I am now working on the Black Watch and have found a George Dickson Greenlees, described as Assistant Manager (pre WW1) of his father's (John) factory in Glasgow. George was killed in the war.
I was wondering if anyone knew if this was the company that became Greenlees and Sons and then Easiephit Ltd.
I would like to find a potted history of the firm to include in the Roll of Honour.
Alistair
Hi Alistair,
George Dickson Greenlees was my great uncle, i.e. my grandfather's (Alfred Mitchell Greenlees) younger brother. Alfred was the middle son, his older brother was James. To answer your question, No. John Greenlees Ltd didn't become Greenlees and Sons, but the other way round. Greenlees and Sons unintentionally spawned John Greenlees Ltd.
[See
https://buildingourpast.com/2017/09/09/the-story-of-easiephit/ for more information on Easiephit. The article is interesting though there are gaps in the story and minor errors (though the errors may just as well be in my memory!). The article says, "However, it was only in the 1890s – when some of James’s 11 (yes, 11) sons began to join the firm – that the business really started to make an impact on Scottish high streets." That is true but incomplete. One of the sons (I don't know which one) married a wealthy heiress and her fortune funded the rapid expansion of the business. Apparently two of the sons spent their entire careers touring the UK looking for, and purchasing, new shop premises.]
George and Alfred's father was John Greenlees, who was the second son of James and Mary Greenlees (they had 11 sons and 1 daughter). Thus the name, Greenlees and Sons. All the boys worked in the family business. In time, according to family lore, John wanted to get married and asked his father for a pay rise, from 2/6d to 5/- per week (in today's money, from 12˝p to 25p). His father refused so John left and set up a rival shoe business, John Greenlees Ltd. Over time John's wife and sons had less and less contact with his brothers and their families, until today I don't know any of them, though I'd love to hear from them.
After a few years, John's business was sufficiently established that he began to travel to Canada for 6 months each year and apparently set up other businesses over there. There was a suspicion in the family that he had a second family over there, but nobody knew for sure.
When he retired, John's surviving sons, James and Alfred, took over his business. After John's death, during WW2, they received a tax notice from the Canadian government, demanding a large sum of money in respect of a tax on land to fund the war effort. The notice stated that non-payment would result in the forfeiture of the land. My grandfather, Alfred, and his brother knew nothing about this land and decided to let it revert to the Canadian government. Apparently it was a large tract on Vancouver Island.
James married later in life and didn't have any family. When he and Alfred retired, Alfred's sons took over the business and in the early 1960s they moved the head office and warehouse from High Street to Bankhall Street, Govanhill. [See
http://www.scottishcinemas.org.uk/glasgow/govanhill.html.] The business was wound up in the 1980s.
I hope this helps.
