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Grandad Levi’s Story at Bagnalls

23 March 2022

It was lovely to receive this email recently from Levi Hall, the grandson of a former Bagnalls employee, telling the story of his grandfather’s time at Bagnalls over a century ago!

“My grandfather worked for Bagnalls in the early part of the 1900s at the time you had the contract for painting railway stations throughout the UK. Grandad was a charge hand with a group of painters under him (see photo attached of the whole gang). In 1915, they were painting a London station when a train full of evacuees and wounded soldiers arrived; on seeing the plight of these people, the whole group went to the recruiting office and enlisted. Shortly after this news had reached Shipley, Mr Bagnall called at my Grandmother’s house and told her that Grandad’s wage would be paid to her for the full term of his enlistment. I just thought you would like to know that my family has always talked about this magnanimous gesture.”

Along with our reply to Levi, we sent him a gift copy of our book “Nothing Ventured, Nothing Won” detailing our company’s history – what a surprise to receive this touching story in response:

“Thank you very much for the book, what an interesting story it is! On page 35, you show a copy of a ledger with details of work carried out during WW1. Life is full of coincidences but how’s this for one: your work was carried out between February and March 1916 at the Army General Hospital at Etaples. Grandad Levi was admitted to the same hospital in the summer of 1916 and died of dysentery on the 24th September 1916, now buried in the war cemetery at Etaples. It makes you wonder if he laid in bed thinking, ‘That’s Bagnall’s work that is.'”

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