Nutting Posted 12 June , 2021 Share Posted 12 June , 2021 This is a loose WW1 connection, but nothing ventured… Spindler & Hoyer of Gottingen, Germany, were major suppliers of optics to the German military in WW1 and today I picked up a pair of S&H 5x20 binoculars. What makes them interesting is the engraved sentiment “PRESENTED TO Mr. T. MAY BY HIS COLLEAGUES AS A MARK OF ESTEEM ON HIS RETIREMENT FROM H. M. DOCKYARD 16th JULY 1932”. To be retiring in 1932, Mr. May must have been working in the dockyard during the WW1 period, I suspect, and to have been presented with what must have been an expensive gift, suggests he was senior and/or good at his job. Interesting that his colleagues choose German binoculars, when good British optics were available. Who was Mr. May, and which dockyard? I would love to know, but I don’t think I’ll find out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMB1943 Posted 13 June , 2021 Share Posted 13 June , 2021 Nigel, A nice find! One way to trace Mr. T. Day might be via a combination of FreeBMD & Ancestry. Suppose that he retired at age 65 in 1932 from HM Dockyard (Devonport, Portsmouth, Chatham, Rosyth ? etc) then he was born in 1867. 1911 Census should show him at age 43/44, possibly already employed in one of those yards. I have previously searched Ancestry to find many men employed at RSAF, Enfield and at the Wilkinson factory in Chelsea, London in the early days. However, find that after 4-5 yrs I cannot remember exactly how to set up Ancestry for these geographically-based searches. If you can turn him up in a census, then you have his first name, year & place of birth which you can confirm via FreeBMD. Best regards, JMB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nutting Posted 13 June , 2021 Author Share Posted 13 June , 2021 15 hours ago, JMB1943 said: Nigel, A nice find! One way to trace Mr. T. Day might be via a combination of FreeBMD & Ancestry. Suppose that he retired at age 65 in 1932 from HM Dockyard (Devonport, Portsmouth, Chatham, Rosyth ? etc) then he was born in 1867. Hi JMB, Good to hear from you, and thanks for the suggestions. FreeBMD shows 10 persons called T. May born in 1867, 9 Thomases and 1 Tilla. It’s a start! If I make any progress, I’ll let you know. Nigel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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