APRIL 2019

The China Clay History Society is holding a drop-in event on Tuesday 9 April at Wheal Martyn Clay Works, to commemorate 100 years since the formation of English China Clays (ECC Ltd) on 9 April 1919.

Did you or your relatives work in the china clay industry? Are you interested in investigating the role your ancestors had in china clay mining? Come along to Wheal Martyn between 10.00am to 8.00pm, where a small exhibition will be on display, charting the key milestones of the company on a timeline.

According to Kenneth Hudson in his book ‘The History of English China Clays’, English China Clays was incorporated on 9th April 1919 by the amalgamation of Martin Bros Ltd, the West of England China Stone and Clay Co, the Great Beam Clay Company and the North Cornwall China Clay Company.  Joint Managing Directors were Reginald Martin, T. Medland Stocker and Walter Sessions. Mrs Barton in her book ‘A History of the China Clay Industry’ confirms these details.

Members of the China Clay History Society, press and public will be welcome to attend the event at Wheal Martyn, and visitors will be encouraged to share their memories and make their own contributions to the timeline, which will be on display at Wheal Martyn until the end of April. Photographs, film footage and memorabilia will also be included in the display. During the day, China Clay History Society volunteer Malcom Gould will be available to make recordings of visitors’ memories. Artefacts of ECC memorabilia from the Wheal Martyn Collection will be on display, and visitors are encouraged to bring along any memorabilia or photographs to show others.

There will also be a laptop available with past copies of ECC press to research possible queries about family history, and a recording of “Days of Clay”, produced by AZOOK, with interviews recorded by Ted Gundry.

The photo above is of three of the first directors of ECC Ltd. (from left to right) Medland Stocker from the West of England and Great Beam Clay Company, Reginal Martin from Martin Bros. Ltd. and Walter Sessions from the North Cornwall China Clay Company. These three companies amalgamated on 9th April 1919 to form English China Clays Limited.

For more information, call 01726 850362, email or pop into the museum.