RootsChat.Com
England (Counties as in 1851-1901) => England => Hertfordshire => Topic started by: Keith Sherwood on Saturday 19 October 13 11:18 BST (UK)
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Hi again, Everyone,
Have just come across the individual George William SMITH and his family in the 1911 Census in Waltham Cross. His occupation is given as "Explosive Labourer", and while he might have had little bursts of energy in his job, there must quite obviously have been an armaments or munitions factory somewhere nearby where he lived.
His daughter Eva May SMITH, a schoolteacher, in 1912 married a William John BAYNES, whose father's occupation is given as "Book keeper in Royal Small Arms Factory". He lived in Waltham Abbey, which is nearby, even if it seems to be situated across the county border in Essex.
So, was there a big armaments or munitions place of employment in the vicinity that might have utilised both men?
Very best wishes, keith
N.B. More precisely, W.J.BAYNES lived at 9, Milton Street, Waltham Abbey; G.W.SMITH lived at 43, Melbourne Rd, Waltham Cross - if someone knows the area particularly well...
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This one...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Small_Arms_Factory
Dawn
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Hi
Enfield?
Royal Small Arms Factory, Enfield Lock
Ray
[ Mutter mutter beaten by Dawn again :) ]
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or this
http://www.royalgunpowdermills.com/history-heritage/
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and this...http://www.rsaf-aa.co.uk/rsaf/rsaf.html
Suey
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Well, Dawn, Ray and Suey!
Just come back home to discover all these lovely possibilities - I must get the map out and try and see whether they are all likely candidates. Thank you so much for taking the time to put these links on this thread for me...
keith
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I've had a further look at things, and in the 1901 Census, George William SMITH's occupation is: "Explosives Danger Building Man" (I hope he was well-paid for risking his life when at work!)
And then (or previously, to be more exact) in the 1891 Census his job description is "Corning House Gunpowder Factory".
I've looked through all the data about the Waltham Abbey Royal Gunpowder Mills, and Corning House is mentioned a few times, once when there was a blast killing several employees. Is this a term used for some kind of storage building for explosives, or is it specific to Waltham Abbey?
keith
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Hi
"corning" is something like sifting.
Probably best to g00gle the definition, rather than listen to an ill-remembered definition. ;D
Ray
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A Bit about 'Corning ' here .
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gunpowder
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Hi Jan
I was actually trying to encourage Keith to finish his own query. ;D
Ray
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Ray and Jan,
I hope I'm not being accused of being a lazy researcher! But my head is ringing after reading all the way through that long, long Wikipedia entry on gunpowder; and it's all very interesting nonetheless.
It's also strange how things are sometimes linked together, for I came across the name of a Lt-Colonel C.T.MOODY, who was appointed inspector of Gunpowder in 1840.
Some while ago I was researching his family on a thread on here (for a neighbour of mine about 10 doors away). If my memory serves me correctly, he was the first British Governor of the Falkland Islands, though I may have got the wrong member of the MOODY clan, who were mainly military men, or men of the cloth - not to mention some remarkable women of that name.
I digress, of course, this has been a fascinating little thread so far...
keith
P.S. Just looked this up, and it was a brother, Richard MOODY, who was the Falklands man.
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'Morning Keith,
Lazy researcher? Don't think so.
I hope that you haven't really taken it like that.
I just couldn't see the point of me searching(/copying/pasting/editting) for something using tools that you are already greatly experienced at.
;D grovel ;D grovel ;D grovel ;D
Ray
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Ray,
I'd hoped that the exclamation mark at the end of that sentence would have given the lie to me being in the slightest way put out. Maybe I should start using the smiley faces for clarity!
Grovel not, please!
The way that Rootschatters plough into a topic that one starts is simply amazing, and never ceases to make me feel humble and grateful in the extreme.
And thanks to you and Jan and Suey and Dawn I'm a little bit more informed about the world, and the perils of gunpowder - very appropriate with November 5th fast approaching - and Rootschat is a blast, too... ;D
keith
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It wasn't only when I went to the Waltham Abbey Royal Gunpowder Mills that I finally understood what all those funny little symbols with a rectangle surrounded by embankment hatchures in the woods at Yardley Chase (opposite Castle Ashby in Northamptonshire) are.
They are the same as the facilities in the woods at Waltham Abbey, used in the manufacture of Nitro-glycerine.
I heartily recommend a day spent at the RGM - it is really very interesting, and amazing what you can learn.