===== *45 1850’s-1895: Reilly staff; quality young employees TEXT ====

*45 1850’s-1895: Reilly staff; quality young employees:

Without company records available it is difficult to determine who worked for Reilly during the 90 years of the company’s existance. This difficulty is not confined to Reilly but rather is one found across the board in London gunmaking except perhaps for some elite gunmaker such as Purdey (three of their engravers are known) and those whose records still are intect. The UK census for 1831-41-51 asked only the interviewees occupation. 1861-71-81 the census also asked employers the number of workers employeed.

The only way to catch a glimpse of who was working at Reilly during this time is if the employees surfaced in some news report or if they self identified later. There are four so identified shop managers and one store manager in France:

. . . . .John Baker – 185?-1861:*45a Not much is known about Baker. He was born in 1822 and was married. He appeared in a court case on behalf of Reilly in April 1861, when Reilly was seeking payment for a volunteer militia gun from a deadbeat. In June 1861 he registered the patent for Reilly for the shotgun shell crimper and per a newspaper article in October 1861 he accidentally poisoned himself. Since the patent was registered for 315 Oxford Street, he must have been managing that shop. He lived in Westminister Parish, probably within a mile of the Oxford Street manufactory. There seems to be no record of him in the 1861 London census.

. . . . .W. Jennings – 1869:*45b. Jennings was identfied as Reilly’s Shop Foreman in a 01 May 1869 series of articles about a fellow who committed suicide after buying a revolver from Reilly (specific store not identified).

. . . . .Francis Davis –1870:*45c He testified for Reilly at the 1870 hearings for violating UK neutrality in the Franco-Prussian war by trying to ship 2,000 shells to his shop in Paris in unmarked packages. No further information on Davis.

. . . . .Ruben Hambling - 1884-85:*45d He may have started out with Reilly in the late 1850's - ran his own gun shop in the midlands then back to Reilly:

. . . . . . . . . .“On the matter of Reuben Hambling, he was a gunmaker. Born in 1833 in Blackawton, Devon, he apprenticed under his father, William Bartlett Hambling. He married in London in 1858, had a daughter there in 1861, and was listed in the 1861 census. He was most likely working as a journeyman for a London gunmaker, name unknown. He was in Manchester from 1865-1869, with his own shop at 27 New Bailey Street, Salford. He may have occupied another address for a time, on Bexley Street. He then moved to High Wycombe northwest of London around 1872 and lived for a time in Brighton (1874-1875), possibly working with his brother William, another gunmaker. From at least 1884-1885 he lived in Paddington, London, on Ashmore Rd. This may have been the time when he was employed by Reilly. After this, he moved to Ashford in Kent, with a business at 41 New Street. He lived at number 39. According to the 1891 census his son, Roger, was apprenticed to him. Reuben Hambling died on 12 December 1891. His son continued the business until 1894.": (Courtesy of Steve Nash)

. . . . . . . . . .Per the Internet Gun Club: "As there is both a New Bailey Street and a New Bexley Street, there is no way of knowing if the paper made an error, or if Reuben Hambling moved from one location to another. He didn't stay long in Manchester and later worked for E. M. Reilly & Co. in London, and finally in Ashford, in Kent. Reuben Hambling died in 1891."

. . . . .James Curtis – 1895:*45de/color] He testified in a trial re the purchase of a Reilly revolver by an Irish terrorist (and on the day of the trial conveniently couldn't identify the purchaser).

. . . . .M. Poirat- 1868-84? Paris:[color:#FF0000]*45f Manager of Reilly store at 2 rue Scribe, Paris, who tried to convince the new 3rd Republic to buy 6,000 Chessapot rifles stored in Birmingham from Reilly in fall 1870 - Paris still under siege, Reilly's rifles in his 2 rue Scribe shop confiscated by the revolution. (This would have been totally a violation of UK “neutrality”...far worse that 2,000 shells but he might have gotten away with it. The size of the crime would have been justified by the profits). Poirat was obviously a salesman, not a technician).

There are two young workers identified by last name only, who were highly complimented in the press leading to the conclusion that Reilly carefully screened his young employees and meticulously trained them:

. . . . .Mr. Bennett - 1858:*45g He carefully loaded rounds for the guns used in "The Field" trials of 1858 and 1859.

. . . . .Mr. McNamara - 1862:*45h He was responsible for guiding visitors through the Reilly 1862 London World's Fair exhibit.

=== *45 1850’s-1895: Reilly staff; quality young employees END TEXT ====

Last edited by Argo44; 06/05/22 09:11 AM.
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