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General => The Common Room => Topic started by: Davedrave on Thursday 23 March 23 08:21 GMT (UK)
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In 1911 Arthur William Sayers (born 1887) of Ilkeston was a house painter. I don’t know his occupation in 1921, but in 1939 he was certainly a house painter. However, in late 1915 he joined the Army Service Corps, though he went into the reserve and doesn’t seem to have seen service until 1918. His trade was given as “engine driver” on enlistment. Is it likely that this was a job he changed to during the war, probably to fill a shortage caused by the war?
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A great many miles of temporary railway line were laid behind our trenches to restock the troops. My wife's great grand uncle spent the whole of WWI driving an engine. He was a hatter by trade.
Regards
Chas
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A great many miles of temporary railway line were laid behind our trenches to restock the troops. My wife's great grand uncle spent the whole of WWI driving an engine. He was a hatter by trade.
Regards
Chas
The point with Arthur Sayers is that he seems to have become an engine driver before he joined the army, so I wondered whether his change of job from house painter to engine driver was likely to have been due to the war. I think that his war service may actually have involved motor transport.
Dave
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I don’t know his occupation in 1921
In 1921 he was a grocer and confectioner at 48 King Street, Ilkeston (transcribed as Saylor).
Same address in the 1925 directory - shopkeeper.
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I don’t know his occupation in 1921
In 1921 he was a grocer and confectioner at 48 King Street, Ilkeston (transcribed as Saylor).
Same address in the 1925 directory - shopkeeper.
Thanks. Quite a varied employment history. I see that his wife was a grocer in 1939. So there seems to be no way of knowing when or why he he had become an engine driver by 1915.
Dave :)
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To confuse matters a little more, railways were not the only places that had engine drivers. Traction engines had drivers, while a stationary engine driver ran the steam engine in a factory.
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To confuse matters a little more, railways were not the only places that had engine drivers. Traction engines had drivers, while a stationary engine driver ran the steam engine in a factory.
Thanks. Yes, I did think of traction engines too, but not of stationary engines. I think the only thing I can conclude is that he wasn’t painting houses at the time he joined up.
Dave :)
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The thing is ... the Railway Operating Division (which was recruited from professional railwaymen) was part of the Royal Engineers, not the Army Service Corps.
The narrow gauge lines from the foreard supply depots to the front lines were not operated by the ROD ... but I think that they WERE also under the aegis of the RE not the ASC.
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I think the stationary engine driver is the most likely occupation
as being a locomotive driver would takes years to achieve.
3 years just wouldn't cut it.
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Thanks for this information.
Dave :)
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If he became an engine driver with a mainline railway company then he must have become an engine cleaner before his 25th birthday.Promotion to driver was strictly on length of service in the fottplate line of promotion. i.e. engine cleaner, cleaner passed for firing, fireman, fireman passed for driving, and finally driver. Usually in that era after several years service. My father entered service in 1919, and became a driver in 1942 thanks to the wartime surge in traffic. I believe it is therefore much more likely that he was a stationary engine driver, or a driver on a steam traction engine which were quite common in the early 20th century.
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Thanks for this further information.
Dave :)