WD & HO Wills

Phenix

hi,
does anyone know if its possible to get employee records for the Player Wills tobacco company which opened here in approx. 1923? I have family which moved here from UK to work there but I cant find them on the UK census/Irish census/immigration records...nothing.

Ponster

Deirdre Healy
Corporate Affairs Manager
Direct tel: +353 1 243 4809
Mob: +353 8629 95609
Email: deirdre.healy@ie.imptob.com


The only local contact that I could find.

Coolnabacky1873

Bristol Record Office has records for the company. That could be good place to start.

http://archives.bristol.gov.uk/dserve/useful_information.html

pinkypinky

I'm confused by your title.

Have you been into Pearse St library to look at electoral registers for the 1920s? It's searchable on a computer and might give you an address to go on.

Phenix

great, thanks for the info Ponster & Coolnabacky1873

hi pinkypinky WD & HO Wills were a British tobacco company that came here around 1920 and opened a factory called Player Wills. a lot of my family and people in the area I grew up in worked for this company and my grandmothers family came over from the UK when she was young as her father worked for them.
im veerrry new to my family search so am a bit lost at the moment - sorry for the confusion.

thanks
Phenix

johnny_doyle

don't know if this timeline is of interest

http://www.davenapier.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/wills/wdhowill.htm

The Wills family were one of the big families in Swindon where I now live and were heavily involved in Swindon Town Football Club until recently.


There is an online version of a book called "W.D. & H.O. Wills and the Development of the UK Tobacco Industry: 1786-1965" by B.W.E Alford which may be of interest. Dublin gets a mention - producing 635million cigarettes in the first year of operation. The management at the Dublin factory reported to the Bristol office.

Phenix

thank you so much for the response Johnny Doyle