The Railway Navvies Terry Coleman A history of the men who made the railways Book Club Associates London 1972 A really good read. On 01/11/2008, Elizabeth Roberts <[email protected]> wrote: > > There were lots of jobs with railways that did not need the skill of > reading, firstly the railways had to be built, this called for lots of men > who could shovel dirt, drive carts, carry heavy weights etc all skills Ag > labourers would of have brought to the job, the engineer and overseers > would > have need to read and write but the vast workforce were tough labourers. > Railway building started in Britian but it was British and Irish know how > that built many of the worlds railways. Hence we find in Australia someone > born in Russia whose father was a British railway engineer. > > After the railways were built the lines had to be maintained, again this > was > manual work. I have traced one family whose family came to Australia as a > railway navy whose sons then became fetters on the last railway line he > built. > > My memories of going to school with fettlers children ( from different > families to above) in the late 1950s was even then the whole family did not > have a high degree of functional literacy. > > As for how did knowledge of jobs etc move. Don't forget the postage system > with Stamps started in 1840, there had been 1d postage in some areas before > that. People read and wrote for other people. > > Regards Elizabeth > > > > A local history research in Australia > > > > _____ > > From: [email protected] > [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of > [email protected] > Sent: Saturday, 1 November 2008 6:27 AM > To: [email protected] > Subject: GLOUCESTER Digest, Vol 3, Issue 508 > > > > > > _____________________________________________ > > Have you considered adding "postems" to "your" events on > www.freebmd.org.uk , giving your contact details? Other researchers will > then be able to make contact. Click on the info button to add your postem. > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the > quotes in the subject and the body of the message > -- Robert Alun Chick Penarth GFHS 7007