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Birmingham and the British Empire.

E. C. & J. Keay, Ltd. (Darlaston, Birmingham) supplied/contracted steel spans for the Ceylon “Kelani” railway bridge associated with the Kelani Valley Railway, around the time the first section to Avissawella opened (1902)

There is a thread for E. C. & J. Keay
Pedrocut

Post in thread 'E.C & J Keay of Birmingham and Darlaston'

Now I see !

The site says that in 1884 E. C. & J. Keay moved to Cyclops Works in West Bromwich, but there are mentions in the Press in 1881 as being at Cyclops Works. There is no mention of there overseas exploits.
  • Appreciate


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Joseph Sturge and Sturge Town, Jamaica.

Sturge Town, in the Parish of St Ann, Jamaica, is directly connected to the Birmingham reformer and abolitionist Joseph Sturge (1793-1859). It is a small rural village about 10 miles from Brown's Town.

Slavery was abolished in the Empire (1834-1838) but enslaved people often remained economically dependent on plantation owners. On 17 November 1836 Joseph Sturge travelled from Falmouth to the Caribbean on the “Skylark” to investigate the conditions after emancipation. On 12 December he arrived in Barbados and went on to Antigua. He obtained his first glimpse of the apprentice system on Barbados and he told the story in a book published on his return, the result of 3 months labour and travel.

To encourage real independence, abolitionists and Baptist missionaries promoted the creation of “Free Villages” and Sturge helped to raise funds in Britain to purchase land in Jamaica specifically for free settlements. Land purchases took place 1838/9 and one of the settlements was named Sturge Town in his honour.

In October 2025 a Category-5 hurricane (Hurricane Melissa) struck Jamaica, causing island-wide devastation and declaring disaster areas across affected parishes. St Ann parish, including Sturge Town, experienced severe rainfall, flooding, damage to homes and community infrastructure, power outages, transport disruption. Emergency shelter and relief operations were coordinated through parish command centres. By January 2026 efforts were still ongoing. Sturge Town Primary and Infant School had suffered damage and was under reconstruction, operating while repairs progressed.
 
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