Gertrude Russon
- the owner of a slate quarry near Aberangell (amidst ‘disgraceful’ circumstances)
1921
The story of Gertrude and her husband, William Clayton Russon, is complex and rather disgraceful, but she was one of the few women slate quarry owners in Wales.
William Clayton Russon came from Birmingham, where he was involved in various manufacturing industries before the First World War. On 15th. August 1894, he married Gertrude James whose family ran the James Cycles Co. a well-known bicycle and motorcycle manufacturer, whose factory was in Edgbaston. Wiliam started his own bicycle manufacturing company called Main Wheeleries in 1902.
After the War, there was a boom in housebuilding in Britain, and a revival of the Welsh slate quarries. William Clayton Russon and his partner Roland Morgan purchased a timber plantation near Aberystwyth, and the Russon family moved to Wales. Russon and Morgan soon expanded their ambitions beyond timber, purchasing the moribund Gartheiniog quarry near Aberangell . They formed the Standard Housing Company, which promised to build a large number of prefabricated houses with timber frames and slate walls and roofs.
Roland Morgan was a conman who specialized in selling shares in fake companies. It appears that the Standard Housing Company was mostly a stock scam, for it collapsed in 1921 and Morgan disappeared with much of the shareholders' money. Russon declared bankruptcy, but not before he transferred the ownership of Gartheiniog Quarry to his wife Gertrude.
The Russons continued to live in Aberangell until 1936 and leased the quarry to a string of English businessmen who tried to operate it, all without success. During this time, Gertrude was the owner of the quarry and she appears as the mine operator for several years in the Home Office returns (as G.E. Russon) during this period.
It is unclear what active role Gertrude played in the quarry. It is likely that she was mostly a figure-head, as William Clayton was barred from owning a company due to his bankruptcy. The few contemporary accounts from this period make it clear that William Clayton continued to be heavily involved in the management of the quarry. Nevertheless this is a rare example of a Welsh slate quarry being owned by a woman.
Gartheiniog was a commercial failure, but in 1936 the Russon's sold it to William Bowley, a member of the family which ran the successful S. Bowley & Sons oil refinery in Battersea. They then moved to Dolgellau where they purchased the grand Glan-y-Mawddach Hall; they lived their until they died.
Story contributed by Dan Quine. Dan is writing a book about the slate quarries around Aberangell