Grace's Guide To British Industrial History

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Grace's Guide is the leading source of historical information on industry and manufacturing in Britain. This web publication contains 167,818 pages of information and 247,161 images on early companies, their products and the people who designed and built them.

Grace's Guide is the leading source of historical information on industry and manufacturing in Britain. This web publication contains 147,919 pages of information and 233,587 images on early companies, their products and the people who designed and built them.

Thomas Jones (1853-1922)

From Graces Guide

Thomas Jones (1853-1922), was “the general secretary” of Messrs. Wright, Butler & Co. which originally emerged from the Elba Steel Works Company which was formed in 1878 [1]

As Thomas Jones was already secretary of the Elba Steel Company in 1888 [2] I assume that he would have been 'promoted' or retained when Wright, Butler & Co. was formed. In the 1881 census Thomas Jones is listed as a mining engineer: in the 1891 census he is listed as Secretary of Steel Works and Collieries [obviously Wright Butler & Co.] At the time of the Elba Colliery tragedy, in January 1905, Thomas Jones was almost certainly still working for Baldwins, and the coal raised from the Colliery, which employed about 150 men, [3], was then sent to the Gowerton Steel Works.[4]

Following the January 1905 explosion the colliery, which at the time was owned by Baldwins, remained closed for about a year. At the time it was thought this was because of the tragedy but more likely because Baldwins had already “decided to abandon it.” [5].

Thomas Jones and a number of other local gentlemen then took it over in 1906 [6] and formed the Elba Colliery Co which clearly struggled - as Baldwins probably knew it would.[7]

Three years later the Elba Colliery Co was wound up, voluntarily [8] and then three years later, in 1913, the whole Plant, which was “Modern and nearly-new” was put up for sale [9]

Despite the problems with the Elba Colliery Co, Thomas Jones still referred to himself as a colliery proprietor in the 1911 census. [10]

See Also

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Sources of Information

  1. Western Mail, 28 May 1888, p.3; Parry 2011, p.30
  2. South Wales Echo, 28 May 1888, p.4
  3. Evening Express 21 January 1905, p.3
  4. Philip Kuhn (Dec 2017)
  5. The Cambrian 26 October 1906, p.6
  6. Evening Express 14 February 1906, p.4
  7. Philip Kuhn (Dec 2017)
  8. Weekly Mail 1 May 1909, p.12
  9. The Cambrian Daily Leader, 17 October 1913, p.4; 6 November 1913, p.4
  10. Philip Kuhn (Dec 2017)
  • Parry, S., 2011, History of the Steel Industry in the Port Talbot Area 1900-1988. University of Leeds, School of History; PhD
  • Sakula, A., 1985, Marcus Beck Library: who was Marcus Beck. Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine, Vol. 78. December 1985, pp.1047-1049