Greetings, While I have no connection with the subject matter, I am indeed eniched by your explanation. Strange how things once common, are now a great rarity. Thank you fo your comprehensive response. Peter Malcolm Moody wrote: > Hi Peter, > > Please excuse me if I'm misinterpreting your: "My question is: Had >the call for the New Army gone out that quickly after the outbreak of >war? Or am I mis-reading what's in the Rank or Profession column?" > > A blacksmith's striker was an assistant to a master blacksmith, also >frequently an apprentice but it could also be a trade in it's own >right. His job was to wield the heavy hammer and to "strike" the work >at the direction of the master smith. The smith would have his "wrong" >hand employed in holding the work piece in the tongs so he could only >hold a one handed hammer in his "right" hand. The smith would stand on >the forge side of the anvil and position the red hot metal on the >anvil. When it was in the right position he would hit it with his >single handed hammer. The striker's job was to hit the metal in >exactly the same place, and with a strength as indicated by the >strength of the smith's strike. Generally the blows were made in a >sequence with a strict cadence designed to allow the striker to swing >his heavy hammer with a natural rhythm. The smith would end the >sequence by striking the anvil instead of the work. > > If you have ever heard a forge at work this sound is unmistakable >being a rhythm of hammer blows alternating between a higher pitched >"ping" for the smiths guide strike and the heavier "pong" of the >Strikers working blow. In some cases more than one striker would be >employed in which case they formed a circle and "struck" in a sequence >so you would get the smith's "ping" followed by a number of striker >"pongs" etc., etc. A quite unmistakable sound. > > The use of a striker was reserved for heavy work with heavy gauge >pieces of metal and where a significant amount of forging or welding >was to to be done. The making of a horse shoe, for instance, is light >work which can easily be accomplished by a smith alone using his single >handed hammer. I mention this because while smiths were needed in the >"services" branches of the army in the Gt War, the majority were >employed in making horse shoes or doing minor repairs, so that a >striker would not have been required. > > Off the top of my head I can only think that a striker could have been >attached to a central maintenance depot where heavy equipment was taken >for repair. >OR >That the "Blacksmith's Striker" profession was his civilian trade and >had nothing in particular to do with his army position. > > Another piece of useless information culled from a lifetime of >interest in heritage trades and archaic technologies. :-) > > Malcolm > > >Archive CD Books Canada Inc. >President: Malcolm Moody >PO Box 11 >Manotick >Ontario, K4M 1A2 >Canada. >(613) 692-2667 >WEB SITE: http://www.ArchiveCDBooks.ca > > > >>Message: 2 >>Date: Thu, 7 Sep 2006 18:19:51 +0100 >>From: "Peter Appleton" <peter.appleton3@ntlworld.com> >>Subject: [GREATWAR] New Army - When did the call go out? >>To: <GREATWAR@rootsweb.com> >>Message-ID: >> <20060907172005.FLFI15733.aamtaout04-winn.ispmail.ntl.com@L2DLaptop1> >>Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" >> >>Hi everyone, >> >>I'm helping a friend with her family history and she has shown me a >>marriage >>register entry for Francis Fothergill, age 45 whose Rank or Profession >>is >>shown as "Blacksmith's Striker" and then under that what looks like "18 >>Platoon" and then possibly "New Army Durham" >> >>The marriage is dated 13th Sept.1914. >> >>My question is: Had the call for the New Army gone out that quickly >>after >>the outbreak of war? Or am I mis-reading what's in the Rank or >>Profession >>column >> >> > > >------------------------------- >To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to GREATWAR-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message > > > >