The Dynamite Plot of 1883

From "The Graphic" - April 28, 1883. I can only upload five images at a time so I have had to spread these over two blog entries.

The Dynamite Plot of 1883

From "The Graphic" - April 28, 1883

The Dynamite Plot of 1883

My great grandfather Adam Mackie was a police inspector. He was one of the arresting officers in the Dynamite Plot. Described by some contemporary newspapers as "The Fenian Plot to Destroy London". I found a full transcript of the trial here.

http://www.oldbaileyonline.org/browse.jsp?path=sessionsPapers%2F18830528.xml
It is the section beginning Reference Number: t18830528-620

There are some choice, if rather understated, quotes in the evidence of some police officers (not Adam)

I can't say if I said, "If you do not be very civil here you will get a rough Handling"—I had to request you to be civil, and I said it was a pity you did not know how to be more civil—I did not say, "I will have no d—d Yankee nonsense here"—I did say, "You must remember you are in England now and not in America," when I requested you to be more civil

I asked him a second time to give me an account of himself—I pressed him, and said that if he did not he would probably be put to inconvenience

A number of contemporary newspaper accounts of the trial can be found online - Google the words dynamite Gallagher Whitehead Curtin Wilson.

Later newspaper accounts suggest that those convicted were not well treated in prison. Here is an example from the New York Times of September 5, 1896, describing the return of Dr Thomas Gallagher to the USA on his release.

DR. GALLAGHER'S RETURN; HOME FROM HIS ENGLISH PRISON A RAVING MANIAC. Repulsed His Sister and Kicked His Brother -- Force Needed to Restrain Him -- Doctors Say He Bears Evidence of Inhuman Treatment -- A Wreck Physically as Well as Mentally -- To be Sent to an Institution.

Read the full text here. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9B05E7DA1E31E033A25756C0A96F9C94679ED7CF

Khedive's Star - Arthur Edward Poole

Not a family heirloom, but something I picked up in an antique shop in Brighton in the late 1960s or early 1970s. As far as I could make out, the inscription round the rim read:

LIEUT A.E. POOLE 10TH RL HUSSARS

A Google search led me to the website of Dix Noonan Webb, numismatic auctioneers http://www.dnw.co.uk/medals/auctionarchive/viewspecialcollections/itemdetail.lasso?itemid=38351 from where I gleaned the following:

Lot 692, 16 Dec 03

Category: CAMPAIGN GROUPS AND PAIRS
Estimate: £300-£350
Hammer Price: £520

Description

Three: Major A. E. Poole, 10th Royal Hussars, later Military Knight of Windsor

Egypt and Sudan 1882-89, undated reverse, no clasp (Lieut., 10th Rl. Hussars) rank corrected; Queen’s South Africa 1899-1902, 4 clasps, Relief of Kimberley, Paardeberg, Driefontein, Johannesburg (Capt. & Qr. Mr., 10/Hussars); Coronation 1911 (Major, 22 June 1911) pitting and contact marks, therefore good fine and better (3) £300-350

Footnote

Arthur Edward Poole was born on 26 May 1850. He served in the ranks for 9 years and 96 days, and was appointed Hon. Lieutenant in the 10th Hussars on 2 December 1882. He served in the Soudan Expedition of 1884 (Medal), and in South Africa 1899-1900, including the relief of Kimberley; operations in the Orange Free State, February to May 1900, including operations at Paardeberg; actions at Poplar Grove, Driefontein, Houtnek (Thoba Mountain), Vet River and Zand River; operations in the Transvaal 1900, including actions near Johannesburg; and operations in Cape Colony (Queen’s medal with four clasps). Appointed Camp Quartermaster at Aldershot in May 1901, he was promoted Honorary Major on 29 November 1901, and retired on 26 May 1905. He was appointed a Military Knight of Windsor on 26 February 1910 and remained as such until his death on 28 June 1930.

Bill Bailey cricket cup - 2

VALE OF BELVOIR
CRICKET LEAGUE
No other details

Bill Bailey cricket cup - 1

In 1930, Bill's team was awarded runner-up medals. Three years later, they had more success.

M.M. HOSP. C.C. COMPT
WINNERS
1933

Bill Bailey cricket medal

MELTON HOSPITAL
CRICKET CUP COMPETITION
RUNNERS UP
1930
W.K. BAILEY.

Military Medal cup

The inscription reads:

W.K. BAILEY M.M.
1914 - 1918

As I have mentioned previously, the absence of a 1914 or 1914-1915 Star from his medals implies that Bill's WWI military service did not begin until 1916. I haven't found anything else about cups such as these. Were they awarded to all Military Medal holders?

Cap Badge

This is the WWI cap badge of the Leicestershire Regiment. I presume it belonged to Bill Bailey as I can remember it being around since I was very young. Inscriptions on his medals place him in the Worcestershire and South Staffordshire Regiments. Now here is evidence of him serving with yet another regiment.

Edward VIII coronation medal

The coronation did not, of course, take place. This looks like a cheaply produced souvenir. It is quite soft and malleable - note the dents around the rim. It came from the Crown Lane archive.

Various insignia from the Crown Lane archive

These all came from Crown Lane, but it is impossible to be certain who they belonged to. I am fairly certain they did not belong to Albert Mackie. And no military medals have come to light for Bill Warden. Only the first is definitely his.

This definitely belonged to Bill Warden. "W. Warden" is scratched on the back. Maker's inscription W.O. LEWIS, HOWARD STREET, BIRM is stamped on the back. W.O. Lewis (Badges) Limited was established in 1832 and is still in production today
http://www.lewisbadges.co.uk/

According to http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_the_Royal_fusiliers_cap_badge this must be the badge of the Royal Fusiliers (City of London) pre WWII or 1952. "The badge of the Royal Fusiliers (City Of London) is the brass with the basic shape of a flaming grenade with a King's Crown on the base of the flame. In the round body of the grenade is a Tudor Rose with a band around it with the following inscription: HONI SOIT QUI MALY PENSE"

The inscription is OLD CONTEMPTIBLES ASSOCIATION, AUG 5 TO NOV 22 1914. The origin of the term Old Contemptibles is given here http://www.firstworldwar.com/atoz/oldcontemptibles.htm . According to http://www.eastreading.com/neighbour/cemetery/index.shtml "They were deployed from Aug 5 (when the ring fortress of Liège was first attacked) to Nov 22 when the crises of the battle of Ypres finally developed into the stagnation and horror of trench warfare."

Stamped on the rear are "672", "REG. NO." followed by six numbers, indistinct, but the last thre are "347" and "JVC&CO LTD, LONDON". I presume the latter indicates the maker, but it is difficult to track down any further details about them. Google search results for JVC are dominated by the electronics company.

Inscriptions are "CONCORDIA VICTRIX" (translates as "Harmony is Conqueror"), "FIRST SURREY RIFLES", "21ST COUNTY OF LONDON". There appears to be a four digit number, presumably a year, on the lower arm of the cross, but it is indistinct. Here is an interesting blog entry about this regiment http://armyservicenumbers.blogspot.com/2009/01/21st-county-of-london-battalion-london.html

WWI cap badge of the Army Service Corps

Bert's gongs - part two

This is inscribed A.C. MACKIE 1925 on the reverse. The box is now a little tatty but it shows that the medal came from Mappin & Webb.

A search on Google reveal that A.C.C. stands for Association of Conservative Clubs. Here are a couple of results:

'The Medal you describe is the "Association Of Conservative Clubs~Distinguished Service Medal"'
'I took it to mappin & webb in London who made the medal and they confirmed it is for the con club'
http://1914-1918.invisionzone.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=25053

There is a picture of an almost identical medal on Flickr
'I believe the ACC may represent the Association of Conservative Clubs. Members of the ACC were sometimes affiliated to The Primrose League.'
http://flickr.com/photos/daviddb/2199897514/

Bert's Gongs - part one

As far as I know, Albert Charles Mackie never undertook military service. We know he was with the Ministry of Supply in Chislehurst during WWII and it is possible he was in a similar civilian occupation during WWI. But he does have some medals. Those illustrated here were for gymnastic achievements - something that has certainly not continued in my side of the family. Neither my father nor I ever had much interest in sport.

The motto "Vis Unita Fortior" translates as "United Strength is Stronger". The later medal has the holder's name and year on the reverse. It is also inscribed INTER-POLYTECHNIC DRILL COMPETITION around the rim.

Inside the lid is endorsed the makers details:

P. VAUGHTON & SONS

GOTHIC WORKS

BIRMINGHAM

Vaughton was a well known maker of medals and badges. The Gothic Works, which still stands, is at 95 Livery Street. For more about Vaughton, see

http://www.flickr.com/photos/drewfield/3598812962/

Photo of the frontage

http://www.jewelleryquarter.net/about/sub-page/historic-trails/buildings-trail/

Tells us that the FA Cup was made here

http://www.badgecollectorscircle.co.uk/manufacturers.htm

A collectors website

Here is a detail from the 1902 medal. It shows the letters V&S and VAUGHTON

An obituary - Rose Finestone

These cuttings surfaced recently in the Crown Lane archive. Rose Finestone was the sister of William Warden. On the rear of one cutting has survived a list of Thames Regatta dates and these have helped date them. Mrs Finestone's age is given as 52. Presuming she was not too far apart in age from brother William, I guessed the cuttings dated from the 1940s or possibly early 1950s. (I remember hearing Bill say that he was the eldest of his family. His youngest brother was born at the same time as Bill was leaving home to get married.) Presuming the regattas (except Henley, which took place over four days) were all held on Saturdays narrows the choices down to 1943, 1948 and 1954. As far as I can gather, the regattas were suspended during WWII, which eliminates 1943. The mention that "Walton Amateur Regatta re-enters the lists for the first time since before the war" is the final clincher. This entry from the Walton rowing club website http://www.waltonrowingclub.co.uk/about-us/the-history-of-walton-rowing-club.html refers to "a meeting organised by the Club in December 1947, which re-established the Regatta in 1948". The exact date of her death is less precise. One cutting says she became ill on January 31 and the other that she died on January 10.

I have found two Google references to Mark Finestone, both of which show that he was a pigeon fancier:

http://www.pigeonnetwork.com/admin/bilcos_bulletin/drone.cfm?ID=498 "They were two birds that had been presented to Ron by Mark Finestone, of Shepperton, and were bred off the German Bachs pigeons that Mark had imported just after the war had ended."

http://www.elimarpigeons.com/ArticleA/OnTheRoad211108.htm "...after some help from local fanciers, including Mark Finestone..."

This cutting now puts ito perspective an earlier post about trench art, where I have included a picture of an embroidered postcard sent to Rose from Mark.

Bill's binns

These came from the Crown Lane archive and I presume they are from Bill Warden's side of the family.



Spectacle case only, no matching glasses. He actually used it to store cufflinks. The optician is H.W. Freeman of Sidcup. According to Collett Opticians website "In 1897 Mr HW Freeman, a jeweller/optician set up a business at 103 Main Road, Sidcup. James Collett purchased the practice in 1942". http://www.collettopticians.co.uk/history.html
Collett is still at this address.

Pince-nez with case from Hudson Howard, 3 Bridge Street, Walsall. A Google search reveals that Hudson Howard subsequently became part of Dolland & Aitchison. That company now has two stores in Walsall, but neither is in Bridge Street. Further Google searches for this address link it to Formal Affair, a wedding hire business http://www.thelocalweb.net/index/VSP/tlw_47031.htm

Goldliner Bookmakers http://www.finder.co.uk/walsall/Bookmakers

Golden Sun TCM Ltd (restaurant) http://www.bview.co.uk/listing/2325491/Golden-Sun-TCM-Ltd-in-WS1

Google does not currently have a Streetview for this area, so I cannot verify these details short of actually going there.

So I cannot date these precisely. Nor do I know of any family connection with Walsall.

Bill Warden's vehicles

That looks like Chislehurst Common in the background. I think the picture was taken in Morley Road. I would imagine that one of the ladies is Bill's wife Connie. The lady in the sidecar looks a bit like the one in the sea in the "Bill and Connie Warden?" post.

You can't see the driver very clearly, but I'm sure it must be Bill Warden. I think the car is by the garages at the south east of Crown Lane. I remember Bill buying a car in the early 1960s and that is where he kept it.

Update - 24 May 2009. Dating the pictures.

According to a table downloaded from http://homepage.ntlworld.com/johnstonrh/a30a35/regnos/index.htm#FILEDOWN

The registration prefix KK shown on the motorcycle was used in Kent between June 1922 and April 1924. JJ on the car was used in London between November 1932 and March 1933.

On the back of the motorcycle picture is written "Licence No 422X164". This corresponds to the one-page document issued by Kent County Council. An example is pictured in the entry "Bill Warden's driving licences". The earliest I have was issued in May 1924 and the latest expired in May 1931. There is then a hiatus of seven years until May 1938, when the first booklet style licence appears.

Both the vehicles appear to be in very good condition, so I imagine they were new (or at least newly acquired) when the pictures were taken.

Bill Warden's driving licences

This is the earliest of Bill's driving licences that I have. There are more in similar style up to 1930/31. It shows how long Bill had lived at Crown Lane.





And this is the more recent type. This was renewed by stick the new licence on top of the old one. The earliest one here was dated May 1938. By October 1968, Bill would have been 78 years old and probably decided it was time to give up driving.

Bill Bailey's Gongs

William Kilby Bailey's First World War medals. From left to right we have:

1. The Military Medal. The inscription around the edge is 40734 PTE W K BAILEY 47.WORC.R

I presume this is an abbreviation for 47th Division, Worcester Regiment.

2. British War Medal

3. Victory Medal

The inscription for these two:

25174 PTE W K BAILEY S.STAFF.R which I presume is an abbreviation for South Staffordshire Regiment.

It is interesting to note that, as well as changing regiments, his service number has also changed.

Since he did not hold the 1914 or 1914-15 Star, his military service during WWI did not begin until 1916 or later.

For more about these medals see http://www.stephen-stratford.co.uk/wwi_medals.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_War_Medal

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victory_Medal_(United_Kingdom)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_Medal

St. Mary's Grammar School, Chislehurst Road, Sidcup

October, 1965. This is where your blogger spent his formative years from 1963 to 1970. I have had to scan as four overlapping sections. That's me in the fourth section (right hand end of the panorama). I am in the second row down, 13 from the left or 15 from the right.

We were assembled in a semicircle on the playground and the camera panned round. And nobody ran round from one end to the other to appear in the picture twice. Some time after I left, St. Mary's combined with St. Joseph's girls' grammar school in Abbey Wood to become co-educational. The school buildings visible behind us still stand, but extensions now cover the playground. The site is now occupied by St. Luke's sixth form college.

I shall not even attempt to put names to all the faces. It would take up too much space and I cannot remember everyone anyway. If you were there, you will have a good idea of who was who. If you were not, names will probably not mean much to you. But if you do have any questions about identities of the people in the picture, leave a comment or e-mail me and I'll see what I can do.

UPDATE 22 April 2019. I have added as a separate post these photos tagged with the names of those who were in the third year at the time. As time and available information permit, I hope to add other version.

UPDATE 4 August 2020. As you may know, former pupil Matt Eastley is writing a history of St. Mary's and there is now an accompanying website www.inomnibuslabora.co.uk. If you can contribute in any way, please visit the site and make contact.