9 PIX |
|||||||
SEE NOTES AT THE END
OF THE PAGE |
PAGE UPDATED 5 JUNE 2013 20 NOVEMBER 2016 |
||||||
GAY FAMILY HISTORY |
page 2 |
||||||
GAY BROS LTD |
|||||||
GAY BROS LTD, TOOL
MAKERS, ENGINEERS |
|||||||
Henry Gay II and his brother George Edward set up Gay
Brothers, an engineering firm, in Kingston upon Thames, Surrey, later East Molesey, Surrey, and then Hampton, Middx – it is unknown
when the firm was founded – in the 1911 census, Henry was still living in
Bath, Somerset, profession tool
fitter, and George in Earlswood, Surrey, profession
engineer’s toolmaker – family sources say that at
one time they worked for the Gramophone Company (HMV), but that company’s HQ
was in Hayes, Middx, so what the brothers did, and where they were, in the
period 1911-1922 is unclear – the firm first appears in the phone book in 1922 –
George was already living in Hanwell, Middx by
1913, and Henry by 1921, although probably earlier – the 2 brothers later
settled in Ealing, Middx, next to Hanwell, which
became their permanent home, and “seat” of the Gay family SOME NOTES FOUND
ONLINE http://edithsstreets.blogspot.it/2009/09/londonsurrey-border-east-moseleyhampton.html
says: A house was built on land belonging to
the mill, fronting onto Creek Road [East Molesey,
Surrey], named "Creek House". In 1914 the Zenith Motor Company
[presumably hence the “Zenith Works, Creek Road” address in the 1937 phone
book], who manufactured motor cycles in Weybridge, moved to the mill and
remained until they were bankrupted in 1930. The mill was sold to C. Nielson
and Son, as a factory for the production of sails and tents and the firm
developed into what was at one time one of the largest tenting contractors in
the country [and was still there in the 1950-60’s, the author lived not far
away]. in 1938 a part of the mill premises were taken over by Messrs Gays
(Hampton) Ltd., toolmakers and precision engineers. for the manufacture of
parts for Bristol "Blenheim" bomber aircraft. The company was the
first to manufacture bomb carriers for eight thousand pound "block
busters". http://www.moleseyhistory.co.uk/books/molesey/mill/
says: Warwork
Again The run up to the Second World War
created a crash rearmament programme, and in 1938 a part of the mill premises
were taken over by Messrs Gays (Hampton) Ltd., toolmakers and precision
engineers. Who employed about seventy people, mostly skilled hands, producing
tools, jigs and fixtures for the manufacture of Bristol "Blenheim"
bomber aircraft. During the war itself the personnel was increased and
reached a maximum of two hundred. The company was the first to manufacture
bomb carriers for eight thousand pound "block busters", when these
massive engines of destruction were introduced by the R.A.F. After the conclusion of the war the
workforce was reduced to about sixty, and a few years later the company
closed the works altogether and concentrated manufacture of all products at
their Hampton factory (Information kindly supplied by Messrs.
Gays (Hampton) Ltd.). CONCLUSION So it looks as though the move to East Molesey was made in the run up to the war The author had
always assumed, perhaps wrongly, that they sold the firm after
the war, when they retired – they were born in 1882 and 1884 respectively, so
would have reached 60 during the war - especially as they had no surviving
sons to inherit the business - but a granddaughter of their elder sister, DH,
says “I was told that they sold it [before WW2] as, being Christians,
they had a conscience about manufacturing munitions for the war” so perhaps
they sold it before the war - unfortunately, no one thought to ask
George’s 4 daughters when they were alive Online sources say “Gay's
(Hampton) Limited, a private limited company incorporated on 2nd December
1940”, so perhaps this was when the new owners took over and changed the name
- certainly the change of address and company name would point to a change in
ownership in that period Apart from one brief mention online of
the firm working for the government during the war, the only available evidence
is the phone books, see below: 1939
Oldfield Road, Hampton, Middx, plus the Creek Road, East Molesey,
address, but without the Bridge Road, East Molesey,
address 1943
now called Gay’s (Hampton) Ltd, still at Oldfield Road, also at Pembroke
House, Broad Lane, Hampton, Middx, plus the Creek Road address So it looks as though had definitely
sold the firm by 1943, when its name had changed and the "Bros"
disappeared - whether they'd already sold it by 1939, when the Oldfield Road
address appeared, is not clear - the new owners might have been the ones who
opened the works in Oldfield Road There was another Gay Bros Ltd in
Birmingham, Warks, dealing in sheet metal goods, but there is nothing to
suggest there was any connection - the name is the same, the field they
worked is related - but why would they have another firm in Birmingham? On http://www.gracesguide.co.uk/Gay_Brothers,
the 2 Kingston and Birmingham firms are linked, but whether the site’s owner
has just linked 2 firms with the same name, or whether there was really a
link, is not clear It hasn’t been possible to get any photos
of the various premises, even if they still exist - Union Street is right in
the centre of Kingston and is full of trendy shops, so the premises must have
been quite small – the East Molesey ones might have
been a bit bigger, that’s possibly why they needed them – Oldfield Road must
have been the first decent sized premises |
|||||||
A correspondent has kindly sent this: “I was
searching for “Gay Bros (Hampton) Ltd”, looking to see if there were any
references to it provided by Google and came upon your family tree site as
one of only two. I don’t suppose it is of any interest to you but I worked
there for a year as an apprentice Toolmaker in 1970-71. There were about 8 of
us I think, in a dedicated, non-productive apprentice school led by an
experienced foreman called ‘Snakey’ Chambers.
Several of the apprentices came from a factory in Harrow, which I think was
related in some way. Altogether I think there were about 200 toolmakers then
at Gays, including a small high-precision toolmaking
concern called Halliwell Gauges (they worked to
millionths of an inch, not thousandths like the rest). Other sections included Heat-treatment, Milling, Boring, Turning,
Grinding, Welding, and Fitting. The factory was busy making guidance systems
for Polaris submarines and can–testing machines as well as custom drilling
machines and similar. They must have had a drawing office, but I didn’t get
to see it. I am still an Engineer, working now as a
product Design Consultant in Hampshire, UK The other reference to Gay Bros (Hampton)
Ltd, said this..... Reply
by Bryan Alderson B.E.M. on As things are very
quiet I will write a bit more about old Hampton. You will have to forgive me
when I repeat myself, This is a problem with all old boys!!! The main
entrance to the old Grammar School was on the Upper Sunbury Road. But we all
used the Oldfield Road entrance. The school had an enormous field. At the
bottom of the field opposite the factories were some underground air raid
shelters. In the early part of the war, until we got our own 'Anderson'
shelter, my mother, us kids and other Hampton folk would spend the nights in
the factory shelters. This involved my mother carrying all our blankets to
the shelter to enable us to get some sleep. I don't think there was any
electric lighting. What I do remember, the toilet was a very large tin bucket
at one end of the shelter and there was no sound proofing!!! We would go home
for our breakfast, then it would be off to school. There were two
factories at the west end of Oldfield Road, ie. Hall
and Hall and Gay Brothers. Gay Brothers was an engineering factory. They had
their wooden patterns in a very large shed in the school grounds. One night
during the 'Blitz' Gerry dropped hundreds of incendiary bombs most of which
landed in the school grounds. Gay's pattern shed was burnt to the ground. It
was still smouldering when we went to school. The field was
littered with dozens of intact incendiary bombs. The kids were pulling them
out of the ground and taking them home. My elder brother (years later he
became the Chief Inspector at the Police Traffic Garage in Station Road),
managed to bring home two of the bombs, which stood on our Mantelpiece. It
was OK they did not explode, otherwise I would not be writing this now.
Towards the end of the War Gerry started sending over 'Flying Bombs' (Doodle
Bugs) one landed in the reservoir opposite the school on the Upper Sunbury
Road and blew all the windows out. We then had a very extended summer
holiday. Thanks to Adolf Hitler I could never spell!!! I will tell you about
the YWCA Club next time. Yours aye. Bryan” and “The Polaris
Submarine items I remember seeing were 18” stainless steel cubes with
internal dividers, welded from 3/4” plate then heat treated and then machined
all over. They had removable covers on most or all faces. They contained
bronze cylinders with precision pistons and neat piping. I think they worked
as some kind of hydraulic servo system, amplifying or duplicating control
commands. There were also some large cylindrical items machined from solid
stainless round bar, which I suppose were possibly submarine periscope or
torpedo parts. They also made what are called UNIT machines, which could be
used in clusters on automatic production machining lines for things like
milling, drilling and boring engine and gearbox casings. The Can Testing
machines were of a ‘Ferris Wheel’ design about 3 metres in diameter, able to
pick up unfilled cans from a line, apply perhaps proof test pressure and
presumably hold it for the last 2/3rds of the orbit to monitor leakage, and
eject duds. I think the wheels had about 80 stations and clamped the cans
with rubber pads on swinging arms. The ring-valve was about 35cm in diameter,
one half being hardened steel, the other bronze - I know that because I had
to ‘lap’ of them - a very physically demanding and boring job. Frankly,
knowing what I know now, I doubt they would have been reliable. Gay Bros (as I
understood) had a very good reputation for precision and ‘doing things
properly’ and was considered an excellent start in engineering. The only
other person I knew who worked there
maybe 10 years before was my brother-in-law, Philip Mulholland, a fine
engineer with a manner of holding and working with hand tools that was dazzlingly
dextrous and precise. Unfortunately he died last year so I cannot ask him” and “This is about
transfer lines, like the ones for which Gay’s made unit type machines (aka
Unit Machines)....” http://www.austinmemories.com/page165/page165.html |
|||||||
PHONE BOOKS |
|||||||
Gay Bros Ltd, Tool Makers, Engineers |
|||||||
1922 |
Empire Works,
Richmond Road, Kingston upon Thames,
Surrey |
||||||
1925 |
variously at 8, 10
and 22 Union Street, Kingston upon Thames,
Surrey |
||||||
1937 |
also at Zenith Works, Creek Road, East Molesey,
Surrey (from 1938 referred to as Branch Factory) |
||||||
1938 |
also at 35 Bridge
Road, East Molesey,
Surrey |
||||||
1939 |
Oldfield Road, Hampton, Middx, plus Creek Road
address, but without the Bridge Road address |
||||||
1943 onwards |
now called Gay’s
(Hampton) Ltd, still at Oldfield Road, also at Pembroke House, Broad Lane, Hampton, Middx (possibly offices, the
new owners’), plus the Creek Road address |
||||||
1948 |
still at Oldfield
Road, plus the Creek Road branch |
||||||
1975 |
Gay Bros Ltd still
in the Birmingham directory |
||||||
1980 |
Gays (Hampton) Ltd
(now without an apostrophe, although modern online sites show it as both with
and without an apostrophe), still at Oldfield Road |
||||||
1984 |
at 2a Winterstoke Road, London SE2 |
||||||
NOTES |
● Empire Works, Richmond Road, Kingston
upon Thames: see map below - still shown on a post WW2 map, behind the Empire Theatre,
the latter building being still there, whereas the Works would appear to be
no longer there ● Union Street, Kingston upon Thames:
the east side, where nos. 8, 10 and 22 will have been, has been completely
redeveloped in recent years, so it is not possible to even get an idea of
what kind of building will have housed the firm – it was possibly a small old
building, perhaps containing only offices ● Zenith Works, Creek Road, East Molesey: see notes and photo below – there is housing
on the site now ● 35 Bridge Road, East Molesey:
see photo below – the building is still there - again, a small old building,
perhaps containing only offices |
||||||
PRESENT |
|||||||
● The company
still exists, although inactive, and is a subsidiary of the The 600 Group PLC, Leeds, Yorks, a “diversified
engineering group with a world class reputation in the manufacture and
distribution of machine tools, precision engineered components and laser
marking systems” www.600group.com ● One online “directory” states:
Gay's (Hampton) Limited is an active private limited company incorporated on
2nd December 1940. Nature of business of Gay's (Hampton) Limited is
"Manufacture of other general-purpose machinery n.e.c.".
This company resides in Leeds, England. Country of origin is United Kingdom. ● Another online “directory” still shows: Gays (Hampton) Ltd 122 Oldfield Rd Hampton Middlesex TW12
2AD ● One of
George Edward Gay’s grandsons drove by the site some about the 1960-70’s and
saw that the firm was still there - so sooner or later, someone will have to
drive past again and see if it’s really still there! |
|||||||
PHOTOS - CLICK TO ENLARGE |
|||||||
G145 |
G146 |
G147 |
|||||
late
1920’s/1930’s? the East Molesey factory was in the
phone book from 1937 as Zenith Works, Creek Road, East Molesey,
Surrey (from 1938 referred to as Branch Factory) · photos supplied by
a grandson of George Edward Gay |
|||||||
GAY
BROS – management? the
2 men sitting in the middle may be Henry and George Edward |
main
factory, Kingston upon Thames? |
East
Molesey factory |
|||||
G220 |
G221 |
G222 |
|||||
Empire
Works, Richmond Road, Kingston upon Thames, Surrey |
Zenith
Works, Creek Road, East Molesey, Surrey ●
the “Engineering Works” may be the factory |
35
Bridge Road, East Molesey, Surrey |
|||||
●
Ordnance Survey maps, 1955 |
●
Google 2016 |
||||||
|
|
|
|||||
The
Oldfield Works, Hampton, 1932 (not necessarily the Gay Bros works) · from http://www.britainfromabove.org.uk/image/ epw037784?search=hampton&ref=42 |
an
advertisement for the Birmingham firm, labelled 1945 (by
this time the main firm was called Gay’s (Hampton) Ltd – the “Bros” had
disappeared) · from
http://www.gracesguide.co.uk/Gay_Brothers |
the
works today |
|||||
From
our correspondent, who says: “bearing
in mind I was 17 and only there for a year 43 years ago” |
|||||||
A = Offices B = Drawing office? C = Grinding D = Milling and Jig Boring E = Apprentice School
(all machines and benches,
no class area) F = Milling G = Press Shop J = Fitting K = Toilets & Washroom L = Stores |
M = Welding N = Fitting and Final
Assembly O = Fitting P = Heat Treatment Q = Toilets R = Halliwell
Gauges S = Additional buildings?
don’t remember clearly T = Material Stores and
Cutting section? |
||||||
I
hope this is of some interest and not too inaccurate! |
|||||||
|
|||||||
COMMENTS
AND CORRECTIONS WELCOMED IN PARTICULAR, PLEASE LET ME KNOW
OF ANY LINKS THAT DON’T WORK FOR
CONTACT ADDRESS SEE HOMEPAGE |
|||||||