The Reyrolle Story: Twenty - The 24 Hour Day
...The Oxford National Biography concludes his obituary by saying: "In the field of electricity supply, Charles Merz ranks as the premier electrical engineer during the first half of the twentieth century."...
Robert Owen continues his history of Retrolles, the huge engineering concerm.
To read earlier chapters click on
http://www.openwriting.com/archives/the_reyrolle_story/
To purchase a copy of his book visit http://www.amazon.co.uk/Reyrolle-Story-History-Co-Ltd/dp/1905295073/ref=sr_1_1?
Undoubtedly, Reyrolle owed much to women workers during the war years. As in the 1914-18 conflict, they replaced men at the machines and work-benches, and quickly learnt new skills. However, when the servicemen returned, many were reluctant to leave. Also, sadly, many servicemen and former employees did not return. The Company Roll of Honour lists 52 known workers who lost their lives. Most were in the R. A.F. and included three employees named Davidson.
One very good friend of the Company and a personal friend and adviser to Alphonse Reyrolle during those early years, lost his life during the war. That was Charles Merz. Born in the back streets of Gateshead, Charles was a British subject of German descent. It was, therefore, ironic that he and his two sons should be killed by a German bomb, which fell on his Kensington home in London during an air-raid in 1940. His wife escaped the bombing and on 23rd June 1955 she named a C.E.GB. Collier, S.S. Charles H Merz at Aberdeen after her late husband. The Oxford National Biography concludes his obituary by saying: "In the field of electricity supply, Charles Merz ranks as the premier electrical engineer during the first half of the twentieth century."
More informally, in July 2007, the contribution of Merz was reviewed on James Mayo's 20th century BBC 2 TV. programme. It concluded that Charles Merz "was an unsung hero, who by standardising the national electricity supply turned the country on, which in turn led to our 24 hour lifestyle."
A friend who worked there for a number of years tells the story of one awkward customer they renamed ‘horseface.’ She was a noted culinary fad. My friend served her with carrots one lunchtime which she refused to eat and demanded they were sent back. In the servery my friend, greatly annoyed, made a statement which was laughed over for years. ‘Huh, it’s the first time I’ve known a horse refuse carrots.’
