A friend has sent me a picture from Brazil of a drain cover marked 'J. Stone & Co. Engineers, Deptford, London SE'. As he explains: 'Spotted today inside the grounds of the Palácio do Catete in Rio de Janeiro. The Palace was the Presidential Palace from 1897 until 1960 when the capital city changed to Brasilia. Nice to know they got Deptford makers into the gaff in the early days to provide metalwork of drain covers'.
Stone's Engineering was based in Arklow Road, Deptford from 1881 until the factory closed in 1969. As well as making drain covers, they made propellors and other parts for ships, trains and planes. Their work travelled round the world -
Grace's Guide to British Industrial Industry has examples spotted in Barbados and Uruguay.
My grandfather got my father (and his brother) a job at Stone's when they were around 18, just after the war. They were bored and asked if they could leave!
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