A paperback book 'Boldness Be My Friend - Remembering Bob Cryer MP' by Bradford Libraries
Saltaire, West Yorkshire, United Kingdom
Saltaire, West Yorkshire, United Kingdom: Plan of Saltaire
Bradford Museums, Galleries and Heritage
Here To Stay-Bradford's South Asian communities (A pictorial guide) by Bradford Heritage Recording Unit
Bradford, West Yorkshire, United Kingdom
Bradford, West Yorkshire, United Kingdom: Coat of arms
Autobiography of the life of Fred Greswell. He owned Bradford Property Trust which bought the village of Saltaire from Salts (Saltaire) Ltd. in 1933. Fred Gresswell 1890-1985 startred work in the grocery trade, then moved into Insurance and then property management
The book is in Polish and relates the story of the model town of Marki in Poland. Edward Briggs of Bradford, West Riding of Yorkshire, built his spinning mill and accommodation in the town in the mid-1880s. It is said that the principle of his model village was taken from the model village of Saltaire in Shipley in the West Riding of Yorkshire. There is one short section in English, which appears to be the script of a play about the Briggs family and the founding of the mill.
2021.11.1: Salts Mill- The Owners and Managers 1853-1986
Salts Mill- The Owners and Managers 1853-1986
Salts Mill- The Owners and Managers 1853-1986 by Maggie Smith and Colin Coates. With a black and white photograph of Sir Titus Salt on the front cover.
Salt, Titus, Sir: Portrait photograph of Titus Salt in later life
Salts Mill- The Owners and Managers 1853-1986: Front cover
Saltaire: A Picture Story Book by Brian Palmer - Poems and paintings of Saltaire by Brian Palmer
A2-010a-b: The annual staff party at Milner Field
A photograph from annual staff party at Milner Field, with description & notes by Roger Clarke.
Milner Field, Bingley, West Yorkshire, United Kingdom
B1-479: Donald Hanson: an Extraordinary Life
Booklet: 'Donald Hanson- An Extraordinary Life' by Maggie Smith (2013), self printed with a spiral binding. Biography of Donald Hanson who was manager of Salts Mill whilst it was owned by Ilingworth Morris. His Great Grandfather William Hanson was Chief Engineer for Sir Titus Salt
Only viewable in the Saltaire Collection
To view the full story please contact the Saltaire Collection
Donald was born in 1925, in Slaithwaite near Huddersfield, to a family who had many connections with Salts Mill and Saltaire from the 1850’s onward. Donald’s father, however, worked at Globe Mills in Slaithwaite and Donald was able to get an apprenticeship there. During World War Two he was called up and served in the Royal Navy. He returned to Globe after the war and his ‘after work’ studies at a Technical College resulted in his qualifying as an Associate of the Chartered Institute of Secretaries and Administrators. Globe Mills were part of the Illingworth, Morris Textile Group and Donald was soon spotted as being a highly talented ‘wool man’. He quickly rose through the ranks and came to know the majority shareholders – the Ostrer brothers – of Illingworth, Morris very well. He was made a director of the company and after spells at senior management level at Salts Mill and elsewhere, in 1980 he was appointed as Chair of the Board and Joint Chief executive of the company (whose headquarters had been Salts Mill from 1958). Extraordinary drama was to follow after the heir to the Ostrer brothers shares in the company – Pamela Mason, a Hollywood chat show hostess – became increasingly hostile to the ‘Yorkshire Directors’. The drama was the subject of much global news and ended in some very surprising outcomes.
C3a-080: Remarkable Journeys to Work in Salts Mill: 1947-8
Remarkable Journeys to Work in Salts Mill: 1947-8
Remarkable Journeys to Work in Salts Mill: 1947-8: Three stories of Polish people who experienced the horrors of World War2 - to later find employment in Salts Mill and new lives in the Bradford District of West Yorkshire' by Maggie Smith.
Feliks was born in Poland in 1920. He was a Polish Junior Cadet when Germany invaded Poland in 1939, and was based many miles from home at Wilno near the Russian Border. The cadets wore military uniform and were likely to be a target for the German invaders. Feliks fled to Lithuania where he was held with others in a camp for a short time until Russian troops began to move these men to various camps across Eastern Europe. Things changed dramatically when Germany declared war on Russia. Feliks was moved several times. He eventually arrived in Persia and came under British Army command. He fought with the British and was among the forces who fought their way through Italy – it was the Polish force that took Monte Casino from the German Troops. As War came to an end, Polish army personnel were left stranded and arguments about their future occurred in the British Parliament. Ultimately Feliks was accepted into England and was to find work at Salts Mill where he remained until he retired. He married and had children. Feliks remained ever-grateful to the British Government for allowing him and his family to have a decent life. Although he was able to visit Poland again after Stalin’s regime ended, he did now want to return there to live.
Łąkorz, gmina Biskupiec, Nowe Miasto County, Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, Poland
Monte Cassino, Cassino, Frosinone, Lazio, 03043, Italy
Saltaire, West Yorkshire, England, United Kingdom
Maladzyechna, Maladzyechna District, Minsk Region, Belarus
anzali, اول, Noghan, شهر بندر انزلی, بخش مرکزی شهرستان بندر انزلی, Bandar-e-Anzali County, Gilan Province, 43139119, Iran
Liverpool, Liverpool City Region, England, L2 3SW, United Kingdom
Norfolk, East of England, England, United Kingdom
Turkmenbashy, Balkan Region, Turkmenistan
Remarkable Journeys to Work in Salts Mill: 1947-8: Feliks Czenkusz in cadet uniform
Remarkable Journeys to Work in Salts Mill: 1947-8: Feliks Czenkusz in military uniform, Bolgna, Italy 1945
C3a-081: Story of a life and work in Salts (Saltaire) Ltd
Story of a life and work in Salts (Saltaire) Ltd
Story of a life and work in Salts (Saltaire) Ltd - Frank Senior, researched and compiled by Maggie Smith. Includes account of being born in 1918 and growing up in Saltaire, and of working at Salts Mill as a textile designer, and in the costing department.
Frank started work at Salts Mill in 1933 in the mill basement, moved to work in the gatehouse, checking visitors to the mill and hoping for an apprenticeship. After various changes of department, attendance at night school 5 nights each week and service during World War Two in the RAF, Frank became head of the ‘Costing Department’ in Salts Mill – calculating the costs of each type of cloth produced for the sales work force. He lived through several changes in management of the mill and the advances of new technology – retiring from work there in 1983, just a few years prior to the end of textile production.
C3a-089: Edward Stanners: Managing Director of Salts Mill 1979-1984
Edward Stanners: Managing Director of Salts Mill 1979-1984
Personal account of working at Salts Mill, especially as the final managing director before closure of the mill in the 1980s
F1a-173a-b: The Italian Contribution to Shipley Textile Manufacturing. The Ricciardo (Mackin) Sisters' story from 1957
The Italian Contribution to Shipley Textile Manufacturing. The Ricciardo (Mackin) Sisters' story from 1957
The story of Italian sisters Dora and Margherita Mackin with refrences to Velia Campbell (all nee Ricciardo). Account of their early lives in Italy and then travelling to Britain in the 1950s to work in the textile industry.
Three Italian sisters, Dora, Velia and Margherita, were born in a village called Avezzano 40 miles from Naples. They were recruited through the ‘The European Volunteer Workers Scheme’ in the Campania region of Italy to come to work in Mason’s textile mill, Shipley in 1958/59. Their father had become bankrupt during the economic depression in Italy after the Second World War. The sisters were anxious to help their large family by gaining paid employment in Britain. The relatively high level of economic growth in the UK during the post-war period had led an acute labour shortage within key sectors. European workers were therefore invited in order to cover the need for low-paid and unskilled work. The majority of the workers recruited originated in Eastern European countries such as the Ukraine, Poland and Latvia. Locally however, many Italian and some Austrian women were recruited to work in the textile industries in the Bradford District and in Manchester. The Ricciardo sisters had previously worked for their father in his business of growing and harvesting strong grasses used for weaving baskets and for mattress filling. They had previous experience in processing the materials and converting this ‘Strama’ into a form of ‘yarn’ to produce household goods. The recruitment process they went through involved 200 ‘girls’ from their area who were interviewed by two people from England. They stayed in a camp outside Naples and had to undergo x ray examinations, blood tests, eye tests and many other invasive medical examinations and answer detailed questions about their families. The process felt undignified but the sisters, very aware of the struggle for food and necessities for their parents and remaining siblings, tolerated the invasive process. Only 16 of the applicants were accepted at this point in time. On being accepted, the sisters applied for passports and arrived in England in March 1959. They were met off the boat in Dover by two Italian women already working for the textile company. They were taken by train to a hostel prepared for them to live in. They were pleased to have ‘house parents’ who spoke Italian and soon started work in Mason’s mill, Shipley. This was a weaving mill and Dora was employed as a piecer and gill box minder. Her sisters gained similar work and they all earned £10 each week – sending £30 home every month to help their family. They ‘got by’ in work through sign language initially but later attended Belle Vue Upper School two evenings each week to learn English. Two of the sisters married English men and the third married an Irish man. All three settled in the Shipley area for the rest of their lives and brought up their families in England. They were able to return home to Italy for holidays which were joyous occasions. They recorded their history with a Saltaire Collection volunteer and donated it to the Saltaire Collection.
The Italian Contribution to Shipley Textile Manufacturing. The Ricciardo (Mackin) Sisters' story from 1957: The three Ricciardo sisters - Velia, Dora and Margherita
The History of the Dining Hall and the Saltaire Club and Institute: 1855 to 1955 - Includes colour and black and white photographs.
Saltaire Club and Institute: Saltaire Club and Institute logo
Dining Hall building, Saltaire, West Yorkshire, United Kingdom
2023.2: The life and work of Mohammed Aziz 1929-
The life and work of Mohammed Aziz 1929-
A personal history given by Aziz of his migrating to the United Kingdom to work in the textile industry. Aziz worked at Salts Mill in the 1980s during its last few years before closure. Aziz gave this account of his life to Saltaire Collection volunteer Maggie Smith.
Salts Mill, Saltaire, West Yorkshire, United Kingdom
Mohammed Aziz (who prefers to be known as Aziz) was born in the village of Chattroh, Mirpur, Azad Kashmir, India in 1929, long before the partition of India and the establishment of the new nation of Pakistan, where his birthplace is now located. His village was in the area affected by the later building of the Mangla Dam but was too high up the mountain to be wiped out by the dam. While the village residents were not badly affected by the mass migration of Muslims from India during partition in 1947, they heard the horror stories about the many deaths that occurred at that time. After Aziz completed his education in 1952 he went to Karachi to look for work. He was able to get a job through the support of a cousin who recommended Aziz and he began work in the postal service. He was employed there from 1952 to 1957 and his wage was 75 Rupees per month. He felt lucky to have that salary at this point in time. His father Ghulab Khan was a merchant seaman and travelled the world collecting and delivering products. In the early 1950s Ghulab had docked in Liverpool, England and decided to live and work in England as there were many job opportunities that offered more stability. After finding work in the textile industry in Bradford, Ghulab sent for Aziz to come to England to find similar work. At that time Aziz did not need a visa or work permit to enter England as the British Nationality Act of 1948, gave all Commonwealth citizens free entry into Britain. He was able to travel quite cheaply from Karachi to England. He recalls arriving at Heathrow Airport, then getting on a coach to Kings Cross to travel by train to Bradford. When he got off the train in Bradford, with little spoken English, he sought help from a couple at Forster Square Station who were very helpful. Aziz found taht during his first years in England the majority of English people were very helpful. After meeting and falling in love with an English woman however, both the English and Asian communities disapproved. After marrying, Aziz left the textile job he had in Bradford and moved to the South of England to get away from the hurtful prejudice toward them both. Before long, they were drawn back to Bradford where Aziz gained employment in Dawson’s Mill, Thornton, as a worsted textile spinner. Aziz had gained reading and writing skills and he was given the job of ‘ticking off’ the output of other workers, checking the number of hours worked and the weight of the yarn each worker had completed. Aziz’s wage was £7 each week and an extra 10 shillings (50 pence) for the work he oversaw. After a short time the managing director of Dawson’s ensured that he was promoted to the position of overlooker. Aziz worked in a number of other textile mills in Bradford before being accepted at Salts Mill as a spinning overlooker. At this point other white overlookers objected to his appointment, but the manager stood firm and Aziz became the first Asian overlooker at Salts. Through his many experiences of prejudice, Aziz realised the importance of providing advice to others. In 1982 Aziz founded and directed the AK Action Bureau to conduct local immigration advice work. Its first offices were at 19 Durham Terrace, Bradford. He became a fully licensed Immigration Advisor in 1990 and continued this work, outside his paid employment until aged 90 years. Today, in 2023, he continues to offer his wealth of knowledge and experience within his community.
The life and work of Mohammed Aziz 1929-: Front cover
2021.11.2: Salts Mill- The Owners and Managers 1853-1986
2025.69: Historical Map of Bradford - Wool Capital of the World
Historical Map of Bradford - Wool Capital of the World
Town & City Historical Maps No.22. The map shows major medieval and later buildings standing in 1921, places of historic interest and includes an introduction and explanatory gazetteer
Historical Map of Bradford - Wool Capital of the World: Front cover
2025.131: European Heritage Industrial Villages Conference in Turin on 11th October 2025
European Heritage Industrial Villages Conference in Turin on 11th October 2025
European Heritage Industrial Villages Conference in Villaggio Leumann, Turin on 11th October 2025 1. Summary Report of an October conference at Villaggio Leumann, Turin, for Industrial Communities founded in the 19th and early 20th centuries 2. An A5 brochure explaining the history of Crespi d'Adda - 'The History of a Feat' (English) 3. A 15 page bound booklet exploring Villaggio Leumann in English and Italian 4. An A5 booklet for Panzano II Villaggio Operaio di Monfalcone (Ship Building Heritage), 52 pages with maps of the site 5. A postcard sized brochure with hand painted images for Crespi d'Adda 6. A metal pin with the logo of Kores Culturale Associazione 7. Piedmont Restaurant Menu 8. A 3 fold leaflet about Villaggio Leumann in English 9. The programme for the conference in English 10. Information about the Kores Culturale Associazione 11. Brochure of Villaggio Leumann images 12. Conference Programme Booklet 13. Key ring with small cotton swatch in green, with black, yellow and grey trim 14. Crespi D'Adda Storia di una impresa by Giorgio Ravasio in Italian 15. Crespi d'Adda UNESCO World Heritage Site in Italian and English
F1a-321: History of The Bradford Property Trust 1928-1978
History of The Bradford Property Trust 1928-1978
Booklet: 'History of The Bradford Property Trust 1928-1978' by John Brennan (1978). The Bradford Property Trust purchased the village of Saltaire from Salts (Saltaire) Limited in 1933.
History of The Bradford Property Trust 1928-1978: Front cover