Letter: Working with Harry Brearley

Dear Messenger,

I was intrigued to read the article on the discovery of stainless steel, as my late grandfather, John William Lindley, was a member of the small team that assisted Harry Brearley in the project.

I'm afraid I never met him as he died a few months before I was born and my father never spoke of him. I feel this was because of the tragedy of my grandmother, Clara, who hung herself in the family home (at the time Wheldrake Road) which cast a dark shadow over the family.

It was my late aunt Dorothy who told me of my grandfather’s part in the process. At the time of the discovery my father, newly married in September 1909, was residing at 20 Catherine Street and it seems Harry was a regular visitor, enthused at the prospect of the discovery.

My grandfather (an engineer by trade) produced one of the first test pieces in stainless steel, a wheel rim and axle miniature about 6 inches in diameter. We held this piece in the factory until the late 1980’s when my father (also John) lent it to a colleague at GKN Shardlows for a paperweight. As happens with these things, it “disappeared”, but I wondered if any present owner knows they hold a piece of history in their junk drawer

In later life, my grandfather went to work for Brown Bayley’s steelworks until his retirement. I understand he held a staff position and in the 1920’s was responsible for organising and arranging exhibition stands our local steel companies would take out to trade shows all over the country. This was at a time when Britain was still somewhat the workshop of the world, and Sheffield an important part of the machinery that drove that workshop.

My grandfather’s brother, Frank Lindley, was a talented footballer. After success with Milford Athletic in 1907/8, he signed professionally with Scottish side Motherwell where he won a Scottish Association medal in the 1911-12 season. I still possess a photograph of him. Hopefully this is of some interest.

John Lindley