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Post by Deleted on Jul 29, 2018 10:12:31 GMT
Hi guys
I thought that some of you may be interested in reading this article on Curly, a nice Sunday read...
quote:
LBSC Curly
The NLSME was presented with Curly’s artefacts by Mavis Harriot, his former neighbour, in June 2018. Alan Marshall asked me to compile an archive of these papers.
Curl was a complex and private person. He was a brilliant engineer who could translate his deeds into words which laymen understood.
A couple of books have been written about Curly, a 1980’s one by Brian Hollingsworth and a 1997 Oakwood Press one by Klaus Marx. Additionally two gentlemen did an Ancestry or Genealogy search on Curly earlier this century, which seems to have thrown up a considerable amount of information.
Curly is best known for the series of articles he wrote for model Engineer. Amusingly he hated the word “model”. He built a large number of locomotives from Gauge O to 3.5 inch, most of which performed far better than expectations of a small locomotive.
In the early 1930’s he bought a house at 121 Grange Road, Purley Oaks which backed onto the old Brighton line,; In 1935 he bought the surplus land behind four of the houses and built an oval shaped running track.
The papers we received cover many walks of life. He kept a day diary, we have most copies post WW2. We have several of the original articles he wrote for magazines. We have copies of the postbag he received in feedback from his articles and his sometimes pithy replies.
Letters in the collection show he could be very argumentative and very uncompromising. He disliked the sub editors of most magazines he wrote for because they altered his articles. He was forever chasing up late payments of his writing fees and letter royalties.
The diary entries reveal a man, who was very concerned with his health, particularly from 1959 onward. He also began recording the daily weather as well as the day’s achievements, which often included taking Mabel shopping.
Curly was born in Mile End. He had a good, but brief, education, being particularly proficient in geometry, maths and English. He started work at the LBSCR shed at New Cross (Now the site of Sainsburys at New Cross Gate) a cleaner. He progressed to being a passed cleaner and did some firing work.
The pay was poor and he left to become a driver on the London Underground, however health problems surfaced and he moved again to become a tram driver. A further change to becoming a bus driver. Another move saw him working for Daimler in Coventry and commuting there every day.
During WW1 he worked in a munitions factory and also in a factory producing aircraft components, where he made some jigs to aid production. He also earned some money by repairing various mechanical devices and building small scale locomotives.
Curly and Mabel lived in rented accommodation around Peckham until the early 1930’s when they bought 121 Grange Road. You can easily find a photo of this house on Google Maps and there is a blue plaque prominently displayed on the front wall stating that LBSC lived there.
Manufacturing and repairing locomotives, as well as writing about their building techniques was now Curly’s income. He owned a car and a piano. In 1935 he bought the surplus land behind the four terraced houses where he lived from the Southern Railway. He built a continuous track which was properly signaled and was multi-gauged. His own preferences were 2.5” and 3.5”.
Visitors to his track included the well known mainline drivers Laurie Earl and Norman McKillop (Toram Beg). The archive contains correspondence with G.J. Churchward and R.A. Riddles. Amusingly Curly had built a 3.5” Britania before the BR one was finished: Riddles had sent him drawings.
Curl’s well known construction articles continued in various magazines almost to the time of his death. He also wrote some amusing futuristic articles at Christmas time. One of the articles features a spoof of the Great Train Robbery, but with a very different outcome. Another article features an enormous Southern Railway locomotive which not only took the Golden Arrow to Dover in under an hour but also broke mallard’s speed record. He also predicted that the railways would be privatised, he was just a few years premature in that prediction.
Curly had a great affection for the Bluebell Railway. He believed the line should never have been closed as it provided an alternative route to Brighton and Eastbourne.
The NLSME is fortunate to be trusted to look after such an interesting archive.
By Geoff Burton
end quote:
Pete
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Post by masahiraoka on Jul 29, 2018 12:52:55 GMT
Pete thanks for this.
I’ll update LBSC’s page on Wikipedia with some of the material quoting Geoff Burton of the NLSME.
Did Geoff publish this in their magazine?
Regards Martyn
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Post by Deleted on Jul 29, 2018 13:00:12 GMT
Hi Martyn
Yes, it's in this months newsletter which I received yesterday, I copied it 'word for word' for this forum....
regards
Pete
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Post by silverfox on Jul 29, 2018 19:05:14 GMT
He was also a Mason
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jma1009
Elder Statesman
Posts: 5,901
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Post by jma1009 on Jul 29, 2018 21:47:33 GMT
Hi Ron, What evidence do you have to support this statement? Until recently, any male who was not 'straight' was not accepted into the Freemasons. I would find it very unusual for those times for Lillian Lawrence (the first name doesnt help to start with) being accepted as a Freemason, with his squeeky high pitched voice and outrageous personality and later odd dress wearing women's shoes and stockings and plus fours and beret. I say 'later' for the dressing up, though there is a lot of evidence this was apparent after he returned from the USA, as the well known Bursledon pics show in the mid 1930s. He was initially a member of the SMEE, but his membership lapsed so that in the obituaries there is no mention of him having been a SMEE member. He was clearly a recluse and quite careful with his money - the idea that he would regularly attend 'lodge' meetings and pay subs for same is quite ridiculous. If of course you can quote a lodge and number then I will be very very surprised, and apologise. I would quite like to know if there was a lodge for model engineers and who were members. I know that there were lodges devoted to bellringers regardless of location. Excellent thread Pete, and very interesting. Cheers, Julian |
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mbrown
Elder Statesman
Posts: 1,720
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Post by mbrown on Jul 30, 2018 6:30:52 GMT
Curly's Freemasonry, and his anxieties about remaining a member despite his "gender fluidity", are fully detailed in Brian Hollingsworth's biography.
The bit of his history that I would like to know more about is where he was educated to be able to write so lucidly. Or was it just a combination of basic education and immense intuitive wisdom?
Malcolm
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Post by simplyloco on Jul 30, 2018 8:45:15 GMT
'Gender Fluidity'. A recent euphemism which, with others, heralds the extinction of the English language as we know it... 
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nonort
Part of the e-furniture
If all the worlds a Stage someone's nicked the Horses
Posts: 277 
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Post by nonort on Jul 30, 2018 10:19:32 GMT
'Gender Fluidity'. A recent euphemism which, with others, heralds the extinction of the English language as we know it... Thankfully we have moved on from William Shakespeare? The term Gender Fluidity has been around since at least 1988. Just give credit to LBSC who single mindedness did more for the hobby that we are suppose to 'enjoy'than possibly any other individual. Language both spoken and written are constantly evolving. Can we please get back to model engineering? |
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mbrown
Elder Statesman
Posts: 1,720
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Post by mbrown on Jul 30, 2018 10:59:38 GMT
'Gender Fluidity'. A recent euphemism which, with others, heralds the extinction of the English language as we know it... Hence the inverted commas.... |
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Post by silverfox on Jul 30, 2018 16:57:09 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Jul 30, 2018 17:09:49 GMT
Thank's for sharing Ron, it makes for an interesting read.. cheers Pete BTW, hope to see you Wednesday.... |
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Post by silverfox on Jul 30, 2018 17:52:37 GMT
Yep
May have the two ankle biters in tow,
Ron
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Post by Deleted on Jul 30, 2018 18:10:36 GMT
That's good....I may have an issue getting the loco there..depends whether my son has time/materials to weld up a cradle for transport for me....The tender will be ok without but the loco needs something now...fingers crossed...
Pete
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jma1009
Elder Statesman
Posts: 5,901
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Post by jma1009 on Jul 30, 2018 21:49:06 GMT
Hi Ron,
My apologies for the above from yesterday. If Malcolm Brown states it is in Brian Hollingsworth book that is good enough for me, though I have no recollection of this in Brian's book.
The link you quote of the research of Geoff Johnson and Ian Pollard from 2006 "Who was LBSC?" does however indicate that Brian Hollingsworth's research as to the early years of LBSC was quite wrong.
Cheers,
Julian
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Post by silverfox on Jul 31, 2018 8:32:25 GMT
wrong button pushed!
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Post by drumkilbo on Aug 1, 2018 20:30:50 GMT
Interesting stuff, what a character and inspiration to us lesser mortals in the model engineering world.
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Tony K
Elder Statesman
Posts: 1,573
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Post by Tony K on Aug 3, 2018 8:48:48 GMT
......Until recently, any male who was not 'straight' was not accepted into the Freemasons...... Cheers, Julian Interestingly, it is acceptable to say someone is not straight but, presumably, not OK to say they are bent? |
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Post by simplyloco on Aug 3, 2018 9:09:19 GMT
......Until recently, any male who was not 'straight' was not accepted into the Freemasons...... Cheers, Julian Interestingly, it is acceptable to say someone is not straight but, presumably, not OK to say they are bent? How queer is that!! |
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Post by ettingtonliam on Aug 3, 2018 10:57:15 GMT
'Bent' can also have the connotation of being corrupt, so probably best avoided.
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Post by steamlaser on Aug 3, 2018 13:01:41 GMT
Hi Ron, What evidence do you have to support this statement? Until recently, any male who was not 'straight' was not accepted into the Freemasons. I would find it very unusual for those times for Lillian Lawrence (the first name doesnt help to start with) being accepted as a Freemason, with his squeeky high pitched voice and outrageous personality and later odd dress wearing women's shoes and stockings and plus fours and beret. I say 'later' for the dressing up, though there is a lot of evidence this was apparent after he returned from the USA, as the well known Bursledon pics show in the mid 1930s. He was initially a member of the SMEE, but his membership lapsed so that in the obituaries there is no mention of him having been a SMEE member. He was clearly a recluse and quite careful with his money - the idea that he would regularly attend 'lodge' meetings and pay subs for same is quite ridiculous. If of course you can quote a lodge and number then I will be very very surprised, and apologise. I would quite like to know if there was a lodge for model engineers and who were members. I know that there were lodges devoted to bellringers regardless of location. Excellent thread Pete, and very interesting. Cheers, Julian If he was a Mason, then he would have had to register his name exactly as was written on his birth certificate. The genealogist amongst should be able to take this further should they so desire. |
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