Gale & Polden
Encyclopedia
Gale and Polden was a British
printer and publisher. Founded in Brompton, near Chatham, Kent in 1868, the business subsequently moved to Aldershot
, where they were based until closure in November 1981 after the company had been bought by media mogul Robert Maxwell
.
In 1873 Gale printed and published his first book, Campaign of 1870-1: The Operations of the Corps of General V. Werder by Ludwig Lohlein, late Captain 1st Baden Bodyguard Grenadier Regiment. At this time Gale's printing works had three hand presses and only enough metal type to print sixteen pages at a time. Gale's staff was made up of three compositors, a bookbinder, a die stamper and three boys. His wife managed the shop's book and stationery sales, assisted by one of the boys.
On September 29, 1875 James Gale took on his first apprentice, William T Nash, aged fourteen. Nash went on to work for the Company for sixty-eight years, rising to be Composing Room Overseer, a post he held for nearly forty years until 1943 when he died aged 82. In 1875 Nash was soon joined by Thomas Ernest Polden, aged 16. By 1880 the bookselling side of Gale's business was very successful, and Gale publicised it by announcing that "A selection of several hundreds of most modern and popular books will always be found in stock and, having made arrangements for receiving parcels from the principal London Houses daily, the book that should not happen to be in stock could be obtained immediately".
Many of these developments were due to T. Ernest Polden, who had progressed from serving in the bookshop into working in the printing works where he gained an extensive knowledge of different printing processes. Polden went out from Chatham to the garrisons or dockyards at Gravesend
, Dover
, Canterbury
and further afield, publicising the name Gale and Polden to the British Army
and Navy. At that time most official military forms were written out in longhand by orderlies, and Polden saw an opportunity to extend the firm's business by printing standardised forms. His scheme resulted in large orders for the forms being placed.
Fleet Street
, St. Paul's Churchyard and Paternoster Row
were the centre of publishing in London, and it was here that T. Ernest Polden looked for an office the growing company. In 1892 he found suitable premises at No. 2, Amen Corner
. At first the company had two rooms on the third floor, but this soon increased to four and gradually they took over the entire building. By this time the company were supplying printed forms and other stationery to about 400 military canteens, 100 officers' messes, 200 sergeants' messes, and 250 libraries, recreation rooms and regimental institutes throughout both the Army and Navy. The well-known Gale & Polden Military Series and other educational works were in use by Military Educational Department and by the London
and other school boards, and in the colonial forces. On 10 November 1892 the company was incorporated as Gale & Polden Ltd, with a share capital of £30,000 in £5 shares. Unusually, the shares were offered to ordinary soldiers.
, then the largest British Army
base in Great Britain
, and close the Brompton Works. Polden had located a suitable site in Aldershot for the building of the new factory in an ideal position near to the town's railway station. It was originally planned to have a four-sided building with a central courtyard. By September 1893 the first wing was complete, and two high-powered gas engines with electrical generating plant were installed. The larger printing machines were kept running at the Brompton Works until the new building at Aldershot was ready to receive them. Then the machines at Brompton were stripped down, loaded into Pickfords
containers on horse-drawn drays, taken down to the railway goods siding at Chatham Station and sent to Aldershot in special trucks where they were unloaded and taken across to the new factory nearby.
for producing Queen Mary
's Christmas card. In 1918 a fire at the firm's Wellington Works destroyed one of the building's four wings, which temporarily halted printing. As a result of the fire, the company decided to maintain its own volunteer fire crew at the Works. In 1956 Gale & Polden acquired a number of smaller printing firms including Know Publications, producers of the Woking Opinion newspaper; Paines of Worthing and John Drew Ltd, an Aldershot-based rival. In 1963 Gale & Polden was taken over by the Purnell Group, and in 1964 Purnells merged with another printing company, Hazel Sun, to form the new British Printing Corporation (BPC), the largest printing company in Europe.
In 1971 The Aldershot News was acquired by the Surrey Advertiser Group, which later became part of the Guardian Group of newspapers. Robert Maxwell
gained control of BPC and Gale & Polden with it in 1981, and named his new Company Maxwell Communications. In November 1981 Gale & Polden finally closed, with the Wellington Works site being demolished in 1987. Robert Maxwell died in 1991 and in 1992 Maxwell Communications collapsed, leaving many retired Gale and Polden employees without a pension.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
printer and publisher. Founded in Brompton, near Chatham, Kent in 1868, the business subsequently moved to Aldershot
Aldershot
Aldershot is a town in the English county of Hampshire, located on heathland about southwest of London. The town is administered by Rushmoor Borough Council...
, where they were based until closure in November 1981 after the company had been bought by media mogul Robert Maxwell
Robert Maxwell
Ian Robert Maxwell MC was a Czechoslovakian-born British media proprietor and former Member of Parliament , who rose from poverty to build an extensive publishing empire...
.
Early years
The firm of Gale and Polden was founded near Brompton Barracks at Chatham, James Gale opening his bookshop there at No 1 High Street, Old Brompton in 1868. Soon Gale acquired his first printing press, which he set up in a wooden shed in the garden at the rear of his house. Through his contacts with the Headquarters of the Chatham Military District Gale obtained a printing contract for the printing of the Garrison Directory.In 1873 Gale printed and published his first book, Campaign of 1870-1: The Operations of the Corps of General V. Werder by Ludwig Lohlein, late Captain 1st Baden Bodyguard Grenadier Regiment. At this time Gale's printing works had three hand presses and only enough metal type to print sixteen pages at a time. Gale's staff was made up of three compositors, a bookbinder, a die stamper and three boys. His wife managed the shop's book and stationery sales, assisted by one of the boys.
On September 29, 1875 James Gale took on his first apprentice, William T Nash, aged fourteen. Nash went on to work for the Company for sixty-eight years, rising to be Composing Room Overseer, a post he held for nearly forty years until 1943 when he died aged 82. In 1875 Nash was soon joined by Thomas Ernest Polden, aged 16. By 1880 the bookselling side of Gale's business was very successful, and Gale publicised it by announcing that "A selection of several hundreds of most modern and popular books will always be found in stock and, having made arrangements for receiving parcels from the principal London Houses daily, the book that should not happen to be in stock could be obtained immediately".
Many of these developments were due to T. Ernest Polden, who had progressed from serving in the bookshop into working in the printing works where he gained an extensive knowledge of different printing processes. Polden went out from Chatham to the garrisons or dockyards at Gravesend
Gravesend, Kent
Gravesend is a town in northwest Kent, England, on the south bank of the Thames, opposite Tilbury in Essex. It is the administrative town of the Borough of Gravesham and, because of its geographical position, has always had an important role to play in the history and communications of this part of...
, Dover
Dover
Dover is a town and major ferry port in the home county of Kent, in South East England. It faces France across the narrowest part of the English Channel, and lies south-east of Canterbury; east of Kent's administrative capital Maidstone; and north-east along the coastline from Dungeness and Hastings...
, Canterbury
Canterbury
Canterbury is a historic English cathedral city, which lies at the heart of the City of Canterbury, a district of Kent in South East England. It lies on the River Stour....
and further afield, publicising the name Gale and Polden to the British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
and Navy. At that time most official military forms were written out in longhand by orderlies, and Polden saw an opportunity to extend the firm's business by printing standardised forms. His scheme resulted in large orders for the forms being placed.
Expansion
Polden, by now the senior partner in the business, decided to establish a London Office. "A Company of our standing and associations", he declared "must have its centre in the hub of the Empire!" The business had increased to such an extent that James Gale and T. Ernest Polden were considering forming Gale & Polden into a limited liability Company registered in London.Fleet Street
Fleet Street
Fleet Street is a street in central London, United Kingdom, named after the River Fleet, a stream that now flows underground. It was the home of the British press until the 1980s...
, St. Paul's Churchyard and Paternoster Row
Paternoster Row
Paternoster Row was a London street in which clergy of the medieval St Paul's Cathedral would walk, chanting the Lord's Prayer . It was devastated by aerial bombardment in The Blitz during World War II. Prior to this destruction the area had been a centre of the London publishing trade , with...
were the centre of publishing in London, and it was here that T. Ernest Polden looked for an office the growing company. In 1892 he found suitable premises at No. 2, Amen Corner
Amen Corner (London)
Amen Corner lies at the junction of Paternoster Row and Ave Maria Lane, just to the west of St Paul's Cathedral in the City of London.- History :...
. At first the company had two rooms on the third floor, but this soon increased to four and gradually they took over the entire building. By this time the company were supplying printed forms and other stationery to about 400 military canteens, 100 officers' messes, 200 sergeants' messes, and 250 libraries, recreation rooms and regimental institutes throughout both the Army and Navy. The well-known Gale & Polden Military Series and other educational works were in use by Military Educational Department and by the London
London School Board
The School Board for London was an institution of local government and the first directly elected body covering the whole of London....
and other school boards, and in the colonial forces. On 10 November 1892 the company was incorporated as Gale & Polden Ltd, with a share capital of £30,000 in £5 shares. Unusually, the shares were offered to ordinary soldiers.
Move to Aldershot
Polden suggested to the board of directors that it was necessary to build a new factory at AldershotAldershot
Aldershot is a town in the English county of Hampshire, located on heathland about southwest of London. The town is administered by Rushmoor Borough Council...
, then the largest British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
base in Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
, and close the Brompton Works. Polden had located a suitable site in Aldershot for the building of the new factory in an ideal position near to the town's railway station. It was originally planned to have a four-sided building with a central courtyard. By September 1893 the first wing was complete, and two high-powered gas engines with electrical generating plant were installed. The larger printing machines were kept running at the Brompton Works until the new building at Aldershot was ready to receive them. Then the machines at Brompton were stripped down, loaded into Pickfords
Pickfords
Pickfords is a moving company based in the United Kingdom, part of the Moving Services Group UK Ltd.The business is believed to have been founded in the 17th century, making it one of the UK's oldest functioning companies. The earliest record is of a William Pickford, a carrier who worked south of...
containers on horse-drawn drays, taken down to the railway goods siding at Chatham Station and sent to Aldershot in special trucks where they were unloaded and taken across to the new factory nearby.
Later years
In 1916 Gale & Polden were granted a Royal WarrantRoyal Warrant
Royal warrants of appointment have been issued for centuries to those who supply goods or services to a royal court or certain royal personages. The warrant enables the supplier to advertise the fact that they supply to the royal family, so lending prestige to the supplier...
for producing Queen Mary
Mary of Teck
Mary of Teck was the queen consort of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Empress of India, as the wife of King-Emperor George V....
's Christmas card. In 1918 a fire at the firm's Wellington Works destroyed one of the building's four wings, which temporarily halted printing. As a result of the fire, the company decided to maintain its own volunteer fire crew at the Works. In 1956 Gale & Polden acquired a number of smaller printing firms including Know Publications, producers of the Woking Opinion newspaper; Paines of Worthing and John Drew Ltd, an Aldershot-based rival. In 1963 Gale & Polden was taken over by the Purnell Group, and in 1964 Purnells merged with another printing company, Hazel Sun, to form the new British Printing Corporation (BPC), the largest printing company in Europe.
In 1971 The Aldershot News was acquired by the Surrey Advertiser Group, which later became part of the Guardian Group of newspapers. Robert Maxwell
Robert Maxwell
Ian Robert Maxwell MC was a Czechoslovakian-born British media proprietor and former Member of Parliament , who rose from poverty to build an extensive publishing empire...
gained control of BPC and Gale & Polden with it in 1981, and named his new Company Maxwell Communications. In November 1981 Gale & Polden finally closed, with the Wellington Works site being demolished in 1987. Robert Maxwell died in 1991 and in 1992 Maxwell Communications collapsed, leaving many retired Gale and Polden employees without a pension.
External links
- Gale and Polden, Printers of Aldershot on the Hampshire County CouncilHampshire County CouncilHampshire County Council is the county council that governs the majority of the county of Hampshire in England. It provides the upper tier of local government, below which are district councils, and town and parish councils...
website - Gale and Polden timeline
- Gale and Polden History and Traditions Postcards