Gordon Cullingham

Published in Windlesora 18 (2000)

© WLHG

The Windsor Local History Publications Group members are keenly aware of the great loss they have sustained by the death of their president Gordon Cullingham. Gordon was an active member of the group from its first meeting on 14th January 1976 under the chairmanship of Judith Hunter. He succeeded Judith as chairman in January 1981 and was elected president in April 1988. He circulated his first monthly Newsletter to the group in September/October 1981 and these Newsletters became a regular feature of our monthly meetings. They recorded the course of his research; the progress he was making in the various campaigns he pursued in support of the preservation of historical areas of the town, and reflected the fact that he read widely, with many references to recently published books. The Newsletters continued in an unbroken flow and the last one, December 1999, No 222, was circulated days before he died. It was typical of Gordon that the concluding sentence of this Newsletter ended “… the file is now full, with its index, and a new one will be started for 2,000 and number 223. (DV).”

His publications illustrate the breadth of his interests:

  • 1979 The Royal Windsor Tapestry Manufactory 1876-90, an illustrated handlist.
  • 1984 Patrick Young Alexander – Patron and Pioneer of Aeronautics.
  • 1992 Royal Windsor Stained Glass Manufactory 1878-90, an illustrated handlist.
  • 1996 FJ Camm – The Practical Man 1895-1959 – life and work.

His books are models of meticulous research, well illustrated and indexed. Gordon was always interested in how things worked and it is typical of his approach to his subjects that, for example, the tapestry handlist includes information on the difference between high warp and low warp looms and how the gradations in colour were achieved. Each tapestry noted is described under thirteen headings, ranging from the name of the artist, detailed description of the subject and colours, to sale price and ownership. Gordon never closed the book on his research and in his last Newsletter he referred to Sotheby’s recent discovery in France of two replicas of Royal Windsor Tapestries, and requested information on a series “History of Clan MacIntosh” produced by the Old Windsor Manufactory’s manager, Michel Brignolas, after production was moved to Poland Street, Soho, following the closure of the Old Windsor works.

In addition to these publications Gordon regularly contributed interesting articles to Windlesora. In the first issue, published in 1982, he had two articles: “Swan Upping” which he co-wrote with Pamela Marson, and, “Thames Fludde – The Dreadful Warning” (No 1) in which he drew on his personal experience in the 1947 floods in Windsor. Subjects were diverse – some even had a transatlantic flavour: “The Ruins of Windsor, USA” (No 7) and “Robert Keayne of Windsor and Massachusetts” (No 11) but mainly they referred to aspects of Windsor life, “George III and the First Hydrogen Balloons in England” (No 2) and “A Suffragette Attack” (No 17). His final article “The Rev Arthur Robins” appears in this edition. It is illustrated with a cartoon by Sir Leslie Ward (Spy), a member of the family of artists which he dubbed “The Wards of Windsor”.

Gordon’s memory was undimmed by age and he was always ready to help group members with their research. He was also a delightful colleague, full of fun and an enthusiastic supporter of our social activities whether it was some special group anniversary or the now-annual Christmas lunch. We treasure his memory.

Joyce Sampson, Chairman WLHPG

Nuggets from My Father’s Work

Gordon Cullingham’s Research on the Internet

My father’s enthusiastic research of Windsor’s history will be a fond memory for all his family. Following his well-respected career as Borough Engineer, we derived much pleasure from the fact that he pitched so whole heartedly into this new activity in his retirement. It gave him the greatest of pleasure and his enthusiasm as he told us of a new nugget of information, is happily recalled.

The growth of the Internet into an increasing number of homes world-wide provides an opportunity to make his work available to a much wider audience, along side that of the Windsor Local History Publications Group with which he was so happily connected. It is with great pleasure therefore that I am able to make available his histories on Windsor’s Web site at www.thamesweb.co.uk/windsor/ where The History Zone is dedicated to his memory.

At the same time I will do my best to rectify the Copper Horse myth as described by Pamela Marson in this issue. My father always told me that history was not much use if it was not accurate, and the Internet offers an opportunity to let the millions who were watching the royal wedding know the accurate story!

The wealth of research notes that he left behind will form the basis of many more fascinating stories which I will enjoy preparing under the guidance and expertise of the WLHPG.

Roger Cullingham