Working in Industry

 

 

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Introduction

 

Calcutta in the 1940s was one of India's foremost industrial centres.  The rapid growth of industry had attracted people from all over India and the rest of the world.  Thus working in industry was one of the main situations where different nationalities met.  The war was a major factor in the growth of industry as Calcutta became a major armaments manufacturing centre to re-supply the China India Burma front.

This war boom brought with it many opportunities but the stresses of that, as well as the strained political situation outside the factory gates, led to many tense situations.  Strikes, sabotage, violence and sometimes murder where becoming frequent and often lasting features in Calcutta’s industrial life. 

 

 

 

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Working in Industry

 

 

 

 

          _____Pictures of 1940s Calcutta_________________________

 

Will you kindly pass a law…

StuartScan046

 

Dear Sir,

 

    We are praying God for your longevity as we know, that you are the only man to fight for God; Who is supporting this whole world and you the next man, while you have the power to be ???? if you please

 

    The fact is this, we are serving in an European Firm (for a period over five years now).  between Howrah, all cruel hearted office-Masters are making a plan to reduce our staff, for nothing in such critical day – only for Revenge purpose on our Workers’ Union & Govt Laws; as you honour has received the reports on last year. (Ganges Printing).

 

     Will you kindly Pass a Law, for God’s sake on Merchants’ workshops (&Printing): “no Reduction, of either worker or his salary; those who fill up our 5 years service (such war allowance 10% have to pay) as long as the Firm will be open.

 

We fell in emergency case if you please take pity on you children.

 

We are in heart-felt situation

 

Dear Sir ,

Your humbly obedient Children

We are poor workers.

 

Date

4-5-40

Sibpur (Howrah)

Workers, Sibhpur, Howrah, 4th May 1940

(source: personal scrapbook kept by Malcolm Moncrieff Stuart O.B.E., I.C.S. seen on 20-Dec-2005 / Reproduced by courtesy of Mrs. Malcolm Moncrieff Stuart)

 

 

 

 

          _____Contemporary Records of or about 1940s Calcutta___

 

one of the eight largest industrial countries of the world

Although India is predominantly an agricultural country, she ranks at the International Labour Office at Geneva as one of the eight largest industrial countries of the world.

Indian industries are classified in two divisions: (1) Cottage industries and (2) Large-scale industries, carried on in workshops and factories.

Indian export exceeds her imports, and India's foreign trade is carried on mostly by sea.

Five articles - such as jute, tea, cotton, skin and rice - from more than half of the total exports of the country. About 75 percent of the imports consist of manufactured goods and half the imports come from Great Britain. Cotton dominates both imports and exports.

 

(source: “A Guide Book to Calcutta, Agra, Delhi, Karachi and Bombay” The American Red Cross and the China-Burma-India-Command. [1943]:  at: http://cbi-theater-2.home.comcast.net/redcross/red-cross-india.html#INDIA)

 

(COPYRIGHT NOTICE: Reproduced under 'fair dealing' terms as part of a non commercial educational research project. The copyright remains with the original submitter/author)

 

COMMERCE AND TRADE

COMMERCE AND TRADE: The great jute industry of Bengal, the tea industry of Assam, the coal and mica industries of Bengal and Bihar, the wheat traffic of the United Provinces and generally the agricultural areas tapped by the main lines of the East Indian and Bengal Nagpur and the Eastern Bengal Railways and by numerous waterways connecting the Gangetic delta with the interior of Bengal and Assam all converge on Calcutta. Through Calcutta passes roughly one-half of the total sea-borne traffic of India.

 

(source: “A Guide Book to Calcutta, Agra, Delhi, Karachi and Bombay” The American Red Cross and the China-Burma-India-Command. [1943]:  at: http://cbi-theater-2.home.comcast.net/redcross/red-cross-india.html#INDIA)

 

(COPYRIGHT NOTICE: Reproduced under 'fair dealing' terms as part of a non commercial educational research project. The copyright remains with the original submitter/author)

 

 

The Laboring Man

 Who is he, that somewhat dirty, ill-clothed fellow, that sweating fellow, who hauls you to your destination in a rickshaw, the amazing individual who lugs a load of you-name-it-he'll-carry-it in a basket on his head, the one who struggles through the over-crowded streets with a heavily loaded bamboo push cart? In the majority of case that laboring man is a Bihari immigrant to Bengal. Sometimes he comes from Orissa or United Provinces. It is only rarely that you will see a Bengali so employed. The work is hard and of a drudging nature, and the pay is poor; these men eke out an existence from day to day.

 

(source: “The Calcutta Key” Services of Supply Base Section Two Division, Information and education Branch, United States Army Forces in India - Burma, 1945:  at: http://cbi-theater-12.home.comcast.net/~cbi-theater-12/calcuttakey/calcutta_key.html)

 

(COPYRIGHT NOTICE: Reproduced under 'fair dealing' terms as part of a non commercial educational research project. The copyright remains with the original submitter/author)

 

 

Addresses of Manufacturing Companies in 1940

Bengal Industries Association—15 Clive Street. Phone, Cal, 1422.

Alcock, W. J., & Co. Consulting Engineers for chemical and allied trades—7 Hastings Street- Phone, Cal. 2052.

Allen Berry & Co., Ltd. Automobile Engineers, oxy-acetylene and electric welders and motor car importers—Works, 62 Hazra Road. Phone, P.K. 1800. Showrooms, 24B Park Street. Phone, P.K. 2100.

Aluminium Manufacturing Co., Ltd. Manufacturers of aluminium utensils, etc.—4 Fairlie Place. Phone, Cal. 2375.

Arathoon, A, M., Ltd.—Manufacturer and Exporter of shellac and button lac—11 Stephen House, Dalhousie Square. Phone, Cal. 5905.

Associated Electrical Industries (India) Ltd. Engineers and Contractors for electric power and plant of all description—6 Mission Row. Phone, Cal. 6974.

Associated Instrument Manufacturers (India) Ltd. Manufacturers of scientific instruments and apparatus—B5 Clive Buildings. Phone, Cal. 3304.

Avery, W. & T., Ltd. Manufacturers of weighing machines—28/2 Waterloo Street. Phone, Cal. 1731.

Babcock & Wilcox, Ltd. Parent water-tube boilers, superheaters, mechanical stokers, etc.—4 Bankshall Street. Phone, Cal. 3633.

Baldwin Locomotive Works, The, Locomotive Builders and Railway Engineers—5 Dalhousie Square. Phone, Cal. 657.

Bathgate & Co—Pharmaceutical and Manufacturing Chemists—17, 18 & 19 Old Court House Street. Phone, Cal. 434.

Bellis & Morcom, Ltd. Manufacturers of heavy oil engines, steam turbines, etc.—A3 Clive Buildings, Clive Street. Phone, Cal. 3950.

Bell's Asbestos and Engineering (India) Ltd. Asbestos packing and jointing. —A3 Clive Buildings, Clive Street. Phone, Cal. 3443.

Bengal Chemical and Pharmaceutical Works, Ltd. Manufacturers of chemical, pharmaceutical and toilet preparations—94 Chittaranjan Avenue.  Phone. B.B.4101.

Bengal Potteries. Ltd. Manufacturers of porcelain and stoneware45 Tangra Road. Phone, Cal. 2970.

Billington, W, & Co., Ltd. Engineers and Contractors ; Specialists in Railway Materials—Stephen House, Dalhousie Sqre. Phe., Cal. 4248.

Birkmyre Brothers. Manufacturers and Agents for hair and leather belting—8 Clive Row. Phone, Cal. 4430.

Boots Pure Drug Co., Ltd. Manufacturing Chemists—Mercantile Buildings, 10 Lall Bazar Street. Phone, Cal. 2635.

Braithwaite & Co. (India) Ltd. Structural Engineers—Hide Road, Kidderpore. Phone, South 1112.

Braithwaite, Burn & Jessop Construction Co., Ltd.—Mercantile Buildings, Lall Bazar. Phone, Cal. 1484.

Briggs, R. V., & Co., Ltd. Analytical, Consulting and Technical Chemists—3 & 4 Garstin Place. Phone. Cal. 2204.

Britannia Biscuit Co., Ltd. Biscuit Manufacturers—5/1A &. 5/1B Mangoe Lane. Phone, Cal, 5760.

British Insulated Cables, Ltd, Engineers, Cable Manufacturers and Contractors—9 Hare Street. Phone, Cal. 4000.

Burn & Co., Ltd. Engineers and Agents ; potteries, ironworks and waggon builders—12 Mission Row. Phone, Cal. 6030.

Butto Kristo Paul & Co., Ltd. Manufacturers and Agents for chemical and pharmaceutical preparations—1 &. 3 Bonfield Lane. Phone, Cal. 4510.

Calcutta Electric Supply Corporation, Ltd.—Phone, Cal. 6200. P. 24.

Callender's Cable & Construction Co., Ltd. Engineers, Cable Manufacturers and Contractors —7 Pollock Street. Phone, Cal. 1825.

Caltex (India) Ltd.  Manufacturers of motor oils—21 Central Avenue. Phone, Cal. 1968.

Carreras (India) Ltd. Cigarette and Tobacco Manufacturers and Agents—Factory, Circular Garden Reach Road. Phone, South 202. Office, 21 Old Court House Street. Phone, Cal. 2369.

Crossley Brothers, Ltd. Manufacturers of Crossley Gas and Oil Engines—4 Fairlie Place. Phone, Cal. 5500.

Daniel Adamson & Co., Ltd. Engineers and Manufacturers of boilers, steam superheaters and turbo compressors—8 Clive Street. Phone, Cal. 3471.

Davite Company, The. Belting and belt dressings—29 Waterloo— Street. Phone, Cal. 1927.

Dunlop Rubber Co. (India) Ltd. Manufacturers of motor tyres, tubes and accessories—57B Free School Street. Phone, Cal. 411.

English Electric Co., Ltd. Manufacturers and Agents for electrical machinery and apparatus —8 Clive Street. Phone, Cal. 3922.

Elias, B. N. & Co., Ltd. Bone Mill Proprietors and Agents for The National Tobacco Co., Ltd., etc—Norton Buildings. Phone, Cal. 668.

Ford Motor Co. of India, Ltd. Automobile Engineers—2 Justice Chandra Madhab Road. Phone, P.K. 1102.

Frank Ross & Co., Ltd. Manufacturing Chemists and Dealers Inphotographic goods—15(7 Chowringhee Road. Phone, Cal. 1199.

French Motor Car Co., Ltd. Automobile Engineers—234/3 LowerCircular Road. Phone, P.K. 300.

General Electric Co. (India) Ltd.—Electrical Engineers and Contractors :  Agents for electrical goods and appliances—Magnet House, Central Avenue. Phone, Cal. 4613.

Gestetner, D (India) Ltd. Manufacturers of Gestetner's Rotary Cyclostyle Machines—32 Grosvenor House, Old Court House Street. Phone, Cal. 380.

Glenfield & Kennedy, Ltd. Hydraulic Engineers: Manufacturers of water supply fittings— Fairlie House, 4 Fairlie Place. Phone, Cal. 1300.

Godrej & Boyce Mfg. Co., Ltd. Manufacturers of steel safes and furniture—102 Clive Street. Phone, Cal. 1407.

Goodyear Tyre & Rubber Co. (India) Ltd. Manufactures of motor tyres, tubes and accessories—60 Chowringhee Road. Phe., P,K. 800.

Gramophone Co., Ltd. Manufacturers of "His Master's Voice" Gramophones, Records and Radios—33 Jessore Road, Dum Dum. Phone, Regent 800.

Great Indian Motor Works, Ltd. Automobile Engineers— 12 Government Place East. Phone, Cal. 74-

Greaves Cotton & Co. Ltd. Electrical, Mechanical and Textile Engineers—4 Mission Row. Phone, Cal. 692.

Guest, Keen, Willlams, Ltd. Railway Engineers and Hardware Manufacturers—7 Council House Street. Phone, Cal. 3790.

Heatly & Gresham, Ltd. Merchants, Engineers and Railway Specialists—6 Waterloo Street. Phone. Cal. 4724.

Henley's Telegraph Works Co., Ltd., W. T. Engineers and Contractors : Manufacturers of electric wires and cables—Henley House, Old Court House Corner. Phone, Cal. 1346.

Hooghly Docking & Engineering Co.. Ltd. Engineers and Shipbuilders—6 Howrah Road. Sulkea. Phone, Howrah 1.

Hoyle. Robson, Barnett & Co, (India) Ltd. Paint Manufacturers. Agents of Silvertown Lubricants (India) Ltd.—26 Middle Road, Entally. Phone, Cal. 5610.

Indian Cable Co., Ltd. Manufacturers of all classes of rubber insulated cables and wires—9 Hare Street. Phone, Cal. 1000.

Indian Iron & Steel Co., Ltd.—12 Mission Row. Phone, Cal. 6030.

Jardine, Menzies & Co. Architects, Consulting Engineers, Surveyors and Builders-2 & 3 Clive Row. Phone, Cal. 1937.

Jenson & Nicholson (India) Ltd. Paint, Colour and Varnish Manufacturers—2 Fairlie Place. Phone, Cal. 5100.

Jessop & Co., Ltd.  Structural, Mechanical and Electrical Engineers—93 Clive Street. Phone. Cal. 4900.

John King & Co., Ltd. Engineers, Shipbuilders, Founders and General Contractors—Victoria Engine Works, Howrah. Phone, Howrah, 26.

Jones,Ivan, Ltd. Merchants and Manufacturers Agents—8 Dalhousie Square. Phone, Cal. 1029. Workshops and Factory, 206 Lower Circular Road. Phone. P.K. 390.

Jost't Engineering Co., Ltd. Electrical and Mechanical Engineers and Contractors —9B Mercantile Buildings, Lall Bazar. Phe., Cal. 4402.

Mackenzie, G. & Co. (1919) Ltd, Automobile Engineers—208 Lower Circular Road. Phone, P.K. 1264.

Mackintosh, Burn, Ltd. Architects, Surveyors, Builders, Contractors, Sanitary Engineers and Ironfounders—D2 Clive Buildings. Phone, Cal. 6666.

Manton & Co. Gun, Rifle and Revolver Manufacturers and General Sports Goods Dealers—13 Old Court House Street. Phone, Cal. 1903.

Marshall Sons & Co. (India) Ltd. Manufacturers of steam engines, boilers, tractors and tea-garden machinery—99 Clive Street. Phone, Cal. 2236.

Martin & Co. Merchants and Building Contractors. Agents for Railways, Tea and Engineering Companies—12 Mission Row. Phone, Cal, 6020.

Metal Box Co. of India, Ltd. Tin Printers, and Tin Box Manufacturers—B2 Hide Road, Kidderpore. Phone, South 1344.

Minimax. Ltd.  Manufacturers of Fire Extinguishers—12 Lall Bazar Street. Phone, Cal. 1650.

Norton, J. B., & Sons, Ltd. Sanitary Engineers—Norton Buildings, 1 &. 2 Old Court House Corner. Phone, Cal. 512.

Oriental Gas Co., Ltd. Manufacturers of gas, coke, sulphate of ammonia. Works. 14 Canal West Road. Phone, B.B. 3001; Office, 12/A Park Street. Phone, Cal. 4200.

Osler. F. & C., Ltd. Electrical Engineers and Contractors—12 Old Court House Street. Phone, Cal. 478.

Philips Electrical Co. (India) Ltd. Manufacturers of electrical metal filament, lamps, fittings, radio products. X-ray material- Philips House, 2 Heysham Road. Phone, P.K. 1107.

Saxby & Farmer (India) Ltd. Railway Signal Engineers and Contractors17 Convent Road, Entally. Phone, Cal. 171.

Scott & Saxby, Ltd. Tube Well and Water Supply Engineers—19 British Indian Street. Phone, Cal. 1340.

Shalimar Paint, Colour & Varnish Co., Ltd.—6 Lyons Range. Phone, Cal. 5122.

Siemens (India) Ltd. Manufacturers of electrical goods—26 Central Avenue. Phons.Cal.4891.

Singer Sewing Machine Co.  Manufacturers of Singer Sewing achines and accessories— E2 Clive Buildings, Clive St. Phe., Cal. 1957.

Smith, Stanistreet &Co., Ltd. Manufacturing Chemists—Dispensary, 5 Dalhousie Square. Phone, Cal. 3618 , Factory, 18 Convent Road, Entally, Phone, Cal. 3617.

Standard Telephones & Cables Ltd. Manufactururs of telephone systems and cables, and radio transmitting and receiving equipment:—4 Esplanade East. Phone, Cal. 1255.

Standard- Vacuum Oil Co. Manufacturers and Importers of petrol, lubricating oils, etc.—6 Church Lane. Phone, Cal. 6460.

Steuart & Co., Ltd. Automobile Engineers—57 Park Street. Phone, Cal. 4575.

Stewarts and Lloyds of India, Ltd. Manufacturers and Stockists of wrought iron, steel tubes and fittings—Victoria House, Chowringhee Square. Phone. Cal. 6180. Workshops, Hide Road, Kidderpore. Phone. South 569.

Tata Iron & Steel Co., Ltd.—102 Clive Street. Phone, Cal. 5512.

Tata Sons, Ltd.—102 Clive Street. Phone, Cal. 4477.

Thomson, T. E., & Co., Ltd. Founders, Hardware and Metal Merchants—9 Esplanade East. Phone, Cal. 102.

Wakefield, C. C., & Co., Ltd. Manufacturers and Importers of lubricating oils and lubricators—7 Royal Exchange Place. Phe., Cal. 986.

Walford Transport, Ltd, Automobile Engineers and Transport Agents—71;73 Park Street. Phone, P. K. 1620; Service Station and Stores, 117-119 Park Street. Phone, P.K. 492.

    Storage; Hide Road, Kidderpore. Phone, South 559.

    Petrol Depot and Breakdown Lorry; 46/1A Chowringhee. Phone, P.K. 1120.

William Jack & Co. Engineers and Importers of pneumatic tools caterpillar tractors, etc-—10 Clive Street. Phone, Cal. 981.

Worthington-Simpson, Ltd.  Civil and Mechanical Engineers: Pumping Machinery Manufacturers—10 Clive Street. Phe., Cal. 458.

John Barry, journalist, Calcutta, 1939/40
(source pages 227-236 of John Barry: “Calcutta 1940” Calcutta: Central Press, 1940.)

(COPYRIGHT NOTICE: Reproduced under 'fair dealing' terms as part of a non commercial educational research project. The copyright remains with John Barry 1940)

 

Jewels of Bengal

As the Japanese squeeze India through Burma and the Andaman Islands, they grasp at the biggest remaining segment of Britain's Empire. They close on United Nations routes to China, Russia and the Middle East. But, aside from India's strategic values, India also has an industrial area which is well worth grabbing for itself.

Indian ironmasters in the Fourth Century knew how to work bigger masses of iron than any European foundry could handle 1,500 years later (Europe and the U.S. caught up in the 19th Century). Now, at the great Tata works in Jamshedpur, 135 miles inland from Calcutta, the inheritors of that tradition produce most of India's steel (1,250,000 tons per year—about 1½% of U.S. production). They make armor plate, steel bars for guns, shells, other munitions. At last reports, 600,000 complete shells and 150,000,000 rounds of small-arms ammunition had gone out from Indian plants to British war zones. Also near Calcutta are many of India's textile mills, its richest coal and iron deposits.

Southward, in the State of Mysore, is another great industrial concentration, where Indian workmen produce iron & steel, even a few airplanes (trainers and Curtiss Hawk fighters). Now the British wish that more of India's industries were on the west coast, fewer on and near the Bay of Bengal's vulnerable shoreline. India's industrial prizes, in the Calcutta area, lie at the end of the shortest sea and air route from Burma.

To the south is Ceylon, only 50 miles from the Indian mainland, across a string of partially submerged sandspits called "Adam's Bridge." Once in Ceylon, holding its naval base at Trincomalee and the great commercial port of Colombo, the Japs need not cross Adam's Bridge. For they would then have the Bay of Bengal. If they dominate its routes to Calcutta and Madras, the Japs will be very near to having India.

(source: TIME Magazine, New York, Apr. 6, 1942)

(COPYRIGHT NOTICE: Reproduced under 'fair dealing' terms as part of a non commercial educational research project. The copyright remains with Time Magazine)

 

 

 

 

          _____Memories of 1940s Calcutta_________________________

 

 

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The Jute Industry

 

 

 

          _____Pictures of 1940s Calcutta_________________________

 

 

Jute market somewhere in Calcutta 

Glenn Hensley, Photography Technician with US Army Airforce, Summer 1944

 

 (source: Glenn S. Hensley: Jute market, B020, Jute market somewhere in Calcutta  seen at University of Chicago Hensley Photo Library at http://dsal.uchicago.edu/images/hensley as well as a  series of E-Mail interviews with Glenn Hensley between 12th June 2001 and 28th August 2001)

 

 (COPYRIGHT NOTICE: Reproduced by permission of Glenn Hensley and under a Creative Commons license)

 

Jute market somewhere in Calcutta 

Glenn Hensley, Photography Technician with US Army Airforce, Summer 1944

 

 (source: Glenn S. Hensley: Jute market, B021, Jute market somewhere in Calcutta  seen at University of Chicago Hensley Photo Library at http://dsal.uchicago.edu/images/hensley as well as a  series of E-Mail interviews with Glenn Hensley between 12th June 2001 and 28th August 2001)

 

 (COPYRIGHT NOTICE: Reproduced by permission of Glenn Hensley and under a Creative Commons license)

 

 

 

 

Spring neckties…

StuartScan041

collected by Malcolm Moncrieff Stuart, I.C.S. (Indian Civil Service), Calcutta, 1940s

(source: personal scrapbook kept by Malcolm Moncrieff Stuart O.B.E., I.C.S. seen on 20-Dec-2005 / Reproduced by courtesy of Mrs. Malcolm Moncrieff Stuart)

 

 

 

 

          _____Contemporary Records of or about 1940s Calcutta___

 

 

Addresses of Jute Companies in 1940

Bengal Jute Dealers' Association—4 Commercial Buildings. Phone, Cal. 2523.

Calcutta Baled Jute Association and Calcutta Baled Jute Shippers' Association — Clive Street. Phone, Cal, 475.

Indian Jute Mills' Association—Royal Exchange Buildings. Phone, Cal. 475.

Andrew Yule & Co., Ltd. Managing Agents for Jute Mills, Tea Estates, Coal Companies, Insurance Companies, Steamer Companies, etc.—8 Clive Row. Phone, Cal. 5280.

Barry & Co. —Agents for Gourepore Paint Co., Tea Estates, etc.—2 Fairlie Place. Phone, Cal. 5100.

Bess Dunlop & Co., Ltd. Merchants and Managing Agents for Tea Estates, Sugar Companies, Jure and Textile Mills—2 Hare Street, Phone, Cal. 4335.

Bird & Co. Merchants and Managing Agents for Jute Mills, Collieries, Indian Patent Stone : Labour Contractors, etc—Chartered Bank Building, Royal Exchange Place. Phone, Cal. 6040.

Birla Brotherts Ltd. Managing Agents for Jute, Cotton, Sugar and Rice Mills, etc. —3 Royal Exchange Place. Phone. Cal. 562.

Daulatram Rawatmull. Agents for Jute and Sugar Mills—178 Harrison Road. Phone, B.B. 4501.

Duncan Brothers & Co., Ltd. Managing Agents for Jure Mills, Tea Companies, etc—101 Clive Street. Phone, Cal. 5411.

Finlay, James, & Co.. Ltd. Agents for Jute, Tea, Railway and Sugar Companies—1 Clive Street. Phone, Cal. 4600.

Gillanders Arbuthnot & Co. Merchants, Bankers and Importers : Managing Agents for Jute Mills, Tea Estates. Collieries, Railways, Insurance, Timber, Building and Engineering Companies, etc.—Clive Buildings, 8 Clive Street. Phone, Cal. 6666.

Harrisons & Crosfield, Ltd. Merchants and Agents for Steamship and Tea Companies, etc.—6 Church Lane. Phone, Cal. 6220.

Henderson, George, & Co.. Ltd. Agents for Insurance, Jute and Tea Companies—101/1 Clive Street. Phone, Cal. 4733.

Jardine, Skinner & Co. Merchants and Agents fot Jute Mills, Tea Estates; Coal, Insurance, Steamship Companies, etc.1 Clive Row. Phone. Cal. 6990.

Kettlewell Bullen & Co., Ltd. Merchants; Agents for Tea and  Insurance Companies, Cotton and Jute Mills, etc.—21 Strand Road. Phone, Cal. 4901.

Kedarnath Ramnath & Co. Merchants and Proprietors, Shiva Jute Press -130 Mechuabazar Street. Phone, B.B. 3850.

Keymer Bagshawe & Co., Ltd. Engineers; Agents for Jute and  Textile Companies, Coates Bros', printing inks, etc.—4 Lyons Range. Phone, Cal. 530.

Landale & Clark. Ltd. jute Merchants and Brokers: Fire and Marine Assessors and Salvage Contractors —11 Clive St. Phe., Cal. 5820.

McLeod & Co.. Ltd. Merchants and Agents for Tea, Jute. Railway, Engineering and Insurance Companies—McLeod House, 28 Dalhousie Square West, Phone, Cal- 4926-

Macneill & Co. Merchants and Agents for ]ute Mills, Rope and Coal Companies. Tea Estates and Garden Reach Workshops, Ltd.— 2 Fairlie Place. Phone, Cal. 6100.

Mitsui Bussan Kaisha, Ltd. Merchants and Agents for Gunny Jute Presses, etc.—100 Clive Street. Phone, Cal, 5000.

Ralli Brothers. Ltd. Jute and Gunny and Seed Merchants, etc.— 16 Hare Street. Phone, Cal. 5420.

John Barry, journalist, Calcutta, 1939/40
(source pages 227-236 of John Barry: “Calcutta 1940” Calcutta: Central Press, 1940.)

(COPYRIGHT NOTICE: Reproduced under 'fair dealing' terms as part of a non commercial educational research project. The copyright remains with John Barry 1940)

 

Boom

[…]

A less obvious bet, already paying cushy dividends, is burlap, imported from

Calcutta, where a monsoon run on the warehouses is going on. One use for burlap is

binding the springs of auto seats—it removes the squeak. Last week one auto parts

supplier was "in" more cash as profit on burlap inventory warehoused well before the war,

than it hopes to make from its seat division all year. Another company standing to clean

up on a raw material shortage is […]

(source: TIME Magazine, New York,  Oct. 16, 1939)

(COPYRIGHT NOTICE: Reproduced under 'fair dealing' terms as part of a non commercial educational research project. The copyright remains with Time Magazine)

 

Dollar Wheat

[…]

Cotton goods prices paralleled raw cotton prices (up an average of a yard); when cotton is rising, textile fabricators like to buy for future use in hope of inventory profits. Last week's cotton buying was paralleled by a rush to buy cotton grey goods: sales, 100,000,000 yards, up 80,000,000. This piling up of inventories is a gamble that retail sales will boom before production declines under inventory pressure.

But there was an additional reason for textile activity: England, needing burlap for sandbags, has virtually cleaned out the Calcutta market since the outbreak of war with orders so far totaling 1,000,000,000 bags. The price of raw material for burlap is up from £18 ($84.24) a ton in August to £88 (about $344.96). Supplies for the U. S. are limited, not likely to last long. Textile companies are selling low-grade, rough cottons to replace burlap sacks.

[…]

(source: TIME Magazine, New York,  Dec. 25, 1939)

(COPYRIGHT NOTICE: Reproduced under 'fair dealing' terms as part of a non commercial educational research project. The copyright remains with Time Magazine)

 

Jute, Hemp and Bedlam

There is apt to be very little more jute (or burlap, which is made from jute) for the U.S., and no abaca (Manila hemp). Those facts may sound esoteric to the layman, but they have the U.S. Government—and all who know about jute and hemp—in a frenzy.

Burlap is the "wrapping paper of the wholesale trade." The U.S., even in normal times, consumes more than 500,000,000 lb. of burlap a year. Bulk foods—grains, raw sugar, coffee, salt, livestock feeds—are bagged in burlap; so are cotton, wool, fertilizers, chemicals, countless industrial products. In wartime it is also needed for sandbags and camouflage fabrics. As raw jute, or as manufactured burlap, 99% of it originates in India, and 85% of that comes from around the steaming Ganges Delta in Bengal Province. In no other part of the world where acceptable jute can be grown has labor been persuaded to process it, for jute must soak in stagnant water, must be hand-worked by natives who wade waist-deep in the stinking mess.

The Jap—from Rangoon, which he already holds, from western Burma, toward which he is driving—threatens the two great jute ports. Calcutta and Chittagong. Chittagong, on the eastern rim of India's coast, has already been partly evacuated. Even without that immediate threat, the shipping shortage itself has cut into jute supplies. Ships from India must carry even more vital products, such as manganese (three-fifths of the world's production is in India and the U.S.S.R., and Russia is now even more remote than India) and mica (essential for electric insulation, 80% of it comes from India). Every war since the Crimean has created a boom in jute, but this is the first time the Western Hemisphere faced jutelessness.

Since Pearl Harbor, the U.S. has made herculean efforts to conserve burlap, to get in as much more as its thin line of groaning ships can bring. By Government order, two-thirds of all burlap is earmarked for military needs, the other third for essential farm needs. Non-essential users, like carpet and furniture makers, have been denied any burlap at all. Yet U.S. warehouse stocks are now less than a third of consumption in a good year; Calcutta stocks (if the U.S. can get them) are about the same.

Abacá—90% of it from the Philippines (a lot of it from around Davao, one of the first towns the Japs took)—looks like the banana plant (see cut, p. 63) and belongs to the same family. Bananas may grease the ways for a Victory ship launching, but abacá makes the rope for the world's navies. There has been little abacá since Manila fell, and there will be little if any more till Manila is retaken.

For other cordage, the Hemisphere has a wealth of fibers. Chief commercial ones are sisal and henequen, which grow more or less prolifically in Yucatan, Cuba, Haiti, other parts of Latin America. Exotic fibers—caroa, guaxima, papoula de Sao Francisco from Brazil, cabuya from Ecuador, pita and fique from Colombia—might replace jute and hemp if they could be produced and processed in sufficient quantity (which would involve new machinery, labor, transportation).

But henequen, sisal, and every other known western fiber but sansevieria, which grows wild in Cuba, lack the resistance to salt water that makes abacá a naval necessity. Moreover, while it takes only four months to get a usable hemp crop, it takes three years to produce sisal, five to seven years for henequen. And low world prices for jute and abacá have kept Hemisphere acreage low.

What's To Be Done? Best substitute for burlap is that lately over-produced U.S. staple—cotton. Since late January, the U.S. Government has been salting away a stockpile of osnaburgs (heavy cotton) by draining off one-third of all production. Hoped for, and far from achieved, total: 200,000,000 yards (one-fifth of normal burlap consumption).

Last fortnight, bag makers got A-2 priorities on cotton bagging but, with all the other demands on cotton mills, the rating so far has turned out to be about as good as Confederate money. Up to now, burlap-starved farmers have got by somehow with emergency allocations, used-bag collections, etc. With mounting cries from bag-starved Lend-Leasers and Good Neighbors, best hope is that such makeshifts—together with stepped-up production of Latin American substitutes—will continue to keep the hand and the mouth connected.

If worst comes to worst, paper wrapping, or wood-packed shipments in bulk, can still substitute for a lot of burlap. But last week, hemp was in such a parlous state that the agricultural fantasy of the century was being seriously pushed in Washington. Commodity Credit Corp. hoped to obtain 240,000,000 lb. of home-grown hemp, 14 times the U.S.'s peak production in World War I. CCC has barely taken its first baby step in the program: persuading U.S. farmers to plant 35,000 acres of hemp for 350,000 bushels of seed. To achieve that goal, the seed for the seed must be in the ground within three weeks.

If and when CCC gets the seed, it must then lure more U.S. farmers to sow it across some 300,000 acres next year, teach them how to grow and harvest it. (But CCC knows of only ten people in all the U.S. who are fully versed in the sensitive art of harvesting hemp: cut too early, the fiber is weak, cut too late, it is damaged.) Thereafter, materials must somehow be found to build 100 processing plants near the new hemp fields, men must be trained to staff them.

If that program sounds impossible, CCC can point out that having no rope for the U.S. Navy (which normally scorns U.S. hemp) is still more unthinkable.

Because it thinks Congress will eventually swallow most of Treasury Secretary Morgenthau's newest tax proposals, giant Westinghouse Electric & Manufacturing Co. has jumped the gun, is already whacking off Federal income taxes at so high a rate that, while January & February sales rose sharply, net profits were shown as only $2,498,000 (78¢ a common share) against $3,572,000 a year ago ($1.33 a share).

(source: TIME Magazine, New York, Mar. 30, 1942)

(COPYRIGHT NOTICE: Reproduced under 'fair dealing' terms as part of a non commercial educational research project. The copyright remains with Time Magazine)

 

 

Last Word in Jute

The burlap shortage, which had U.S. bag-users hot & bothered months ago, was no longer a  worry last week. Reason: cotton-and paper-bag production had zoomed fast enough to plug  the entire gap. Cotton bags are just as good as burlap; the only catch is that they cost  10-25% more (17¢ for a cotton potato bag v. 15¢ for burlap).

The burlap scare started when Jap warships swooped into the Bay of Bengal, threatened to  cut supply lines to India—source of 99% of world jute, from which burlap is made. With  U.S. burlap stockpiles down to a bare three months' supply, something had to be done. It  was. In March, WPB rated cotton-bagging at A2, only one notch below military cotton  cloth. Month later Washington went a step further, forced all heavy-goods cotton mills to  put 20-40% of their looms on cotton-bagging.

Results are startling. Bemis Bro. Bag Co., No. 1 U.S. bagmaker, last week reported that,  while burlap-bag output was down 80%, cotton-and paper-bag production was up 50%. This  switch was cheap: a few ingenious adjustments immediately converted burlap-bag machines  to cotton; paper-bag facilities were enlarged and slapped on longer schedules. Meantime  Lend-Lease and military bag orders piled in. Thus, instead of starving on the jute  shortage, Bemis Bro.—and most other U.S. bagmakers—are serving the war effort by the  highest production ever.

(source: TIME Magazine, New York,  Jul. 6, 1942)

(COPYRIGHT NOTICE: Reproduced under 'fair dealing' terms as part of a non commercial educational research project. The copyright remains with Time Magazine)

 

No Boom in Burlap

There should be a burlap boom. The U.S. is critically short of burlap, and Calcutta warehouses are bulging with it. Yet ships in the last month have been returning from India with unused cargo space. Reason: Indian exporters have jacked their prices up 15% in the last six months, but OPA maintains a tight price ceiling on burlap in the U.S. (at the dock, it now costs $15 per bale above the ceiling).

The same squeeze play occurred in the last war, but that time Elder Statesman Bernard Mannes Baruch pulled a shrewd counter-squeeze. After he persuaded the U.S. Treasury to stop shipping silver (to bolster India's currency), burlap prices came down in a hurry. Burlap importers—and their bagless customers—wish they had another Baruch.

(source: TIME Magazine, New York, May. 31, 1943)

(COPYRIGHT NOTICE: Reproduced under 'fair dealing' terms as part of a non commercial educational research project. The copyright remains with Time Magazine)

 

 

 

 

          _____Memories of 1940s Calcutta_________________________

 

I went inside the mill only once when it was working

During my whole sojourn in India, I went inside the mill only once when it was working.  My first reaction was to quickly rush through and out the opposite door, but some inner voice told me not to hurry.  Amidst the haze of heat and dust I saw women in damp grey saris, wisps of jute sticking to their hair, poor worn faces clammy with sweat, yet smiling to me in a friendly manner.  Men were standing at their looms and the Sahibs walking up and down, with shirts clinging to their bodies, gave me a cheerful wave as I went by as if they were strolling about in some park on a pleasant day.  To me, the deafening roar of the machinery, unbearable heat, the pervading smell of jute all conspired to create a special hell - a hell I took great care never to enter again.

Eugenie Fraser, wife of a jute mill manager, Titaghur, mid 1940s

 (source:page 114 of Eugenie Fraser: “A home by the Hooghly. A jute Wallahs Wife” .Edinburgh: Mainstream Publishing  1989)

(COPYRIGHT NOTICE: Reproduced under 'fair dealing' terms as part of a non commercial educational research project. The copyright remains with Eugenie Fraser)

 

‘Marro-Marro,’ (Beat Him –Beat him).

I was in the habit of walking to the office to meet Ron when the mill closed down for the day. On one such occasion I was dismayed to see a mass of workers crowded around Ron and hearing them calling out ‘Marro-Marro,’ (Beat Him –Beat him). To the right could be seen the members of the European staff making their way to their quarters.  Behind them was the young Kerani, Douglas Cunningham, who turned and came back to ask if he cold be of some assistance – a brave action indeed.  I heard Ron talking above the threatening shouts, but just as I was preparing to run across to the railway on order to reach the station and phone the police, the crowd suddenly began to disperse. Ron’s ability to speak freely in Hindustani stood him in good stead. “You are brave now, threatening to beat me up,” he told them “ but you forget the days before the partition when I escorted you to your bustees at night like a lot of children and walked back alone.” It worked. The crowd melted away.

Eugenie Fraser, wife of a jute mill manager, Titaghur, late 1940s

 (source:pages 180-181 of Eugenie Fraser: “A home by the Hooghly. A jute Wallahs Wife” .Edinburgh: Mainstream Publishing  1989)

(COPYRIGHT NOTICE: Reproduced under 'fair dealing' terms as part of a non commercial educational research project. The copyright remains with Eugenie Fraser)

 

Far greater benefits than in our time, were now enjoyed by the staff

Young men continued to come out, followed by their wives and children.  New married quarters, modern and air conditioned, had been built to accommodate them.  Far greater benefits than in our time, were now enjoyed by the staff.  Passages for all men, women and children were paid for by the company.

Eugenie Fraser, wife of a jute mill manager, Calcutta, late 1940s

 (source:page 188 of Eugenie Fraser: “A home by the Hooghly. A jute Wallahs Wife” .Edinburgh: Mainstream Publishing  1989)

(COPYRIGHT NOTICE: Reproduced under 'fair dealing' terms as part of a non commercial educational research project. The copyright remains with Eugenie Fraser)

 

‘…you just had to go where you could find work.’

That was at the height of the depression and there wasn't any work, so you just had to go where you could find it.

George Robertson, employeee in the jute industry, Bengal 1934.
(source: page 39 of Trevor Royle: “The Last Days of the Raj” London: Michael Joseph, 1989)

(COPYRIGHT NOTICE: Reproduced under 'fair dealing' terms as part of a non commercial educational research project. The copyright remains with Trevor Royle 1989)

 

 ‘The Indians looked up to the white management’

The Indians looked up to the white management, of course, but there was no question of bitterness between them at all. They were treated well and they were welllooked after. I found no resentment at all. None whatsoever.

George Robertson, employeee in the jute industry, Bengal late 1930s
 (source: page 39-40 of Trevor Royle: “The Last Days of the Raj” London: Michael Joseph, 1989)

(COPYRIGHT NOTICE: Reproduced under 'fair dealing' terms as part of a non commercial educational research project. The copyright remains with Trevor Royle 1989)

 

 

 

 

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The Steel Industry

 

 

 

 

          _____Pictures of 1940s Calcutta_________________________

 

 

 

 

 

          _____Contemporary Records of or about 1940s Calcutta___

 

 

Addresses of Steel Engineering Firms in 1940

Baldwin Locomotive Works, The, Locomotive Builders and Railway Engineers—5 Dalhousie Square. Phone, Cal. 657.

Bellis & Morcom, Ltd. Manufacturers of heavy oil engines, steam turbines, etc.—A3 Clive Buildings, Clive Street. Phone, Cal. 3950.

Burn & Co., Ltd. Engineers and Agents ; potteries, ironworks and waggon builders—12 Mission Row. Phone, Cal. 6030.

Crossley Brothers, Ltd. Manufacturers of Crossley Gas and Oil Engines—4 Fairlie Place. Phone, Cal. 5500.

Daniel Adamson & Co., Ltd. Engineers and Manufacturers of boilers, steam superheaters and turbo compressors—8 Clive Street. Phone, Cal. 3471.

Hooghly Docking & Engineering Co.. Ltd. Engineers and Shipbuilders—6 Howrah Road. Sulkea. Phone, Howrah 1.

Indian Iron & Steel Co., Ltd.—12 Mission Row. Phone, Cal. 6030.

Jessop & Co., Ltd.  Structural, Mechanical and Electrical Engineers—93 Clive Street. Phone. Cal. 4900.

John King & Co., Ltd. Engineers, Shipbuilders, Founders and General Contractors—Victoria Engine Works, Howrah. Phone, Howrah, 26.

Marshall Sons & Co. (India) Ltd. Manufacturers of steam engines, boilers, tractors and tea-garden machinery—99 Clive Street. Phone, Cal. 2236.

Metal Box Co. of India, Ltd. Tin Printers, and Tin Box Manufacturers—B2 Hide Road, Kidderpore. Phone, South 1344.

Stewarts and Lloyds of India, Ltd. Manufacturers and Stockists of wrought iron, steel tubes and fittings—Victoria House, Chowringhee Square. Phone. Cal. 6180. Workshops, Hide Road, Kidderpore. Phone. South 569.

Tata Iron & Steel Co., Ltd.—102 Clive Street. Phone, Cal. 5512.

Thomson, T. E., & Co., Ltd. Founders, Hardware and Metal Merchants—9 Esplanade East. Phone, Cal. 102.

John Barry, journalist, Calcutta, 1939/40
(source pages 227-236 of John Barry: “Calcutta 1940” Calcutta: Central Press, 1940.)

(COPYRIGHT NOTICE: Reproduced under 'fair dealing' terms as part of a non commercial educational research project. The copyright remains with John Barry 1940)

 

The Victims of The Dum Dum Attack

AMONG FOUR BRITISH EMPLOYEES

of a Calcutta engineering works murdered on Saturday by members of the Indian Revolutionary Communist Party, was Frederick Gower Turnbull (28), of Middlesbrough.

The bodies of Turnbull, and Arthur Dwyer (37), of Halifax, (earlier reported of Middlesbrough), and Frederick Charles Brennan, an Anglo-Indian, were recovered from two pressure furnaces.

Altogether four British or Anglo-Indian employees were killed by terrorists in Saturday night's raid on the works of Jessop and Company.

The fourth man, Felix Augier (42), died in hospital from stab wounds.

Matthew Ewing, a British foreman at Jessops, was struck on the head. He was rescued by loyal workers, who dragged him to safety over a wall.

There has been considerable labour unrest at the works, due to a reduction of over 150 workers recently.

The raiders' savage tactics suggest that they aimed to stiffen malcontents in opposition to the Indian Government's gradually succeeding efforts to break the general strike threat.

Indian and Pakistani police are combing the country to round up stray batches of raiders.

Some escaped by boat and others in cars and lorries. Fifteen rifles and several hand grenades were captured by the police....

(source: Middlesbrough Evening Gazette, February 28,1949)

(COPYRIGHT NOTICE: Reproduced under 'fair dealing' terms as part of a non commercial educational research project. The copyright remains with the : Middlesbrough Evening Gazette)

 

 

 

 

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The Tea Industry

 

 

 

 

          _____Pictures of 1940s Calcutta_________________________

 

 

 

 

 

          _____Contemporary Records of or about 1940s Calcutta___

 

 

Addresses of Tea Companies in 1940

Calcutta Tea Traders' Association—2 Clive St. Phone, Cal. 475.

Andrew Yule & Co., Ltd. Managing Agents for Jute Mills, Tea Estates, Coal Companies, Insurance Companies, Steamer Companies, etc.—8 Clive Row. Phone, Cal. 5280.

Bess Dunlop & Co., Ltd. Merchants and Managing Agents for Tea Estates, Sugar Companies, Jure and Textile Mills—2 Hare Street, Phone, Cal. 4335.

Brooke Bond India, Ltd. Wholesale Tea Merchants, Blenders and Packers—2 Metcalfe Street. Phone, Cal. 3810.

Davenport & Co., Ltd. Merchants and Managing Agents for Tea Companies—6 Church Lane. Phone, Cal. 6220.

Duncan Brothers & Co., Ltd. Managing Agents for Jure Mills, Tea Companies, etc—101 Clive Street. Phone, Cal. 5411.

Finlay, James, & Co.. Ltd. Agents for Jute, Tea, Railway and Sugar Companies—1 Clive Street. Phone, Cal. 4600.

Gillanders Arbuthnot & Co. Merchants, Bankers and Importers : Managing Agents for Jute Mills, Tea Estates. Collieries, Railways, Insurance, Timber, Building and Engineering Companies, etc.—Clive Buildings, 8 Clive Street. Phone, Cal. 6666.

Harrisons & Crosfield, Ltd. Merchants and Agents for Steamship and Tea Companies, etc.—6 Church Lane. Phone, Cal. 6220.

Henderson, George, & Co.. Ltd. Agents for Insurance, Jute and Tea Companies—101/1 Clive Street. Phone, Cal. 4733.

Jardine, Skinner & Co. Merchants and Agents fot Jute Mills, Tea Estates; Coal, Insurance, Steamship Companies, etc.1 Clive Row. Phone. Cal. 6990.

Kettlewell Bullen & Co., Ltd. Merchants; Agents for Tea and  Insurance Companies, Cotton and Jute Mills, etc.—21 Strand Road. Phone, Cal. 4901.

Lipton, Ltd. Wholesale Tea and General Merchants—5 Council House Street. Phone, Cal. 5026.

Lyall Marshall & Co. Merchants and Agents for Carew &. Co. (Gin Manufacturers), Tea Estates, etc.—4 Fairlie Place. Phe., Cal. 168.

McLeod & Co.. Ltd. Merchants and Agents for Tea, Jute. Railway, Engineering and Insurance Companies—McLeod House, 28 Dalhousie Square West, Phone, Cal- 4926-

Macneill & Co. Merchants and Agents for ]ute Mills, Rope and Coal Companies. Tea Estates and Garden Reach Workshops, Ltd.— 2 Fairlie Place. Phone, Cal. 6100.

Octavius Steel & Co. Ltd. Merchants and Agents for Tea Estates, Sugar and Coal Companies—14 Old Court House St, Phe., Cal. 146.

Planters Stores & Agency Co., Ltd.  Agents for Tea Gardens,

Colliery and Mill Scores -11 Clive Street. Phone, Cal. 5808.

Shaw Wallace & Co. Merchants and Agents for Tea and Insurance Companies, Flour and Cotton Mills, Collieries, The Atlas Fertilizer Works and The Tinplate Co. of India, Ltd.— Wallace House, 4/5 Bankshall Street. Phone. Cal. 5300.

Williamson, Magor & Co. Agents for Venesta, Ltd., Union Oil Co., Tea Companies, etc.—4 Mangoe Lane- Phone, Cal. 5208.

John Barry, journalist, Calcutta, 1939/40
(source pages 227-236 of John Barry: “Calcutta 1940” Calcutta: Central Press, 1940.)

(COPYRIGHT NOTICE: Reproduced under 'fair dealing' terms as part of a non commercial educational research project. The copyright remains with John Barry 1940)

 

 

 

          _____Memories of 1940s Calcutta_________________________

 

a printing press for tea auctioneers

Reg worked for a Col. Easton who ran a printing press for tea auctioneers. They printed all the lists for the auctions as well as sports and accounts and other in house things. He was apprenticed to learn the printing trade but his first love had always been the air force. His older brother Derek had been his hero and Reg and wanted to follow in his footsteps but he failed his maths and so was not accepted.

Elizabeth James (nee Shah), AngloIndian schoolgirl. Calcutta, early 1950s
(source: page 56-57 Elizabeth James: An Anglo Indian Tale: The Betrayal of Innocence. Delhi: Originals, 2004 / Reproduced by courtesy of Elizabeth James (nee Shah))

 

 

 

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      The Building Industry

 

 

 

          _____Pictures of 1940s Calcutta_________________________

 

 

Construction workers along Strand Bank Road, Calcutta

Glenn Hensley, Photography Technician with US Army Airforce, Summer 1944

 

 (source: Glenn S. Hensley: Construction workers, B030, "Construction workers along Strand Bank Road, Calcutta"  seen at University of Chicago Hensley Photo Library at http://dsal.uchicago.edu/images/hensley as well as a  series of E-Mail interviews with Glenn Hensley between 12th June 2001 and 28th August 2001)

 

 (COPYRIGHT NOTICE: Reproduced by permission of Glenn Hensley and under a Creative Commons license)

 

 

 

 

 

 

          _____Contemporary Records of or about 1940s Calcutta___

 

 

Addresses of Building Firms in 1940

Braithwaite & Co. (India) Ltd. Structural Engineers—Hide Road, Kidderpore. Phone, South 1112.

Braithwaite, Burn & Jessop Construction Co., Ltd.—Mercantile Buildings, Lall Bazar. Phone, Cal. 1484.

Jardine, Menzies & Co. Architects, Consulting Engineers, Surveyors and Builders-2 & 3 Clive Row. Phone, Cal. 1937.

Mackintosh, Burn, Ltd. Architects, Surveyors, Builders, Contractors, Sanitary Engineers and Ironfounders—D2 Clive Buildings. Phone, Cal. 6666.

John Barry, journalist, Calcutta, 1939/40
(source pages 227-236 of John Barry: “Calcutta 1940” Calcutta: Central Press, 1940.)

(COPYRIGHT NOTICE: Reproduced under 'fair dealing' terms as part of a non commercial educational research project. The copyright remains with John Barry 1940)

 

 

 

 

 

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      The Railway Industry

 

 

 

          _____Pictures of 1940s Calcutta_________________________

 

 

 

 

 

          _____Contemporary Records of or about 1940s Calcutta___

 

 

Addresses of Railway engineering Firms in 1940

Baldwin Locomotive Works, The, Locomotive Builders and Railway Engineers—5 Dalhousie Square. Phone, Cal. 657.

Billington, W, & Co., Ltd. Engineers and Contractors ; Specialists in Railway Materials—Stephen House, Dalhousie Sqre. Phe., Cal. 4248.

Guest, Keen, Willlams, Ltd. Railway Engineers and Hardware Manufacturers—7 Council House Street. Phone, Cal. 3790.

Heatly & Gresham, Ltd. Merchants, Engineers and Railway Specialists—6 Waterloo Street. Phone. Cal. 4724.

Saxby & Farmer (India) Ltd. Railway Signal Engineers and Contractors17 Convent Road, Entally. Phone, Cal. 171.

 

John Barry, journalist, Calcutta, 1939/40
(source pages 227-236 of John Barry: “Calcutta 1940” Calcutta: Central Press, 1940.)

(COPYRIGHT NOTICE: Reproduced under 'fair dealing' terms as part of a non commercial educational research project. The copyright remains with John Barry 1940)

 

 

 

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      The Motor Industry

 

 

 

          _____Pictures of 1940s Calcutta_________________________

 

 

 

 

 

          _____Contemporary Records of or about 1940s Calcutta___

 

 

Addresses of Automobile engineering Firms in 1940

Allen Berry & Co., Ltd. Automobile Engineers, oxy-acetylene and electric welders and motor car importers—Works, 62 Hazra Road. Phone, P.K. 1800. Showrooms, 24B Park Street. Phone, P.K. 2100.

Dunlop Rubber Co. (India) Ltd. Manufacturers of motor tyres, tubes and accessories—57B Free School Street. Phone, Cal. 411.

Ford Motor Co. of India, Ltd. Automobile Engineers—2 Justice Chandra Madhab Road. Phone, P.K. 1102.

French Motor Car Co., Ltd. Automobile Engineers—234/3 LowerCircular Road. Phone, P.K. 300.

Goodyear Tyre & Rubber Co. (India) Ltd. Manufactures of motor tyres, tubes and accessories—60 Chowringhee Road. Phe., P,K. 800.

Great Indian Motor Works, Ltd. Automobile Engineers— 12 Government Place East. Phone, Cal. 74-

Mackenzie, G. & Co. (1919) Ltd, Automobile Engineers—208 Lower Circular Road. Phone, P.K. 1264.

Walford Transport, Ltd, Automobile Engineers and Transport Agents—71;73 Park Street. Phone, P. K. 1620; Service Station and Stores, 117-119 Park Street. Phone, P.K. 492.

 

John Barry, journalist, Calcutta, 1939/40
(source pages 227-236 of John Barry: “Calcutta 1940” Calcutta: Central Press, 1940.)

(COPYRIGHT NOTICE: Reproduced under 'fair dealing' terms as part of a non commercial educational research project. The copyright remains with John Barry 1940)

 

 

 

          _____Memories of 1940s Calcutta_________________________

 

Kaiser's sorry fate

He has been closely watched while in Calcutta and I have had him up for official examination. He appears to have lose his head completely at the prospect of going to Europe and had developed a kind of hero worship for Dr. S. Shortly after he came down here the German consulate secured a job for him in a German motor firm, so that he has now lost his job and is looking for work elsewhere- If you like, I will send him straight back to Sikkim, but having once tasted life in Calcutta where he was earning Rs 70 per month as salary, I very much doubt that he will stay with you ...

(source: letter from Calcutta police to Sikkim govt. In Christopher Hale: Himmler’s Crusade. London: Bantam, 2003)

(COPYRIGHT NOTICE: Reproduced under 'fair dealing' terms as part of a non commercial educational research project. The copyright remains with Christopher Hale)

 

 

 

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      The Chemical Industry

 

 

 

          _____Pictures of 1940s Calcutta_________________________

 

 

 

 

 

          _____Contemporary Records of or about 1940s Calcutta___

 

 

Addresses of Chemical Firms in 1940

Alcock, W. J., & Co. Consulting Engineers for chemical and allied trades—7 Hastings Street- Phone, Cal. 2052.

Bathgate & Co—Pharmaceutical and Manufacturing Chemists—17, 18 & 19 Old Court House Street. Phone, Cal. 434.

Bengal Chemical and Pharmaceutical Works, Ltd. Manufacturers of chemical, pharmaceutical and toilet preparations—94 Chittaranjan Avenue.  Phone. B.B.4101.

Boots Pure Drug Co., Ltd. Manufacturing Chemists—Mercantile Buildings, 10 Lall Bazar Street. Phone, Cal. 2635.

Briggs, R. V., & Co., Ltd. Analytical, Consulting and Technical Chemists—3 & 4 Garstin Place. Phone. Cal. 2204.

Butto Kristo Paul & Co., Ltd. Manufacturers and Agents for chemical and pharmaceutical preparations—1 &. 3 Bonfield Lane. Phone, Cal. 4510.

Frank Ross & Co., Ltd. Manufacturing Chemists and Dealers Inphotographic goods—15(7 Chowringhee Road. Phone, Cal. 1199.

Hoyle. Robson, Barnett & Co, (India) Ltd. Paint Manufacturers. Agents of Silvertown Lubricants (India) Ltd.—26 Middle Road, Entally. Phone, Cal. 5610.

Jenson & Nicholson (India) Ltd. Paint, Colour and Varnish Manufacturers—2 Fairlie Place. Phone, Cal. 5100.

Oriental Gas Co., Ltd. Manufacturers of gas, coke, sulphate of ammonia. Works. 14 Canal West Road. Phone, B.B. 3001; Office, 12/A Park Street. Phone, Cal. 4200.

Shalimar Paint, Colour & Varnish Co., Ltd.—6 Lyons Range. Phone, Cal. 5122.

Smith, Stanistreet &Co., Ltd. Manufacturing Chemists—Dispensary, 5 Dalhousie Square. Phone, Cal. 3618 , Factory, 18 Convent Road, Entally, Phone, Cal. 3617.

 

John Barry, journalist, Calcutta, 1939/40
(source pages 227-236 of John Barry: “Calcutta 1940” Calcutta: Central Press, 1940.)

(COPYRIGHT NOTICE: Reproduced under 'fair dealing' terms as part of a non commercial educational research project. The copyright remains with John Barry 1940)

 

 

 

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The Armamanets Industry

 

 

 

          _____Pictures of 1940s Calcutta_________________________

 

 

 

 

 

          _____Contemporary Records of or about 1940s Calcutta___

 

INDIA AT WAR

  IN addition to her fighting forces, India is making other large contributions to the cause of the United Nations. Her factories are producing small arms, fuses, hand grenades, land mines and shell cases. She is manufacturing millions of pieces of military clothing, boots, tents, parachutes and tropical helmets. So it is fair to say that whatever political difficulties exist internally, India is backing the United Nations war effort to the best of her ability. One thing to remember.

 

(source: “A Pocket Guide to India” Special Service Division, Army Service Forces, United States Army. War and Navy Departments Washington D.C [early 1940s]:  at: http://cbi-theater-2.home.comcast.net/booklet/guide-to-india.html)

 

(COPYRIGHT NOTICE: Reproduced under 'fair dealing' terms as part of a non commercial educational research project. The copyright remains with the original submitter/author)

 

 

 

 

 

 

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      The Electrical and Telephone Industry

 

 

 

          _____Pictures of 1940s Calcutta_________________________

 

 

 

 

 

          _____Contemporary Records of or about 1940s Calcutta___

 

Calcutta Electric Supply Corporation

Behind is Victoria House, the handsome and imposing building of the Calcutta Electric Supply Corporation, surmounted by a dome on which is a globe that becomes an illuminated beacon during the early hours of the night.

The Calcutta Electric Supply was founded in 1897 and commenced supplying electricity in April, 1899. For the first few years Messrs. Kilburn & Co., were the Managing Agents, but in 1903 the Company opened their own offices in Calcutta, first in Dalhousie Square and later in Old Post Office Street, where the management of the Company was conducted until 1931, when new and larger accommodation became necessary as a result of rapid expansion of the Company's business. Victoria House was designed and constructed by Messrs. Sudlow, Bailardie and Thompson, Architects, at an approximate total cost of Rs. 20,00,000/-.

John Barry, journalist, Calcutta, 1939/40
(source page 25-26 of John Barry: “Calcutta 1940” Calcutta: Central Press, 1940.)

(COPYRIGHT NOTICE: Reproduced under 'fair dealing' terms as part of a non commercial educational research project. The copyright remains with John Barry 1940)

 

 

Addresses of Electrical and Telephone Engineering Firms in 1940

Associated Electrical Industries (India) Ltd. Engineers and Contractors for electric power and plant of all description—6 Mission Row. Phone, Cal. 6974.

Associated Instrument Manufacturers (India) Ltd. Manufacturers of scientific instruments and apparatus—B5 Clive Buildings. Phone, Cal. 3304.

Avery, W. & T., Ltd. Manufacturers of weighing machines—28/2 Waterloo Street. Phone, Cal. 1731.

British Insulated Cables, Ltd, Engineers, Cable Manufacturers and Contractors—9 Hare Street. Phone, Cal. 4000.

Calcutta Electric Supply Corporation, Ltd.—Phone, Cal. 6200. P. 24.

Callender's Cable & Construction Co., Ltd. Engineers, Cable Manufacturers and Contractors —7 Pollock Street. Phone, Cal. 1825.

English Electric Co., Ltd. Manufacturers and Agents for electrical machinery and apparatus —8 Clive Street. Phone, Cal. 3922.

General Electric Co. (India) Ltd.—Electrical Engineers and Contractors :  Agents for electrical goods and appliances—Magnet House, Central Avenue. Phone, Cal. 4613.

Henley's Telegraph Works Co., Ltd., W. T. Engineers and Contractors : Manufacturers of electric wires and cables—Henley House, Old Court House Corner. Phone, Cal. 1346.

Indian Cable Co., Ltd. Manufacturers of all classes of rubber insulated cables and wires—9 Hare Street. Phone, Cal. 1000.

Osler. F. & C., Ltd. Electrical Engineers and Contractors—12 Old Court House Street. Phone, Cal. 478.

Philips Electrical Co. (India) Ltd. Manufacturers of electrical metal filament, lamps, fittings, radio products. X-ray material- Philips House, 2 Heysham Road. Phone, P.K. 1107.

Siemens (India) Ltd. Manufacturers of electrical goods—26 Central Avenue. Phons.Cal.4891.

Standard Telephones & Cables Ltd. Manufactururs of telephone systems and cables, and radio transmitting and receiving equipment:—4 Esplanade East. Phone, Cal. 1255.

 

John Barry, journalist, Calcutta, 1939/40
(source pages 227-236 of John Barry: “Calcutta 1940” Calcutta: Central Press, 1940.)

(COPYRIGHT NOTICE: Reproduced under 'fair dealing' terms as part of a non commercial educational research project. The copyright remains with John Barry 1940)

 

Power for the Masses

FOUR towns alone in India—Calcutta, Bombay, Ahmedabad and Cawnpore—representing less than 1/2% of the total population—consume 50% of the country's output of electrical energy. This estimate which Mr H. M. Mathews recently gave in a New Delhi speech, sets out one aspect of the colossal problem of electrical planning in India. In general, production of electrical energy in India is far behind that of advanced countries. What India produces in a year the USA does in a week. Britain produces 100 times more energy per head than India, whose 3,578 million kW are for a population of 400 million.

(source: The Statesman. Calcutta/Delhi, February 14. 1945)

(COPYRIGHT NOTICE: Reproduced under 'fair dealing' terms as part of a non commercial educational research project. The copyright remains with The Statesman)

 

 

 

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