Following Jane Goddard's wonderful centre page article in the Derby Telegraph's Bygone's section highlighting the contribution of Royal Crown Derby and its staff during and immediately after World War Two, I have been delighted by the response. As a result I have been privileged to interview a number of those who made contact. Arising from this and with their full permission I shall post brief staff histories. These will include memories of their time at the factory as well as how they literally made their mark on the product for example gilder and enameller identification marks. This will be a first, their work from now on identifiable and afforded due credit. Indeed most women started as young as fourteen from the mid 1930's learning and honing their highly-skilled craft. 

Betty Wherry has advised that embossed ware required a higher standard of expertise: whilst it reduced time taken to set out as the pattern did not have to be drawn on the piece by hand, it was more difficult to gild over the uneven surface. Accordingly I have amended an earlier posting.

I am indebted to Barrie Sheard who has kindly supplied photographs of his Royal Crown Derby rowing cup won in 1953 which features on the "Presentation Pieces" page.

New features also include all the pages of the Harold Robinson 70th Birthday Book, four photographs a factory visit of which the details are unknown, and a page on the Royal Crown Derby cricket team, 1947-58. It enjoyed variable fortune.

John Robinson