I would say they were dealers – the men who would carry the ‘deal’ soft timber in the timber yards. They wore a leather saddle pad on their shoulder.
Edwardian Grimsby working men with a single, leather shoulder pad c1905.
An original photograph by Harry Shaw of Grimsby.
Any ideas as to what job they were doing? Hod carriers? Wood carriers?
It appears that the photo was taken before Harry Shaw, the photographer, gave his address as Grant Thorold Studio, 54 Durban Road, Grimsby. Harry was born in Grimsby c1880. To date, we have not been able to trace Harry after 1911. Did he die in WW1?
Note: The wife of Harry Shaw, Florence Maud Shaw of 13 Wentworth Road Grimsby, died in 1951. Their daughter, Phyllis Shaw who died in 1976, is buried with her mother in Scartho Road Cemetery. Florence and Phyllis were living with Phyllis’ sister, Myra Woods, and husband in Grimsby in 1939.





