1

Notes1 on the history of 1 2

THE WHITES FROM RAMSBOTTOM 3 4

Introduction 5

Although now dispersed over England and the English speaking parts of the world, the White family had been 6

established in Ramsbottom, in Lancashire. This region had gained prosperity as a centre for processing cotton to 7

produce cloth. The cotton was imported from the southern United States and from India. In time, both these regions 8

developed their own cotton processing industry; this and competition from the Japanese lead to a decline of the 9

Lancashire industry, which has now largely disappeared. Indeed, the Lancashire businessmen helped the Japanese 10

establish their weaving industry, contributing to their own demise. The decline of the Lancashire industry lead to the 11

emigration of the population. 12

Members of the White family are known from about l800; the attached Figure 1 shows four generations. The 13

early history of the family appears to be interwoven with that of the weaving industry. An appendix give additional 14

notes on the textile industry; it indicates that many significant developments in the mechanization of the textile 15

production process were made by Englishmen. It is thought that John Kay and Richard Arkwright, involved in the 16

Industrial Revolution, are connected with the family. John Kay invented in l736 the flying shuttle (used in the weaving 17

of cotton) and Richard Arkwright invented the spinning jenny (in 1780?) (But another version says he invented the 18

power loom, and yet another version says the Jacquard loom). The spinning jenny was named after his sister. John Kay 19

lived in Ramsbottom and I believe there is a memorial to him in the area known as "Park”. The Chatterton Riots, 20

protesting the introduction of machinery to replace human hands took place in our home town of Ramsbottom. 21

This set of notes will give more information about each generation; it was prepared primarily by Mary 22

Merchant, and the first person refers to her. The text starts with a description of the White side of the family, continues 23

with the Davies side of the family, and then gives some of the history of the children of the union of the two families. 24

Joseph White 25

Joseph and Fanny White raised a family of seven, including Bartholomew, our father. His brothers and sisters 26

are indicated in Figure 2, and his children in figure 3. 27

On the White family picture taken around 1900 the members of the family are as follows - Top row- left to 28

right- Fred, Arthur, Robert, Joseph; Bottom row- left to right Eleazor, Mary who became Mary Wardle, Grandfather 29

(Joseph White), Grandmother Frances White nee Horrocks, my father - Bartholomew. 30

The grandparents lived in a block of three cottages known at that time as 51 Wood Road, Summerseat, and 31

Bartholomew White grew up here. Grandma White left the house about 1926 following the death of her husband 32

Joseph White. An elderly female relative had drowned herself in the rainwater butt. When the grandparents died there 33

was a long column in the Bury Times saying that the family had lived there over two hundred years. When Gordon and 34

I visited there in the summer of 1994, we talked with the new owners who were restoring it. They had had to raise the 35

seven foot ceilings and found a 1790 penny. The owner thought the beams in the ceilings had probably come from 36

Liverpool - that was the usual source of supply. The new owners said that the cottages did not have their own entry in 37

1 First draft was prepared by Mary Merchant, comments from Nora Clayden were added July 2007. Compiled and edited by VEM, who had to make editorial choices where Nora and Mary’s recollections differed. This draft made 6 Jan 2013

2

the Land Titles Registry but were shown as part of the Kay farm. They had had a fight with the authorities to get Wood 1

Road maintained by the authorities as they proved that it had been a public road for years back. 2

I know that Granny White had some connection with the Kay family and there are a great many Kays in a list 3

which I have from Ida Pearson. Ida's connection to us is through Grandfather White’s side of the family. I think the 4

house at Wood Road must have belonged to my grandmother's family - her maiden name was Horrocks and we believe 5

she was a member of the family of Horrocks2 who were famous in the l920s for their flannelette cloth. Horrocks 6

Flannelette was a fairly new invention of a highly flammable material used for nightwear and underwear. Many 7

children suffered from burns as they warmed themselves in front of the coal fires before going to a cold bedroom. I 8

remember my father telling me that Brandlesholme Hall had once belonged to the family. 9

I don’t remember that Grandfather White ever worked, but he must have been well in his sixties when I 10

remember him. Norman thinks he was a weaver in Ramsbottom. Grandfather invested in a lot of cotton manufacturing 11

firms - Swan Lane Spinning Mill, Joshua Hoyles of Summerseat, and some breweries - Crown Brewing, and Phoenix 12

Brewery - these are the only ones which come to my mind. I remember that he invested in property and bought a block 13

of houses in either Butler Street or Annie Street and sold them to members of the family. My mother did not want to 14

live in that neighbourhood as there were tall buildings across the road shutting out the view entirely. The tenants were 15

terrible complainers and eventually my father was glad to get rid of the house. I remember that Grandfather White 16

bought a row of houses in Ramsbottom - Hazel Street, I think, and sold them to the sons. Our father was buying one, 17

but the childless couple (The Earnshaws) who rented it made life a misery so he sold it to them. The rent from the 18

Earnshaws paid the White’s coal bill. Once after Dad died when Albert went to collect the rent, they hadn’t got the 19

rent, but could have produced it later. The Coal dealer Hollises were annoyed and gave Alberta a rough time. Mother 20

was disgusted after all the business that we had given them, so she gave our future business to John Heaton Company. 21

Joseph White was relatively well-to-do, and had numerous investments. He had insisted that the younger 22

children get a good education because the older children who were working (Arthur, Bob, Bartholomew (or Bert), and 23

Fred) turned all their earnings into their parent’s hands. In his will, he left the bulk of the estate to the oldest children, 24

to make up for their lessor education. 25

Fred became the manager of the largest towel-weaving mill in Europe. He and his wife, Mary Elizabeth 26

(Ford) had two daughters - Dorothy and Ethel who prefers to be known as Penny. Dorothy married Bert Fowler and 27

they had three children, a daughter named Isabel and twin sons, one called David. Penny married Richard Clarke - they 28

live at Lytham St. Annes and have a son named Ian Campbell Clark who is an anaesthetist and lives in Alberta, and 29

later was studying pain management. 30

Uncle Arthur followed in his father's footsteps and speculated in property. He bought a lot of property in Bury 31

in 1928 from Lord Derby, the Slum Clearance Act was passed in 1929 - no doubt Lord Derby knew this. The property 32

had to be demolished with no compensation to owners. 33

Uncle Arthur had one son named Ernest who was considered brilliant. He won a scholarship to Bury Grammar 34

School but enlisted in WWI at the age of seventeen. He unfortunately was stationed in Siberia and took to drinking 35

methylated spirits, mother writes. He returned to civilian life and worked at the Bury Railway Ticket Office. He never 36

managed to conquer the addiction and died at the age of fifty-one, I think. Everything was very hush-hush in those 37

2 Nora writes “Not so, I think”.

3

days. Ernest had married Dorothy and there was a son of the marriage - we know nothing of this. 1

Robert - Uncle Bob - married a Welsh girl who was a cook at one of the wealthy houses in Bury. Auntie 2

Maggie came from the Isle of Anglesey. She knew Auntie Alice, our Mother's sister who was a house-maid in the 3

vicinity. Bob and Maggie managed the Old Dungeon Inn in Tottington (about 1770 vintage, Mary writes) - we used to 4

visit there but were kept very strictly away from the business area and always stayed in Auntie Maggie's private 5

parlour – the White children never saw the dungeons. Nora did see the entrance door to the dungeons on a trip in 1992. 6

Auntie Maggie and our Mother were very close friends as Auntie Maggie was a particularly warm-hearted person. 7

They had five children - Cyril, Robin, Reg, Eric and Kitty. 8

Cyril and Robin both died young, one from pneumonia, Mary thinks, and one a toddler, was scalded by a 9

bucket of hot water prepared for cleaning the premises and left on the floor of the saloon. Auntie Maggie kept him 10

alive for six weeks - nursing him so well, but I remember her telling our Mother that she would never do that again. I 11

think Reg has a son who is a reporter for Reuter - Eric lives in Holcombe Brook and we shall be sending him a copy of 12

this for observations. Kitty worked at Courtalds and had died at the time of the first draft of this manuscript (1980). 13

Uncle Bob died in 1928 of bowel cancer, Auntie Maggie nursed him at home. 14

Uncle Joe and his wife Edith had one child named Frances. Frances married a shoe manufacturer named 15

Sharman - they had no children. 16

Joe, Vivian and I visited Ida Pearson, our father's cousin in Cohoes, New York. In 1972 we went to Toronto 17

for a Reunion of Joe's squadron, the Dambusters, when Vivian was studying at the University of Waterloo which was 18

nearby. We drove from Toronto to Ida's. The Sharmans had visited her and she said she had never met anyone so 19

selfish before. When Frances died, her husband having predeceased her, she allegedly left eight hundred thousand 20

pounds (or dollars?) to a branch of the Christian Science Church in America. 21

Eleazor, later known as Ted, married Louisa Hardman of Bury, who celebrated her hundredth birthday in a 22

nursing home in South port in 1989 (Mary’s guess at date). They had no children. Eleazor and Louisa took Granny 23

White to live with them in their house in Walmersley Road, Bury. Mary writes that the older brothers turned in their 24

pay cheques totally to their parents on the understanding that the younger brothers would be able to have a better 25

education and the older ones would have a larger share of their parent’s estate. She continued that when the older sons 26

came to visit her, they were not allowed to see her, so Granny White was under the impression that her sons did not 27

come to visit her. It was probably not difficult to get her to alter her will and the older brothers received a much 28

diminished share. The brothers were considering a lawsuit charging duress, but my Mother was ill so Joseph and 29

Eleazor got away with it. They got not only the education but the bulk of the estate, causing hard feelings in the two 30

branches of the family which have not healed to this date. 31

Nora writes that mother took us – Norman, Nora, Gordon, possibly Eve and Muriel – on the bus to Walmesley 32

to see her. We played ball games with Uncle Eleazor in the back lane and then went in and had a meal. Uncle Eleazor 33

geve me a holder for a comb, nail file, etc., that he had used in Egypt and Persia. Unfortunately Nora lost it from a coat 34

pocket – it was engraved or painted with scenes. Also Auntie Louisa gave Nora a glasee erpen which was a engraved 35

with a still rose pendant and some glass which Nora still has. Pearl Pink necklace, a moonstone necklace which 36

disappeared fromNora’s bedroom drawer when in digs at Meadoway, 1943 to 1945. 37

Mary thoroughly enjoyed ill health (asthma). She did learn to run a loom but never worked in the mill because 38

4

of her poor health. She married William Wardle who had his own decorating business, Wardle and Holt, working on 1

chiefly churches, schools, and cinemas. Uncle Will had a partner and pleasant employees. Mary writes that “Uncle 2

Will must have led a terrible life as she was a perpetual moaner and they did not appear to have any friends”, but Nora 3

mentions a companion, Mrs. Fethany. They lived at the end house in Major Street, and Bartholomew White’s family 4

lived at the end house in Stanley Street so the two houses were back to back with a back street between. When our 5

ailing Mother was painfully tired by ten o'clock, and needed to be in bed, Auntie Mary used to come across for an 6

audience for her moans. They had no children but adopted a little girl3,4 who was a lonely only child and ran away at 7

the age of sixteen. They were rather strict with her, I believe that she missed the other children in the orphanage. 8

Auntie Mary and Uncle Bill were probably too old to be adopting such a young child at that time. She has only been 9

heard of once when she contacted Uncle Fred for information to enable her to get a passport as she had married 10

someone in the Forces. 11

Our Mother, who already had too much to do, used to have the grandparents and Uncle Will and Auntie Mary 12

to Christmas dinner5. After the guests departed Mother had to wash the dishes before she could serve us children. I (i.e. 13

Mary White) don't think I have met anyone quite so tight as Auntie Mary. We were sent to do her shopping on 14

Saturday mornings and she would keep us standing there for an hour whilst she moaned, never offering a raisin or 15

sweet which we had to buy for her. They were Godparents to Gordon and Nora, and always loving to Nora when she 16

was sent over with messages; they had a bathroom installed upstairs, and Nora was able to go there to bathe. Aunt 17

Mary lived to be about seventy-seven in spite of her ill health whilst our Mother died at age forty eight6, worn out. 18

When Gordon came home from overseas with his bride, Petroula, Uncle Will and Auntie Mary wanted to buy the 19

house next door for Gordon and Petroula7 as they didn’t have a place to come home to in Ramsbottom. Gordon 20

declined, but Norman and Anne did, though. 21

Bartholomew White 22

My father Bartholomew, known as Bert, was born in 1881 or l8828, and probably left school and worked part 23

time in the mills. He had however won a local scholarship, the Mary Hoyle Scholarship, which enabled him to study 24

chemistry and art. He was persuaded to relinquish the scholarship in favour of a crippled boy. He studied accountancy, 25

shorthand, and physics at night schools. Mary Merchant had written “at his own expense”, but Nora9 thinks that this 26

was in the early 1890’s, and in 1890 he would have been only 8 or 9 years old. Dad also attended Manchester School 27

of Technologies. Mary Merchant had a book from there, Dad had done a colour wheel in it which Nora remembers 28

seeing when she took art lessons here in Salmon Arm, and had to paint a colour wheel. Mrs. Grigsby borrowed mine to 29

use when she was giving a talk on CHBC-TV in the early 1960’s. 30

Prior to WWII, Bartholomew subsequently taught Textile Design at Bury Technical College; also “Heat, Light 31

and Sound”, now known as Physics. The job lasted until he quarreled with the principal over a blackberry design 32

which the principal said could not be woven. Nora writes “I think the principal used the design for his own ends.” 33

3 Mary Merchant writes, “who soon became a slave and ran away at the age of sixteen”. 4 Nora writes Mary Merchant never liked Auntie Mary, because they had wanted to adopt her. 5 Nora writes, I don’t remember grandparents ever at our house. 6 Nora says fifty-one. 7 Mary Merchant writes “so that they could be their servants”, that is, Gordon and Petroula could be servants to William and Mary. 8 Mary Merchant had written 1882, but Nora thinks he was born in 1881. 9 Nora had her father’s shorthand and organic chemistry certificates from school, and has given them to Rona.

5

In his early days he worked at Loveclough Railway office and somewhere there is a picture of him collecting 1

tickets. He became the Secretary Treasurer of Nuttall Manufacturing Company, a cotton weaving company which prior 2

to the 1914-18 war had had over a thousand looms (another draft of this document said over 2000 looms). A good 3

weaver would take care of four or eight looms and they wove a very fine cotton, one of their markets being India for 4

saris. During the war (WWI) khaki was woven and my father was not conscripted10 because of the importance of his 5

job. He helped to form the local Home Defence League11 volunteers and became secretary. Dr. Lawrie (who later 6

treated him as he was dying) was also in the defence league. Bartholomew also wrote to all the prisoners-of-war from 7

the mill. At one time, we had lots of letters from them, and also copies of designs which he had drawn for the 8

Technical College. Since members of the family were emigrating, lots of records had to be destroyed12. 9

I don't know when Nuttall Mill was built. It was water powered, and had a weir built over the river Irwell 10

collecting water to run a water-wheel. A little community in which my parents lived after they were married -- I only 11

remember two short rows of houses and a little store – a fort - had sprung up around the mill. There was a vacant 12

building next to the store and my Father carried on a lengthy correspondence with the estate agent Grant Lawson to 13

secure this at a reasonable rent to set up a reading room for the small community. He was finally successful but I don't 14

know what happened in the long run as the family moved away to Ada Street in Hazlehurst. 15

Bartholomew was the secretary of the Ramsbottom Friendly Burial Society. It used to be a priority amongst 16

the English of that time, to provide for their funeral, rather than leaving their survivors with the burden of the burial 17

costs. It was his job to invest the contributions in gilt-edged securities; it was from this work that I learned about 18

bucket-shops, public utility companies, etc. He was also secretary of the nearby Liberal Club; because he knew the 19

patrons, I (that is, daughter Mary) was allowed to join the Badminton Club there, although I was underage. The 20

evening work with the Liberal Club and the Burial Society were both paying positions; the Burial society required one 21

evening a month of his time, plus people coming to the house to collect money on the event of a death. There was a 22

safe kept in the house, which contained ledgers as well as gold sovereigns. In addition, he did income tax on the side, 23

for other people. 24

In the l920s lots of people could not afford medical attention because of the Depression, and the doctors were 25

also suffering. Bartholomew White was one of the founders of a local Medical Services Fund where people paid a 26

fixed amount fortnightly into a fund which enabled them to get medical attention. I remember that our collector was 27

called Jimmy Tattersall, known as Jimmy Tatt. Tattersall was a fairly common North Country name. The figure of 28

half- a-crown13 sticks in my mind as the biweekly subscription. 29

During the depression following the war, he gave lessons14 at our house to people who wanted to seek 30

employment outside of the cotton industry which was fast declining owing to the Japanese having got our markets by 31

undercut British prices because of their sweated labour conditions. Artificial silk was replacing cotton and an attempt 32

was made to weave it at Nuttall Mill but the looms were unsuitable. 33

10 Mary Merchant writes “because of the importance of his job”, but Nora says that he didn’t pass two medical exams, which implies that he was called up at least to the point of the medical tests. Nora has seen the medical certificates; this happened after Mary Merchant had left the family home. 11 Mary Merchant had written “Civil Defence League” 12 Nora writes I never heard about this, and points out that the emigrations didn’t take place until the 1950’s. 13 Nora writes, one shilling, I think. 14 Nora writes that reviewing this manuscript is the first I’ve heard of this.

6

My father became ill, probably the 2nd February 1930 was the day he first stayed home from the office, and 1

sent for the doctor. My father had been trying to get comfortable sleeping on his desk at work before as he didn’t tell 2

mother about the pain. He was in bed upstairs a few days. He decided to go to the Doctor, and Nora heard him swear at 3

Mother because she hadn’t washed and starched his collars, and he had to wear a muffler to the Docs. Afterwards he 4

apologized to Mother for the outburst. When he got to the doctors, the doctor said I told you not to come back until the 5

medicine (in a bottle). So Mother sent for Dr. Charles Crawshaw who put him in hospital promptly, I think either 6

Saturday or Sunday. They operated, but gangrene set in and they said there was no hope of him recovering. That is 7

when Uncle Eleazer went to the hospital to get him to sign Grandfather’s will (He had drawn up the will for 8

Grandfather and was the executor, had a seal and ribbon on – Mary or Joe must have leant it to Bill when both he and 9

Joe were taking an extension course.) The doctor wasn't very helpful and my father felt it was because he was an 10

insurance patient, so two days later I was sent to tell that doctor not to come again and Dr. Crawshaw was called in. 11

Dr. Crawshaw immediately ordered him to hospital (Saturday). He asked permission to call Dr. Lawrie back and they 12

performed an operation on Sunday for a fissure in the rectum. On Monday morning our minister, Mr. Lewtas, called to 13

say that the operation had been a complete success and as soon as my father got over the chloroform sickness he would 14

be well. Then on Monday afternoon he came in to say that things had changed and everything depended on my Mother 15

being with Father at the hospital. III as she was and a long walk to the hospital she was there as much as she could. On 16

Wednesday morning my Father asked her to get Uncle Will to visit him. Uncle Will went in the evening but I suppose 17

owing to the heavy dosage of morphia our Father had forgotten his request. This was before the days of antibiotics, and 18

septicaemia had set in. On Thursday he wasn't saying much and he lapsed into a coma and died on the Friday. Pelvic 19

cellulitis was given as the cause of the death on the certificate. 20

Dr. Lawrie said he had known Father since 1910 and that he had been overworking all that time. He was 21

buried in Ramsbottom cemetery - the millworkers had wanted to close the mill for the funeral but the manager said that 22

it would not be kind to our Mother. The streets lining the route to the cemetery were full of people as he had done such 23

tremendous work for the town. When the school attendance officer came to the house, our particularly frail Mother 24

said to him "these children are mine and with the Lord's help I shall look after them". She often said she had eight 25

children worth their weight in gold. It seems significant that the rather despicable siblings of our father had no 26

offspring except Uncle Joe's daughter who was childless. 27

The Davies side of the family: Grandfather Evans 28

Our great grandfather, Robert Evans died at the age of seventy five on September 7th and was interred at 29

Morden15 Churchyard Sept llth, l904. I think Morden must be somewhere near Oswestry or near Swinney Mountain. 30

Robert and his wife Mary Ann had three children - John, Alice (our grand mother) and Margaret. This is shown in 31

Figure 4. 32

Uncle John as our Mother referred to him married a relative and had Robert, Fred, Edith. Maud and Jessie and 33

they lived at Tinsley near Sheffield in the twenties. Fred was awarded the Military Medal in the First World War. 34

Margaret's husband Fred went missing during the First World War leaving her to support her two children, Fred and 35

Molly who used to come and stay with us during school holidays. They lived in North Shields and Aunt Margaret 36

worked in the Post Office. 37

15 Mary Merchant thought it might have been Morton.

7

Granny Evans lived with her but used to come and stay with us. She traveled what must have been a very long 1

way in those days by train and she was eighty-four on one of her visits. She died at the age of ninety six, having had a 2

broken hip. 3

Grandfather and Grandmother Davies 4

Granny's parents had a store in Wolverhampton and Granny was set to High School from where she eloped. 5

Gordon said that he had a copy of the marriage licence of our grandparents; they were married by special licence at 6

Welshpool in constabulary Montgomeryshire, when she was seventeen. Our maternal grandfather's name was Alfred 7

Herbert Davies. He had broken his back when steeple-chasing for the Montgomeryshire Constabulary; afterwards he 8

could only work as a farm labourer. In his later years in his sleep he used to talk about taking the same piece of cheese 9

for two weeks so that his fellow workers did not know how hard up they were. Uncle Bob later told me he had 10

pioneered grafting of roses. 11

The only thing we know about Grandpa was that he was a valet and had a sister named Caroline which was 12

one of Auntie Alice's names. There was no communication with his family during his married life. The grandparents 13

were very poor as Granny hadn't the ability to manage money and I remember hearing our Mother say that Granny fed 14

the chickens better than the children. 15

As Granny Davies was a very well spoken and educated woman, when the preacher failed to show up for the 16

Sunday services she frequently took the service. These small communities could not afford a minister, so I guess they 17

were served by members of a circuit. The family were well spoken and our Mother never could understand the 18

Lancashire accent and she would always have to call us to the door to interpret. There were lovely handmade quilts on 19

their beds. 20

Mary thought that Granny Davies went blind in childbirth16, but Nora writes that “Granny had an operation for 21

Cataracts in the late 1920’s or early 1930’s. There is a photograph of her sitting on the path in a garden at Moss Lane 22

Whitefield, reading a newspaper.” When the grandparents were quite old they lived at World's End, Baschurch. There 23

were just three cottages there and the lane from the main road was about a mile long. The doctor refused to visit 24

Grandfather, so Auntie Alice had them brought by ambulance to Whitefield where they both spent the remainder of 25

their days and were buried in Stand Church yard. Granny who had been legally blind for many years carried on a mail 26

order business and also had to do all the shopping. Nora thinks Grandfather had the mail order business17 – a 27

Colporter. When they required milk she had to cross at least two fields and climb over two bridges over streams. She 28

had a sealyham terrier called "Nellie" whose tail was white tipped with black and she could manage to see this so 29

Nellie was the leader on all the expeditions. They had cows and made butter which they sold at the market. Mother had 30

a horse Rose, they had a Trap – a small carriage pulled by pony or horse – to transport the butter. 31

Nora writes that “Mary had her tonsils removed – was upstairs in bed and got Ice Cream for a treat after we 32

didn’t get any. Then I think she stayed with Granny for a month after. Granny left all her dishes to Mary – we called 33

the heiress to the Pottery. I believe there’re may be still some casserole dishes at Kal. Included was a small Pink 34

Child’s Teapot which was our mother’s, so mother gave that to me and I hope that Rona still has it.” 35

16 Nora thinks this blindness was just temporary. 17 A Book Mark. Printed Book titles. I had a page in the bible – a order form and on it was jotted something about Uncle Alf and also notes about someone born at Morden and someone killed at a railway crossing. I think Uncle Alf was.

8

The Davies Children 1

Alfred and Alice Davies had five children - Alice Caroline, Alfred Herbert, Robert, Mary Elizabeth (known as 2

Bessie, who was our mother), and George (who was rather an afterthought). 3

Girls did not work outside in the fields in those days and if the family could not afford to keep them at home 4

like ladies, they went into service. Auntie Alice (later married, childless) became a house parlourmaid at a clergyman's 5

home in the Isle of Wight, and as described below our Mother worked as a nurserymaid. 6

Granny Davies was a very strict parent and all the boys ran away from home. I remember our Mother telling 7

me that her father would meet them at the bottom of the garden to wish them well. 8

So there were quarrels and they all left home. Uncle Bob who was a butcher came north to Auntie Alice who 9

by that time was married to George Carden. Uncle Bob and a friend Tom Rowe emigrated together to Canada about 10

l9l0, and settled in Michichi near Drumheller Alberta. They were to send their girl friends fares when they were 11

settled; Auntie Nellie came out about November, l9l3. Although they weren’t really family, we always referred to the 12

Rowes as Uncle Tom and Auntie Katie. Auntie Nellie (Uncle Bob's wife) and Auntie Kate were my godparents. 13

Uncle Bob's fiancee, Auntie Nellie had worked for a wealthy household. When her employers went to 14

Scotland for the fishing, they only took four of their staff with them, one of whom was Auntie Nellie. Similarly when 15

the family went to London for the season. So when the ticket for her passage hadn't come Auntie Nellie came out to 16

Canada alone. That must have been quite an undertaking in 1913. When the driver of the train had special passengers 17

aboard such as her, he also sounded a special whistle as he drew up in Fernie. Uncle Bob had gone to collect the mail 18

and thought he might as well drop in at the railway station. Auntie Nellie had no idea what she was going to do when 19

she reached Fernie~ imagine her joy when she recognized his running footsteps. They had two children Robert (served 20

in England with Canadian Armed Forces, lives in Lethbridge and has eight children) and Donald (worked for railway 21

company in Alberta, two or three boys). 22

Uncle Alf was killed in a mine in South Wales about 191118 - I have the prayer book which his landlady had 23

given to him. I think he must have named his landlady on his insurance policy and for a long time Granny Davies 24

would not sign the document for the money to be released to her. He was very fond of his sisters and our Mother had 25

some lovely gifts from him. 26

The youngest member of the family was Uncle George, about twelve years younger than our Mother. He was a 27

very engaging rascal, very attractive to women, and at one stage Granny must have found the fare to ship him to 28

Canada. Unfortunately this was during the Depression and I was told that he was sleeping on park benches etc. Nora 29

writes that “Uncle George met someone in Canada called Joe Davies and I think they worked together, I believe 30

cutting ice in blocks.” He returned to England was England and was followed by an attractive women named Myra 31

who probably returned to Canada. His friend Myra was a singer. He married a local girl in Whitefield, had two 32

children but claimed the second was not his, marriage broke. Lived with another lady, when he died the police came to 33

him for funeral expenses which Ray declined to pay as he hadn't seen him for twenty years. Before father died, he 34

came to help decorate the house, using wallpaper from Uncle Will Wardle. After father died Uncle George used to 35

come and stay with us when he was broke. He always told great tales of the amount he had earned but he never had 36

anything when he came to us. Eventually our Mother had to stop him from coming as we could not afford to keep him. 37

18 Nora writes 1916?

9

In my opinion, he was a spoiled ne'er-do-well. Raymond probably remembers him better than anyone else. 1

Nora writes that “Mother took us younger ones to visit his landlady and him, I think at Ellesmere, Cheshire. 2

Mary doesn’t mention him living at Cowlgate farm with a wife. Granny Davies lived with them, and some of us 3

(gordon and me and possibly Mother and Raymond). I remember sitting round the fireplace talking and walking across 4

a field with cows to the village, on errands.” 5

Mary Elizabeth White (Davies) 6

I think our Mother grew up at Blackbow Hill in Wikey; when we were young we spent a holiday at her 7

schoolfriend's house (Auntie Millie Fletcher) named Yew Tree Cottage in Wikey. Auntie Pollie Jubb (also a school 8

friend) whom Peter and I visited when he was about l6, in Calgary, also lived in Wikey; I recall she visited us in 9

England with her two children, Gloria and Bill. Her maiden name was Molyneux and she referred to the Rowes of 10

Michichi, Alberta. I remember Mother saying, "Of course we are all related" (meaning the Davies families and the 11

Rowes). Auntie Katie Rowe was nee Molyneux. 12

When there were discussions amongst the girls on hair - my mother's hair was always referred to as the most 13

beautiful - it was bright auburn like her father's but she said she had always hated it in schooldays; she was known as 14

"carrots". This colour is revisited in the current generation, in Shiela Marett, Andrew and Brian Clayden and Michael 15

Merchant. 16

As Granny Davies went blind in childbirth19, our Mother lived the first eight years of her life at Swinney 17

Mountain with her grandmother Evans for whom she had a greater fondness than for her Mother. Mother has no 18

recollection of what her grandparents were like20. 19

When leaving home, our Mother went as a nursery maid to a family in the home town of Baschurch. She 20

worked her way up the totem pole and finally became a nanny to a family of two girls in Stanley Place, Bury, 21

Lancashire. Her employer Dr. Lucas was a doctor and they kept her on after the one girl had gone to boarding school. 22

The younger girl who had polio could not go away to school as she could not raise her arms high enough to do her 23

hair. Mother would assist him in the surgery as in those days the doctors used to make up their own prescriptions. He 24

was a collector of china and taught her how to repair china. She stayed there for eight(?) years until she got married, on 25

September 24th, 1910. 26

Because they had lived in comfortable circumstances, both Auntie Alice and our Mother seemed so much 27

more refined than the people of Lancashire who had never been anywhere else. The eight of us were very lucky in the 28

way in which we were brought up as manners had to be used and there was never any doubtful language used. My 29

friend Ruth Whittaker who became the youngest hospital matron in England during the War, used to love to come to 30

our house for meals because on Sunday our Mother used her best crockery and silverware because it was important to 31

her that we should know how to behave if ever we went away from home. I saw the fish knives - we ate a fair amount 32

of fish, at an antique market in Kelowna mis-marked “dessert knives". 33

Bartholomew and Mary White 34

Bartholomew, our father and our mother Mary Elizabeth Davies (known as Bessie) were married at Bury 35 21Parish Church on 24th September, 1910. I think it was a posh wedding - her employers, Dr. and Mrs. Lucas whose 36

19 Nora thinks this blindness was just temporary, see earlier notes. 20 Strange, if she lived there eight years and had great fondness for them. 21 Nora writes Elton? (instead of Bury)

10

nurse she had been for eight years probably put it on. They went to live at 8 Starling Street, Nuttall Village, shown in 1

Figure 5, as our Father was Secretary treasurer of the Nuttall Mill at that time. 2

When we lived in the little village near Nuttall Mill, our Mother used to win prizes for rose-growing. During 3

the 1914-18 War, England had taken in refugees from Belgium who needed protection from German bombing and she 4

was on the committee for organizing homes for them in the village; I have the vaguest recollections of being friendly 5

with a Belgian girl named Daphine. Mother also won prizes in competitions run by the Health clinic for made-over 6

garments. 7

Mother felt that Bartholomew’s parents didn’t like her22 (because she couldn’t run four looms)23, and they 8

seldom visited even though they were only three miles away. 9

This village was far from a school, however, and when the time came for Albert to go to school we moved 10

away. She made Albert's school uniform (blazer and pants) from her nanny’s uniform when he started at the Technical 11

College. 12

We moved to the Hazlehurst district (14 Ada Street) where there was a new school run by the Board of 13

Education. I think that prior to this time education might have been left to the churches to provide and I think he 14

thought that this Board school would have a higher standard of education. We must have been living there during the 15

war because I remember the neighbour, Mrs. Crowder coming in crying with a telegram in her hand telling her that her 16

husband had been killed. Nora and Gordon were born in this time period. 17

So Albert, Norman and I attended Hazlehurst School. Whilst we lived in this house our mother taught a 18

neighbour to use the sewing machine. Mrs. French became a very good dressmaker and this skill helped her to keep the 19

wolf from their door when Mr. French fell out of work during the depression. She always remained a very good friend 20

of the family. At this time I remember Mr. French and our father working on making Christmas presents, scooters and 21

push chairs for dolls. Nora writes “I understand our parents wished to buy the house, and papers were drawn up. The 22

owner during the war was afraid the house might be shelled and she would loose her investment, but she delayed 23

signing the agreement. The war ended we must have still been there when Gordon was born in August 1920. I’m not 24

sure if Eva was born there, but I think not24.” 25

We then moved away as the landlady wanted the house for a relative, and didn’t like children. The new home 26

in Stanley Street was nearer to a church school, St. Andrews Church of England Day School, so the rest of the family 27

attended that school. We attended St. Andrews Church, we were all christened there and my Father and the Vicar, Rev. 28

Simmons25. The vicar had a son killed in the war. David Lewtas were very good friends. Our father's salary from the 29

mill was not enough to meet the demands of a large family - there were eight of us, so he supplemented his income by 30

becoming secretary of a local burial society and of the Liberal Club, as described earlier. 31

Eve was the first one to be born at the Stanley Street address, then Muriel. Muriel became terribly ill when she 32

was about six months old with pleurisy26. Dr. Lawrie came every day for about three weeks and when she recovered, 33

he said it was not medical skill which had saved her but good nursing. 34

Albert, the first born only weighed four pounds at birth and was very delicate but our Mother managed to rear 35 22 Nora writes Not so She knew that Bert was Granny’s favourite. Does “She” refer to Mary Merchant? 23 Mary Merchant had added the phrase in brackets in her handwriting in an early draft of this document. 24 Sheila Marett may have birth certificates and be able to determine Eva’s birthplace. 25 Mary Merchant writes the vicars name as David Lewtas; Nora says this vicar came after Reverend Simons. 26 Mary Merchant writes “gastric pneumonia”.

11

him; this was in the days before incubators for premature babies and other medical aids. We were all born at home and 1

the same midwife Nurse Taylor was in attendance for all of us. She remained a friend of the family and often called at 2

the house. Of course because our Mother had worked at Dr. Lucas' house for over eight years she had more than 3

average skills. So the neighbours always appealed to Mother for help when there was sickness in the house. 4

The scouting movement was founded in 1912-13 by Sir Robert Baden Powell. In 1924 the first ever Scouting 5

Jamboree was to be held at Wembley with scouts coming from all over the world. The Prince of Wales, the hero of the 6

country at the time, would be attending, roughing it under canvas. Unfortunately our 1st Ramsbottom troop (of which 7

Albert was a member) could not attend as they hadn't a tent. Our parents were enthusiastic supporters of the bachelor 8

Harry Lonsdale who was the scout leader. So my Father donated unbleached calico from the mill, the sewing machine 9

was put in the backyard and I had to sew the tent which they had cut out. Although I was only ten I was used to sewing 10

on the treadle machine. Our parents proofed the tent - I remember that alum was one of the proofing ingredients and 11

the 1st Ramsbottom Troop went to Wembley. I remember that Albert brought us all a gift back from the 'far country' of 12

Wembley, a silver teaspoon with flags. 13

My father's family were devoted Wesleyan Methodists and to waken us up in the morning he used to sing 14

“Awake my soul and with the sun thy daily stage of duty run", or “Sow in the morn thy seed, at eve hold not thy hand". 15

Another of his favourite hymns ended with "and nightly pitch my moving tent, a day's march nearer home”. 16

I used to love to go to my friends Ruth Whittaker's house on Sundays because they had bought cream cakes, 17

bought fruit in cans and canned cream. Our father had a delicate stomach, I think he probably had ulcers, so we ate 18

brown bread only27, no sauces. He carried a very heavy burden, providing for a large family, delicate wife and the 19

worries of the declining cotton industry. We used to get fish twice a week, probably when deliveries came from 20

Liverpool and the fishman used to bring his wares round on an open cart with the fish kept in ice. Actually I don't think 21

it was ever warm enough in Lancashire for the fish to spoil. We also had another home delivery, a baker used to come 22

round with a basket on his head and we used to buy from him teacakes, Lancashire muffins (something like the baps 23

we buy in Canada) and oatcakes, The latter were moist and we had to hang them up in the house to dry before we ate 24

them. 25

On his lunch time, Dad used to walk Raymond to the Poultry pens, which had a stream running through them. 26

This gave both he and mother a few minutes’ break. It used to be our Dad's custom to take the baby, after the evening 27

meal to the top of the road to see the goats. I can still see him with Raymond on his shoulder - Raymond wore a 28

peacock blue coat with rust coloured trim. Mrs Whitthread, Ray’s and Muriel’s godmother, had knitted the outfit for 29

him. After our Father's death Raymond went missing one evening when female cousins were visiting; we scoured the 30

area looking for him - we found him at the top of the lane looking at the goats and chickens. 31

After father died, we somehow managed, our Mother stressing that it was only because our father had never 32

owed a penny that people were confident we would pay our way. She used to say that in all the years of making up the 33

weavers’ wages he had never been a half-penny wrong - this was when wages were paid in cash and put in the little 34

seed envelopes. 35

When our father died so suddenly after only a weeks absence from his office, his colleagues were very good in 36

saying - Tom Crawshaw, the manager of Porritts Woollen Manufacturers said that he would find all the boys work - 37

27 Nora writes, No. Mother baked white bread. We bought Hovis, small brown loaves from the bakery on week ends.

12

actually Albert was already working there. This was a wonderful offer in a time of great depression so I think the Rev. 1

Lewtas was instrumental in getting Norman released from the contract to attend the Grammar School until the age of 2

sixteen, so Norman worked there. I expect Tom Crawshaw had a good opinion of the family because Albert was 3

working there, having finished at Bury Technical School; Albert was attending Rochdale Technical School evening 4

classes for wool sorting and winning scholarships which hadn't been won for years. Mr. Haslam, the manager of the 5

Square Bleaching and Dyeing Works, and also a Wesleyan Methodist, found first Mary then Nora a coveted position, 6

being apprenticed to Comelli embroidery - only girls from good families were taken on for this position. Nora had 7

watched her mother sewing and could hand sew before she went to school. I had a good sewing teacher at school, who 8

was asked by one of Mr. Haslam’s friends about my sewing. She showed me a sample of her sewing for an exam at 9

Cambridge University. 10

Some of us used to turn all our money over to mother and she would allot it for the forthcoming week - the 11

only commodity which was paid in arrear was the dairy bill. My Father had left a little hoard of golden guineas (twenty 12

one shillings) as Britain had gone off the gold standard these were now worth thirty-three shillings. I didn't know 13

anything about this at the time but I remember her paying the dairyman with them and he took them as being worth 14

face value. We did buy a lot of milk, eggs and chickens as she said children should be fed on the young fowl. That is 15

why Mother fed the chickens well; it all came back to feed the young children. Jack Hughes, a gamekeeper of Wykey 16

House in Shropshire used to send poultry and pheasants to Stanley Street in the morning post, mailed in shoe boxes; 17

they were received by noon. 18

One week after she had allotted the money there was two and six over, she offered this to Albert, he being the 19

eldest and maybe the greatest provider - but he said- give it to Mary - girls need money more than fellows. What 20

eighteen year old would say that today? 21

My mother had begun to fail in the early l920s with an undiagnosed and untreatable trouble with the blood. In 22

the early twenties our Mother's health deteriorated. It seemed to be the quality of her blood and my Father and her 23

sister (Auntie Alice Carden) were constantly buying new blood tonics as the doctor did not seem able to help - 24

Wincarnis, Hall's Wine Tonic, etc. By the late 1930’s, we used to have a woman to do the washing, and when Mother 25

was confined to bed we used to have a live-in woman (Mrs. Adcroft; but Nora writes “This was only in childbirth, and 26

just for a few days.”) 27

Mary had been28 to Dr. Lawrie when she came up for Albert’s wedding in 1939, asked if she could go to a 28

nursing home for a rest as he was always advocating but he said that nothing could be done and she might die 29

tomorrow. Very, very hard to take. In the light of later knowledge, Mary29 thinks that she had leukemia, but the disease 30

was not known at that time and was not given a name until about 1946. 31

When she was able to attend to the home, she was a terrific worker and a resource to the neighbours as she 32

knew treatments for childhood problems. 33

Mary Merchant had written this manuscript as if the White family was nearly destitute and Bartholomew had 34

to do extra jobs for the money. She writes about her mother’s illness “there was a heavy financial drain as we had to 35

have a good deal of help in the house” and later “All this extra help was a burden on an already strained budget and our 36

father used to do a lot of extra work at nights.” Nora however believes the family was relatively well off, and there was 37 28 Mary wrote “when I was about eighteen” 29 Mary wrote, “We think …”

13

a minimum use of paid helpers. For example, Mary wrote that after she matriculated at age 16, “it was helped that I 1

would be a great help at home and we could dispense with some of the paid helpers”. 2

Albert White 3

Albert hadn't passed the County Scholarship for a Grammar School so our father sent him to Bury Junior 4

Technical School as a fee paying student. On completion of his schooling he worked30 as a wool sorter. His hands 5

became nice and soft from the lanoline. He used to come home from work stinking of the smell of wool, and washed 6

his overalls himself. Mother was sick of the smell. He would have to change his clothes immediately. 7

Albert31 was always a tower of strength until his breakdown32,33 which was largely due to the shock of being 8

responsible for us all, as the oldest child, compounded by details to be worked out as there was no will or probate. He 9

was keen on a young woman, but the feelings were not returned, and Albert was not mature enough to know his worth. 10

He used to make up stories to tell the three little ones. When balls used to be one skin of rubber, Norman had 11

found one with a slit in. He used to call it Mr. Pickup, Pickup being a fairly common surname in our parts, and Mr. 12

Pickup was often the subject of the stories. Albert belonged to Toc H after finishing scouting and Rovers, along with 13

his technical school friends. This is one of the caring organizations founded by a clergyman in the First World War and 14

he always used to help there at their children's functions as he was a quiet, caring person. 15

He immigrated to Australia in April 1952 on a government scheme. Conditions on the ship were pretty bad 16

and on reaching Australia he was in hospital for six weeks with pneumonia34. Mary Merchant suspected that conditions 17

in Australia as regards work were just as bad as in Canada and two years later Albert wished to get back to Britain to 18

get back his position and benefits with a radar establishment so he needed to borrow money. Joe and Mary Merchant 19

had no money, but with our experience Joe was very sympathetic and said that we could borrow money as by this time 20

he was working at Galbraiths; we borrowed the money and Mary got a temporary job (Richard was barely a year old) 21

and we paid it back. Albert also went to South Africa, but found the work there wasn’t as advertised. 22

Norman White 23

Norman White played football at school, as did his father Bartholemew. He had a perforated ear drum, but 24

didn’t find this out until he could have got in to the army as a Sargeant to do with radio, and had to have a medical. 25

This was after the Wire Works got him out of the Territorials some time after the war started. He was already guarding 26

Water and Gas works, etc. He didn’t want to go back to the Wire Works, so got a job at Wimpy’s where they rewound 27

the armatures for Wellington bombers. The defect in the ear prevented him from enlisting when the Second World War 28

broke out. Norman won the County Scholarship to a Grammar Student, the year after Mary did, and attended 29

Haslington Grammar School. At the age of nine he had contracted some kidney trouble and had to be in bed for a 30

year35. 31

Gordon and Ray 32

The younger boys Gordon and Ray, along with Albert, went to live with their Auntie Alice. Ray was only four 33

30 Mary wrote “… was accepted as a trainee for selling wool on the Stock Exchange” 31 Mary started this sentence with “No one can remember except me but …” 32 Mary wrote “which I now believe was due to bullying at work.” 33 Mary wrote “He never fully recovered from the breakdown and became involved in studying but never made friends.” But Nora says he had good friends at school and scouts, who came to their house. 34 But Albert did not write anything to Nora about being in hospital. 35 Nora writes that she doesn’t remember any of this.

14

when his father died and thirteen when his mother died; he was really raised by Auntie Alice. At the outbreak of the 1

war, they were called up to serve in the Army. Ray served in India, and required a recuperation period upon 2

repatriation. Gordon joined the 80th Scottish Horse Regiment36, which were surveyors; he trained on Salisbury plains, 3

and traveled through Northern Africa. There are pictures of him with the pyramids, and pictures he had taken of 4

Dhows on the Nile River. They surveyed, finding the best locations to place the artillery. He was injured, suffering a 5

head wound, during the invasion of Italy in August 1943. After the invasion, he was stationed in Turin and had to 6

lecture the troops on building construction. Some of them wanted him to return to Australia with them. He was then 7

posted to Athens with the army of Education; there he met and married Petroula who worked in the Sergeant’s Mess, 8

and later returned to England with an attractive young Greek lady as his wife. 9

It took a long time after Gordon’s return to the UK to get the formalities completed for Petroula to join him. 10

For the young marrieds, life with Auntie Alice wasn’t very satisfactory and they came to live with Joe and Mary 11

Merchant in Grays, Essex, over the grocery store. I still remember Petroula’s excitement when she found a tin of 12

cinnamon. She was so excited and kept calling out “Cannelli, Cannelli”. She used to make the most delicious food. 13

Petroula’s war experiences where survival meant fighting for food, let their mark and she found it difficult to trust 14

anyone. The Greeks had been starving, suffering under the cruel German occupation. 15

Nora White 16

The Daily Sketch had a promotion, sponsored by the Glaxo Company, to find the best War baby. Uncle 17

Eleazor was sent a photo of Nora on a lambskin rug, in the nude. The picture won various heats and was chosen to 18

represent the North of England, winning the first competition in Manchester and a prize of about 200 pounds. This 19

resulted in my Father, a very quiet reserved type, having his leg pulled a great deal when in Mesopotamia (Egypt) in 20

the Army37 as her photo was headlined in a national newspaper. They decided not to go to the London Competition. 21

Rona has the certificate. Nora received a silver and bone teething ring – “I remember Mother fishing it out of 22

the ashes in the fireplace, once while making toast. Probably had to pawn it, I don’t remember seeing it again.” 23

Mary White 24

Mary started at Haslingden Grammar School in 1924, having won a county scholarship at the age of ten38, and 25

finished in July 1929 having got matriculation before she was sixteen. Her parents would not let her go out to work39 26

but it was felt she would be a great help at home40. The only other work was in the declining cotton industry; some of 27

her friends had to go there, which they could have done two years ago without their parents having sacrificed to send 28

them to Grammar School. Mary writes that she hated staying at home, cut off from all young companionship as many 29

of her friends were a train ride away in Haslington. In order to attend the Grammar School, the scholarships had 30

included a pass on the railway. She was only home three weeks to a month, and probably was out to work when 31

schools went back in September. 32

Mary had a friend, Mattie Starkey, whose Mother had died. Her Dad kept her at home to run the house; there 33

36 Mary wrote “corp of engineers” 37 but elsewhere in the document, it says he wasn’t called up during the war. 38 An earlier draft says the normal age for writing the scholarship was eleven but it was suggested that I enter early and I was awarded the scholarship, probably because so few parents could afford to let their children accept. Mother deleted these lines from the later draft. 39 Mary writes, “there probably wasn’t any work to be had” 40 Mary writes, “and we could dispense with some of the paid helpers”, Nora says there wasn’t any paid help.

15

were three younger sisters, Jessie, Mary, and Elsie. Mattie was a warm lovely lady, she later married a good bachelor. 1

After I had pleaded with him for two weeks my father let me attend Ramsbottom Technical School evening 2

classes, so I studied shorthand, typing, and bookkeeping. He was interested in shorthand, having learned it himself, and 3

he showed me what the old outlines had been, prior to alteration; this information stood me n very good stead later on. 4

By the time father died41 a few months later in February 1930 - it was the height of the Depression - Mary had 5

managed to find a job as cashier in a men's tailoring firm (another version says “multiple clothing store”), a branch in a 6

chain. Leeds in Yorkshire was the heart of the tailoring industry. This was a very poorly paying job, as they all were. 7

Mary didn’t really earn much as there was my train fare to Bury – she used to go to Auntie Maggie’s for midday 8

dinner — probably she only let me pay a pittance for a wonderful meal. she continued to study; she attended Bury 9

technical school for economics, accountancy, mercantile law and some related subjects. She went to work at 10

Hepburn’s bleachworks in the “stentor”, hanging the cloth to dry after it had been bleached. Mary was working there 11

when Nora finished school in December 1932, and asked for work for Nora. She started right after the Christmas 12

break, having missed the last two weeks with tonsillitis. 13

With the aid of the Doctor who knew my father, she managed to get a secretarial position in our Town Hall as 14

secretary at Ramsbottom Urban District Council. This was where my Father's help with the shorthand came in as the 15

Town Clerk attended lots of conferences and he used to do the reports on narrow lined foolscap in the train coming 16

home from conferences. These of course were the days when scarcely anyone had a car and she used to manage to 17

transcribe every word - she would have expected to be hung if Mary hadn't managed to do this. 18

Mary had worked very hard at shorthand and was writing l50 words a minute. She had Nora reading, and used 19

a stopwatch to practice her shorthand. She paid two shillings-sixpence for private solo lessons, lasting either thirty 20

minutes or an hour, which was a lot of money then. My friends used to go for walks on the moors and we would stop 21

and they would dictate to me for me to practise my speed. Lancashire was very poor, the smaller cotton mills had been 22

bought up by larger firms and put out of business, and also Japan, with its sweat labour, was undercutting in all the 23

markets. Mary had wanted Nora to take a job for five shillings for a week at the Towel works before she was 14 years 24

old, but the school inspector pointed out to her that their mother’s pension would have been reduced to seven shillings 25

sixpence, as so they would have been poorer. Mary was always trying to the have the younger children work for her 26

friends too. 27

Mary writes that she was very ambitious and was studying on my own for the Chartered Institute of 28

Secretaries, a professional examination in which not many women were involved. It was likely before the days of 29

correspondence courses. She had been exempted from the preliminary exam by virtue of having got matriculation. The 30

exam was held in Manchester, this was the Intermediate, there were over a thousand students, all men with the 31

exception of six women and the pass rate was one-third. However Mary passed, as did all the other women. 32

The Move to the South 33

The success in passing the exam for the Chartered Institute of Secretaries fed Mary’s ambition. There was a 34

family called the Cuddy’s for whom Mary had baby-sat their two boys Bobby and Jeffrey; Mr. Cuddy was a Chemist 35

at the Coop Pharmacy. The family moved to Grays, Essex, and set her the application for a position at the Thurrock 36

Council. On a dare from the tramways clerk, Tom Goodier, she applied for a position and was shortlisted. Mary had to 37

41 Mary had written that she didn’t get this job until after her father died.

16

go to Grays, via the wicked city of London for an interview. This seemed like going to the moon and at the last 1

moment our Mother thought she ought to go with her to protect her42. She went alone, terrified, got the job, too scared 2

to turn it down, returned home and cried for a week, just before her twenty-first birthday. 3

The Thurrock Council position was with much higher pay; she commenced work in August, 193643. This 4

enabled her to send a great deal more money home44 even having paying the rent, etc. Mary was terribly homesick, 5

living in room and board places, it was of course before the days of bachelor flats. Whether the money sent home 6

compensated for the loss of the help from the eldest girl in the family is questionable. Mother was devastated. She 7

thought Albert should have had a break. 8

Mary writes it was a good thing because the industrial towns, depending on the cotton trade, never regained 9

their strength as cotton goods began to be manufactured in third world countries under very poor conditions which the 10

British would not have permitted. 11

Our Mother was going steadily downhill as the doctors had no help to offer. After many years of suffering, 12

she died on the 1st of March leaving us absolutely bereft as she had woven us into a caring family. 13

This was 1939-the cold war. Norman, at age 23, and Anne Dobson were married on 18th February two weeks 14

before she died. It became obvious that the three boys of the family would have to join the forces, leaving the three 15

girls, Nora, Eve and Muriel in what would become a very vulnerable position as there were soldiers stationed and 16

billetted all around45. 17

When Marstarted work, she had always made myself responsible for paying the rent. With the boys joining the 18

services, she didn’t think maintaining the home would be financially viable. she was living with a family in Grays, 19

paying room and board (there was no such thing as suites or apartments), and also paying the rent for the large family 20

home in Ramsbottom. So she bought a brand new three bedroom house in Grays, and brought the girls down south in 21

February 1940 to live with me, along with Mother’s furniture, curtains, carpets, pots, pans and silverware. Mary said 22

that Nora would easily get work in Grays, but upon arrival it was found there were restrictions for her age group which 23

made finding a job much more difficult. 24

The younger boys went to live with Auntie Alice, my Mother's widowed sister who was childless. Her 25

husband46 had left her financially unsound and she had to have boarders. She had policemen as boarders years before, 26

as they had no children; one was called Bobby Roberts. I think Raymond had left school. Norman managed to 27

recommend him to a firm of accountants whom he knew through his church. Uncle Eleazor47 called at Auntie Alice's 28

some long time afterwards, offering to get Raymond a job as a wheelwright I think. Auntie Alice found Ray a job with 29

a couple who owned a Greengrocers store. They would have treated him like a son, but at the time this didn’t appeal. 30

Later he wished he stayed but he probably had to do war service anyway. He was taking accounting courses, and Nora 31

encouraged him and said that she would buy him a watch when he passed. she remembers getting the watch in Grays 32

before she got pushed around by the Government. 33

42 Nora scratched out a line that Mary had written “she probably hadn't been fit to go down town for months” 43 but Nora writes 1934. 44 Nora writes just the rent to the landlady. 45 Nora points out that there were soldiers and sailors billeted all around Grays, also. 46 Mother adds, “a heavy drinker” 47 Mary writes “That was the only gesture of help ever had from my Father's religious brothers. It was nice to be in a position to decline the help at that late stage.” Nora disagrees, saying Uncle Fred and Aunt Mary Lizzie were always good to us.

17

Mary got a very good deal from the contractor whom she knew through my work, because he was left with a 1

lot of new houses and a bank loan. When war was declared, nobody could enter into an undertaking to buy a home 2

because of military service. She was in charge of applicants for loans to buy single family homes for personal 3

occupation, so I applied for a loan and got a ninety per cent mortgage as of course the Council, being my employer, 4

knew that my position was secure. The girls moved down in February bringing with them the Scottie dog that Norman 5

had given to our Mother when he had to go in the Forces. Sheena was with us for many years and we always 6

considered her as a valuable family member. I had paid for Muriel to attend Progress College48 before leaving the 7

North so she got a position quickly in Grays. Figure 9 shows a picture taken in this time period. Nora was lucky it 8

seemed and was accepted at a prestigious store (Bourne and Hollingsworth) in London. They only took girls of good 9

bearing, good manners, etc. but they required the girls to live in their dormitory, whose rules were very strict. But there 10

was no vacancy, and Nora spent many hours in transit between Grays and the London store49. 11

Soon after we started living at 8 Meadoway, the house which Mary had bought, one of my office friends was 12

getting married and he invited both Nora and her to the wedding. He was also a close friend of Joe's and Joe was 13

invited to be the best man. Joe had replied accepting only on condition that he could sit next to Mary so that is how 14

they come to know each other. 15

Life was still pretty grim in Lancashire; Norman started a union there. He thought that they had better come 16

south where life was a little easier and maybe there was more family support. Annie had had a nervous breakdown and 17

electric shock treatment, so Nora had invited her for a holiday in Grays. She came with Roger, probably for a week or 18

two, and got in touch with a Pentecostal pastor’s wife down the road. 19

On Joe's discharge from the forces he could not settle down. He simply would not go back to Batas where 20

before the war management had considered him to be one of their up-and-coming floor managers. But there was hardly 21

anything available which interested him. Mary wanted him to go back to Batas for three months but his sister said you 22

wouldn't wish him to go back to work those long hours. Mary had always worked longer hours myself as she was one 23

of the first women committee clerks and when there was a labour council, meetings were always held in the evenings. 24

As she was responsible for more committees than any of the other clerks she was frequently working three evenings a 25

week from seven till after ten, with no time off in lieu and in those days we worked Saturday mornings so it was very 26

difficult to help Nora with all the house work and laundry in what little time off there was. 27

Mary worked at the Hornchurch Council Offices, and met someone there who had worked in Geneva. At one 28

time she had the notion that she would like to work for the League of Nations in Geneva where shorthand speeds of 29

180 wpm were required. Her shorthand speed at that time was 150 wpm. 30

31

In other notes, Mary writes: 32

Prior to the war Joe was a departmental manager at the Bata Shoe Company. He was in a reserved occupation 33

as Bata’s was making military footware; however, he volunteered for the air force as we were bombed every night. We 34

lived about a mile from the Themes which on a moonlit night was a ribbon of light to London. IF the bombers had not 35

found their target, the jettisoned their bombs on us. Joe was doing the same two years later over Germany, mother 36

48 Mary writes “Pitman’s College” 49 Strangely, Mary writes that Nora did stay in the Dormitory, and was separated from the family. Could she not count the number of places at the dinner table?

18

writes. 1

However, he still had his contacts at Bata’s so he used them to get Petroula a job in the sewing room. We had 2

taught her to use a sewing machine. She was soon breaking all the records for piece work and earning money. This 3

helped tremendously when Gordon took teacher training in Bolton and then got a teaching job in Clapham. 4

Around this time Norman and Anne were having a very bad time in Lancashire, so Petroula provided the 5

money from her savings from Batas, and Joe and I provide the temporary accommodation over the shop to give them 6

an opportunity to find a better life. When Norman got work they were able to rent a house. The house came on the 7

market for a very low price as there were only a few years of the ground lease left. Norman wanted to buy the house as 8

he pointed out Judith would be 83 when the lease expired. I lent him the money which I had made on the sale of a 9

Triumph Gloria which Joe had abandoned. I told him he could have the money until Peter and Vivian were around 18 10

years of age. Norman sold the house for a very good price as it adjoined the Labour Party Club House and he seemed 11

to make a very good deal on a house in ….. this enabled the three younger children to go to College in London whilst 12

living at home. 13

14 Notes added by Vivian (compiled by Memory of earlier discussions): 15 16 This manuscript has been written over a sixteen or more year period, starting before the death of Joseph 17

Merchant. In the last year (2005) I’ve asked Mother about more detail of certain periods, but she responded that she 18

didn’t think anybody was interested in that old stuff anyway. 19

Mary and Joseph Merchant were married on 5th April 1941, and Joe joined the family of girls at Meadoway. 20

This was during the war years, and the docks at nearby Tilbury were a prominent target for bombing. Joe’s parents 21

neighbour’s house was destroyed during an air raid, and the father was killed. Joe built a semi-detached bomb shelter 22

using metal cover and sides supplied by the council; this was his introduction to masonry work, which later lead him 23

into major construction projects when the WestKal house was purchased. During my 1969 trip to England, I purchased 24

a postcard of Saint Paul’s Cathedral with the night sky lit up by bombing and flares. The card was labeled “As though 25

by a miracle”, referring to the survival of the cathedral in spite of the frequent bombing in London. I implied that the 26

card was banal, but my mother corrected me. She said that her job frequently took her to London on mornings after a 27

bombing raid; she would get off the train at a station close to Saint Paul’s, and the sight of St Paul’s still standing, still 28

surviving was a source of inspiration not only for her but also for all Londoners. Father was working at Bata Shoe 29

Company; because the company was making army boots the work was considered vital and he was “frozen” in his job. 30

He applied to get released, and in 194350 enlisted in the Royal Air Force. We have his diary during the training period, 31

but unfortunately this ends by the time he actually joined the service. 32

At some point the house at 8 Meadoway home was dispensed with. As mother had written, Father did not want 33

to return to the factory after being released from the air force. He wanted to work for himself as an independent 34

businessman. They purchased a dairy and store and at this point lived in the upstairs apartment. They bought milk in 35

bulk, rebottled it and sold it. We have heard stories about Father was making the delivery in a horse-drawn wagon, 36

Peter would tell Father at which house the next delivery was. We have also heard stories about Peter sampling the jam 37

50 Nora thinks earlier, check this.

19

from the shelves of the store, there is a picture of a guilty Peter with his face covered with jam. I don’t know how long 1

they operated the store, but it must have been for a few years while Peter was in the formative stages. When we lived 2

on WestKal road, for a time there was a milk bottle labeled “Merchant’s Dairy”. 3

Mother resented the decision to purchase the store. Her house for which she had negotiated was sacrificed to 4

her husband’s dream of being an independent business person. I believe that she even mentioned that the girls (Nora 5

and Eve and Muriel) had to find alternative accommodation at this time. It was a remarkable achievement that a single 6

lady in those days was able to buy a house51. There were very few women in the workforce; as described above, it was 7

primarily men who wrote the exam for the Chartered Institute of Secretaries. Reading the history of the typewriter 8

yields the same information; the typewriter was introduced at a time when secretaries were primarily male. Women 9

entered the workforce in large numbers during the Second World War, when such a large fraction of the male 10

population was busy killing each other. So Mary Merchant had become successful in the business world when it was 11

primarily dominated by men, and moreover had been trusted with a mortgage on the first house. 12

At times, both Norman and Anne when they first moved down south and Gordon and Petroula when he 13

returned from the war lived52 with them at the store until they found their own accommodation. Mother and Dad 14

loaned Norman and Anne the money to purchase their first house in the south of England. Mother had left the 15

Thurrock council by this time. 16

Mary wanted a garden for Peter to sleep in the buggy outside for fresh air, but the store surroundings were too 17

busy and dusty. There was the bottling milk room or shed in the back, and an alley to the front street. They still lived in 18

the store in June 1946 when Muriel was married form there. They had the reception at Nora’s bungalow at Connaught 19

avenue. The christening gathering when Peter, Vivian, and Brian were baptized was also held at Nora’s bungalow. At 20

some point, and I’m not sure when, Mother and Dad purchased the house at 24 Chestnut Avenue in Grays. This house 21

was sold when the family moved to Canada in 1952. 22

23

24

25

51 In Canada, women were recognized as “Persons”, with the same rights under the law as men, in 1929. 52 Nora believes they were rented living space.

20

Appendix 1. The Textile Industry in Britain 1

These brief notes are not expected to be a definitive history.

They were put together (plagiarized) from Funk and Wagnalls

New Encyclopedia (Funk And Wagnalls Inc., 1983).

Why did a cotton weaving industry develop in Lancashire, far

from the locations where the cotton was grown, and not necessarily

close to the markets for the finished goods? The answer may lie

with the experience built up over time in the weaving of wool; this

would have been done as a cottage industry, pre-dating the

industrial revolution, and done close to the source of the wool.

Machine driven plants were first established in locations close to

the cottage industry, and close to the inventors. This area of

Lancashire had water power available from the Irwell river flowing

from the Pennines. It was connected by canal and rail with the

busy seaport of Liverpool.

Preparation of textiles includes the following steps: (1) Fibre

Processing, in which the fibres are cleaned of dirt, seeds, hulks,

and other debris, inspected, and baled; (2) spinning, in which the

individual fibres are twisted together to form yarn, and (3)

weaving, in which a loom is used to interweave the yarn together

forming broadcloth, and (4) knitting, in which the yarn is

interlocked to form a fabric in a series of interconnecting loops.

The following paragraphs give more detail on the latter three of

these stages.

Before the age of machinery, spinning was done by hand with

the spindle and the distaff. The spinning wheel was introduced into

Europe from India between the 13th and 14th centuries. But during

the 18th century, the cotton industry in England was revolutionized

by the development of the spinning Jenny by James Hargreaves,

the throstle or roll-drawing machine (1769) by Sir Richard

Arkwright, and the spinning mule (1779) by Samual Crompton.

The jenny enabled the spinning of a number of threads at one time,

and the throttle incorporated a system of rollers to stretch out the

yarn. In the mule, the spindles were set in a travelling frame to

reduce the strain of the process of spinning by rollers, thus

producing finer yarns.

The spinning jenny, invented in 1764, and named after

Hargreave's daughter, made possible the automated production of

cotton thread. A spinning mill was erected by Hargreaves in

Nottingham in 1768, and in spite of opposition by handworkers,

spinning became a factory industry.

Richard Arkwright was born in Preston; his machine was first

put into use in that city in 1768. He was forced to flee to

Nottingham by hand spinning workers who supposed that their

means of subsistence would be destroyed by competition with the

machine. In Arkwright's first mill, power was supplied by horses.

In 1771 he established at Cromford a larger mill driven by

waterpower. His success was due not only to his newly invented

machinery but also to his system of management and division of

labour, which became the model for the factory system of

production.

It is interesting that the encyclopedia mentions Arkwright

only in connection with processing of cotton. This implies that

before the industrial revolution, before steamships plied the oceans

and steam engines powered factories, cotton was imported from

the Americas on sailing vessels to be processed by hand spinners

and weavers in Lancashire.

The Chinese and Middle Eastern civilizations used looms

long before they were introduced to Europe; the hand loom is still

extensively used. For example, Harris Tweeds is still handloomed

in the outer Hebrides. The first move towards mechanization of the

loom was the invention of the flying shuttle, patented by John Kay

in 1733. Another British inventor Edmund Cartwright patented the

power loom in 1786. The introduction of Cartwright's power loom

was vehemently opposed by those whose jobs were replaced, and a

mill at Manchester equipped with his looms was burnt down.

Cartwright also assisted the American inventor Robert Fulton with

his steamboat experiments.

The craft of knitting was introduced into continental Europe

by the Arabs in the 5th century, and flourished in England and

Scotland in the 14th and 15th centuries. All knitting was done by

hand until 1589, when an English clergyman William Lee invented

a machine that could knit stockings.

Harriet Barlow White6 Sept 1824 to 27 March 1900

Joseph White1846-1922

Fanny Horrocks1847-1826

Bartholomew White1882-1930

Marie Elizabeth Davies1888-Feb 1939

Mary1913

Albert1911

Norman1916

Gordon1920

Nora1918

Eva1922

Muriel1925

Ray1926

John White9 Nov 1822 to 20 May 1880

Figure 1. Four generations of the White family, extending back to the early nineteenth century.

Harriet Barlow White6 Sept 1824 to 27 March 1900

Joseph White1846-1922

John Whited. 1939

Hilda

John White9 Nov 1822 to 20 May 1880

Priscillad. 1924

Mary Annd. 1926

Eleaszer

Walter Richard

Bartholomew

Doris Leonard Lorna

AlisAnnisb. 1874Married

Arthur Constantine

Sarah Jane22 June 1886

To 25 June 1918m. Thos Atkinson

Idam. George Pearson

George Pearsonm. Dorothy

Jean Louisem. Lester van Veghten

Dana

JohnWilliam

Figure 2. Descendents of John White. For descendents of his son Joseph White, see Figure 3.

Betsy Greenhalgh

Joseph White1846-1922

Fanny Horrocks1847-1826

Bartholomew 1882-1930

Ian

BobArthur Mary Joseph Eleazor(Ted)

Martha?

Fred

William Horrocks

Richard Clark Ethel(Penny)

Dorothy

Figure 3. Descendents of Joseph White, and known ancestry of his wife, Fanny Horrocks. For offspring of Joseph’s son Bartholomew, see Figure 4.

Mary Evansb.1832

Alice Evansb. 1861

Albert Herbert Daviesb. 1850?

Mary1913

Albert1911

Norman1916

Gordon1920

Nora1918

Eva1922

Muriel1925

Ray1926

BartholomewWhite

1882-1930

Marie ElizabethDavies

1888-Feb 1939

Robert Evans1829-1904

George AliceCaroline

AlfredHerbert

Robert Nellie

Caroline

UnknownJohnEvans

FredMargaretMary

Robert

Fred

Fred

Molly

Jessie

Maud

Edith

Figure 4. Children of Bartholomew White, and known ancestry of his wife, Mary Elizabeth White.

Figure 5. The House at Nuttall Mill (Picture taken 1992)

Figure 6. The home in Stanley Street, Ramsbottom. (Picture taken 1992)

Figure 8. The house at 24 Chestnut Avenue, Grays. (Picture taken 1992)

Figure 9. The Whites in Grays. Left to Right is Muriel, Gordon, Nora, and Eva. Picture probably taken by Joe Merchant.