Employee | Position | Year | Location | Supplier of Info | Shorts Employee Link to Supplier | Additional Info | Source | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Frederick Quittenden | Storekeeper | 1915 onwards | Eastchurch and Rochester | Martin Hubbard | Paternal Great Grandfather | Martin Hubbard | ||
Edward Hubbard | Works Inspector | 1920's - c Sept 1940 | Rochester Airport | Martin Hubbard | Paternal Grandfather | Worked on Stirlings. Relocated to Swindon in 1940 post 15 August 1940 bombing raid on airport. | Martin Hubbard | |
Edward Hubbard | c Sept 1940 - 1945 | South Marston, Swindon | Martin Hubbard | Martin Hubbard | ||||
Percy Shepherd | Works Superintendent | 1920's - c Sept 1940 | Rochester Airport | Martin Hubbard | Paternal Great Uncle | Worked on Stirlings. Relocated to Swindon in 1940 post 15 August 1940 bombing raid on airport. | Martin Hubbard | |
Percy Shepherd | c Sept 1940 - 1945 | South Marston, Swindon | Martin Hubbard | Martin Hubbard | ||||
Margaret Hubbard (nee Quittenden) | Secretary | 1920's until c 1928 | Rochester | Martin Hubbard | Paternal Grandmother | Left in 1928 to have my Auntie. | Martin Hubbard | |
Hugh Boddy | Drawing Office/ Parts Buyer | 1920's - 1930's | Rochester | Martin Hubbard | Great Uncle | Martin Hubbard | ||
Hugh Oswald Short | Chairman | 1901 - 1940's | Sussex, Battersea, Leysdown, Eastchurch and Rochester | Martin Hubbard | No relation | Martin Hubbard | ||
Horace Short | ||||||||
Eustace Short | ||||||||
John Lankester Parker | Chief Test Pilot | 1918 - 1945 | Eastchurch, Rochester | Martin Hubbard | No relation | Martin Hubbard | ||
Sir Arthur Gouge | Carpenter | 1915 | Eastchurch | Martin Hubbard | No relation | Martin Hubbard | ||
Sir Arthur Gouge | Test Department (Water Tank) | 1920's | Rochester | Martin Hubbard | No relation | Martin Hubbard | ||
Sir Arthur Gouge | Chief Designer | 1926 - 1932 | Rochester | Martin Hubbard | No relation | Martin Hubbard | ||
Sir Arthur Gouge | General Manager/ Chief Designer | 1932 - 1943 | Rochester | Martin Hubbard | No relation | Martin Hubbard | ||
A.E Bibby | Works Manager | 1910 - 1940's? | Eastchurch, Rochester | Martin Hubbard | No relation | Martin Hubbard | ||
C.P.T Lipscombe | Assistant Chief Designer | 1920's - 1940's? | Rochester | Martin Hubbard | No relation | Martin Hubbard | ||
W.C Jackson | Assistant Chief Designer | 1920's - 1940's? | Rochester | Martin Hubbard | No relation | Source: Flight Magazine (1936), Employees who made Shots Famous Photo | ||
J.H Wood | Company Secretary | 1920's - 1940's? | Rochester | Martin Hubbard | No relation | |||
Wyborn | 1920's - 1940's? | Rochester | Martin Hubbard | No relation | ||||
Coppins | 1920's - 1940's? | Rochester | Martin Hubbard | No relation | ||||
Lawson | 1920's - 1940's? | Rochester | Martin Hubbard | No relation | ||||
Watson | 1920's - 1940's? | Rochester | Martin Hubbard | No relation | ||||
Robert Boorman | Chief Technical Engineer | 1926- 1940's? | Rochester | Richard Boorman | Uncle | Part of Shorts Technical Team visiting Japan | ||
Clarke | 1920's - 1940's? | Rochester | Martin Hubbard | No relation | ||||
Dyer | 1920's - 1940's? | Rochester | Martin Hubbard | No relation | ||||
Smart | 1920's - 1940's? | Rochester | Martin Hubbard | No relation | ||||
Parkes | Chief Draughtsman | 1920's - 1940's? | Rochester | Martin Hubbard | No relation | |||
Newton | 1920's - 1940's? | Rochester | Martin Hubbard | No relation | ||||
Newnham | Foreman in Charge | 1920's - 1940's? | Rochester | Martin Hubbard | No relation | |||
Drury | 1920's - 1940's? | Rochester | Martin Hubbard | No relation | ||||
Cozens | 1920's - 1940's? | Rochester | Martin Hubbard | No relation | ||||
Frederick Gibbs | Machinist, Fitter | 1920's - 1945 | Sheppey, Rochester Esplanade and Airport | Michael Gibbs | Grandfather | Worked on Stirlings | Short Brothers Website | |
George Arther Lewing | Mechanical Fitter | 1939 - 1946/7 | Rochester Esplanade | Lewing relative | Worked in No 4 Shop | |||
Nancy Emily Lewing | Canteen | 1930's - 1945 | Rochester Esplanade | Lewing relative | Left to have children | |||
William Joseph | Foreman | 1911 - | Eastchurch | Jill Gesseau | Maternal Grandfather | |||
Arthur Henry Crowe | Labourer | 1909 - | Eastchurch | Alan Crowe | Paternal Grandfather | |||
William Weller | Wood Machinist, Saw Doctor | 1914 - 1948 | Eastchurch, Rochester Esplanade | Hugh Robins | Grandfather | |||
Winifred Joyce Weller | Clerk | 8 Sept 1924 - 4 July 1931 | Hugh Robins | Mother | ||||
Harry James Woolley | Sheet Metal Worker (Coach building department), Progress Engineer | 1927 -1947 | Rochester | Lyn and David Woolley | David's Grandfather | Went to Alxandra Egypt to repair a Calcutta, Commendation for designing a Sunderland safety door. | ||
Victor William Kenneth Day | Electrical Engineer | |||||||
Gordon E Huxted | Fitter | Jan 1940 - 25 April 1947 | Rochester Esplanade and Belfast | Himself and Lee Pooley | Worked as fitter in No 8 Rochester Esplande Shop on Sunderland decks and skeleton tank lids | |||
Louis Brown | Supervisor | Mid - late 1940's | Madingley Road, Cambridge and Rochester | Himself | Worked on Stirling in Cambridge and Shetland at Rochester | |||
Jack Ralph | Apprentice | 1942 - 1946 | Rochester Airport | Himself | Stirlings and Tallboy bombs | |||
David Smith | Fitter, Sheet Metal Worker | 1945 | Rochester Esplanade No 18 Shop | Himself | ||||
Hector Smith | Chaffeur, Engineer | 1917- | Eastchurch, Rochester | David Smith | Uncle | Worked on Scion Engine | ||
Stephen Foy | Fitter | 1944-45 | Centre E Rochester Airport | Himself | ||||
Stephen Foy | 1945 - 46 | Flying School, Rochester Airport | Worked on Sturgeons | |||||
Patrick Bryant | Rochester | Maughan Bryant | Father | |||||
Brother of Patrick Bryant | Fire warden and engineer | 1940's - 50's | Rochester | Maughan Bryant | Uncle | |||
Hilda Roe | Inspector and Machinist | 1938? - 1940 | Rochester Airport, Strood Extension Factory, Rochester Esplanade | Peter Cook | Worked on Stirlings | |||
Marge Black | Machinist Boss | 1940 | Rochester Airport | Hilda Roe | Hilda's Boss | Worked on Stirlings | ||
Bethe Crowther | Fuselage Cladding | 1940 | Rochester Esplanade | Andrew Clarke | Worked on Sunderlands | |||
Zena Neal | Supervisor | 1930's - 1940's | Rochester Esplanade | Mrs Bobby Bloyce | Left to get married in early 1940's | |||
Ronald Lamb | Planning Office | 1942 | Rochester Esplanade No 3 shop, Strood Extension | Himself | ||||
William Mason | Panel Beating Workshop | 1940's | Rochester Esplande | Peter Mason | Worked on Sunderland's | |||
Jack Mason | Panel Beating Workshop | 1940's | Rochester Esplande | Peter Mason | ||||
Hugh Harris | Instrument Maker and Technician | Rochester Airport | Nicola Michelle Pratt | Grandfather | Short Brothers Facebook Page | |||
Bernard William Lively | Aircraft metal worker | 1939 | Rochester | Julie Hunt | Father | |||
Joseph Lively | Aircraft Labourer | 1939 | Rochester | Julie Hunt | Grandfather | |||
Malcolm West | Apprentice | 1936-39 and 1945-48 | Rochester Esplanad, Belfast | Lesley Allsopp | Called up in intervening period. Spent first 6 monhts boring holes in a sackful of metal boxes. | |||
Nell Flory | Factory Floor and Blueprint Room - checked aircraft assembley of Stirlings against blueprints. | 1940 - 1944 | Rochester Esplanade | Jonathan Saunders | Great Aunt | fortunately I transcribed the family history conversations I had with Aunt Nell - in 1941 she went to the Labour Exchange to seek war work and was sent on a 6 week engineering course at Gravesend. After that, she worked for Shorts at the Esplanade for about a year and then moved up to the airport. She was then checking aircraft assembly of Stirlings against the blue prints - I am not sure if this was just the fuselage or full aircraft assembly ... she mentioned how light the fuselage was. She worked all through her first pregnancy but didn't work after her eldest child was born, which I think was late 1943/early 1944. Her husband was wounded early on in Normandy and she definitely didn't work after that as she followed him around various hospitals across the country, mainly in the north. She said working at Shorts gave her a better sense of herself as she was doing a worthwhile job and it was a bonus that she was also better paid at Shorts. As a balance, she also said she tried hard not to think of the consequences of the bombing raids on Germany - she was a very gentle person. I hope that helps. | ||
Donald Louis Jones | Aircraft Fitter | 1940s | Rochester | Jonathan Saunders | No relation | I just became interested in his story. Donald Louis Jones of Linden Rd, Gillingham described in 1939 census as a "aircraft fitter & turner apprentice", which I assume was at Shorts. In 1940 he was also a volunteer with the ARP in Gillingham. In July 1940 he saved a couple in a bombing raid on Gillingham (intended for the dockyard). Jones crawled under rubble to find them and held up masonry with his back, whilst protecting the couple who were pinned by a fallen joist and masonry. He did this for 4 hours whilst the rescue party dug out the couple, who had fallen through 2 floors. Churchill wrote to the King and requested an immediate award of the British Empire Medal for Jones ... if it had been a 6 weeks later it would have been the George Medal (it wasn't instituted until Sept 1940). I believe it may have been the first "gallantry" award to the ARP in WW2. In 1944, Jones was married in Chatham and he gave his occupation as something like "Aircraft Fitter" - I believe this was almost certainly at Shorts. | ||
J. F Deanes | Fitter, Sheet Metal Worker | Jan 1927 - 26 September 1947 | Rochester | Mark Beattie | Grandad | Has letter of termination and Photo pass on Facebook page. Pass ID 8455. Dated 1st March 1942 | ||
Ronald Clarke | Draftsman | 16-Dec-40 | Rochester Esplanade | Marion Cogger | Father | I have now had a look through my Dad’s paperwork and have: His apprenticeship Agreement of Service dated 16th Dec 1940; Details of the apprenticeship scheme dated 1940; A copy of the Royal Visit book but not sure if the year; A photo of what I think might be the Shorts band - my Dad and possibly Grandad played in the band; What I think are negatives of some of the Shorts planes. I also had a load of photos, booklets, and reprints and passed them to the Medway Branch of the Royal Aeronautical Society via their Kent rep and I believe they are held at Rochester airport. I have the full list of what I handed over. | ||
Edward Paine | Apprentice and Draftsman | 1930's - 1940's | Rochester | Teresa Paine | Grandad | Interruped during war by call up | ||
Betty Milner | Office Assistant | Rochester Esplanade | Beth Hogwill | Grandmother | ||||
Elizabeth Paine (nee Moore) | Inspector | 1940's | Rochester | Teresa Paine | Nan | |||
Joy Tindall | Assistant to Secretary Anne King of Works Manager Maxwell Holroyd | 1940's | Rochester | Gill Butler | Mother | |||
Anne King | Secretary to Maxwell Holroyd | 1940s | Rochester | Gill Butler | No relation | |||
Maxwell Holroyd | Works Manager | 1940's | Rochester | Gill Butler | No relation | |||
Bill Trotter | Works Manager | Late 1940's | Belfast and Rochester | Gill Butler | No relation | |||
Edgar (Eddie) Robson | Drawing Office | 1940's | Rochester | Stephen Robson | Father | Involved in system to drop doors and run out bomb trolleys on Sunderlands | ||
Harold Johnny Johnson | Technical | 1937 onwards | Rochester, Belfast | Andrew McCracken | Grandfather | He became head of technical publications in due course in Belfast so he would have had a hand in most planes produced one way or another. He was living in Borstal working for Shorts well before 1937 when my Mum was born there. The family moved c1948 and would he have retired in Belfast around 1978 or so. There is an untold story of the families who agreed to leave all behind and relocate to Belfast with Shorts. Many of these Kent families created little micro communities of Short's families in houses built for them by the company, certainly ours was one. | ||
Tom Silvester | 1940's ? | Rochester, Belfast | Andrew McCracken | Great Uncle | ||||
Eric Yeabsley | 1940's ? | Rochester, Belfast | Andrew McCracken | No relation | ||||
Ken Day | 1940's ? | Rochester, Belfast | Andrew McCracken | No relation | ||||
Mr Packer | 1940's ? | Rochester, Belfast | Andrew McCracken | No relation | ||||
Mr Dewhurst | 1940's ? | Rochester, Belfast | Andrew McCracken | No relation | ||||
Jack Lowe | Sheet Metal Worker | 1940's ? | Rochester | Joella Lowe | Grandfather | |||
Guy Lowe | Senior Carpenter | 1940's ? | Rochester | Joella Lowe | ? | |||
Mollie Giles | Adminstrators/office clerks | 1940's ? | Rochester | Joella Lowe | ? | |||
Betty Giles | Adminstrators/office clerks | 1940's ? | Rochester | Joella Lowe | ? | |||
Eric Deacon | Aircraft fitter incl Sunderland | 1930's-40's | Rochester | Lindsay Deacon | Grandad | |||
Peggy Miles | Riveting mate incl Sunderland | 1930's-40's | Rochester | Lindsay Deacon | Nan | |||
Leonard William Millis | Electrician | 1940's? | Rochester Esplanade Drawing office | John Millis | Father | |||
Herbert Millis | In charge of Doping Shop | 1940's | Rochester Esplanade | John Millis | Uncle | |||
Frederick Millis | ? | 1940's | Rochester Esplanade | John Millis | Uncle | |||
Martin Harvey | Engineer | 1940's | Rochester Esplanade | Adam Hadley | Grandad | Still have Sunderland parts and blueprints | ||
Colin Dartnell | Hull Inspector on Sunderlands | 1939 to post war | Rochester Esplanade | Nick Burdett | Grandfather | Hull inspector on Sudnerlands. And job mainly involvedwater tests on the hull that were run down the slipway that still exists. Also was an ARP at the airport. Nick has a shell head that almost hit his grandfather after he shut the doors on the air raid shelter at the airport. Offered chance togo to Ireland but declined. | ||
John Batty | Draftsman on flying boats and Entertainment officer | 1940s | Rochester, Windermere | Christine Grace | Grandfather | Designed a toolto help with rivets on planes. He is mentioned in the book by Allan King - Wings on Windermere. | ||
Olga Laraman (nee Ledger) | Secretary to Chief Buyer | Rochester Esplanade | Chris Tong | Aunt | ||||
Norman Ellis | Patternmaker flying boats incl Sunderland | 1925 onwards | Rochester Esplanade | Marian Monrad | Father | My dad became apprenticed in 1925 at the Esplanade factory and I still have a copy of his papers signed by Oswald Short both his starting document and his finishing papers. I also have a photo of him with I think it was called the Sunderland Flying Boat. He went on to work at Kent Alloys sometime during the war and I always assumed they were somehow connected to Shorts. He left there in 1945 to work for Cox & Co in Gillingham. | ||
Alice Robbins | Pantograph Operator - flyingboats incl Sunderland | 1940s | Rochester Esplanade | Marian Monrad | Mother | my mum worked at the Esplanade factory during the war. I assume she was there for the whole duration. She also worked on the Flying Boat. That's how they met. | ||
Albert Gilmore | Rochester | Jeanette Baker | Father | |||||
Raymond Brown | Apprentice Panel Beater | 1940s | Rochester | Jacquetta Brown | Until conscripted | |||
Ewart John Goodhew | Progress Chaser | 1940s | Rochester Esplanade and airport | Barbara Tait | Father | Also member of Home Guard during war | ||
Thomas Sexton | Tender Crew - seaplanes | 1940s | Rochester Esplanade | Brian Wicker | Grandfather | |||
Elsie Sexton | Runner | 1940s | Rochester Esplanade | Brian Wicker | Mother | |||
George Rogers | Engineer | Rochester | Mark Rogers | Grandad | ||||
Anne Parkinson | Secretary | 1940s - 1947 | Rochester | David Howell | Mum | Left to get married | ||
George William Blyth | c 1939 | Rochester Esplanade | Nicola Blyth | Grandad | ||||
Norman Fitzpatrick | Rochester | Paul Fitzpatrick | Father | |||||
Harry Tottman | Rochester | Aaron Spackman | Great Grandfather | |||||
Ernest Hotham | Machinist making parts for Stirling bombers | 1930s. Relocated to Swindon in 1940 post 15 August 1940 bombing raid on airport. | Rochester | Linda Durham | Grandfather | Ernest Edward Hotham started working for Short Brothers in the 1930’s (unsure of exact year but he was there at time of Kings visit) He worked at Rochester Airport as a machinist making parts for the Stirling Bomber at the beginning of the 2nd World War. On 15th August 1940 the Germans bombed the Rochester airfield factory & grandad transferred to Swindon & we think he was based in railway works where he continued to make aircraft parts . During his time at Swindon he was promoted to Auto-Setter. When Shorts moved to Belfast my grandad returned to the Medway Towns | ||
George William Hilburn | Electrician/ Electrical Inspector | Feb 1938 - April 1948 | Rochester esplanade | Darren Hilburn | ||||
Ethel Davis | Office | Rochester esplanade | Joan Baker | Mum | Twins | |||
Kathleen Davis | Office | Rochester esplanade | Joan Baker | Aunt | Twins | |||
Daphne Langley | Draughtsman's Office, shorthand typist | 1936 - 1942 | Rochester | John Beck | Mum | |||
Lawrence Edward Alder | 1940s | Rochester | Jayne Watson | Grandfather | ||||
Bruce Walker | Apprentice - worked on Sudnerlands and Stirlings | 1940s - 1946 | Rochester airport and esplanade | Simon Walker | Father | |||
Keith Walker | Apprentice | 1940s | Rochester | Simon Walker | Uncle | |||
Freda Attwood (nee Booker) | Secretary, Audit Department | 1940s | Rochester Esplanade | Jane Booker | Left work in evening to go fire watching on Rochester High Street. Started work in Audit Dept then Sir John Buchanan the Technical Director needed a secretary so took up role.Left company when they relocated to Belfast. | |||
Sir John Buchanan | Technical Director | 1940s | Rochester Esplanade | Jane Booker | ||||
Geoff Bryant | Fitter - worked on Sunderlands | 1940s | Rochester Esplanade | Jill Gainsford | Dad | |||
Alfred Godden | Fitter | Rochester, Belfast | Caroline Gower | Grandfather | ||||
Joan Stewart | Typist | 1940s | Rochester airport | Sally Chalmers | Mum | After airport buildings were destroyed was directed to work in war office. | ||
George Flint | Carpenter | 1940s | Rochester | Liz Cook | Grandfather | |||
Leslie Riches | Rochester | Martin Riches | Grandfather | |||||
Mr Woods | Rochester | Darren Lingham | Grandfather | |||||
Idris Davies (Dave) | Rochester | Jean Fray | ||||||
Albert Millen | Aircraft Fitter | Rochester | Michael Lawrence | Father | Medway People Facebook Group | |||
Edith Kennet | Canteen | Rochester | Jacquelyne Aers | Mother | ||||
Jack Bailey | Shop Floor | 1930's | Rochester | Jacquelyne Aers | Father | |||
Cyril Bishop | Rochester | Marilynn Thompson | Ex Boss | |||||
Dennis Bolton | Skin Riveter | Rochester | Steve Hartridge | Grandfather | ||||
Betty Willey | Office Assistant | Rochester | Jo Stevens | Nan | ||||
Alice Spicer | Rochester | Diane Merrick | ||||||
Alice Spicer | Aircraft fitter | Rochester Esplanade | Jo Knight | Father | Medway Together Facebook Group | |||
Joan Brown | Shorthand typist | Rochester Esplanade | Karen Daunt-Jones | Mother | ||||
Grace Hudson | Junior office clerk | 1943 onwards | Rochester Esplanade | Tracy Lindsay | Nan | |||
Frederick Arthur Snape | Rochester | Jane Baker-Davies | Husbands Father | |||||
Ivy Brenchley | Worked on planes | Early 1940s | Rochester Esplanade | Barbara Basden | Mum | |||
Henry Moffett | 1940s | Rochester Esplanade | Eve Moffett | Grandad | During second world war. Wasn’t called up for ative service as broke a leg in a motorcycle accident in 1930s. | |||
Irene Pegden | Head Pastry Cook | Until 1942 | Rochester Esplanade | Maureen Shepherd | Mother | Left when she got married to father. | ||
Ronald French | Metal sheeting for wings | 1948 | Rochester Esplanade | Maureen Shepherd | Father | Worked on Sunderland flying boats. Left when works closed as did not want to relocate to Ireland. | ||
Ken Collins | Miller | Rochester | Mel Collins | The ME Medway Postcode Facebook Group | ||||
Bert Weston | Chippy | Rochester | Mel Collins | |||||
Henry Charles Edwards | Drawing Office | Rochester Esplanade | Broach Rae | Dad | Moved to Belfast with Shorts when 26 and carried on working until 55 years old. | |||
William Sydney Rogers | Rochester | Gloria Marsh | Father | |||||
Arther Basson | Machine Tool Setter | Rochester | Mick Waller | |||||
George Lister | Jig and tools department. Worked on Maia and Mercury | 1936 onwards | Rochester Esplanade | Shazza Marie | Grandad | George was born in 1914 and served his time at the railway works in Doncaster, where he worked on the Flying Scotsman. In 1936 he worked for Short Brothers starting in the jig and tools department and worked on the Maia and Mercury Seaplanes. After a time he moved to outside staff, travelling to airbases around the country to modify and repair seaplanes. | ||
Elizabeth Rogers | Shop Steward | WWII | Rochester | Vivienne Truszkowska | Nan | |||
Ronald Smith | Rochester | Theresa Smith | ||||||
Harry J Woolley | Project Engineer | Rochester | Lynn Woolley | |||||
Margaret Wilkins | 1940s | Rochester | Ian Wilkins | Nan | ||||
Phyllis Oldham | Assembley Line | Rochester | Julie Oldham | |||||
Arthur Wild | Rochester | Janet Hatt | ||||||
Ivy Wood | Rochester | Janet Hatt | ||||||
Marjorie Jackson | Worked on Stirlings and seaplanes. Electrical wiring systems | 1940s | Rochester airport and esplanade | Jean Loynes | Mum | |||
Iris Wilson | Office | Post 1945 | Rochester | Lesley Hibbin | ||||
Victor Holick | Rochester | Vikki Ann Arnall | Husbands Grandad | |||||
George William Smith | Rear of seaplanes | Rochester | David Smith | |||||
George Smith | Rochester | Rosalind Smith Edmonds | ||||||
Ivy Harris (Webb) | Munitions | 1940's | Rochester | Andrew Harris | Mum | |||
George Tillman | early 1940s | Rochester | Chris Tillman | |||||
Daisy May Baldock | Worked on wings and fuel tank. A special covering to seal fuel tank if struck by bullet | 1940's | Rochester | Sophie Baldock | Nan | |||
Alan Moore | 1940s | Rochester/ Belfast | Tina Moore | Uncle | ||||
Charlie Luxon | 1st March 1942 | Rochester | Chris Willing | Maternal Grandfather | Still has pass.Pass number 8550. Dated 1 March 1942 | |||
Harold Redding | Rochester | Ann Kelly | Father | |||||
Peggy (Margaret) Stockdale | Rochester | Sharon Stratford | Husbands Aunt | |||||
Frank Adams | Rochester | Gloria Riches | Dad | |||||
Ena May Newnham | Rochester | Janet Hughes | Mum |