Wilfred Jordan Harrison

'Pictures recall 19th century Newcastle: over 100 years of camera work'. (Newspaper cutting from the sixties about an exhibition of photographs of Newcastle under Lyme). Taken by Wilfred Harrison's firm of Photographers, known as E Harrison & Son of Liverpool Road. Some were taken by Edwin Harrison, the others by his son William. They were the grandfather and father of the present proprietor, Wilfred Harrison (1895-1969) The family connection with the town goes back nearly 150 years, when Stoke and Hanley Green were pleasant rural retreats and Newcastle a thriving little market town.

     Young George Harrison(10/6/1813), great -grandfather of Wilfred was earning his living as a carver and gilder in Somerset in those days. He decided for some reason to try his luck up North. He packed his bags and caught the stage coach at Bristol, intending to go to Manchester to find a job. The coach pulled up at the King's Head coach house and George walked along the main street of Newcastle, getting into conversation with a tradesman of the town who offered him a job, which he accepted. His son young Edwin(1836-1903) showed an early interest in Photography; so in 1840 he opened the first studio in the town at the back of the Savoy cinema. The business flourished, many of the orders coming from the landed gentry, & in 1873, the family moved to better premises. When Edwin died in 1903, the business was taken over by his son Alfred William Harrison (1865-1947) He was an interesting personality, who will be remembered particularly for his fine studies of English scenery displayed in many railway carriages. His work travelled literally millions of miles---& many distinguished people visited his studio. Before World War two,  every picture taken by the Harrisons was carefully filed away---but just after the war there was a great demand for glass & 20,000 old negatives were sold to a Birmingham firm. Wilfred has a veritable museum of negatives behind the shop. 

In the 1901 census Wilfred  (6) was living with his parents at 4 Grosvenor Road, Newcastle under Lyme. His father was 36 & his mother Margaret Gertrude Winstanley Harrison was 32 years old & Alfred William  Harrison describes himself as an Artist & Photographer.. In the 1911 census Wilfred J Harrison was 16 ,occupation at school & he is at home with his parents Alfred William (46), Maggie G Harrison (42) his mother & Marjorie (9) his sister & his  maternal grandmother Margaret Winstanley (77) so probably he was called after his maternal Grandmother,  whose maiden name was JORDAN . He contributed to the war effort in the Great War of 1918. : AIR 76 Air Ministry :Department of the Master-General of Personnel : Officers Service Branch. Name Harrison Wilfred Jordan. Reference AIR76/212/194. Description :Name Harrison Wilfred Jordan. Date: [1918-1919] Held by The National Archives , KEW. Book no. 102 part 2. Legal Status : Public Records (51).Closure status: Open document, open description. The  RAF was the world's first independent military air arm & by the end of the First World War, it had become the largest with over 27,000 officers & 250,000 other ranks as compared with 300 officers & 1700 other ranks in British Air personnel at the start of the war. However by  the end of 1919,

26,000 of the 27,000 had been discharged & it is largely their service details which are held in this series.

.Wilfred married Gladys Jean Harris on 9th April 1932 in Shrewsbury {Family Bible at Freshford House Museum, Bloemfontein} On September 29 1939, Wilfred & Gladys were living at 46 Myott Avenue, Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire & Wilfred is described as Photographer for Communication.
In 1960, Edwin Du Guesclin Harrison addressed an envelope to Wilfred 34 Liverpool Street, Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire, England but did not post it. Both Geoffrey Marchant & Edwin du Guesclin Harrison made a point of visiting Wilfred & Gladys whenever they visited England.

 In 1969, Edwin Du Guesclin Harrison visited Wilfred & Gladys & on 25 September Edwin wrote back to Geoffrey M Harrison  at 23 Dovedale road, Cheltondale, Johannesburg telling him "You will be pleased to hear that I have been up to see Wilfred & Gladys, & Wilfred met  me on Colwyn Bay Station.. Wilfred died in 1973 in Aled, Denbighshire Wales & so did his wife Gladys Jean Harrison.