Fact 60. Girl from Hull was first UK Eurovision entry.

The UK did not enter the very first Eurovision song contest that was held at Lugano in Switzerland in 1956. They did however participate the the following year when it was held in Frankfurt with ten entrants. The UK tune was sung by Patricia Bredin from Hull. She still holds several remarkable records from then. Not only was it the first UK entrant but it was the first entrant sung in English and it is said to still be the shortest song entered at only 1 minute and 52 seconds long. Patti as she was known scored 6 points with 2 from Switzerland and one each from Netherlands, Austria, Luxembourg and Belgium. The winner was the Netherlands with 31 points. The UK were 7th. The UK missed the next year but have participated ever since.

The song was called 'All', music by Reynell Wreford and lyrics by Alan Stanks.

It seems that the song 'All' was chosen following a contest held by the BBC.

Patricia said that she was surprised at the event as other entrants had an entourage of make and hair and costume people and she was just her self and loads of BBC executives!

Patricia Bredin was not really known as a recorded singer, in fact I can only find one other record from 1959 with the songs 'Til the right time comes' and 'I live to love you', but she did sing in musical theatre. She was born in Hull in 1934 and first came to attention when she appeared in a musical 'Free as Air' in 1957 which may have been when she was 'spotted' for what became the Eurovision Song Contest. By 1959 she had appeared in British films. The first was 'Left, Right and Centre' with another Hull born actor Ian Carmichael (see Fact 16.) Also 'The Bridal Path' with Bill Travers and 'Make mine a Million'. This film was with Arthur Askey, Sid James and Bernard Cribbins and she appeared as herself. These parts lead her to be voted one of the promising new stars along with Peter Sellers and Hayley Mills.

Patricia Brendin, 1957.

In 1960 she had a leading part in 'The Treasures of Monte Cristo' and again with Sid James in 'Desert Mice' where she played an ENSA singer in the desert during WWII. In 1962 she appeared on Broadway when she took over the part in Camelot from Julie Andrews. Then in 1963 she made what I think may have been her last film 'To have and to Hold', a murder mystery.

In 1963 she married the Welsh singer Ivor Emmanuel. He was well know for playing Private Owen in the 1964 film 'Zulu'. It  was he who sand 'Men of Harlech' to rouse the troops. Unfortunately the marriage didn't last and they broke up after two years with not children. Emmanuel went on to appear and host many programmes on Welsh language television and on the stage.

Ivor Emmanuel as Private Owen in the film 'Zulu'.

Patricia Bredin seemed to find love when she married a Canadian businessman Charles MacCulloch in 1979. MacCulloch's was a real rags to riches story. Born in Nova Scotia his first job was as a rock crusher. He went through evening school and eventually earned a degree in Architectural Design. With this he started a building and construction company. By 1937 became the largest shipper of  sawn timber in the Canadian East. The emphasis of his business had shifted by 1956 and was concentrated on buildings supplies and real estate. He managed to buy 100000 acres of timberland around metropolitan Halifax and started a commercial development company. becoming a multimillionaire. They were married in 1979 but tragedy was to strike on their honeymoon on a cruise in the South Pacific when he had a massive heart attack and died aged 67.

Patricia Bredin-MacCulloch, as was now known retired to the family estate and ran the cattle there for a decade and later wrote a book about that period. He was a member of several arts bodies and charities in East Canada and in his youth was a keen sportsman.

Her book about her time on the farm after the death of her husband.

A few years ago she was coaxed out of retirement aged 73 to help funds for the Scotia Arts Festival were she sang some show tunes to great acclaim. She also donated the piano used at the event. 

Local newspaper article about her fund raising appearance.

A real unsung hero of Hull with many 'firsts' in the Eurovision Song Contest to her name.

Fact 59. First dock to the east was Victoria Dock.

The last of the town docks which followed the old line of the city walls, was Junction Dock that opened in 1825. Trade continued to increase and soon after there was a need for more dock space. By 1838 an independent dock company had come up with a plan to build a dock to the east of the River Hull.They got as far as promoting a bill through Parliament in 1838. The current dock company got interested and the new company withdrew when they also drew up proposals. In 1839 James Walker was engaged to draw up plans and a bill started through Parliament. The plan was to use the dock mainly for the timber trade as this was clogging up the rest of the dock estate and would have more room in a new dock. In 1840 the bill was withdrawn again due to local opposition. By 1844 the dissenters had fallen by the way side and the bill was passed.  At the same time the plan to build Railway dock that extended off Humber dock to the west was passed.

In 1845 construction started and the plan was almost the same as those of James Walker. There was to be a large entrance of 60' from the Humber and a smaller one 45' from the River Hull. Each entrance was to have a half tide basin. Having half tide basin means that although ships can only enter from the river at higher states of the tide vessels can be assembled in the basin and move in and out of the dock at most states of the tide so having craft assembled means that many more can transit the lock when the levels are correct. J.B. Hartley was engaged as the engineer. The foundation stone was laid on 5th November 1845.

This map of 1853 shows the Town Docks, with Railway Dock completed, along with the original Victoria Dock. The Citadel Fortress can still be seen to the west of the new lock.

The dock was formally opened 3rd July 1850 at a cost of £300000. It was named Victoria Dock in honour of the Queen. The dock itself was 12.8 acres and the half tide basins were 3 and 1 acre. The depth of water held in the dock was between 27.5 and 22 feet at spring and neap tides. It soon became apparent that storage space was required and a timber pond was soon built  to the east of the Humber entrance. Timber was stored wet here to prevent it warping. By 1863 the dock was extended to the east a further 8 acres and another timber pond added further to the east again. No.1 timber pond was extended out into the Humber on reclaimed land and by 1875 No.1 was 14 acres and No.2 8 acres.

In 1864 the Citadel was sold to the Dock Company and demolished to make way for more timber storage on hard standing. Part of the site was taken by Martin Samuelson and Co. for ship building. This later became the Humber Iron Works. The point of land now has the Deep Submarium built on it and is still known as Sammy's Point. To the east C and W Earle had started a shipbuilding operation in 1851. Their first ship, the 'Dido' was launched in 1853 and they went on to build over 700 hundred ships here. (See Fact 46.)

An insurance plan of 1893 shows the extent of the dock and timber ponds. It can also be seen that the railway was linked with the dock. On the Humber bank can be seen various berths cut in to the bank that were the building yards. In 1865 South Bridge, or Ha'penny Bridge opened just north of Sammy's Point. It was built to give access for the dock workers. It closed in 1934 and was demolished in 1944 but can be seen on the plan above.

Victoria dock worked other cargoes than timber and in this photo from 1910 can be seen a steel structure that was a coal loading rig that tipped railway wagons of coal into ships from the Yorkshire coalfields. Another cargo was the import of live cattle and to the west of the Humber lock were abattoirs and cold storage for the purpose, along with holding pens etc.

Hull Docks were really busy during WWII and this photo from the Hull Daily Mail archives shows sugar that was stored on Victoria Dock. Prisoners of war were used on the dock. The main cargo worked at the dock was timber and this can be seen on the railway wagons. It was transported as rough cut deals in all sizes. T and loaded on to the boogies for moving to storage areas on the dock.he planks had to be man handled.

In this photo from 1960 the timber is still being carried loose. In the foreground can be seen the boogies waiting their cargo. Each could carry 7 tonnes. Also can bee see trailers with tyres and a bundle of deals coming out of the ships hold slung under the ship's derrick.

All of Hull's docks were frequented by barges and lighters that were loaded to carry cargo up the River Hull to other yards, or up the Trent and Ouse and through the canal system to the final destinations.

In 1964 the entrance to the dock from the River Hull was closed up and the area remodeled. As the size of vessels grew and timber became packaged and dried prior to transport and trade generally fell the dock was found surplus to requirements and finally closed 1st February 1970, 125 after construction had started. In 1988 a housing £63 million scheme was commenced to create an urban village on the dock after filling most of it in. There were thoughts of a marina in the half tide basin from the Humber and a rotating lock gate was installed. Nothing ever came of this and I don't think it has ever been used in anger. There is a trial around the village that shows points of interest that remain including the citadel and dock remains. The village is now complete with school, pub church and shops with a popular promenade alongside the Humber. Sammy's Point is the location of the ever popular Deep Aquarium.

Fact 58. The first bank in Yorkshire was in Hull.

A Robert Pease was a merchant in Hull and doing well. He had the important role of Chamberlain for Hull. It was his job to collect the taxes and revenues due to the corporation. He was actually fined for refusing the job of Sheriff! His first wife Ann died leaving him with two children  Robert and Ann and after the restoration of Charles II he fled to Amsterdam, maybe due to religious persecution as Robert was a Puritan. In the Netherlands Robert the younger did well and married another refugee from the UK, Esther Clifford, in 1670. The Cliffords were an important family there and had a very influential bank. Robert Pease junior did well and prospered as a merchant. They had six children three boys and three girls. The Eldest of the boys had an estate purchased for him in Ireland. The second son William remained in Amsterdam and ran the family affairs there. The youngest Joseph was dispatched to England to make his fortune and to extend the base of the family. His father wanted him to become naturalised English so that he could properly own any business that he created. He had several contacts to help him and the message that he should always keep God at the fore front of his thoughts and work  for the betterment of the Pease family. As Robert held a patent for the extraction of oil from seed the idea was to build up a oil seed crushing mill. The competition was too fierce in London so he moved on to Gainsborough which at one time had been the home of the Clifford family. He didn't stay there long before moving on to Hull in 1709. He soon secured a prime spot on High Street where all the influential merchants lived. He had a house built facing the road and the land went down to the River Hull where he built a dock for handling ships and warehouse to store the seed he was importing.

Joseph Pease. born in Amsterdan 1688 and died 1778 after outliving his second wife by fifty years.

In time with the backing of the Clifford family in Amsterdam he built up a large trading business. He was well known for being able to obtain credit and to coax loans from his relations and friends. However his banking relations were exasperated that he always paid the money back promptly and did not finance his business very long on credit. Due to this he was thought of as entirely reliable. His business initially was oil seed milling and he obtained seed from the Baltic via contacts of the Clifford family and from Ireland where his elder brother lived and worked. A mill was built on the corner of Low Gate and Salthouse Lane in 1740. The two big warehouse to receive the grain for processing were built in 1745 and the second in 1760. They are both still standing and were converted to flats in 1981. The empire soon branched out into whaling, milling, shipping, lead, paint and whiting manufacture, insurance underwriting and banking. Joseph married Mary Turner in 1717 and they had four children, Robert, Joseph Hester and Mary, before she died in 1728.

The old Pease warehouse seen from the east bank of the River Hull with Drypool bridge to the right and Ranks's mill behind the camera. The five story building was gutted by fire and so is now called  Phoenix House and the the one with the large red doors is called Pease Court. Both have been converted to apartments.

Due to the difficulty with transporting cash around the country from London due to time delay and the possibility of highway robbery a system of local banking was set up. The first bank in Yorkshire, and one of the few outside London at the time, was set up on the ground floor of the Pease family home on High Street. Obviously the experience of the Clifford family would help him set it up. The bank started in 1754 set up by Joseph and his son Robert. It can be seen later on the pictures of bank notes that other members of the family were also drawn into the business too. As the banks were very local it meant that their notes were not easily cashed out side of that place. This meant that there were very many failures of the institutions when trading conditions changed. However Pease's Old Bank as the enterprise was known lasted for 140 years. It was then taken over by the York Union Bank in 1894. In 1902 it was again taken over by Barclays and Co which in 1917 became the Barclays Bank we know today so it never failed.

The home of the Pease family was demolished in 1950 but the warehouse by the river remain. A blue plaque can be seen on the front wall remaining of a building on the left and a more grand entrance to the right. One of these may all be that remains of the original house. (or not).

The blue plaque that can be seen on the wall of the building above.

Some of the bank and promissory notes issued by Pease's Old Bank in later years.

Joseph died in 1778 and in his estate he left £80000 and a business empire worth a further £500,000. Of Joseph's four children Joseph junior died in infancy and Hester had no children. The eldest Robert did not get married but had a child with Margret Copeland and the son was also called Robert Copeland Pease. The father Robert died before his father Joseph. Mary did get married to a Manchester cotton trading businessman called Robert Robinson and they had three sons. One was also called Joseph. (It gets more confusing all the time!) Both this Joseph's parents died leaving him an orphan in 1775/76. Following his grand father Joseph's wished this Joseph changed his name and took the arms of Pease and he became Joseph Robinson Pease. We was then able to inherit his Grandfathers estate. Robert Copeland Pease (illegitimate grandson) did inherit some property but this was likely to have been his fathers.

Joseph seniors son Robert leased Hesslewood Hall to the west of Hull and this was left to Joseph Robinson Pease in 1778. He later obtained the freehold and extended the building and utilised the chalk quarry on the foreshore for his businesses in 1788.

Hesslewood Hall.

Fact 57. Winston Churchill visited hull in November 1941.

As I am sure you will have heard this week is the 50th Anniversary of the death of Sir Winston Churchill and his burial. Much is being made of it in the media and I thought I would put my ten penny worth in to. I remember distinctly sitting and watching the funeral procession and being in floods of tears. I did not live through WWII but my parents had and it was still 'fresh' in the nations collective thoughts. The end of all food rationing had only come about the year before I was born, 1954.

Winston had a very mixed bag of success prior to the war against the Nazi's and their friends that he had been predicting from the political wilderness, but he did seem to believe in his own destiny and as the saying goes 'Cometh the hour, cometh the man'. Somehow Winston, at the age of 65, seemed to relish the challenge of the post he took up. One can only dream of the pressure he must have felt with the weight of the nation, the Commonwealth and the free world during those dark early years of the war. Somehow he managed to present to the public a determined and unassailable faith that it would all be alright in the end. His speeches were an inspiration to the Nation during the war and I must confess to welling up when I hear them still. Sir Winston Churchill was a flawed man in many ways but but who knows where we and the rest of the world would be today if he hadn't stepped into the breech.

Taken at 10 Downing Street in 1940 by Cecil Beeton.

The first actual air raid on Hull was 19th/20th June 1940. The main bombings on the city and surroundings occurred in March July and August 1941 when much damage was sustained and many hundreds killed. I intend to write a much more detailed blog about the Hull Blitz at a later date so will not go into detail here. Suffice to say that the city was never referred to by name on the radio, only as  'A North East Coast Town'.

Winston Churchill made several moral boosting trips to the north of the country and visited Hull in November 1941 several months after the serious bombings. He surveyed the damaged areas including the docks and maybe even Hull FC's ground that had been hit. He visited residential areas where he boosted moral with his cheery smile, words of comfort and victory V signs. When touring the docks it is said that a cheeky stevedore  asked for his cigar and Winston chucked his butt to him.

Winston Churchill on walk about in Hull City Centre in November 1941.

Later there was a meeting held at the Guildhall where all walks of life were represented. There were even twelve year old pupils from Trinity House there,

Sir Winston Churchill in Kingston upon Hull's Guildhall making a rallying speech to the people of Hull in November 1941.

This painting of the war time arrival of  Sir Winston now hangs in the Banqueting Hall of the Guildhall.

King Edward St, Prospect Street.

Hull had the most serious bomb damage of any town or city in the country, outside of London, for the size of it's population and housing stock. We must give thanks for the fortitude of all the civilians that stood fast through out the war alongside those in the forces and other units.

Fact 56. The largest unspoiled railway station in the UK.

Paragon Station, Hull as it is today. The station opened as Hull Paragon Street and then became Hull Paragon and later just Hull. Most recently it has been known as Paragon Interchange, but on timetables etc it is just known as Hull whilst most locals will call it Paragon Station.

To the right is the new St Stephens Square shopping development. Next to this can be seen the buses using the interchange to thew north of the station complex. The five arched roofs cover the tracks and platforms and the two smaller ones cover the concourse. Next to them can be seen the stone clad Royal Station Hotel and the canopy of the new entrance to the station. Along the top track glass arch can be seen the original station buildings that faced the Anlaby Road. The 1871 emigrant station is the single story brick building to the top of the car park with the separate line to it.

The first station in Hull was built by the Hull and Selby Railway and opened near to Humber and Railway Docks in 1840. (see Fact 47) By 1845 the Hull and Selby had working arrangements with York and North Midland and Manchester and Leeds Railways and in 1846 the Hull and Selby had built a branch line to Bridlington that connected up with the York and North Midland network from a junction at Dairycoates a little to the east of the present Paragon Station. As the town of Hull was developing it made more sense for both companies to create a new station nearer to the town centre. By now the Manchester and Leeds had fallen by the way side. An Act of Parliament was sort in 1847 to allow the building of a new station and the branch lines to connect it. The contracts for it's construction were signed even before the Act had been properly passed. This may indicate the manner of business employed by the Y&NMR at the time.

The York and North Midland Railway had George Hudson as it's Chairman. Hudson was known as the 'Railway King' as he pushed the building of lines and the amalgamation of companies that would pioneer a route from London through to Edinburgh. However he was guilty of sharp financial practices, mainly using capital to pay dividends to shareholders and by 1849 he was made bankrupt and had to flee the country. The main architect for the Y&NMR was George Andrews from his practice in York and were his last major work for them as the work dried up following the disgrace of George Hudson. The Act passed and construction began to an Italian Renaissance style. An hotel was also included in the scheme.

The original station was aligned east/west and fronting on to Anlaby Road. The photograph above shows the original station entrance to the right with the porched front. The eleven bayed one story building fronted onto the platforms and at the end was a two story building that at this end was the Station Master's house. Another eleven bay wing led off to the right and another two story building housed the parcels department. After that was the station hotel. Five tracks and two platforms were train side of the buildings.

The original entrance to Hull Paragon Street Station. The large three story building to the right is the Station Hotel. The two story square building is the parcels depot with a wooden covered frontage and the east most eleven bay single story wing leading off to the left. The station was named after Paragon Street that faced the hotel and led into the town centre. The station opened for business on 8th May 1848. The picture is from the early 1900's

The hotel was built in the same style as the station and consisted of nine bays of three stories with a large light well in the middle. The hotel was known as 'Hudson's Folly' as it was felt to be out of scale for the size of the town etc.

The front facade of the Station Hotel with the porch facing east to Paragon Street. It can be seen that the style of the building was the same as the station it's self and the railings and gates were also the same design. The official opening of the hotel was 6th November 1851. The postcard was from the early 1900's.

On 13th October 1853 the Royal Train arrived in Hull for the visit of Queen Elizabeth. The Royal Party consisted of the Queen and Price Albert and five of their children. They stayed in the Station Hotel where a throne room was constructed on the first floor and the party put up on the second. There was a dinner held on 14th October at the hotel.

By the 1870's several new lines had been built using Paragon Station and the national system had been better connected meaning that the general level of use increased greatly. A third platform was added and the platforms lengthened and the cross platform at the foot of the tracks was widened to accommodate more pedestrians. The booking office was moved to the parcel office at the east end so that it led directly onto the cross platform and the parcel depot took over the old booking hall. At this time there was mass emigration from the east of Europe and about 2.2 million of them passed through Hull Station. Partly to ease their flow onto the trains taking them to liners on the west coast and partly to isolate them from the general public a separate station was built to the south west. (see Fact 38). The waiting rooms and line are still there.

By 1902 a major extension was required and land was allocated to the north. At this time the station was run by the North Eastern Railway. Their architect William Bell designed a five arch steel and glass platform roof with a further two arches to cover the concourse across the ends of the tracks. Offices were moved to the east end, next to the hotel, and this included the booking hall. The station approach and entrance was covered with a steel and glass port-cochere. The former offices became waiting rooms etc. The hotel was also extended at this time. There were now 9 platforms to the south, under four of the arches. Under the other were facilities for special cargoes such as horses and cars etc. This was also known as the Fish Platform and was separated off from the others. The newly rebuilt station reopened on 12th December 1904.

On 5th March 1917 the glass roof of the station was blown out during a Zeppelin raid that killed twelve people.

The 1904 station building seen in around 1950's. The Hotel can be seen at the far end and the steel and glass canopy facing Paragon Square can be seen. Just behind is the booking hall and offices and the two arches that cover the concourse can be seen


The original 1904 booking office is still there along with the tiling and 'NER' on the floor.

On Valentine's Day 1927 there was a fatal accident on the approaches to the station when at around 0900 the train from Withernsea collided head on with the train just having left for Scarborough. Twelve were killed and twenty four seriously injured. It was caused by a signaling error when two signalers managed to over ride the safety devices by operating signals too soon.

During an air raid on 7th May 1941 the station was seriously damaged by incendiary bombs and a parachute mine.

In 1962 the old elegant steel and glass canopy was replaced with this office block, Paragon House. For a few years it housed the regional head quarters of British Rail but then was empty and the building became more run down. 

This was the concourse in 1979

This is the concourse now, but looking in the opposite direction.

In 1990 the hotel was gutted by fire. It took two years to rebuild and refurbish before it reopened in 1992.

By 2000 there were plans to revive the area around the station with a new shopping area, offices, theatre hotels etc. Part of these plans included a new transport hub to the north of the station. The old fish platform for special freight was used to added an integrated bus interchange with 38 bus gates and 4 coach stops. Large changes took place to the interior and exterior. The Paragon House office block of the 60's was removed and replaced with a glass canopy and the interior spruced up.

In 2010 a bronze statue of Philip Larkin by Martin Jennings was unveiled on the concourse to mark the 25th anniversary of his death. In 2011 five of his poems were inserted into the floor and in 2012 a memorial bench was added as Larkin has become one of Hull's best known adopted sons.

Paragon Station is often the first impression that people have of Hull. There is now doubt that it now much more positive than in the past. Not only have visitors benefited but locals now have a truly great interchange where over 2.2 million rail passengers a year can make use of the 17000 bus departures a day. The station at Hull is probably the largest unchanged station left in the UK as the lines have not been marred by the introduction of overhead electric cables. This means that it has been used several times in films and television pieces. The line is due to be electrified sometime after 2017, whilst maybe limiting it's use as a film location it will help to make our city more accessible to the rest of the UK and beyond, and hopefully bring many people to see what a great place Hull is.

Fact 55. Smith and Nephew medical equipment company is from Hull.

Thomas James Smith was born in 1827 in Whitfield Northumberland, and trained as an pharmacist at a dispensing chemists in Grantham. In 1855 he went on to University College London until 1856 and is said to have studied under Lord Lister who was a pioneer of the use of antiseptics. Following his time in London he bought a chemists shop at 71 Whitefriargate in the old town of Hull. Business most have progressed satisfactorily as he borrowed £500 from his father to convert two nearby houses into a warehouse in 1860. In 1858 he seems to have got into the wholesale trade of cod liver oil, mainly buying from Newfoundland and selling on to hospitals etc. At the end of 1861 he needed still more space so the business moved to North Churchside close to Holy Trinity Church.

Thomas James Smith.

In 1880 Thomas bought the buildings on North Churchside with another loan of £500 from his father. Whilst involved in the making bandages and dressings it seems his main business was the wholesale supply of cod liver oil. He made a very successful trip to Norway in a gunboat and came back having bought 750 gallons of cod liver oil. It was much cheaper than the product from Canada and had a much cleaner taste and smell as the solid fat had been processed out of it. By 1875 Thomas was selling over £3000 of cod liver oil to such establishments as Great Ormond Street and Guy's Hospitals. He was refining and blending his own oil to exacting standards and won a gold medal at the International Fisheries Exhibition in 1883. He had given his oil the brand name Paragon and sales had spread as far as far as Egypt.

Blue plaque on North Churchside.

In 1896 Thomas was 70 years old and in declining health and as he had never married he decided to bring his 22 year old cousin Horatio Nelson Smith into the business and the business became T.J. Smith and Nephew. Horatio was known for his direct and inquisitive manner. Thomas had left his share of the business to his sister Amelia Ann but she wanted no active part so transferred her share to Horatio for an annuity of £260. Only three months later he was dead. Horatio had been apprenticed for six years making drapery and so it seemed he naturally moved to the bandage side of the business. He bought a machine to cut and roll bandages and had traveled to Canada in 1906 and won a contract to supply Canadian hospitals. By 1907 the business required larger buildings once again and they moved to Neptune Street close to Albert Dock to the west of the centre of Hull and they are still there. In 1911 the company signed a contract with the Ottoman/Turkish Government to supply bandages and dressings in the run up to the First Balkan War. When Horatio joined the company they had three employees and on winning this contract the grew to 54 workers. They continued to grew buying out local business competitors and obtaining new businesses such as sanitary towel manufacturers. Days after the outbreak of WWI the company won a contract to supply surgical and field dressings worth £350000 (about £34 million at today's equivalent). By the end of the war they were making dressings for many governments and the American Red Cross plus they were making such things as weapon belts for the British forces. At their peak they had 1200 employees. During the siege of Antwerp the Belgian Army lost all their dressings etc and contracted T.J. Smith and Nephew to replace them as soon as possible. They manged to produce and deliver 10 tons of dressings in five days.

Typical first aid post set up in WWI.

Field dressing pack of WWI and I can confirm that they were still almost identical in 1980's.

After the war trade obviously fell off and numbers of workers reduced to 183. The company ticked along opening a business in Canada in 1921, and then came another break when the British Government brought in to legislation in 1924 that all factories and mines etc had to be supplied with first aid kits and work was found. In 1928 the future was secured when Horatio bought into  the development of an adhesive dressing from Germany that became Elastoplast that is almost the generic term for a plaster in British circles. In 1937 the company was incorporated and became Smith and Nephew.

WWII did the company no harm despite bombing of the factory in Neptune Street and by 1946 they had developed waterproof Elastoplast. By the 1950's they had decided to buy their textiles from the Far East and had started to modernise their processes by introducing one of the first commercially available computers called 'Leo'. 1954 saw them by a company manufacturing hypodermic needles and opening businesses in Australia and New Zealand. Horation Nelson Smith died in 1960. In 1961 Elastoplast had captured three quarters of the market. The business was doing so well that they had to fight off a take over staged by Unilever and they were successful and remain an independent company still in the Stock Market 100 companies list.

The Neptune Street factory as it is today and one of the first things you see when approaching the city from the west and very colourful at night.

Today the company is quoted as having assets of $4.1 billion with 11000 employees in 90 countries. Today they are still in wound dressings, products for surgery and implants such as hip and knee replacement implants and a host of other products in many medical fields. However they do not sell cod liver oil. A truely global company from Hull.

Fact 54. Statue for MP of 32 years.

Charles Henry Wilson was born in Hull 22nd April 1833 into the family of Thomas Wilson who had started in shipping in 1822. That company became Wilson Line in 1840.

Charles attended Kingston College in Hull and along with his older brother David and younger brother Arthur joined the shipping business in 1850 as joint managers. In 1869 their father died and Charles and Arthur took over the running of the company, with David becoming a silent partner.

in 1871 Charles married Florence Jane Helen Wellesley, the daughter of Col William Wellesley, who was nephew of the Duke of Wellington. They had five surviving children, three girls and two boys. (Millicent Florence, Charles Henry Jr., Guy Greville, Enid Edith, Gwladys Alive).

 Under Charles Snr. and Arthur's stewardship Thomas Wilson and Sons became the largest privately owned shipping company in the world by 1903. Even by 1891 they were making fast profits by today's standards with a profit of £2.5 million that would be equivalent to approximately £270 million today! See Fact 4 regarding Wilson Shipping Line.

The saying in Hull was that 'Hull is the Wilson Line and Wilson Line is Hull. This can be illustrated by the fast that the Wilson family were on the boards of all the major undertakings such as the Docks and railway developments. In 1866 Charles Snr. also paid for the building of the Seaman's Mission in Postern Gate that became the seaman's church and now is a pub. Charles Snr. participated in the politcal life of the city and was High Sheriff of Hull for many years and elected to Parliament as Member for Hull in 1874 for the Liberal party. He held this seat until it was abolished in 1885 and was then elected for the constituency of Hull West which he held until 1906 when he stepped down. His son Charles Jnr. was then elected in his place. In 1901 Charles and Wilson Line became further embedded into the life of Hull when they bought the ailing Earles Ship Yard (See Fact. 46) that employed many thousands in the area. Later they amalgamated with the North Eastern Railway to become Wilsons and North East Railway Shipping Company in 1906 which went on to build further docks in Hull.

Charles Henry Wilson painted 1880 - 1890.

A caricature of Charles Wilson from  about the same time as the painting above. Vanity Fair 1885

In 1878 Charles bought the 14000 acre estate of Warter Priory, just NE of Pocklington and 24 miles NW of Hull, from Lord Muncaster. The estate was well known as a sporting venue and a record bag for one day was recorded as 3824 pheasants. Two fox hunts also used the land for their pursuits. This probably why the painting above pictures him with a shot gun. Charles and Jane did not seek out a high social life and did not attend local race meetings etc like his brother Arthur. Warter Priory was a large country house but when purchased the Wilson's appointed architects Smith and Broderick of Hull to supervise the addition of a great hall, a three story clock tower and a grand marble staircase. The changes gave the house a hundred rooms or which thirty were bedrooms. After Charles's death his wife maintained the house and estate until 1929 when it was sold to the Hon. George Vesty who was part of the large Shipping and business Vesty Empire. On his death in 1968 the estate was sold to the Marquis of Normanby and the Guiness Family Trust. The purchase was made for the shooting estate really as the family home was Musgrave Castle and despite a search no tenant could be found. In May 1972 the entire contents were sold off, and very shortly afterwards the house was demolished and the remains used to fill the lake. Presumably the National Trust or English heritage were not interested at the time.

Warter Priory.

Warter Priory interior.

Charles and Arthur realised in 1901 that none of their children would be able to take on the business when they retired so they appointed Oswald Sanderson as Managing Director. Sanderson was the son of an American ship builder and was an astute choice as he managed the business well. Charles Snr., despite being a industrialists also saw the plight of his workers and had great sympathy for the need of a Trade Union movement. In 1893 during increased tension with dock workers a strike had be called Charles Snr. contributed to a fund for the wives and children of the strikers as he couldn't bear to see them suffer. As a Liberal MP he was bitterly opposed to the Boer War in 1899 but despite this he lent to Government his companies best ship, the 'Ariosto' for the duration.

Charles was appointed Baron Nunburnholme of Kingston upon Hull in 1906 when he stood down as an MP for Hull west. Nunbornholme is a small hamlet near to Pocklington and Warter Priory. It was at Warter Priory where Charles died unexpectedly in October 1907. There were demands from the general public to recognise his work as an MP for 32 years and the great good he had brought to the City. A public subscription was opened and a statue commissioned. The sculptor was to be Derwent Wood. The statue of Portland Stone was unveiled in 1913. The statue has a good position in front of the Guild Hall entrance in Hull  and is well visiting when wandering around the 'Old Town'.

Statue of Charles Henry Wilson in his Baronial robes outside the Guild Hall, Hull. It is Grade II Listed and the inscription reads;

'Charles Henry Wilson, First Baron Nunburnholme. Born 1833, died 1907. 32 years a Member of Parliament for Hull and a great benefactor to the city. Erected by public subscription'.