As an archivist it’s always a great feeling when you receive an exciting new donation or you discover a fascinating document in your collections. I experienced that feeling earlier this week as I was working in the Discovery Museum loft with Colin, my colleague on the Sunderland shipbuilding archives project.
Colin and I were called in to look at various collections of documents held by the Museum because it was believed that they included a large number of shipyard records. Many of these were donated in large quantities in the late 1970s and 1980s and were stored so that they could one day be catalogued and made available for research. This role of rescuing items for the future is a common feature of the work of archivists and curators.
The work of sorting and appraising these documents was certainly worthwhile because we found interesting material relating to several Sunderland shipyards including Bartram & Sons Ltd and William Doxford & Sons Ltd. However, the most exciting finds relate to a Tyneside business, R. & W. Hawthorn Leslie & Co Ltd, an internationally renowned builder of ships, locomotives and marine engines. The company was created in 1886 by the amalgamation of two firms – the Newcastle upon Tyne engineers R. & W. Hawthorn (who had works at Forth Banks and St Peter’s) and the shipbuilding company A. Leslie & Co, based at Hebburn.
Aerial photograph of St Peter's Works, Newcastle upon Tyne taken by Turners (Photography) Ltd, 1957 (TWAM ref. 3396/18478J)
As we were sorting through various documents stored on a pallet we came across two old registers. The excitement built as we read the works ‘apprenticeship register’ on the spines and grew when we looked inside and discovered that they once belonged to an illustrious local firm.
The two Hawthorn Leslie apprenticeship registers (TWAM ref. DS.HL/2/106/1-2)
The registers date from 1877 to 1978 and contain details of the men and women who served apprenticeships at Hawthorn Leslie’s marine engineering works at St Peter’s in Newcastle upon Tyne. The earliest entries up to 1886 relate to the firm R. & W. Hawthorn before it merged with A. Leslie & Co. The information given includes:
- Name of apprentice
- Parent’s name (usually the father)
- Trade
- Length of apprenticeship.
- Date of indenture
- Rates of pay
- Date agreement expires
- Home address
Pages from the earlier apprenticeship register (TWAM ref. DS.HL/2/106/1)
Detailed view of entries in apprenticeship register (TWAM ref. DS.HL/2/106/1)
I’m sure that this discovery will be of real interest to family historians and is a particularly exciting find because personnel records have often not survived well within the business records for Tyne & Wear.
The Archives already holds a large, well used collection of Hawthorn Leslie records and the apprentice registers are an exciting addition to it. The registers can be viewed in the Archives searchroom, although access restrictions may apply to entries from 1926 onwards. Details of our location and opening times can be found on our webpages.
My paternal grandfather, Ralph Gray Younson, was at various times a Foreman-Driller and then a Foreman-Plater at Palmers Hebburn, He originally was apprenticed at Sunderland. He had seven sons, John Oliver Younson, Ralph Younson, George Younson, Tom Younson, Ernest Younson (my father), Robert Younson and Colin Septimus Younson. All served in WW1. All except my father had engineering or shipyard careers. My daughter Frances Younson is an archivist at Cwmbran and has more information than I do. I will be very interested if any of the names I quote turn up in your searches. I have compiled apprentice lists for the Herts County Record office.
Thanks for your getting in touch about your ancestors. I’m afraid that relatively few records are known to survive for Palmers shipyard at Jarrow. General details of the records we hold can be found in the user guide to shipbuilding, outfitting, registration and repair on our website http://www.twmuseums.org.uk/archives/userguides/. If I come across any references to Younson family members as I catalogue the Sunderland shipbuilding records I will of course get in touch.
Thanks for your response.
Regards, eric younson
PLEASE NOTE SPELLING MY CHRISTIAN NAME
Re JOSEPH & ELIZABETH WATSON FAMILY OF NEWCASTLE ON TYNE
The 1901 census shows this family (gather lots families not only same
surname but also parents!) but the child I seek is missing from this.
Seek info on HENRY knows as harry born c1885 no one can find his birth
(still working on that) nor the family in he 1891 census. have found his
early life in Australia where he emigrated with his wife in 1911 – they have
found him working as a carpenter but “stories are told of his engineering/
carpentry work on large projects in the UK” – occurred to me thereforet hat perhaps he was an apprentice – are you able to check the records please?
have no idea how they are filed ie by surname date etc. if born c1885
perhaps age ten when started so between say 1895 and 1911
If you can help in any way it would be wonderful. It is infuriating he is
the only child I can’t find details of and need this info to trace his death
and descendants in Australia. With thanks Jill Rowlalnd
Thank you very much for getting in touch. I’m afraid that owing to restrictions on staff time we can’t search our records free of charge. The demand is really huge! You are very welcome to visit us in person to examine the documents we hold and you can find details of our location and opening times on our website http://www.twmuseums.org.uk/archives/makingavisit/.
I can appreciate, though, that a visit might not be possible – particularly if you live in Australia. We do have a paid research service, which you can use and details of this can also be found on our website http://www.twmuseums.org.uk/archives/researchservice/. Of course if I happen to stumble across any information about Henry Watson then I will contact you again myself.
Best of luck with your research,
Alan
My father George Henry Conway worked all his life, appart from when the yards were closed in the depression at Pickersgills, later Austin and Pickersgills at Southwick Sunderland. He was a Plater. His father Thomas Conway worked there also and was a rivetter. His father James Conway originally worked on the tyne and would have been apprenticed there about 1860 in 1881 he was living in Southwick and working in one of the shipyards there.Maybe Pickergills, I don’t lnow family legend says that he came to the Wear from the Tyne with Priestman, but in the book I have Priestman didn’t stary his yard in southwick until 1882 and I can’t find information about him having a yard on the Tyne. Other members of the family worked in the southwick yards.
This is a most interesting website.
Thank you very much for your message and the kind words. By a happy coincidence, next month’s blog will focus on some of the personnel records we hold for Austin & Pickersgill and its two predecessors S.P. Austin & Sons and William Pickersgill & Sons. The blog should go live towards the end of April.
I served my apprenticeship at Hawthorn Leslies Engineers at St Peters, Newcastle from 1972 -76. I signed up under my stepfathers surname as John Johnson. I lived in Gateshead and went to Gateshead Boys Grammar School. I later taught part time at Gateshead tech where I had studied after.my first year at Hebburn.
Presently MD of a Marine services company in Qatar. Good times and memories from my days at Hawthorns, have some old picks and still have my Indenture papers in the UK. Could let you copy them if required.
Thanks for getting in touch. The Archives holds a lot of Hawthorn Leslie records and if you’re ever back in Newcastle you’d be very welcome to come along and take a trip down memory lane in our searchroom. I’m afraid that we don’t usually accept copies of documents but if you’d consider donating the originals then we’d be delighted to take a look at them.
I served my apprenticeship at Hawthorn Leslie”s from 1956-1961 and worked in the erecting shop 8 west end until 1963, when I left to go to a better paid job with better working conditions at W.D.& H.O. Wills. For the last 2 years I have attended the Hawthorn”s re-union at the Heaton Meadowfield club in October each year.
Thanks for your message. The Archives holds a lot of Hawthorn Leslie records and you’re very welcome to come and take a look by visiting our searchroom. Details of opening times and how to find us are shown on our website http://www.twmuseums.org.uk/tyne-and-wear-archives/visiting-us.html. If you could spread the word at the next Hawthorn Leslie reunion that would be great.
Best wishes,
Alan
Hi Alan, I will certainly put the word around to any ex Hawthorn Leslie employees I come into contact with. I still have my indentures and will drop them into the museum when I am next in Newcastle.
Hi Malcolm,
Thanks for your reply. It’s really thoughtful of you to offer to bring your indentures in. Because we already have the apprenticeship registers they probably wouldn’t add much to the collection. However, one area that’s often lacking is photographs of employees at work and play. If you or any former colleagues have photos of that sort (or any other interesting archives) we’d love to add them to our collections.
Best wishes and thanks again.
Alan
Hi Alan,unfortuneately I dont have or know of any photographs from my time in Hawthorn”s, I do have a photo of the apprentices football team which I want to keep,but if you have any way of printing a copy off it I will bring it in ASAP.
Hi Malcolm,
Thanks for getting back to me. The photo of the apprentices football team sounds great. We don’t normally take copies of material but if you would ever consider donating the original we’d be delighted to accept it – we could always scan it and let you have a copy. I’ll completely understand, though, if you want to hold onto it – there must be plenty of happy memories attached to it!
Best wishes.
Alan