The Simonds Brewery business was managed for almost 200 years by the Simonds family, who took a characteristically paternalistic view towards their employees that was not unusual for its time, and who seemingly went to great lengths to look after them. For example by continuing to pay wages during the General Strike in 1926 – which many did not.
The sense of ‘Family’ is very strong amongst us – it is one of the key attributes of the extended Simonds family today and is also one of the key drivers behind my desire to make the wonderful archives that I inherited from various sources ‘safe’ for ‘future generations’ and more accessible to all. Which I am proud to have achieved as they are all now housed at The Royal Berkshire Archives.
I believe that there is something to be learned from our family story that can usefully be applied to our current very different lives.
I am trying to develop family orientated biographies on some of the historical characters in the family who helped to sustain and shape its destiny, illustrated and supported where possible with archive material. I have also shown some of the other family members about whom I have information that may be of interest. [If you can contribute – please get in touch] Over time I hope to add more, so do come back to check again, if you find these interesting. Since I have no claims to be a historian, I am sure that there will be errors and omissions, so I welcome constructive comment through the contact page below please.
Many of our family lost their lives in wartime. Please do study the ‘In Memoriam’ pages to learn more about their sacrifices.
Each person listed here should be shown on the Family Tree in the Genealogy pages.