On-Line Memories
Added April 2010
Maud Gold [nee Brunner]
I was interested to read the on-line memories by John Harvey (whose parents I remember well) as my father was in the Shalford Home Guard and several members of my family worked for the Gold family. However I think his memory may be at fault in stating that Mrs Gold’s father was the founder of the Merryweather Fire Engine Company as it was actually established by a Mr. Merryweather although there could have been some connection of which I am not aware. Her father was Sir John Tomlinson Brunner (February 8th 1842 – July 1st 1919) and the business he founded was Brunner Mond & Co. In 1861 he took a clerical post at a chemical factory in Widnes where he met a German chemist Ludwig Mond. They formed the company in 1873 and after a slow start it grew to such a size that it became one of the four constituent parts of Imperial Chemical Industries Ltd (ICI) in 1926. The Brunner Mond name then faded from history although I do remember a B, M & Co logo on certain ICI products in the 1970s. As ICI was being broken up at the end of the 20th century the name was revived, Brunner Mond Holdings Ltd being formed to take over the original operations, mostly the production of bicarbonate of soda and related products. Although ownership passed to Tata of India in 2006 the factory in Cheshire continues to operate under the Brunner Mond name.
Maud Mary Brunner (September 1st 1979 – March 31st 1965) married Guy Gilbey Gold in London on November 12th 1903. They appear to have lived in London at first, later moving to Bocking Place in Braintree (later part of the High School, now converted in to flats) before moving to Shalford after the end of WWI. It doesn’t seem to be generally known that Mrs. Gold was awarded the MBE in June 1918 for her role as Commandant, Braintree Union Board Room Hospital. She continued to take an interest in nursing as I have a couple of handwritten letters from her to my grandmother dating from the 1930’s which relate to the subject. Her writing style is unusual and quite difficult to decipher.
Following the death of Major Gold on March 6th 1968 the contents of Abbotts Hall were auctioned off and I still have a copy of the sale catalogue. It was very interesting but quite sad to go round the Hall and see how the other half lived although by that time things were not as they had been half a century earlier.