Reaching the age of 90 is a pretty good reason for celebration and the friends and relatives of Thomas William White did just that in October 1962. The leaders of Handsacre Methodist Church organised the party for a man who had been a local preacher since 1894. There were plenty of speeches for the man who had given such a fantastic service to both the Church and the community – as preacher, Chapel Trustee, Steward, Sunday School Superintendent, President of Christian Endeavour, Chairman of Armitage with Handsacre Parish Council, Lichfield District Councillor, School Manager and a member of the Lichfield Board of Guardians. In response he said that he was delighted to be with so many friends, some of whom he had baptised. All present were asked to autograph a special birthday card which had been made for the occasion.
He was born in Rugeley but the family moved to Slitting Mill when he was two and he attended the little school, which became St. Johns Church. His grandfather worked at the slitting mill which gave the village its name – it was formerly Stonehouse – and his father was a shoemaker for Thomas Clay of Horse Fair.
At 11 he left school to earn 2s 6d weekly for a 16-hour day at Robinson’s, who printed the “Rugeley Advertiser”. This job did not last long as they found out that the law did not allow them to employ him through the night on press night. He moved down the street to Pascoes printers. After a short while he went into gentleman’s service for nearly three years, becoming a gardener and page boy at Landor’s in Horse Fair.
Joining the Albion Foundry at the age of 15 he helped Mr. Pendlebury make the first ever mowing machine in Rugeley. Before the year was out though he moved to Sheep Fair and became apprentice to William Glass, the blacksmith. Leaving there at 21, he completed his apprenticeship at a Hednesford smithy and then worked for Bull & Keatley’s for six years.
His parents were founder members of the Methodist Church in Church Street, Rugeley so it’s not surprising that he was also a Methodist but his recollection was that it stemmed from a different source. His memory was that his connection with Methodism started on the day when, as a six-year-old at the Prince of Wales’s School, he heard there was a library at the Wesleyan Chapel opposite, and he went over and borrowed a book. He was an avid reader all his life, studying local history, religion, local government and politics.
He married Alice Elizabeth Hughes at Lichfield Register Office in 1898 and in 1901 he took over the smithy in Handsacre just across the road from the Methodist Temple. Their daughter, Irene Flora, was born in 1906.
He continued preaching on the Stafford Circuit as the image from 1916 below shows and became a Trustee at the Temple. Following the Union of the Methodists Churches in 1932 he became a preacher of the Cannock Chase Circuit to which Handsacre then belonged.
His commitment to, and respect from, the community was shown by being elected first as a Parish Councillor, a position he held for 40 years, and then a Councillor for Lichfield Rural District Council. After H. W. Gardner’s retirement due to ill-health in 1922 he also became only the second Chairman of the Parish Council.
As might be expected of someone who had worked on Rugeley’s first mowing machine he was interested in any agricultural machinery and indeed was often described as an agricultural engineer. He worked in wrought iron and steel making all the expected range of products e.g. gates and railings but he was also a shoeing smith. The last time in fact that he shoed a horse was when he had reached 80 years of age. After finishing work as a smith he still helped out in a local shop. As can be seen from the image below he turned his hand to many different ventures.
He died in June 1965 at the age of 92 at his Upper Lodge Road home. His funeral was held at Handsacre Methodist Temple and he was buried at St. John the Baptist church in Armitage.
In August 1966 an 8-foot high cross of silver birch from Cannock Chase was hung on the wall above the Lord’s Table at Handsacre Temple and dedicated to his memory.
Another chapter of great research and skilful presentation. There is so much detail here which is new to me, even though I have been a member of Handsacre Methodist Temple for 46 years and had many conversations with Irene White – T W White’s daughter who used to be the organist. Before the Union of Methodists in 1932, the Temple at Handsacre was a Primitive Methodist Society. Thomas William however was a preacher with a vision to preach the Gospel wherever he was permitted – Weslyan, or Primitive Methodists, Congregationalists and Covenanters
When you think about his ‘day job’ you realise just how much commitment he gave to both Methodism and the community.