James William Lewis (aka W. O. Lewis): History
The Company
The
firm originally known as James William Lewis was established in 1832 according
to the company’s 1873[1] advertisement pictured below. The first owner was a man named James William
Lewis who originally came from
London. The business first appeared in Birmingham
city and trade directories in 1833[2]
and was listed as James William Lewis, die sinker, seal engraver and engine
turner on Snow Hill. Sometime between
1835[3]
and 1841[4]
the firm moved to Howard Street, roughly half a mile to the north. From 1841 until at least 1867[5]
the company was most often listed as a die sinker and seal engraver, however in
1871[6]
it was recorded as “manufacturer of gilt & plated jewelry, medals, tokens,
checks & metallic labels, patentee & sole manufacturer of “The
Beatrice,” “The Unique,” & “The Alexandra” needle cases”. Also in 1871[7]
James William Lewis and his son William Osborn Lewis entered into an agreement
that gave William the responsibility to manage the firm for five years, in
accordance with his father’s wishes, with the option to purchase the business
for £600 pounds at the
conclusion of the five year period. By
1873[8]
the firm became known as W. O. Lewis with the factory building on Howard Street
named Howard Works. The reason for the
name change was because the business was taken over by the son and he
presumably wanted his name to be part of the firm’s moniker.
Under the direction of William, the
business continued to produce a variety of metal products including the three
needle cases already mentioned and another one named the Louise as noted in the
advertisement above. By 1878[9]
William Osbourne Lewis was listed in city and trade directories as a goldsmith
and jewelry manufacturer. The firm
continued as W. O. Lewis and was passed to William’s youngest son Randolph
Shirley Lewis[10] around
1909 after William’s death that year. In
1921[11]
the business was reorganized as a limited liability company and, because of a
change in product focus, became known as W. O. Lewis (Badges) Limited. Management of the firm passed to Randolph’s
oldest son Gerald Shirley Lewis[12]
around 1954 after Randolph’s death, and then a few years after Gerald’s death
in 1987 to his son Andrew Shirley Lewis[13]
in 1992. The firm still exists at 37
Howard Street, however the factory building one sees today was built in 1973[14],
the original Howard Works factory[15],
pictured here, was torn down sometime between 1974-75[16].
At present the manager of the company
is Philip Arthur Lewis, who became the director in 2003[17]. Philip is the cousin of Andrew Shirley Lewis,
the nephew of Gerald Shirley Lewis, the grandson of Randolph Shirley Lewis, the
great-grandson of William Osborn Lewis and the great-great-grandson of the
founder, James William Lewis. This firm
has been in the Lewis family for five generations, and it continues to produce
high quality customized products which are popular souvenirs for events and
clubs. These include lapel badges and
pins[18],
like the ones seen here, commemorative medals, enameled jewelry, key fobs and
key rings, and plaques and shields.
Factory
Tour[19]
There
are two reasons why W. O. Lewis is the most important company in the Birmingham
area associated with Avery needle cases.
First and foremost, this is where the first Avery style needle cases
originated. The Beatrice was patented by
Lewis in 1867[20],
followed by the Unique in 1869[21],
the Alexandra in 1870[22]
and the Louise most likely in 1871[23]. Three of these were in all probability named
after the daughters or daughter-in-law of Queen Victoria. Most of these needle cases were made for
needle manufacturers as well as haberdashers and other companies associated
with sewing related products. Twelve
different names can be found on Lewis’s designs. Of these, eight were Redditch area needle
manufacturers: Alfd. Booker & Co., J. English
& Sons, Wm. Hall & Co., Hayes, Crossley & Co., Arthur James, H.
Milward & Sons, Abel Morrall and W. Woodfield. One was a needle manufacturer from New York,
USA: R. J. Roberts. One was a Birmingham
pen manufacturer and London creator of catalogues for the sale of fancy goods:
Perry & Co. And two other companies
were from London: R. Holt of French Court at Crystal Palace and Albert Sharpe.
Secondly, W. O. Lewis is one of only two
companies connected to Avery needle cases that still exists today. Although it no longer produces needle cases,
the firm uses many of the same tools and techniques from the Victorian period
to produce a wide variety of metal badges such as the ones displayed on the
previous page. This is one of only a
handful of places where you can go to get a better idea how Avery style needle
cases were originally manufactured. Mr.
Philip Lewis, who represents the fifth generation of Lewis family members
associated with the firm, provided an informative tour of his facility, and
explained in detail the procedures used today to produce the company’s current
products. Many of these methods are the
same as they were back in the 19th century. A special thank you
goes to Philip Lewis (pictured here) for taking the time to provide this most
interesting tour of the W. O. Lewis (Badges) Ltd. factory.
During the Victoria Period there were six
major individuals[24]
involved in the process of manufacturing a brass needle case. These were: 1) the designer who created the
design; 2) the die sinker who turned the design into the required number of
concave and convex molds depending upon the complexity of the design; 3) the
stamper who inserted the molds into a fly press which stamped the design onto a
piece of sheet metal (occasionally the stamped design needed to be reinserted
into another fly press with different molds in order to stamp a specific
company name onto one of the component parts);
4) the piercer who inserted the stamped design into another fly press in
order to cut out the component part from the surrounding metal; 5) an assembler
who brought all of the component parts together; and lastly 6) a metal finisher
who gilded or electroplated the item to enhance its appearance.
The Lewis factory’s main ground floor
work room contains a long table with eight presses on one side and seven on the
other. These look very much like the
historical Victorian style fly presses found in four museums in Birmingham[25]:
the Birmingham
Museum and Art Gallery, the Museum of the Jewellery
Quarter, the Pen Museum and the Coffin Works Museum.
In another section of the room, rolls of thin
strip metal coils can be found as they are the metal used to insert into the
fly presses in order to make the badges.
The room is surrounded by shelves containing approximately 600 of the firm’s
dies and clipping tools.
Mr. Lewis demonstrated in detail how
a blank piece of metal is inserted into the fly press and after a couple
minutes is transformed into a badge. First,
he showed what the steel dies look like before they are set up in a press. A fly press is a machine tool used to shape
sheet metal by stamping the design onto it.
After the dies are put in place, one on the top and another on the
bottom, the handle is pulled and the top die is pressed onto the metal from one
side and the bottom die onto it from the other side, stamping the design into
the metal. After the sheet metal is
stamped it is placed into another fly press which contains a special die called
a clipping tool, which removes the excess metal.
This process can be seen in the
pieces shown below. First there is the
sheet metal blank (left). It is called a blank because there is no
design on it. Mr. Lewis explained that
prior to being inserted into the press, the blank is cut to the appropriate
length and width based on the size of the design. The design is then stamped onto it (second
from left). Next, the stamped design is
cut to the appropriate shape by a clipping tool inserted into another fly
press. The final result is the excess metal
(third from left), which is discarded or recycled, and the finished stamped
item (right). These same steps were used
during the Victoria period for creating stamped metal items and this is how
Avery brass needle cases were manufactured.
Most of the badges Lewis currently makes have a pin lock soldered onto
the back, to hold the badge in place, and are then enhanced
with colored enamel, processes not
associated with Avery needle cases.
One
of the most interesting items at the factory is the pantograph machine, a
manual engraving apparatus, found
near
the staircase on the upper floor of the building. A pantograph “is an instrument for copying
something (such as a map) on a predetermined scale consisting of four light
rigid bars jointed in a parallelogram form”[26], “so that
the movement of one pen, in tracing an image, produces identical movements in a
second pen. If a line drawing is traced
by the first point, an identical, enlarged, or miniaturized copy will be drawn
by a pen fixed to the other. Using the
same principle, different kinds of pantographs are used for other forms of
duplication in areas such as sculpture, minting, engraving, and milling.”[27] Mr. Lewis indicated the pantograph in his
factory was originally used to create dies or molds. He explained that one starts with a pattern
that is normally four times the size of the desired item. A piece of steel is inserted into the pantograph
machine and someone retraces the pattern which cuts the impression into the
steel die in reverse about one forth the size of the original pattern. It is interested to note that the pantograph
used for sculpture and minting was invented
by James Watt (1736–1819)[28],
the Birmingham inventor who created an improved version of the steam engine in
1776. After Watt partnered with Mathew
Bolton, they had a huge impact on the Industrial Revolution in the UK and around
the world. A statue of Bolton, Watt and
another man named Murdoch was unveiled in 1956 on Broad Street in Birmingham to
commemorate the significant contributions of these three men to the city.
The
Owners[29]
James William Lewis was born c1810 in
London. Unfortunately, because the Lewis
surname is fairly common and London is a large city, additional information
about his early years has not been found.
Sometime prior to 1831 the Lewis family[30]
moved to the Birmingham area and lived on Hanley Street where his father worked
as a school master and James worked as a die sinker. His mother, Mary, died in 1844 at age 63 of
consumption and his father married his second wife four months later. The father, also named James, continued to
work as a school master living on Hanley Street until his death in 1859 at age
79. Both parents were buried at St.
Paul’s in Birmingham.
In
1831 James married Maria Smith in Edgbaston, a widow fourteen years his senior
with four children ages four to thirteen.
One has to wonder why a twenty-one-year-old man would marry a
thirty-five-year-old woman with four children.
Although at the time it was quite common for older men to marry younger
woman, the reverse was not true. Due to
their age difference, it seems unlikely they simply fell in love. Perhaps there was another reason. Could it be that he was in need of money and
she, being a widow, had inherited some? Maria
Smith was the widow of Joseph Smith, a silversmith[31],
who resided at Snow Hill in Birmingham prior to his death in 1829 at age
34. James William Lewis was also listed
as having a business at Snow Hill where he worked as a die sinker, seal
engraver and engine turner in 1833.
Perhaps Maria inherited her husband’s business and, through her second
marriage to Lewis, transferred the business to him. Or could it be that Mr. Lewis knew Mr. Smith
before he died? Maybe Lewis was trained
by Smith, or possibly the Smiths were just neighbors who were kind to Lewis, so
he felt an obligation to help the widow after her husband died. The exact reason for their marriage may never
be known.
James
and Maria had two children together: James William in 1832 and Maria in 1835,
and at first, they lived on Hanley Street in Birmingham. Sometime between 1835 and 1841 the family
moved to Howard Street in Birmingham where two of James’s step-sons were listed
as die sinkers, most likely working in James’s die-sinking business which had
also moved to Howard Street by then.
Presumably, the Lewis business and residence were next to each other. Maria died there of consumption, also known
as tuberculosis, at the relatively young age of 47 in 1843 after only 12 years
of marriage. Within a year of her death,
in 1844, James married his second wife Eliza Osborn who was only a few years
younger than him, the daughter of Henry Osborn, a shopkeeper from Cheapside in
the Deritend section of Birmingham.
James and Eliza had five children together: Henry George in 1845, Emily
in 1846, William Osborn in 1847, Charlotte Elizabeth in 1850 and Fanny Maria in
1851. During those same years James’s
oldest daughter Maria died in 1848, his second daughter Emily died in 1849 and
his son Henry died in 1850. James’s
eldest son with his first wife, also named James, was working as a die sinker
in 1851 as well, but something must have happened to him because his younger
half-brother, William Osborn Lewis, would later play a prominent role in the
family business. Sadly, four years
after the birth of the daughter Fanny, Eliza died of pneumonia in 1855 at age
36. Within a few years James was living
with Mary Ann Osborn, possibly a sister or cousin to his second wife, who was
twenty years younger than him. Although
it is unclear whether they ever married, Mary Ann was recorded as his wife in
census records and also on the birth record of their only child together:
Charles Henry in 1857.
During his years in Birmingham James
achieved a relatively high level of success and acquired additional land near
his factory on Howard Street. In 1867 he
partnered with George Archbold[32],
a rouge manufacturer, and patented the Beatrice needle case, which became quite
popular. A year later in 1868[33]
he sold some of these properties on Mott Street and, on Howard Street and Buckingham
Street to the trustees of the Wesleyan Methodist General Assurance Society for £1,200.
At the time a Wesleyan Chapel stood on the southeast corner of Howard
Street and Mott Street, on the same block as the Lewis factory. Then in 1871, at age 60, James decided it was
time to retire from the die-sinking business and he entered into an arrangement
with his son William Osborn Lewis.
Entitled an “Agreement for Services and as to Sale of Business”[34],
it required William to manage the business for five years, in accordance with
James wishes, then gave William the option to purchase
the business at the end of the five year period for £600.
During the interim James agreed to pay William a salary of £2 a week plus 50% of the profits from the business. Once this agreement was in place, James was able to
refocus his attention on managing the assurance society which he continued to
do until shortly before his death. By
1881 James and Mary Ann had moved to Hall Street in Handsworth, a section of
the Birmingham area a few miles further north where they remained until at
least 1901 when they moved a few blocks away to Broughton Road in
Handsworth. In 1902[35]
James, who was now referred to as a gentleman, leased additional land, a
factory and premise on Mott Street, to a silversmith under the arrangement that
£60 would be paid to Lewis each quarter for
the next fourteen years. James died in
1905 at age 95 of senile decay and pneumonia with his son William Osborn
present at his death and was buried at the Key Hill Cemetery in the Jewellery Quarter.
He left an estate valued at £5,056, roughly £397,247[36]
in today’s pounds, with the assurance society’s managing director and treasurer
as the executors. Mary Ann died less
than two months later at age 75 in 1906.
She was listed as Mary Ann Lewis otherwise Osborn, a spinster, on her
probate record where she left £7,668, (£602,471[37]
today), to a solicitor and to her only granddaughter, Georgette Tutill Lewis.
Additional information about James William Lewis can be found in his obituary[38]
which reads as follows:
“WELL-KNOWN
WESLEYAN DEAD.
By the death, which occurred yesterday, of
Mr. James William Lewis of Broughton-road, Handsworth, at the ripe old age of
ninety-six, Birmingham Wesleyanism loses its oldest member and its most
familiar figure.
In 1841 he prevailed upon the principal
members of the Wesleyan body in Birmingham that something should be done for
the young men in the form of a sick and benefit society, to be held in a place
other than a public-house. A small
society was formed, from which sprang the Wesleyan and General Assurance
Company, now carrying on a business all over England. The deceased gentleman was the last of the
original founders left.
For many years Mr. Lewis occupied the
position of general manager, but old age caused him to give up that responsible
position, he, however retaining the position of deputy-manager. Up till recently he was a constant attender
at the offices of the company, now in Steelhouse-lane.
The funeral will take place next Tuesday,
and a special service will be held at the Aston Lower Grounds Church.”
The Lewis grave at the
Key Hill Cemetery still exists today in Section C Plot 137 and it includes
seven Lewis family members. The
inscription reads as follows:
“In loving memory of Maria wife of J. W. LEWIS
died June 12 1843 aged 47 years.
Also Maria
daughter of J. W. & Maria LEWIS born March 20th 1837 died May 22nd
1848.
Emily
daughter of J. W. & Eliza LEWIS born August 21st 1846 died February 15th
1849.
Also Henry
George son of J. W. & Elizabeth LEWIS born May 30th 1845 died June 8th
1850.
Also Eliza second wife of J. W. LEWIS born March
28th 1817 died March 24th 1855.
Also James
William LEWIS born March 28th 1810 died November 24th 1905.
Also Mary Ann widow of J. W. LEWIS born June 5th 1830 died January 2nd 1906.
Also Charles
Henry their only child who died March 17th 1886 aged 19 years. (interred at
Davos Platz, Switzerland).
This stone was placed in
loving memory of her father and grandparents by Georgette LEWIS only child of
Charles Henry & Georgina LEWIS.”
Before
moving on to William Osborn Lewis, a quick look at what happened to his two
sisters and brother is necessary to understand his life story more fully. Charlotte Elizabeth Lewis married William
Henry Douglas, a watch maker and jeweler, in 1873 in Handsworth. Charlotte and William had four children and
by 1911 moved to Pedmore, a suburb to Stourbridge,
approximately 13 miles west of Birmingham.
Charlotte died at a nursing home in Edgbaston in the Birmingham area at
age 83 of carcinoma of the liver in 1933 and left as estate valued at £3,687.
Fanny Maria Lewis married Richard Whitefield Row, a jeweler, in 1874 in
Birmingham and they had five children. The
Row family moved to Worcester by 1911 and Fanny died there in 1919 at age 59 of
influenza leaving an estate valued at £89.
Charles Henry Lewis married Georgina Tutill in 1878 in West Ham, a
district in the London area, and the family lived in Islington, a section of
London, where Charles worked as an agent and where their daughter Georgette was
born. Charles died in 1886 in Davos,
Switzerland, presumably while on vacation, and left an estate valued at £333.
William Osborn Lewis, the second
generation of family members associated with the Lewis business, was born in
1847 on Howard Street in Birmingham. By
age 13 in 1861 he as working for his father as a die sinker and by 1871 at age
23 was a clerk. Also, in 1871[39]
he entered into an arrangement with his father that allowed him to take over
the Lewis family business after five years.
Shortly thereafter, the company name was changed to W. O. Lewis sometime
between 1873[40] and
1875[41]. Although the business encountered some
difficulties in 1880[42],
which resulted in filing bankruptcy, it reemerged a few years later and William
became known as a jewelry manufacturer and medalist. William married Mary Jane Smith in 1871 in
Aston and they had four children: Frederick William in 1872, Herbert Osborn in
1875, Edwin Stanley in 1879 and Randolph Shirley in 1884. The family lived at 37 Howard Street from
1871 until at least 1881, then moved to Radnor Road in Handsworth sometime
before 1891 where they remained for the rest of their lives. William was a very successful businessman
which resulted in him becoming a member of the Handsworth Urban District
Council. His success also led to some
negative notoriety in 1907[43]
which was highlighted in various newspapers in the UK as seen on the next
page.
“DID
NOT KNOW THE REVOLVER WAS LOADED.
BIRMINGHAM
COUCILLOR SHOT IN THE LEG.
SENSATIONAL
SMOKE-ROOM INCIDENT.
An extraordinary shooting affair is reported from Birmingham. Last evening Mr. A. Keegan, a member of the
City Council, and a number of other gentleman, including Mr. William Osborne
Lewis, a member of the Handsworth Urban District Council, were in the
smoke-room of the Stork Hotel, Corporation-street, and the conversation turned
upon air rifles and shooting, in which Mr. Keegen is keenly interested, when
Mr. Lewis took a revolver from his pocket.
No sooner was it produced than it went off, and the bullet penetrated
the calf of Mr. Keegan’s right leg, emerging six inches lower down, and causing
a nasty wound. The incident created a
great sensation and Mr. Lewis was much distressed. The wound bled profusely, and after first aid
was rendered by those present the injured man was driven with all speed to the
General Hospital. Here he was medically
treated, but he preferred to be removed home rather than remain in the
institution. Mr. Lewis accompanied him
to the hospital, and afterwards went to the Newton-street police station. Prior to his removal to his home in
Darnley-road, Mr. Keegan was taken on the ambulance by Police sergeant Bennett
to the police-station, and in the presence of Mr. Lewis he made a statement to
the officer in charge as to how he received his wound.
Mr. Keegan subsequently stated to a Press
representative that he had never seen Mr. Lewis before, and was introduced to
him only about ten minutes before the accident happened. They were on perfectly
good terms, and nothing in the shape of an altercation occurred between
them. The conversation was about the forthcoming
municipal contest, and Mr. Lewis jocularly offered to wager Mr. Keegan two new
hats that he would be defeated at the poll.
Presently Mr. Lewis offered cigars to Mr. Keegan and his friend Mr.
Cash, but when they accepted them they found they were the victims of a
practical joke. The “cigars” were
imitations made of iron. Shortly
afterwards Mr. Keegan heard a loud report, and felt something strike the calf
of his right leg. He did not know he was
wounded until he noticed blood on the floor.
He then saw Mr. Lewis place a revolver in his pocket. Mr. Lewis was much upset at what had
occurred, and expressed his deep regret.
Speaking of the incident afterwards, Mr.
Lewis is reported to have said he was ignorant of the fact that the revolver
was loaded. He put the weapon under the table and pulled the trigger. Then he heard a report, and learned he had
shot Mr. Keegan in the leg. “I would not
have had it happen for the world,” he remarked.”
At the Police-court, today, County Councillor Lewis was remanded on bail, charged with unlawfully
wounding Mr. Keegen.
Mr. Hill, who prosecuted, described the
affair as a most deplorable one, which nobody regretted more than
defendant. There was considerable joking
going on in the hotel smoke-room when the defendant held a revolver under the
table and pulled the trigger.
Unfortunately one chamber was loaded and the bullet entered Mr. Keegan’s
leg.
Mr. Keegan is progressing satisfactorily.”
In
addition to working in the family business, like his father before him, William
spent a number of years serving as a director[44]
at the Wesleyan and General Assurance Society in Birmingham. William Osborn Lewis died in Handsworth in
1909 and left £5,516 to his wife who
died six months later while visiting Portsmouth in Hampshire. Mary Jane left an estate of £13,581 to their two eldest sons, Frederick William Lewis
and Herbert Osborn Lewis. Information
about William’s public works are included in his obituary[45] below:
“THE
LATE MR. W. O. LEWIS,
A
CAREER OF USEFUL PUBLIC WORK.
The funeral took place at Handsworth Parish
Church yesterday of County Councillor William Osborne
Lewis, who died at his residence, “Ashdale,”
Radnor-road, Handsworth, on Thursday.
Mr. Lewis, who was sixty-one years of age,
was a very popular man both in Handsworth and Birmingham. He was the son of Mr. J. H. Lewis, one of the
founders of the Wesleyan and General Assurance Company, and was associated with
the Midland Conservative Club from its inception, while for twenty-seven years
he assisted in successfully upholding a Conservative club in St. George’s Ward,
Birmingham. About thirty years ago he
was a member of the Birmingham Board of Guardians. He was a prominent Freemason, passing through
many offices and being instrumental in floating the Loyal Travellers
Lodge. About eight years ago he was
elected to represent one of the Handsworth divisions on the Staffordshire
County Council, and three years ago he was elected on the Handsworth District
Council. For some time he had been in
failing health, and a short time ago journeyed to Switzerland in the hope of
deriving benefit.
The funeral was conducted by the Rev.
Prebendary Burn, and was attended by a large number of Freemasons from various
lodges with which Mr. Lewis had been connected.
The Handsworth District Council was represented by the Chairman (Mr. A.
Sanderson), Mr. E. Ward (clerk), Mr. Pinkney (accountant), Mr. Burt
(librarian), and several councillors. Mr. J. White represented the Staffordshire
County Council.”
The eldest son of William Osborn Lewis, Frederick William
Lewis, became a hosier, someone who manufactured
or sold hosiery. Frederick married
Beatrice Evelyn Jane Collins in 1898 in West Bromwich and by 1911 they were
living in Stockport, Cheshire and had no children. At present, additional
information about Frederick and his family has not been located.
The second son was Herbert Osborn Lewis who
married Mabel Alice Beatrice Banks in 1901 in Kings Norton. After the marriage ceremony the young couple
traveled to London on their way to the Riviera[46]
where they spent their honeymoon. They
had a least two children and lived in the Edgbaston section of Birmingham for a
few years before moving permanently to Barnes, Surrey in the London area
sometime before 1921. Herbert spent his
entire life working in the insurance industry, at first as a secretary and
later as an insurance official. In 1930,
accompanied by his daughter, he traveled by ship to Genoa, Italy and returned
to the UK two weeks later sailing from Marseilles, France. Herbert died in Barnes, Surrey in 1963 at age
87 and left an estate valued at £41,081
to one of his daughters. His wife, Alice
Mabel as she was later known, died in 1972 in Birmingham at age 94.
Edwin Stanley Lewis was the third son of
William Osborn Lewis. Not much is known
about him except that he may have died in 1959 in Birmingham.
The youngest son of William Osborn Lewis,
Randolph Shirley Lewis, was born in Handsworth in 1884. He most likely worked for his father in the
W. O. Lewis business as he was living with his parents and was listed with the
occupation of clerk in 1901. Roughly
four months after his father’s death in 1909, he became a freemason jeweler and
carried on the Lewis business for the remainder of his life. It is interesting to note that Randolph took
over the Lewis firm at age 25 as did his father William Osborn 38 years earlier
when the father was around age 25. In
1911 Randolph was living as a visitor in what appears to be his parent’s old
home in Handsworth which was now in the possession of a silversmith. His occupation at that time was recorded as
medalist employer. Randolph married
Mildred Gertrude Batty in London in 1913 and they returned to the Birmingham
area where they had two children: Gerald Shirley in 1915 and Michael Shirley in
1920. Randolph served in the Royal Air
Force during WWI in 1917 and eventually the family moved to Solihull, a
district in Birmingham where they remained until their deaths. Throughout his life Randolph was consistently
listed as a manufacturing jeweler and was the managing director of the Lewis
family business which had passed down through three generations of the Lewis
family. In 1921[47]
the firm was converted to a limited liability company and soon after became
known as W. O. Lewis (Badges) Ltd., a name it retains to this day. From at least 1924 until at least 1941
Randolph had some personal problems that were brought to everyone’s attention
because they were recorded in local newspapers.
Clippings from these newspapers are quoted below to provide more
details.
1924[48]
“LICHFIELD
CITY POLICE
THURSDAY
Dismissed. – Randolph Shirley Lewis of 37,
Howard Street, Birmingham, appeared on a charge of driving a motor car in a
manner dangerous to the public in Curborough Lane on November 29th. Mr. F. Cooper prosecuted, and said defendant
was driving a two-seater Rover car from Lichfield towards Curborough. The
Curborough Lane came sharply to the right at one point, and on approaching this
point, defendant was driving on the wrong side of the road to take the
corner. At that moment another car
driven by Bert Barlow was approaching in the opposite direction, and when
within 25 yards of the corner Barlow saw the defendant’s car come round it on
the wrong side. Barlow drove his car
into the bank on the near side of the road in order to prevent a collision, but
the defendant’s car drove into the hub of the other vehicle. Mr. Cooper added that the accident was caused
by defendant’s grossly negligent driving by taking the corner sharply. P.c. Timmins said there were marks in the
snow which showed that defendant’s car was travelling on the wrong side of the
road round the corner. - Defendant stated that he knew the road very well. On the date in question he sounded the horn
before taking the corner and was travelling in the middle of the road. He suddenly saw Barlow’s car coming at 20
miles an hour. Barlow did not sound his
horn, and was travelling at such a speed that he could not stop on the slippery
ground. – The Chairman said defendant was probably unwise in going round the
corner as he did, but the Bench considered there was negligence on the part of
both parties. The case would be
dismissed, defendant to pay the costs. £2 16s.”
1927[49]
“BENEFIT
OF DOUBT.
CHARGE
AGAINST MOTORIST FOR BEING DRUNK DIMISSED
The Birmingham Stipendiary yesterday gave a
Solihull motorist the benefit of the doubt and dismissed charges of being drunk
in charge of a motor-car in Snow Hill and of dangerously driving preferred
against Randolph Shirley Lewis, age 42, medallist and
commission agent, Ingleby, Warwick-road, Solihull.
After hearing the evidence, the Stipendiary
said there was considerable doubt in his mind as to whether defendant was drunk
in the sense that he was incapable of driving a motor-car.
Police-constable Arnold related how on
Saturday evening, 5 February, while at the corner of Summer-lane, he saw
defendant driving a car up Snow Hill in a zig-zag fashion across the road at 20
to 25 miles an hour.
Sergeant Bryant said that when taken to
Kenyon-street station defendant was drunk and in a hopeless condition.
Dr. Walsh, who examined Lewis. Said he was
drunk and incapable.
A passenger in the car and other witnesses
said the defendant was absolutely sober.
Giving evidence, defendant said he had two
whiskeys and sodas at his office between 6 and 8 p.m. on the evening in
question.
Then he went to the Cider Shop and had a
glass of cider.
Someone came in and said there was a crowd
round his car, and he went out and saw the policeman there.
As stated above, both charges were
dismissed.’
1932[50]
“MAGISTRATES
NOT SATIFIED
CONFLICTING
MEDICAL EVIDENCE
CASE
AGAINST SOLIHULL MOTORIST DISMISSED
On the grounds that they were not satisfied
with the evidence, the Solihull Magistrates, on Tuesday, dismissed the case
against Randolph Shirley Lewis, of “Ingleby”, Warwick Road, Solihull, who was
summoned for being in charge of a motor car whilst under the influence of drink
in Park Road, Solihull on February 10.
Mr. E. L. Finnemore (Birmingham) was for
the defence, and a plea of not guilty was entered.
A feature of the case was the conflicting
evidence given by two doctors who examined defendant within a short time of
each other.
CAR
PUSHED BACKWARDS
P. S. Spooner said he saw defendant’s car
being pushed backwards by some men along the road near the George Hotel. Defendant was at the wheel, and the
sidelights of the car were flickering on and off. The car was in gear, although they were
trying to start it. The car stopped, and
defendant told witness his light-switch was out of order. Witness, however, found that the lights came
on in the usual way. Defendant later got
out of the car, and witness considered that he was unsteady on his feet and
smelt of drink. Witness took him to the
police station, where he was seen by the police doctor (Dr. Page), who gave a
certificate (produced) to the effect that defendant was under the influence of
drink.
THE
“DISAPPEARING” PENNY
At the police station defendant produced
from his pocket a penny and said he was going to make it disappear. It did disappear – when defendant dropped it
on the floor, and they could not find it for a short time. Defendant also
announced that he was going to tie a knot in his handkerchief with one hand,
but was only partly successful.
Witness understood that defendant was an
amateur conjuror, and had once performed at a police concert.
Dr. Page, in evidence, said that from
defendants attitude and behaviour he came to the
conclusion that he was under the influence of alcohol or drugs, and was unable
to drive a car to the safety of himself and others. He said he had not much
faith in the so-called tests used in such cases, but went by observation and
commonsense.
Dr. Whitehouse, who examined defendant
within half an hour after Dr. Page had left, said defendant was in a practically
normal condition and was quite capable of driving a car. In fact, defendant took witness home and they
had to walk arm and arm because of the slippery ground.
At this point, the Chairman announced the
Magistrate’s decision”
April
1940[51]
“DRUNK
CHARGE
MOTORIST
SENTENCED AT SOLIHULL
For driving a motor car while under the
influence of drink, Randolph Shirley Lewis (aged 56), a manufacturing jeweller, of Ingleby, Warwick Road, Solihull, was at the
Solihull police court, today, sentenced to prison for two months in the second
division. His license was suspended for
two years, and he was ordered to pay £1 16s.
6d, costs. For driving carelessly he was
fined £5. It was stated by Inspector Weiner that in May
1938, Lewis was convicted for driving whilst under the influence of drink. There had been four other convictions for
motoring offences.
Evidence was that at 8:40 p.m. on April 9 Lewis was seen backing his car
towards a gatepost in the driveway of a house, Warwick Road. He told the police that it was his own drive
and shook hands with the officers. They
left, but watched from the roadway.
Lewis got out of the car, looked up and down the road, returned to the
car, and began to back it down the drive again.
For about 15 minutes he continued to drive the car backwards and
forwards in the drive. Finally he got it
through the gate and it “flashed” across the road and mounted the pavement on
the other side. He drove off, swerved, and then stopped again. He got the car into another driveway.
Mr. C. C. Ladds, on behalf of Lewis, said
defendant had driven into the wrong gateway in the black-out, a thing many
motorist had done. He had only three
single whiskies, and afterwards had driven from Birmingham without there being
any complaint about his driving. His
condition had been due to his health.
Mr. Ladds gave notice of appeal against the decision of the court.”
June
1940[52]
“DIRECTOR
MUST GO TO PRISON: APPEAL FAILS
An appeal by Randolph Shirley Lewis,
managing director of a Birmingham company engaged on the production of buttons
and badges for Army uniforms, against a prison sentence of two months for
driving a car while under the influence of drink, on the grounds that his work
was of vital national importance, was dismissed at Warwickshire Quarter Session
yesterday.
When convicted by the Solihull Bench he was
also fined £5 for driving without due care and
attention, and disqualified from driving for two years.
Inspector Weiner who gave evidence of
several previous motoring convictions against Lewis, said in answer to a
question, that as far as he knew none of Lewis’ previous offences had involved
any personal injury.
It was urged by Mr. Beresford, who appeared
for appellant, that apart from his motoring offences, Lewis was a man of
irreproachable character. He was a man
who had always served his country well, and that was very material in view of
the special circumstances of the case.
Lewis has served in the last war first as a private, then as a cadet,
and finally as a flight lieutenant.
Before the Great War he had served five years in the Yeomanry, and at
the outbreak of the present conflict volunteered his services for the ambulance
work in connection with A.R.P.”
NOW
TEETOTAL
Mr. Beresford urge that appellant be free
to do work which is of the first national importance, and to remove the stigma
of imprisonment from one who has done his best for his country for 56 years. Also to remove the stigma from his two sons,
who are serving in the R.A. and who had got special leave to hear this case and
the result.”
1941[53]
“FINED £50
Licence suspended for five
years
A military equipments
manufacturer, Randolph Shirley Lewis, of Ingleby, Warwick-road, Solihull, was
at Solihull Police Court to-day fined £50 and
ordered to pay £1 11s. 6d. costs for driving a motor-car
while under the influence of drink.”
His license was suspended for five years.
Mr. A. R. Churchill, appearing for
defendant, said that his client had only two small whiskies on the day in
question but had had some teeth extracted and was suffering from the effects of
an anesthetic.”
Randolph
died at age 69 in 1954 in Solihull of a myocardial infarction due to thrombosis
of the coronary artery due to suffering from cerebral hemorrhage with his son
Gerald at his side. He left an estate
valued at £17,724 to his son Gerald who at the time
was the Lewis company’s secretary. After
his death, Gerald took over the family business as the fourth generation of
Lewis owners. Randolph’s wife, Mildred
died twenty years later in Solihull in 1974 and left an estate valued at £55,715.
Gerald Shirley Lewis
(pictured here) was born in 1915 and once of age worked for his father in the
Lewis family jewelry manufacturing business.
In 1939 at age 23 he sailed from Liverpool to New York City, USA presumably
on business. He married Elizabeth Ann
Prosser rather late in life at age 39 in Solihull in 1954 and they had three
children together: Richard S. in 1954, Andrew Shirley in 1856 and Nicola J.
also in 1956. Gerald died in 1987 at age
71 in Solihull leaving an estate valued at £280,731.
His wife Elizabeth Ann Lewis began working in the Lewis firm in 1992 and
continued to work there as a typist until 2003[54]. She died in Solihull in 2017.
Five
years after Gerald Shirley Lewis’ death in 1987, his youngest son, Andrew
Shirley Lewis, who was born in 1956, became the director or secretary of the
Lewis firm in 1992[55],
a position he held until 2006[56]. In 2003[57]
his cousin Philip Arthur Lewis, who was born in 1961, the son of Gerald Shirley
Lewis’s brother Michael, and grandson of Randolph Shirley Lewis, become the
director of the company, a position he holds to this day. Arthur and Philip represent the fifth
generation of the Lewis family members associated with the Lewis family
business. Limited information is
intentionally provided regarding these two men in order to provide a level of
privacy for these individuals.
George
Archbold[58]
The first Avery style needle case, the Beatrice, was
patented by James William Lewis and George Archbold, a rouge manufacturer from
Handsworth, in 1867. To date not much
information has been found regarding Mr. Archbold other than he was listed in
an 1865 city directory as a rouge manufacturer. Between 1851 and 1874, there appears to have
only been one family in the Birmingham area with the name George Archbold. If this is in fact the rouge
manufacturer
who partnered with Lewis, he was born c1827 in Nottingham and married Joanna
Neale in Aston in 1854. They lived in
the Duddeston section of Birmingham at first and had three children: Robert
Charles Archbold born in 1855, William George Brody Archbold born in 1857 and
Frederick Thomas Archbold born in 1858.
The son, Frederick, died in 1861 and the wife died sometime between 1858
and 1871. George and his two sons were
living on Stafford Street in Birmingham in 1871 where George was working in the
photographic industry. George died in
1874 and left his estate valued at less than £200 to his
aunt, who was the guardian of his two children.
