polygonum wrote:
On 27/12/2012 20:59, soup wrote:
polygonum wrote:
My partner's grandfather is shown to occupy premises in Bethnal Green in
1921 as an electrical engineer. There is no family left who can explain
what he did but there was mention in the whispers and memories of
something to do with electricity so it makes some sense - and I cannot
help but wonder what the term meant then. Can't imagine that any sort of
electrical installer would need any form of shop premises, the area was
very poor so unlikely to attract many retail customers, what is left?
Selling lamp bulbs? Charging radio batteries? Fixing appliances?

Present day shop :-http://preview.tinyurl.com/d7twhan

Engineer tends to be used as a catch all term hence domestic engineer
(cleaner) traffic management engineer (parking attendant) so
electrical engineer may well apply to electricians


Unfortunately that link drops me in a login page for Sky drive.

If it's link to a picture showing the only Hare Street in London now (In
SE18, AKA Greenwich), it's the wrong one, anyway. Hare Street in Bethnal
Green seems to have been renamed or removed since 1921, and the area is
very indistinct on the August 1945 aerial pictures. Brick Lane still
exists, but none of the other streets referred to in the directory
listing do, since the area was rebuilt after The Blitz flattened that
bit of London. Hare Street apparently sort of followed the current
Cheshire Street's course, with No. 80 being not far from the existing
Three Colts Corner.

It's interesting the way that locality names survive in London long
after their reason for being called by that name.

--
Tciao for Now!

John.