History of Locks
Hobbies and Pastimes for Locksmiths
By Brian Morland
» THE PANDEMIC continues with the permanent displays at MLA HQ , Fordingbridge Museum and the Archive at Bournemouth remaining closed to visitors . There is hope and optimism though , with a vaccine on the horizon , with which life can gradually return to some sense of normality particularly in respect of next year ’ s EXPO . That doesn ’ t mean that the work to prepare historical and vintage trade related items for display has stopped ; indeed it ’ s been a great opportunity to start the immense job of properly indexing the Archive .
One thing that became apparent once the job started to get underway was , particularly with the ledgers of the large lock companies , that they were very rich in people ’ s names . Everything from apprenticeships to staff wages and even in the case of shares issues was meticulously recorded . Most families today at some point want to trace their roots ; therefore we have - wherever they present themselves - included these names in the Archive index . The share certificates and transfer documents would be particularly interesting as they record such things as name changes and dates such as in weddings or who inherited the shares on a death ; important details to Genealogists . There are other documents in the archive such as lease agreements , the buying and selling of domestic property particularly Chatwood who were very active
A scan from the Chatwood Directors Minute Book covering the war years . These later volumes are rich in names is a useful resource for Genealogists , the right hand page formalising apprenticeships . The left hand page records a detail regarding the railway siding at Shrewsbury .
A typical Milner share certificate No . 1830 from 1909 , note it records the purchaser ’ s full name and address ; and on the reverse it records the shareholder ’ s death , the date , who handled the probate , the executors and who inherited the shares ; all very useful for those researching family trees .
in providing homes for their workers . Patented ideas were frequently offered to purchase ; the minute books are another rich source in names even if the idea wasn ’ t purchased . So if you haven ’ t started to compile your family tree yet now could be a good time to start .
Philately is another good idea for locksmiths particularly if themed on our trade . The obvious starting place is for stamps that depict a lock , key , safe , strongbox or other security device such as manacles . We have also included in the HoL stamp album the Festival of Britain stamps ; I can hear you asking why ? A few years earlier a new lock invention had been launched – The Ingersoll lock , well documented in previous issues of this column but not so well known is the fact that all the doors in Festival of Britain building were secured with this lock such was its security – Britain had again broken new ground with this lock principal . Ingersoll ’ s orders from their own exhibit at the festival took two years to fill such was its success .
Another series of stamps that have been added is anything to do with the Enigma code machine . The German navy secured the code books and
rotors in a special compartment usually secured with a Bode- Panzer Tangential lock . The raids on U-boats capture and the subsequent attempts to open these highly secure compartments , an American attempt took some three months to open taking care not to spoil the contents , are well documented .
Railway modelling is another candidate for leisure time for the locksmith ; the meticulous skills he already has will undoubtedly assist in creating a slice of history such as in the Chatwood railway siding at Shrewsbury . The Directors Minute book has many entries pertaining to the siding including reference to a special shed where concrete products , including an allconcrete safe ( ie no exterior metal skin ). Chatwood had to indemnify railway works from injury and death ! During the war , like most companies , they had to produce items for the war effort ; 25pdr shell cases and other heavy armaments were produced for MOS ( Ministry of Supply ) and MAP ( Ministry of Aircraft production ) the siding during this period was very active . The archive also has deeds , documents and plans that might assist would-be modellers .
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NOV / DEC 2020
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