Wes Williams
The recent release of data from the 1921 British Census on the Find-My-Past website provides a unique opportunity to identify the personnel involved with C. Wheatstone and Co., then at 16,West St., Charing Cross Rd., W.C. 2. The new style census forms required data on every employed person’s employer and their working address, and were filled in by a member of each household, usually the household head.
Although all the form entries have been transcribed, there are frequent errors in these transcriptions, so all data presented has been checked and corrected based on interpretation of the data in the original handwritten forms.
The company owners at this time were Edward Chidley (1858-1941) and his brother Percy (1863-1949).
Edward Chidley was away from home at the time of the census, and is listed in Herne Bay, Kent, with his daughter Dorothy and her husband Henry Millis. All three were originally listed as visitors, but Henry Millis – the first person listed on the form – has the inscription for visitor struck out, and replaced by head. This may suggest a family holiday.
Percy Chidley is listed as a boarder at Edward’s home address in Chiswick, with Edward’s wife, Jessie Marie, listed as the head of the household. He is unmarried.
The following table lists known Wheatstone employees in the census in alphabetical surname order, with their age, a description of their employment, and the district where they resided. All factory based employees lived within a 5-mile radius. The two Chidleys listed are Edward Chidley’s children.
| Name | Age | Employment Description | Residence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alfred Barrell | 41 | Leather Case Maker | Hanover Sq. |
| Daniel Beak | 30 | Concertina Maker – Metal Worker | Camberwell |
| Alfred Beazley | 46 | Woodworker, Concertina Maker | Battersea |
| Charles W Briant | 25 | Musical Instrument Maker | Fulham |
| Gifford Marcus Chidley | 24 | Concertina Maker | Chiswick |
| Kenneth Vernon Chidley | 29 | Works Manager | Ealing |
| Arthur W Clark | 54 | Concertina Finisher and Overseer | Wandsworth |
| John Henry Derry | 63 | Concertina Reed Tuner | Limehouse |
| Lillian E Edgar | 16 | Concertina Bellows Maker | St Pancras |
| Alfred George | 18 | Concertina Maker | Willesden |
| George Henry Green | 48 | Free Reed Fitter, Voicer and Fine Tuner (At Home) | Lewisham |
| George Hearn | 17 | Concertina Maker | St Anne, Westminster |
| Ivy Kindell | 22 | Concertina Maker | St Pancras |
| Edward Leland | 55 | Steel Reed Maker and Tuner (At Home) | Ilford |
| Wilfred John Newell | 20 | Concertina Maker | Lewisham |
| Archibald James Pendrill | 27 | Wood Worker, Concertina Work | St Pancras |
| Edward Charles Rutterford | 70 | Carpenter | Paddington |
| Ernest Rutterford | 27 | Instrument Maker (Electrical) | Paddington |
| Walter Charles Roden | 55 | Woodworker, Concertina Making | Lewisham |
| George Sheward | 23 | Concertina Maker | Southwark |
| Louis John Sorrell | 16 | Concertina Maker | Lewisham |