Alex Broad - Chesham brush makers - the Broad family connection

Alfred Carter Broad, born in 1851 in Diss, Norfolk, was apprenticed into brush making in London. He married Martha Osbourn in 1876 and they set up home above his father's hardware shop in Bury St Edmunds, making brush ware for local farmers. Not finding enough work, he decided to emigrate and set sail for New Zealand in 1879 with his wife and two daughters. They arrived at Dunedin on 31st March 1880, after a voyage of 105 days. He then established and built up the Otargo Brush Company. Four more daughters were born before a son, (Wilfred) Lawson arrived in April 1890.

As soon as Lawson was old enough he joined the firm and went on to become an expert engineer. Having a liking for beer, he soon fell out with his father, who was a very strict Presbyterian. He married Dorothy and later a son was born. They decided to emigrate to England and arrived in 1932. Touring around the country in a caravan, visiting different brush makers, they eventually arrived in Chesham. Lawson fell in love with the Chilterns, and that is where he settled, joining the firm of Webb and Foulger, later to become Webb, Jarrett and Co. Ltd., as Chief Engineer. Webbs at that time was still rather a backward company. Candle light was in use for the women pitch pan setters and wire drawn hands, with a big steam engine to power the machinery, cutting out brush backs from beech logs delivered from local woods by horse-drawn timber wagons.

The first thing Lawson did was to put in electricity for lighting and power. He then set about designing and building a bass broom-making machine. He proved himself a very capable engineer by correcting a heavy power belt that kept breaking, by the simple expedient of putting a twist in the lower belt of 360 degrees so that the join would go over the central pulley. He then went on to design a pair of wood mill "shaping machines" which were twin-headed, horizontal cutters, with built-in electric motors and automatic safety guards. His next project was to re-design and build two "gents military hair brush"- making machines from an original German machine, with the help of hired draughtsmen, the machines and drawings being rather complex.

His son Alex was born in 1933 and joined the firm at the age of 20 in 1953, after completing his National Service in the Oxford and Bucks Light Infantry. Originally he was to go out on the road as a salesman, but he decided he would prefer to stay in the factory, learning about the trade, its materials and processes. A great teacher and guide was found in Phill Clements, the paint-brush foreman, who spoke of the old brush makers in London, who always wore top hats, so were known as "gentlemen brush makers". Also Denis Powell, the bristle dresser. His knowledge of pigs' bristles from around the world was phenomenal. He even related a story of how Russian bristle used to be shipped to London, loose in wooden barrels, in a filthy condition and needed to be cleaned and sorted. On one occasion a barrel of loose bristle even included a severed human finger! The bristle trade with Russia came to an end after the Russian revolution.

Good quality bristles were also used by tailors, for stiffening the lapels on gents' jackets, and by cobblers, to sew on the soles of shoes. These were known as "Dowry Bristles", and were very highly valued. It was also said that if employees didn't go to church on Sunday, they didn't have a job on Monday!

Alex Broad was appointed to the Paint Brush department, whose production averaged about 9 dozen brushes a week, with a staff of about 18. Production and staff gradually increased, and in its hey-day, employing about 40 workers, it topped 100 gross in a single week. Alex, by this time, after going on various courses, was asked to inspect a new paintbrush-making machine in Nuremberg, Germany, which the firm later decided to purchase. This was a compressed air operated machine and further increased output. At about this time Lawson began designing his own paintbrush-making machine, even continuing after his retirement, but he died in1976, at the age of 86, with the machine unfinished.

After the Russian revolution, in 1917, most of the bristle was imported from China, with small amounts from Poland, Korea, Manchuria and India. The Americans had imposed a strict trade embargo on China at the start of the Korean War, but had large strategic stockpiles. It released parcels of these from time to time, upsetting the world market. At about this time a rival firm in Chesham sent one of its directors to China, to teach them how to make paint brushes. Within a few years they were asking Webbs to sell quite good, if only of the DIY quality, brushes, nicely carded for display in the shops, priced at less than the cost of the bristle. China needed stirling, as they were wanting to buy Harrier Jets. Soon after this the firm did a big marketing drive, but owing to lack of sales the firm decided to sell the Chesham site to a DIY chain, and relocated some of the machines to Chepstow, in South Wales. The paintbrush machinery etc. was sold off to a firm in South Africa.

The firm needed quite a large and varied stock in order to satisfy customer's requirements, as they had quite a large regular and "special" order-book. The main suppliers were Stephens, of Lowestoft for ferules, who employed women who also worked at fish cleaning, when the North Sea trawler fleet used to land their catch, which was very seasonal. Many handles came from Tomlin and Smith of Chippenham, again a very seasonal business, as they made turned handles from coppiced trees, which had to be cut and seasoned before turning. The order book included MOD contracts, which included rifle-cleaning brushes and general purpose brushes, ("if it's fixed, paint it; if it moves, salute it") which were occasional, but good bread and butter business. In addition "special" glue brushes for the British Museum book binding department, with special ferrules, handles and "bridles". The range of brushes Webbs made was quite extensive, as they had built up a very good base of experience, techniques, and equipment. One of the strangest requests was for small round surgical brushes that were intended for use in brain surgery, filled with special fibreglass filaments. The idea was that after drilling a hole into someone's scull, this brush would be used to clean up the drillings. But, it was found that bits of fibreglass broke off!

Alex Broad

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by SMG