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Gupwell Look ups please

P

PattiW

knowlegable brummie
Hi I'm an ex pat Brummie living in Cornwall but I have a lot of family connections in Birmingham.

I'm new to this so hope someone can help. I have found the following IGI records and am hoping that I can get some more info (I have no idea what other info might be on the parish records) from St Martin's Parish records.
Emma Sarah Gupwell Birth 15 Oct 1834, Christening 28 Feb 1837, St Martins

William Gupwell Birth 27 Feb 1810, Christening 11 Oct 1810, St Martins

John Gupwell, Ann Steel Marriage 28 Mar 1803, St Martins

I think Emma Gupwell is my gt gt grandmother. I've found what I hope is the right family on 1851 Census but can find nothing on 1841 Census.

Be grateful for any info or suggestions. Thank you
 
these are the records from st. martins.
emma sarah dr. of william and mary gupwell b. 15.10.1834 chr 28.2.1837
catherine sarah dr. of william and mary gupwell b. 15.10.1836 chr. 28.2.1837

abode was new town row and fathers occ. wire weaver

william son of john and ann gupwell b. 27.2.1810 chr. 11.10.1810

no other info.

john gupwell marr ann steel 28.3.1803 they were bachelor and spinster. witness william taylor.

sorry not much more than you already know.
 
william gupwell marr. mary cox 14 feb 1831 edgbaston warks. (st. bartholemews)

witnessed by hannah parker and charles cox.
 
I remember a haulage contractor/transport company named Gupwells pre WW2 & post WW2. Len.
 
there are some burials at st. martins which may be yours

catharine dr. of john and ann gupwell bur. 23 sep 1818 2 wks old warwick st.

ann wife of john gupwell bur. 25 jul 1833 56 yrs digbeth

john gupwell bur. 5 jan 1836 58 yrs. bromsgrove st.
 
I'm not sure if Gupwell is a common name in B'ham or not, but my cousin was married to a Leonard Gupwell. I last saw them in the '50s though, they moved to the Isle of Wight.
 
Thanks everyone. I'm going to try and get my head round all that and see where it takes me. Abode and occupation for William Gupwell is new info and the burials are interesting. One again, many thanks.
 
Its been a while I know but if you are still interested there are 2 Gupwells recorded as being killed during Birmingham Air Raids in 1940 ( One also called Emma - could be a descendant of the original Emma Gupwell? ). Just search the surname on the link. I work at a local school and it is something we put together at the school. Also available through Swanshurst School Website soon will be Brandwood End Cemetry - details are being uploaded everyday, but it is a slow process:
https://www.swanshurst.org/barra/default.asp

I am a Gupwell. Son of Peter Hugh Gupwell 1946-2000. Grandson of Reginald Gupwell. My Gran ( second wife of Reginald ) did tell me a story about how Reginalds father ( my great grandfather ) had an affair with a woman, and she had a baby. Apparently he refused to be involved with the child, but the Mother still named the child Gupwell - I have no way of verifying the validity of this story!!

AJ Gupwells was our family business, I think it went out of business in the 1980s. I think the haulage firm was the previous iteration of the family business. They used to supply all the Cadburys vans from what I recall being told.

Happy to try and answer any other questions you may have though im not sure I would be able to go as far back as you have....
 
I worked in the accounts dept at A J gupwell from 1973 until it closed in 1982.I knew Peter and Mr Reg. as he was known to the staff. Happy days, it was a great place to work,am still in touch with former employees. Margaret.
 
Thanks for that Margaret. Its nice to know that they were nice employees! Sadly I lost Grandpa when I was only 6 ( 1984 I think ) and my dad died when i was 20, so I have very little link to the Gupwell family history. If you have any stories about any of them I would love to hear them! Im sure my Dad was pretty mischievous at the very least! ( though I always remember Reg as being a very stern man - then again I was only 6! ).
 
Re: Gupwell Look ups please Hello Mr Gupwell - son of Peter Hugh Gupwell.

Hello! Sorry you did not add your name. I was an apprentice at A.J. Gupwell (Shopfitters) Ltd. from 1956, until 1960. Then I was given the chance to move into the offices, as an Estimating clerk. This was a greart privilege, as I was the first apprentice Carpenter and Joiner, to move from the factory, into the offices. I was given this chance for varuous reasons, one being that I was wekk known in Solihull, though my work in Youth Clubs, and as Chariman of the Solihull Youth Council. Mr. Percy, and his daughter and son-in-law Mr. Lees, lived in Knowle, so I was know to them through the local newspaper.
I left the firm in 1963, to become a Salvation Army Officer, and eventully moved to live in Switzerland, where I worked for the Salvation Army in various positions, for about ten years. I remained in Switzerland for 40 years total, and now live in Spain.

I worked very closely to your Grandfather Mr. Reg., and I met your Father a number of times when he came to the office. I am sorry to hear that he passed away, he was only 6 years younger than me.
Of course I had some contact, as an apprentice (fetching the newspapers for the directors, and the workers) and then as an Estimating clerk, with Mr. Percy, Mr. Clarrie, and one of his sons Richard (Richard took me to Bath, to look at a shop, by car as I could not drive then).

The company then was very diverse, with the Shopfitting part, one of the top firms in the country. There was also the department making showroom decorations and models and supplying fittings, with Mr. Steadman Hanks as manager. Peter Hanks, his son, was also working there as a traveller on the road.Then there was Gupwell Transport, leasing and maintaining the Cadbury fleet of lorries. - Mr. Clarrie was the manager of that part, at the time. Then there was SURFASTAL, making special metal grids, wihich were filled with some kind of bitumen, and used for ships decks. I do not remember who was the manager of that.
There are many people I remember from that time, but I guess it is not of interest at the moment. It is a pity that the firm went out of busines, from what I heard in some part due to the Gupwells being pushed into the background.
I should not forget Mr. John Gupwell, son of Percy. He was quite a character, and I had alwys some good conversations with him, as I was interested in old cars, and he had for a time a Bentley Roadster. We met at Silverstone once, with his Bentley.
If Mr. Richard is still living, and you could have contact with him, please give him my regards, and if he wishes I would be interested to have contact with him. Here is my e-mail address, or I can give phone numbers.

Last but not least I shall be in England from the 26 th. September, until the 10 th. of October - visiting my Sister and her family, and attending the 60 Years celebration of Lyndon School in Sheldon.
I would be happy to hear from you if you have time, and if you wish to have anymore information. The memory is still good.
Sincerely
Peter J.Williams

Jon Gup said:
Its been a while I know but if you are still interested there are 2 Gupwells recorded as being killed during Birmingham Air Raids in 1940 ( One also called Emma - could be a descendant of the original Emma Gupwell? ). Just search the surname on the link. I work at a local school and it is something we put together at the school. Also available through Swanshurst School Website soon will be Brandwood End Cemetry - details are being uploaded everyday, but it is a slow process:
https://www.swanshurst.org/barra/default.asp

I am a Gupwell. Son of Peter Hugh Gupwell 1946-2000. Grandson of Reginald Gupwell. My Gran ( second wife of Reginald ) did tell me a story about how Reginalds father ( my great grandfather ) had an affair with a woman, and she had a baby. Apparently he refused to be involved with the child, but the Mother still named the child Gupwell - I have no way of verifying the validity of this story!!

AJ Gupwells was our family business, I think it went out of business in the 1980s. I think the haulage firm was the previous iteration of the family business. They used to supply all the Cadburys vans from what I recall being told.

Happy to try and answer any other questions you may have though im not sure I would be able to go as far back as you have....
Click to expand...
 
Sorry forgot the e-mail address

*********

Peter it's not a good idea to put your email on open forum so I have removed it. The best way to send your email address is by Instant Message then it can only be viewed by the sender and the recipient.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Re: Gupwell Look ups please Hello Mr Gupwell - son of Peter Hugh Gupwell.

Hi Peter,
Sorry its taken so long to reply, very busy time! Thanks so much for your reply, it is fascinating to learn about the family history I know so little about. Its a shame the company folded really as I could still be working for them if they had managed to stay strong! Its pleasing to know that they were good employers. It seems that so far, people have only had positive things to say about them which is reassuring to know. I didnt realise they had so many strings to their bow either, I always thought it was just the shopfitting and the haulage.

I don't know Mr John Gupwell, though he sounds rather similar to my Dad who also had a passion for cars - sadly it was an enthusiasm that he did not pass to me, I have always been a bit hopeless with cars!

As for Richard, I don't have a very good knowledge of the family history but it sounds like you are referring to Richard Steer. He married Pam Steer and had 2 children Nick and Tressa. I do have occasional contact with his son Nick so I could try and pass a message on if you think it is him ( though the email has been removed so I would have to ask him to contact you on here if I am thinking of the correct person of course! ).

Thanks again for your response, Best Wishes Jon Gupwell
 
Hello Jon, and thanks for your response.
There is of course much more to tell, about people who worked there, and some about the family.
At the time I could not remember the name of the other brother who died during the time I worked there.
His name was Laurie. He was supposedly a very strong drinker, and I remember that the funeral was partly taken over by the Lodge of the Freemasons, of which he wasa member. I am not sure if the other brothers were also connected in that direction.
Then about Richard. Either I was not clear, or you missed something. Richard is one of the sons of Clarrie Gupwell. From what I remember, according to Reg Gupwell, Richard went on to work for the European Union at Brussels. Perhaps he never lived in the UK after that. I certainly cannot fine any R. Gupwell in British Telecom - although he may be ex-directory. He would be about my age, if still alive I would imagine - 71.

John was definitely the son of Percy Gupwell. I see from the telephone directory, there are quite a few Lees in the Knowle and Dorrige area, where Percy lived, and Albert Lees his son-in-law (who was incidently Percy's chauffeur, as Percy had a handicap, one leg was not so good, I think maybe child Polio). Albert worked in an office connected to Finance, checking accounts, and as said he was married to the daughter of Percy.

Gupwell Shopfitters had a very good reputaion, for high quality work. I remember working as a carpenter, on the Bank fittings for the Lloyds Bank in the Rotunda, at the Bull-Ring. All of course circular fittings, in some of the finest exotic hardwoods - Some from Australia: Black Bean I remeber, and then Rio Palisander. They had some good permanent customers, Like one old Colonialware company, Masons. (though I think it had a double name, which slips my memory).
Gupwells had all its own department, outside the pure carpentry and Joinery: French Polishing, Painting, Electrical, Plumbing, it own Signwriting (etching in glass, and then with Goldleaf, Design department where all the internal fittings were laid out in scale plans, otherwise we worked from Architect plans, and then they went to the Setting-out department, to be drawn full-size.

I recall there was a mention of Hugh Gupwell, or was it combined with another name? It rings a bell. Was it your Father's name? If it was, there may be an interesting connection. Mt boss of the Estimating Office was Mack McKenzie, and one of his sons was named Hugh.It could be, as mack was directly responsible to Reg Gupwell, and they worked very closely together, that he chose Hugh as a name for his son Peter? Maybe you can tell me if I am 'off the beaten track'.

I am writing my Life-story, as I had so many connections to Solihull, and the Mayors, and some Councillors, at that time, I guess I weill have to put my Gupwell memories as part of it. It was an important part of my youth, and I felt I got much support from the Gupwell brothers, and those who worked directly for them, at that time.

Harris and Sheldon were the bigger shopfitters of Birmingham, and the next competition was one in London, Cadwallider, I think was the name.

I shall be visiting my sister in Tibberton Worcester, and attending the 60 years celebration of Lyndon School when there (26. th. September to the 10 th. October).

Best wishes, Peter
 
Thanks Jon, I was not sure how the system works, in pages like this. There is one specifically for Solihull which is not clear, but I imagine that it works the same.
 
Charlie said:
I'm not sure if Gupwell is a common name in B'ham or not, but my cousin was married to a Leonard Gupwell. I last saw them in the '50s though, they moved to the Isle of Wight.
Click to expand...

I think you might be referring to my late mother Lilly Gupwell maiden name Betts. Her mother's
maiden name was Charlesworth. Mom and Dad now both passed moved to Isle of Wight in the late 80's.
 
Shakey: I've sent you a private email, I guess you're my cousin's daughter, which is wonderful. Please come back on the Forum if you don't receive it!
Charlie
 
Here's a great picture of Gupwell's premises in Park Street,with a couple of their fearsome looking lorries parked outside.Added bonus is the Phoenix Hotel as well !Captured.JPG
 
Mickymoo said:
Here's a great picture of Gupwell's premises in Park Street,with a couple of their fearsome looking lorries parked outside.Added bonus is the Phoenix Hotel as well !View attachment 114524
Click to expand...
Hello Mickey Moo! I wonder what your real name is, and did you have any direct connection to Gupwells? I was an apprentice Carpenter & Joiner there from 1956, and later worked as an Estimating Clerk there, and left in 1963. You may know that the Gupwell family was very diverse, with the Gupwell Transport - mainly for Cadburys, then Surfastal which produced a special, Matting grid for ships decks etc. Maybe you are still out there and can respond, sincerely Peter
 
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