New contacts

Have been delighted to receive emails from Robert Hamilton Greatheads daughter and to find out more about her Dad, all will be included in the next update.  I was interested to see that both he and his Dad joined the Home Guard helping to protect our country.  She has promised some all important photographs when she returns from a few days away, so hopefully...

Secrets of the Waterloo and City Line

Great utube, do watch to at least 2.26 minutes for a wonderful view of the Greathead Shield in the Waterloo and City Tunnel

Can you help with a J H Greathead website?

I have been contacted recently by a retired head teacher who is very interested our very own James Henry Greathead III.
I agreed to forward the following and hope someone can help him:

Can you help with a J H Greathead website? Do you have any J H Greathead heirlooms in the attic?
David Lumb BA (Oxon), MA (Oxon), MSc (Sheffield)
contact david@kinderclan.co.uk or David Lumb 10 Hogarth Rise Dronfield S18 1QG

I am contacting you with permission from Jan Cooper (née Greathead) with a request for your help.
I am planning to build a website on the sole subject of James Henry Greathead, the engineer. I will incorporate all material I can find on his life and achievements. This will be free access and available to be shared by all, though anything you request as confidential will be treated strictly as such. These days writing a book is less fashionable and I have no need of the income. So publishing free to the web seems the best way to celebrate a man who I feel is an unrecognised genius. Clearly much material is alreadily available through the web, including Jan's own www.greathead.org.
However I have almost nothing which is personal: private letters, photos, artefacts. For example, many families never throw away old letters and pass them on from generation to generation, hating to throw them away. When JHG addressed a parliamentary sub-committee to persuade them to allow permission for the first underground, he is recorded as showing them a brass model of his tunnelling shield. I imagine that would never be thrown away. Years ago, whilst in Grahamstown (his birthplace), a curator told me of a typewritten document from the 1930s by a direct descendant, discussing the hard life of an early pioneer. I guess that will not have been thrown away either.
So what I am asking you is this: do you have available any material that would help me: letters, photographs, artefacts? If so do please let me know about them. In this way John Henry's deserved fame might be enhanced and celebrated.
Thank you.
David Lumb

Many happy returns - 100 years old

The Northern Echo reported on Wednesday 16 December 2015

A MINER who started down a County Durham pit at the age of 14 is celebrating his 100th birthday today (Wednesday, December 16).

Born and bred in Trimdon Colliery, Anthony Greathead spent almost half a century as a pitman - taking voluntary redundancy only to make way for younger lads at a time when the mines were closing.

The father-of-three started out in 1929 after leaving school as a teenager and worked at Deafhill Colliery before moving to Trimdon Grange Colliery.

Following the closure of the Trimdon Grange pit, Mr Greathead spent three years on the area salvage team, reclaiming support and machinery for the then National Coal Board.

"When I look back one might say it's with a rose-tinted romance," said Mr Greathead. "It was dark but it was a good life because everybody knew they had to work for a living.

"There was nothing easy about it - just something which, if you were prepared to do and try, you were alright.

"It didn't do you any harm really and you thought you'd had it rough because the job wasn't very pleasant some times.

"There were good times and rough times. In the pit you were all mates."

As part of his working life in 1960, Mr Greathead took on the role of finance secretary for Trimdon Grange Miners' Lodge where he stayed in office for eight years - completing quarterly accounts with the help of his late wife Jane Ann.

He was also a delegate for Trimdon Village Working Man's Club.

After his retirement, Mr Greathead, who now lives in Trimdon Village, dedicated his time to gardening and writing.

But during the past six years, following a stroke, the grandfather-of-three has focused on the latter and keeps a daily journal where he analyses the news alongside newspaper cut outs and writes hymns, poems and songs.

His daughter Anne Robson, who lives in Canada, said: "He has amazing handwriting from the first word to the last and still has a thirst for knowledge.

"We are so proud of how he has kept his mind so busy and his sense of humour well developed."

National Union of Mineworkers general secretary for the North East area, Davie Hopper, congratulated Mr Greathead on his 'milestone' age.

"In my time I've never known a miner get to that age," he said. "It's pretty unique because of the conditions that they worked in.

"It was a very difficult job where accidents and fatalities were fairly regular.

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"It's a great achievement and he must have had a strong constitution, it's remarkable."

The last deep coal mine in the country, Kellingley Colliery, in North Yorkshire, will close on Friday. 

 

Many Congratulations Anthony, and I hope you had a fantastic birthday

Greathead Shield mentioned in TV programme

Did you see the wonderful TV programme about the Tube yesterday.  The Greathead shield was mentioned

Oldest lifeboat has a refit

The Shields Gazette on Saturday 20 April 2013 wrote:

THE last surviving lifeboat built in South Shields by Henry Greathead himself is to be examined by experts to see how she’s faring.

The Zetland, which is kept at a museum in Redcar, is the oldest lifeboat in the world, built more than 200 years ago.

Our own historic lifeboat, Tyne, built in 1833 by Edward Oliver at the Lawe, is the second oldest.

The Zetland, which is on the National Register of Historic Ships, was delivered to Redcar in October, 1802, just a few months, as a matter of interest, before Greathead lost his father, who had been controller of salt duties here in Shields.

She went on to take part in a number of rescues, saving more than 500 lives, until, in 1864, she was damaged while rescuing a crew of seven from the brig Brothers.

The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) took her out of service and she was replaced. Local 
feeling went on to prevent the boat being broken up and she was repaired.

She has been preserved as a museum exhibit at Redcar since 1907, where she continues to raise money for the RNLI through donations.

Now the Friends of Zetland Lifeboat want to carry on that conservation and she is being examined to see what work may be required. It includes exploring original timbers and fittings that have not been disturbed for more than two centuries.

The lifeboat was commissioned from Greathead with the assistance of the then Marquis of Zetland, and there you have another Shields connection that I think I’m right in saying survived until not so many years ago.

To find it, you have to go back into the history of the Burdon family who settled here in the 17th century and were owners of the old Lay Farm.

Nicholas Burdon was prominent in local life as a magistrate and churchwarden of St Hilda’s.

His great-grandaughter went on to marry Lord Dundas, for whose family the baronetcy was created.

Now I may be wrong, but I am sure that in my early days here at the Gazette – oh, all those years ago! – a feature of the paper, from time to time, was an advertisement for staff placed by the Zetland estate, as if the old associations hadn’t quite been forgotten.

Meanwhile, the museum at Redcar, where you can see the lifeboat, will open for the season on May 1. Admission is free.

Greathead Tunneling Shield stamp

Today some new stamps become available.  They are issued to celebrate 150 years anniversary of the first London Underground Railway.  This is one of the Second Class stamps and shows James Henry Greathead's Tunnelling Shield.

Very proud.  Bought 25 stamps and got my First Day cover of the series

Womens Olympic Marathon go past JHG statue

Watched some of the Women's Olympic Marathon from the safety of my arm chair today and was delighted to see the route go past the statue of James Henry Greathead off Cornhill.  I am sure he looked down on the runners and gave a little cheer

London

Today went on a trip with Wonersh U3A to visit sites related to Charles Dickens and was delighted to have coffee within site of James Henry Greathead's statue. Brought back wonderful memories of the Greathead April gathering last year. Then on to Bloomsbury for lunch where we have our Guild of One-Name studies committee meetings. Then onto Museum of London to visit the Dickens exhibition.

Great day in wonderful weather

Gathering was a success

Over 60 people attended the gathering. Most arrived in time for the photoshoot and one picture taken can be found on the from page of the website. Others arrived and joined us for lunch and a natter, sharing pictures and memories and viewing the three main charts that I took. I think people were quite surprised at just how large the charts were.

Over the next few days I will be creating a page showing more photographs and hoping to update the website tomorrow.

Many thanks for all those who attended and made the day so enjoyable for me. Hope you found it fun too.

As many said, lets hope we can do it again. Is there another Royal wedding impending!!!!!!!

Institution of Mechanical Engineers Library

I visited the Headquarters of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers this afternoon for an look in their library, talk to the archivists from Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE), Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) and Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) and to listen to four lectures.

• A guided search through the records
• Engineering Education
• Engineering in Wartime
• Engineering Overseas

What a splendid afternoon. I came back with a copy of the obituary from their magazine of James Henry Greathead and I plan to arrange to go back and do some personal research very soon.

Certificates

With the cost of certificates going up in April I send out a plea. If anyone does have any certificates for people within my Study, do please consider sending me a copy. I will be extremely grateful.

I cannot afford usually to spend out money on certificates as I have to pay for many pay to viiew sites to confirm GRO references, census data and collect further data.

I have however ordered a birth certificate for George Greathead He is age 18 on 1861 census and listed as son of Thomas who is 30 at the time. Is he really his son? Only the certificate will tell me. He appears to disappear after this census but I cannot locate a death.

Cross your fingers that the certificate will give sufficient information to help me break this brickwall please.

Clive Herbert Greathead

Jennifer wrote to me today from South Africa to say her father was Clive Herbert not Clive Harding that I had on the website. She has given me a few dates but has promised to come back when she has unearthed the family archive papers. I am really looking very forward to talking to her again

So good to MEET people

Today I had the very great pleasure in having lunch with a gentleman with whom I have chatted via Email for a while. He is the grandson of Kate Greathead . He and I spent several hours chatting about the extended Greathead family, statues, graves and life in general. The time passed so quickly

Thank you Raymond

Henry Greathead - Lifeboat man

I was given a link to a superb humorous video created by Sheila She has kindly give me permission to add this link and she says that Tyne Tees TV who commissioned it will be fine about this too. The link has also been added to Henry Greathead's page

Do you know Raymond Greathead

Sadly today I was informed of the death of Richard Greathead son of Charles Henry and Brenda Mary née Clubbe Greathead. His death will be recorded and an account of what sounds like a momentous funeral for a verr popular, funny man on the webste when it gets updated tomorrow.

Even sadder was the fact that the family tried very hard to find Raymond his brother who was last heard of in Sydney in Australia. If you know where he is do please ask him to contact his family in England?

Visit to see Esther and Caroline

Today I visited Esther and her cousin Caroline who very kindly talked me through some photographs and gave me lots of dates for their branch of the family. They are direct descendants of James Henry Greathead. Both were born in South Africa and had some wonderful stories to tell. I have added some of the data and photographs to the website and will add more as time permits.

Many, many thanks to both of them for their hospitality and friendlyness

Ada May Greathead

Gail has just sent me a wonderful picture of Ada, her daughter in law Winifred and grandaughter June.

She also very kindly sent me pictures of the graves of Henry Edwin and Alice Ada Greathead all the way from New Zealand

Sarah Greathead

My good friend Tony made contact with Keith whose wife was a direct descendant from Sarah. Keith passed on some great photographs and details of Sarah, her husband and ten children. Sadly Sarah died the year after she gave birth to this last child. I wonder who brought them all up. Her husband died seven years later.

Two of her sons died during WW1. Percy died during the Battle of Jutland aboard HMS Broke. Edwin died in action in France

Many thanks Tony and Keith

Burials in St Thomas Church, Stanley near Crook

I belong to several locational mailing lists and when things were a little quite just after Christmas the administrator of UK North East offered to post names that we were researching and any brickwalls we had. Not being one to hold back on such an offer I posted my name of Greathead and its variants and explained my personal brickwall about Sarah Brown and her first marriage.

I very kind gentleman called Adam wrote to me kindly suggesting that I may have made a mistake with one of the locations I posted. His local knowledge was of course perfect and I was wrong. When I wrote to say thank you he offered me some Brown MIs that he had transcribed from St Thomas Church in Stanley near Crook. Sadly as yet I have not been able to link them with my Sarah.

However he also sent me transcriptions of two Greathead headstones which I have identified. I now know George and Jane had two more sons previously unknown to me.

many thanks Adam