...


So what have we got?
Crossness Engines.  We ought to congratulate Crossness Engines on the big party they had to celebrate Joseph Bazalgette's 200th birthday.  this was a great event with all sorts of people including the Mayor of Greenwich and Peter Bazalgette's (the great man's great grandson) and many more. The event included a ceremony to rename a locomotive ' Bazalgette' in preparation for their new railway.  More on that elsewhwere


We have been sent a copy of an excellent new book of photographs of Thamesmeand called 'The Town of Tomorrow. 50 Years of Thamesmead'. I'm not going to pretend that the book is particularly industrial but it does have pictures of building work on the site as well as pictures of the inhabitants and the houses. There is also an essay on the town and how it came to be built. Its a great local book about our area and we should all read it.

The Medieval Port of London.  This is the subject of a conference organised by the Docklands History Group to be held at the Museum of London on 18 May.  It looks like being a great events and if you haven't booked already information is on the Docklands History Group website; www.docklandhistorygroup.org.uk


GLIAS Newsletter April 2019
There is nothing about Greenwich per se in the newsletter but there are lots and lots events you can go to.
15th May GLIAS AGM. this is followed by a talk on Trinity Buoy Wharf and the proposed historic ships collection for London. This is very relevant to us as Trinity Buoy Wharf is just across the river from the Peninsula.  It is at The Gallery 75 Cowcross Street EC1 -opposite Farringdon Station and very accessible now we have trains which go to St.Pancras, 6.15.

The Brunel Engine House is holding a series of events to mark the 250th anniversary of the birth of Sir Marc Brunel. 
24th April.  Talk by Robert Hulse, the director of the Brunel Museum on the Tunnel. Brunel Engine House- just behind Rotherhithe Station. 7.45
29th May Thames Tideway Project Director of Mike Sawyer on London's Super Sewers. 7.30
26the June FOGWOFT'S Ian Blore on London's Forgotten Foot Tunnel at Woolwich. visit and walk
Details www.rbhistory.org.uk

Other talks from the GLIAS Newsletter which might be of interest to Greenwich

27th April Low tide walk through Deptford Creek. Creekside Discovery Centre 40 Creekside SE8  www.creeksidecentre.org.uk
5th May. Crossness Engines public steaming. Bazalgette Way. 10.30-4. www.crossness.org.uk
5th May House Mill guided tour £4  Three Mills Lane, Bromley by Bow E3  (behind Tesco) www.housemill.org.uk
11th May Trevithick Day at Dartford.  Dartford Central Park 10-5 www.trevithickindustrialdartford.co.uk
12th May Low Tide walk through for Deptford Creek as above
19th May House Mill to tour as above

The Woolwich and District Antiquarian Society Newsletter is packed full of information.  First some dates
11th May Woolwich Women at War by Steve Hookins. Woolwich Antiquarians Charlton House 2 pm
8th June Iron Men, Henry Maudsley by Ian Waller. Charlton House 2 pm
6th July Royal Greenwich four World War One VCs Jim Marrett. Charlton house 2 pm

27th April James Ellis, Charlton developer by Barbara Holland Charlton Society. Charlton House  2.30 www.charltonsociety.org
18th May Brigadier M Richads of Charlton. Military and industrial historian.by Peter Guillery Charlton Society. Charlton House  2.30 www.charltonsociety.org
15th June Charlton Society Summer party at Woolwich Garrison church

We are also pleased to see the announcement that the Falconwood Miniature Railway has had a stay of eviction until the autumn.  The railway will therefore then run on: 21st April, 5th & 19th May, 2nd,16th, 30th June, 14,28 July, 11th,25th August, 8,22 September, 6th October.  The railway is behind the electricity transmission station on Falconwood Way. www.wdmes.co.uk

There many other items covered by WADAS - in addition to their AGM report and Chair's Report for 2018. There is also a conservation report - most items of which will have been dealt elsewhere here.

Also and as well .................

The Prince Philip Maritime Collection Centre.  This is a bit of a mystery. There has been a store for the Maritime Museum for a long time in Kidbrook. They were in a building which dated from the Second World War - said by them to be a hospital although this seems unlikely (let's see your evidence!) This has been replaced by a grand new building but it seems very difficult to find anything out about it. You can see it from the motorway by the bend at the Kidbrooke turn off. It is said to include a Visitor Centre but its very unclear when it can be visited.  The old building was stuffed full of really really interesting items and a was very very large collection. WADAS reports one of their members having a snoop round and getting nowhere but have also had a report which says there are millions of items in the collection and all are recorded on the computer but are taking time to shift into the new building. You can't just turn up and knock on the door - you have to book. So let's see.

The Antiquarians also report on the QR (quick response) tag system. This is something which the Enderby Group has been taking up and it has been installed on the Lay Lines sculpture at Enderby House. It is a system where you can dial up on your Smart phone to get more information about the site. Enderby Group has been trying to interest the various Greenwich tourist organisations - Visit Greenwich and so on - in setting up something wider but without much success.  Chamber of Commerce are now interested. Of course there are problems which will need to be overcome - but if people work together the borough could do something, and with the help of local societies rather than expensive consultants.

Covered Market and the listing of the Lamella roof. This listing has meant the market cannot be demolished as the developer had planned (despite the consultant, Alan Baxter's, report to keep it) It also appears likely that a new conservation area will keep the frontage of shops along Plumstead Road which the developer again had wanted to demolish.

Charlton Riverside. As people the development scheme was turned down and this refusal was endorsed by the London Mayor. It is understood local residents are getting together to try ensure development is suitable for the site and local people

41 Kings Highway. This is a property with a horse and cart through passage which may have led to a stable. The owner wanted to convert it into a room. Refusal was backed by a local campaign and the local conservation officer it means that he is likely to be Listed

Greenwich Mural Workshop is bidding for funding to renew the benches around about what was the Rathmore Community Centre which are 30 years old and originally designed by them

Finally there is a  report on Richard Buchanan's street furniture talk which he gave to GIHS  and more on that to come

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These days there is a lot of industrial history online - when GIHS started this was a lone voice - but now its everywhere! Always happy to give publicity if people ask - otherwise it gets quite difficult trying to keep up.

My Father’s Work Experiences at Tunnel Glucose,

My Father’s Work Experiences at Tunnel Glucose

Tunnel Avenue, East Greenwich.

My father, Percy McDougal, was born in 1908 in Siebert Road, Blackheath, the youngest of five children. He left school at the age of 14 and did a variety of jobs including shop work and painting and decorating.  In 1932 he married my mother Doris Hughes and at that time he was working as a shop assistant. By 1935 he had joined Tunnel Glucose and gradually worked his way up the ladder until he became works superintendent. This being his position when he left the company in 1954.

During the 1930’s he made several trips to the company’s parent factory in Alost, Belgium. At that time travel was limited to taking the train to Dover and then ferry to Ostend in order to catch another train to Alost. It was during one of these trips to Belgium that he fell out with management due to the toilet facilities available. The rule in the Belgium factory was that all toilets that the workers used were not fitted with doors. It was considered necessary in order for the workers to be seen taking their toilet break. There was much fear amongst local management that workers would use the toilets as an excuse to skip off to have a smoke. Smoking at the place of work was of course not allowed on hygiene grounds. My father objected strongly that he was not prepared to give up his privacy when the call of nature came. Thus, he made a stand for him to use the same toilets as the Senior Management as they had doors which could be closed when in use. I understood from him that my father won the day but totally upset the company’s Belgium managers.

Tower Julie delivering grain from Amsterdam 1970s
photo Pat O'Driscoll

By the time the second world war started my father was on the way up and in mid forties he had been appointed works foreman. This enabled our family to move from the rented upstairs flat in Chevening Road to a house at the top of Tunnel Avenue, a few doors down from the Fire Station.  My cousin told me many years after my father died that he was the first in our family to buy their own home and to have both a tv and a telephone.

The TV was great but the telephone only seemed to ring when my father was needed out of hours to deal with some kind of works emergency. He was forever being contacted to rush back on his bicycle to handle a manufacturing problem which had stopped production. As a process industry the operation was 24 hours per day and 7 days per week. Now we knew why we had a phone. My father was on 24-hour callout.

One specific incident I can recall is when he was called out one night to deal with a major problem with a tanker that had crashed in Blackwall Tunnel. This was before the additional tunnel we have today. Therefore, there was just one access through the old Victorian tunnel under the Thames.This was the only major road artery connecting north and south London.  It was a long way upstream to Tower Bridge and the Woolwich Ferry was very limited and time consuming. The Tunnel Glucose tanker in question had crashed in the tunnel and spilled its entire load across the road. Blackwall Tunnel was completely blocked and the sticky mess would take hours to clean up and let the traffic flow as normal. My father spent all night and most of the next day on the emergency which was so serious that it made the newspapers. There were no TV crews then as there are today but if there were Percy may well have been interviewed and asked to explain what was being done to resolve this massive disruption to road communications. 

Amongst my fondest memories was the times my father used to bring us home ‘sweets’. Sweets were still on ration so in very short supply. The ‘sweets’ that he brought for my younger brother and I were not bought in shops.  They were yummy slabs of solid glucose which had been produced in the company’s laboratory as part of pre-production testing. They were very hard, crunchy and probably didn’t do our teeth much good but to two young boys they were heavenly gifts of luxury.

Another great memory was my first trip in an aeroplane. In 1953 my father had to make a business trip to the factory in Alost. He decided to take an extra week in Alost as holiday so took my mother, my brother and I with him. We flew from Heathrow when I was allowed chewing gum when we took off and landed. The family stayed in the same hotel my father stayed at before the war and we had a marvellous time whilst he worked hard. Other first experiences were drinking Coca Cola and chocolate milk shake, riding in shiny black Chevrolet and Citroen cars and admiring ‘plus fours ‘which all the children wore. My father refused vigorously my request to bring a pair back to the UK. My thanks to Tunnel Glucose for this wonderful opportunity to travel abroad.

Towards the end of my father’s tenure several things happened to Tunnel Glucose. One was the change of name to Tunnel Refineries and the other was being merged or taken over by a company called Glenville’s. I believe that my father was one of the few people who had stayed on and helped the skeleton staff to survive the difficult wartime. He was not called up as he worked in a protected job and had been totally committed to the company having worked there for nearly 20 years.

Management changes to operating policy was too much for my father to handle so he handed in his notice although he was asked several times to reconsider his decision. He left Tunnel Refineries in the summer of 1954.The same year the family moved to Swindon where he and my mother bought a grocer’s shop. He had returned to his earlier role when he and my mother had first met.

I visited the works on several occasions during the early 1950’s some good experiences some not so good but I will expand on these visits in other memories of Tunnel Glucose and living in Tunnel Avenue.

Tunnel Glucose as Amylum fromm the river 1990
photo Peter Luck

 Graham McDougal

5^th April 2019