R. A. Rooney & Sons (family era)

Interesting piece of history:

From John Tallis's London street views, 1838-1840:



Inset:

This is what I think of when the old time brands were in full swing , proud work , where reputation and quality meant everything. Imagine walking into a shop in London with a case of brushes to display and be sold at this time.

I enjoyed the history lesson very much. Thank you

Very interesting. Thank you for sharing!

This is an awesome read. Thanks for sharing, Ken!

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Last year I tracked down a direct descendant of the first Robert Alexander Rooney associated with the brush-making business that resided at 27-28 Bishopsgate Without in London from the late 1700s or early 1800s until 1927 “when the freehold premises in Bishopsgate were sold and all manufacturing was transferred to Walthamstow.”
 
That descendant provided me with the following summary of Rooney family history connected to brush-making (quoted text is indicated by italics):
  
What I have been able to find is that the [brush] business was started in the early 1800s in Bishopsgate Without (just outside the City of London) by Robert Alexander Rooney [1806-1888]. His father had a sawmill business in Brownville Galway (not sure whether they made brushes), and we think his name was James Rooney [born circa 1760] but have no actual proof.
 
[That Robert Alexander Rooney had a son also named] Robert Alexander Rooney [1833-1892], my Great Grandfather, [who succeeded his father in running the business] but died quite young, leaving a widow aged 40 with 11 children.

I am not sure who … ran the business [next]. My Grandfather Basil Oswald Rooney [1886-1986] took over at a young age, when the factory was [still] in Bishopsgate. It subsequently moved to Walthamstow, where my father [Oswald B. M. (Mickey) Rooney (1916-1995)]worked for a while, till he had a row with his father and left. Grandfather sort of ran the business well into his 90s with my Aunt [Priscilla Amy Rooney (1919-2013)] and the factory manager.

The factory manager was Trevor Harrold, … who Dad brought into the business after the war (he had been one of Dad’s Sergeants in the SAS).

I wasn’t able to learn much more about the company’s operations related to production of shaving brushes, but some of the personal history that turned up is fascinating, at least to me.
 
Making brushes for the military during WWI was a very important activity in support of the war effort, so Basil Oswald Rooney did not serve in the military, but he had two brothers who fought, one of whom died at Gallipoli.

Oswald B. M. (Mickey) Rooney (see https://www.paradata.org.uk/people/oswald-b-rooney) was commissioned as an officer in early 1940, joined the no. 12 Commando, and was subsequently attached to the Small Scale Raiding Force (SSRF, see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No._62_Commando), part of the Special Operations Executive (SOE, see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special_Operations_Executive).
   
Trevor Harrold, who served as one of Oswald Rooney’s sergeants and was recruited to work for R. A. Rooney & Sons in 1946, was interviewed in 2017 (at the age of 96) as the last known survivor of the SAS Operation Galia (see http://www.hannbooks.com/blog/33-incredi...?showall=1). With reference to Rooney brush-making, Harrold said: I carried on in the army after the war and was posted to the Parachute Regiment camp at Piddle Hinton in Dorset as Company Quarter Master Sergeant. I was eventually demobbed on 9th July 1946. Throughout this time I had kept in touch with my old SAS CO Major Rooney, whose family owned a brush making business, R.A.Rooney Limited in Walthamstow North London. They offered me a job in late 1946, initially as trainee works manager. I was made works manager in 1950 and worked for the Rooney family for the whole of my working life, right into my 70’s! Trevor Harrold died in 2018.

Here are some photos.

Grave of Robert Alexander Rooney (1806-1888)



Robert Alexander Rooney (1833-1892)



Priscilla Amy Rooney (1919-2013)

Fascinating, Ken.  Truly.

Two more photos:
Basil Oswald Rooney (1886-1986)

Oswald B. M. (Mickey) Rooney (1916-1995)

Great stuff, Ken. I love this history and tradition.

Awesome stuff, Ken.

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Impressive information you have come across Ken , no one has ever before been able to find such detailed and fascinating information regarding this brand.