Preston's Wartime History
Tying up some loose ends Threads...
A stone bobbin was erected in Preston during 2008, at the junction of Avenham Road and Avenham Lane, as part of a commemorative memorial to the Stephen Simpson Gold Thread Works of Preston. I was out and about in early 2024 and took some pictures of it, as I have done on a number of occasions in the past. It's a fantastic sculpture, and it's a pity that it is tucked away where not a lot of people see it. However, it's placement is significant.
The Simpson’s Gold thread Works, once on Avenham Road, was of major importance to the history and heritage of the City of Preston. The company produced gold thread and embroidery for military and commercial uniforms. Apparently, work included thread that decorated the uniforms of the Titanic staff.
During the war the firm undertook a top secret commission to produce German military badges and insignia for use by English spies operating in Germany. This information had popped up in a few places when I was researching the Bobbin's history, although there didn't appear to be anything substantial to support the claim (based on recent web searches).
Peter Smith had also came to this conclusion, when he posted about a "A loose thread in Preston's wartime history" on 17th December 2023. A bit more searching, and the feedback from my 'Bobbin' photographs on the Preston Past and Present Facebook group provided a few more answers.
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| Stephen Simpson Gold Thread Bobbins at The Harris |
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Later, an article from the Lancashire Telegraph on 12th September 2003, also filled in a few blanks.
https://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/news/5882720.secret-war-effort-gold-thread-works/
It read, as follows:
Secret war effort of Gold Thread Works
As the bulldozers loom over a former Preston factory the one-time boss has revealed the secrets of its wartime past.
Tony Pickston, 78, was managing director of the former Gold Thread Works, Avenham Road, for 20 years, taking over the job from his father Leslie.
Military badges, Christmas decorations and telephone cables, all incorporating gold and silver, were made at the factory until its closure in 1991.
But during the Second World War factory bosses were given a top secret assignment -- to make authentic German badges for British spies.
Tony, of Chain House Lane, Lostock Hall, who retired in 1985, said: "My father told me that a small room in the factory had been used by three women to produce authentic badges for English spies going to Germany in the Second World War.
"It was top secret. These women had been working in there from 1941 to 1945 without any of the other workers knowing.
"Even I didn't find out until nearly ten years later."
The factory was established at the beginning of the nineteenth century by businessman Stephen Simpson before being taken over by his son and later the Pickston family.
In its heyday, hundreds of local people were employed there and at the company's foundry in Syke Street where gold and silver was cast into ingots and bars for the manufacture of various artefacts.
Now a planning application has been submitted to Preston City Council to develop the site of the listed building into 26 flats.
Tony said: "The world moves on. It was very difficult to compete with the production in places like India and Pakistan and as the military got smaller so did our orders. It's very sad."
The history of the former Gold Thread Works forms part of an exhibition of Avenham at The Harris Museum, Preston, until February next year.
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| Workers at Stephen Simpson Gold Thread Works |
Photograph courtesy of Stuart Rishton.
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Lancashire At War
The Lancashire At War website [ LancashireAtWar.co.uk ] had details about the secret department. It’s job was to produce forged German swastika badges from aluminium thread stolen by the Dutch resistance. It stated that they were used on replica German uniforms, worn by British spies. There are some pictures, but they were heavily cropped, so made it difficult to ascertain their origin.
Following on from the post on Preston Past and Present Facebook group, some pictures surfaced from the exhibition at the Harris Museum that showed the badges within a display of historical artefacts. One of the Harris Museum label reads as follows:
German Luftwaffe badges, 1940s
During the Second World War Simpson's operated a secret department embroidering replica German Swastika badges from aluminium thread stolen by the Dutch resistance. The badges were sewn onto fake German uniforms of British spies. Production increased in the build up to the Normandy landing on 6 June 1944.
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| Photograph of the Stephen Simpson Display at the Harris Museum |
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| Photograph of the Stephen Simpson Display at the Harris Museum |
Photographs courtesy of Sue Roylance.
Gold Thread
Gold Thread is an oversized bobbin of thread and threaded needle, set on decorated paving stones. The sculpture commemorates the firm of Stephen Simpson Ltd, gold thread and plate manufacturer 1825–1991, whose factory was at 41–45 Avenham Rd, Preston. It was created by Trapp Forge and Van Nong (born in 1970), and was commissioned by Avenham Central Regeneration Partnership in 2008. It is on Avenham Lane in Preston, Lancashire.
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| Gold Thread Works, Commemorative Bobbin, Preston. |
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| Gold Thread Works, Commemorative Bobbin, Preston. |
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| Gold Thread Works, Commemorative Bobbin, Preston. |
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| Gold Thread Works, Commemorative Bobbin, Preston. |
The stone bobbin, which was first erected in 2008, had a four year absence. The bobbin was removed and taken away to the council depot on St Paul’s Road, Deepdale to be repaired after it had been badly damaged by a car in 2011. It returned in 2015.
I added the Sculpture to Google Maps in February 2024, as 'Gold Thread Works Commemorative Bobbin'.
https://maps.app.goo.gl/ekMnkVorn2e2Z3kd6
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Stephen Simpson's Gold Thread Works
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| Stephen Simpson Limited, Preston |
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| Stephen Simpson Limited, Preston |
The works and the Simpson family are also commemorated by a Blue Plaque on the Listed Building. The plaque states the following:
manufacture on this site.
Made here between
1839-1991.
The plaques was placed by the Preston & South Ribble Civic Trust.
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| Isaac Simpson and Stephen Simpson Blue Plaque in Preston |
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Marriage Present
MARRIAGE PRESENT. On Wednesday morning last, at the wedding breakfast at the residence of Mr. Yates, in Ribblesdale-place, the Rev. Canon Parr, vicar, was the medium of presenting to Mr. Stephen Simpson, on the occasion of his marriage to Miss Yates, the following address from the workpeople in the employ of Messrs.
Isaac Simpson and Son:-
To Mr. Stephen Simpson, from the persons engaged at the Works in Avenham-road.
Dear Sir, We take advantage of the interesting event of this day to express to you our sentiments of affection and respect. We beg to offer to you our warmest congratulations on your entrance on the beautiful relations of married life. Having known you intimately, we have had the best means of making ourselves acquainted with your excellent qualities of head and heart. In affectionate testimony of our strong regard for you, we desire your acceptance of the Family Bible which we now place in your hands. We wish you to value it, because on it the lasting interests of every home must be founded; from it, domestic happiness can be most certainly obtained; and through it the great life of the future can be most thoroughly assured. But we also wish you to value it as an expression of our esteem for your character and our interest in your well-being. May you be as happy in your married life as you deserve to be, and may you continue to be increasingly respected and beloved. As years bring to you new duties, may God strengthen you t you to perform them; and may He, who is the Father of families, have you ever in His keeping. We are, dear sir, your affectionate friends.-Preston, March 2, 1859.
Having read it, the rev. gentleman handed to the bride-groom a large copy of the Holy Scriptures, magnificently bound, accompanying the presentation with some appropriate and feeling remarks. In the evening, Mr. Stephen Simpson entertained the workpeople and a number of their friends to a tea party at the works, which was kept up with much spirit by singing, dancing, &c., till a late hour.
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| Marriage Present |
LOCAL INTELLIGENCE.
Date: Saturday, Mar. 5, 1859
Publication: Preston Chronicle
Gale Primary Sources, British Library Newspapers:
https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/Y3207451246/BNCN?u=lancs&sid=bookmark-BNCN&pg=4&xid=b942c09d
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Thank you to Sue Roylance and Stuart Rishton for the pictures they added to the comments on the original Facebook post.
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A loose thread in Preston’s history
Preston History Article by Peter Smith
https://prestonhistory.com/2023/12/17/a-loose-thread-in-prestons-history/
Simpson's Gold Thread Works
Article on Blog Preston website
Preston Historical Societies photos on Flickr
https://www.flickr.com/photos/preston_historical_society/sets/72157650722304666/
Gold Thread - Avenham Lane, Preston, Lancashire
Art UK is the operating name of the Public Catalogue Foundation
https://artuk.org/discover/artworks/gold-thread-309064
The Harris Museum and Art Gallery on site interpretation
Stephen Simpson's Gold Thread Works
Listed on the National Heritage List for England
https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1208234
Isaac Simpson and Stephen Simpson Blue Plaque in Preston
Listed on the OpenPlaques website
https://openplaques.org/plaques/7489
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