Person:Charles Runciman (13)

Charles relocated his family (wife Elizabeth Armstrong, sons Charles and Alan) to Gourock when he took a big step in taking employment at HM Torpedo Factory.

In Glasgow the family lived in a modest tenement property. The move to Gourock was a major family decision as they decided whether to take the big step of moving into a beautiful detached bungalow on a hillside overlooking the Firth of Clyde. Eventually, after considerable debate, this ambitious move was made.

I don't think the "Torpedo Factory" had any other name. Originally based in Woolwich, London it was transferred to Greenock in 1911. "Clyde Built" had a global reputation and serviced the world. Workers from Woolwich were transferred along with the workload. Apparently they were not impressed by the accommodation available in Greenock, where there was a history of considerable poverty. It seems to have come as a culture shock to the incomers to come up against damp housing and, for example, beds kept in a 'hole in the wall' (this was a concept of recessed bedding, which saved space in the sitting room during the day, by folding up and recessing against the wall). Instead, transferred workers chose nearby Gourock where the quality of housing stock was so much better. In this short period of transfer from Woolwich the modestly sized town of Gourock's population grew by 2,000.

The Torpedo Factory later transferred to Alexandra, Scotland, eventually closing completely in 1960.

Alan Runciman (b1946)

1.   Old Gourock. (Stenlake Publishing).
2. ↑ Census: 1891 Ancestry, Record Type: Census (images for England, transcriptions for Scotland), Location: UK, Re. (1891)
   Kelvin, Glasgow Barony, Lanarkshire, Reg 644/9 ED 9 Pg 17 Sched 88, hsehold of James & Mary RUNCIMAN, extracted Jun 2007.
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1 3.2} Alan RUNCIMAN. EM RUNCIMAN/WISHART/JAMIESON ex Alan R, Recipient: Lorna Henderson, Address: Ayr, Scotland, Author E-mail:
   Birth 1881 Dth 1969 Charles John Thomson s/o James RUNCIMAN & Mary THOMSON, extracted from MyHeritage William of Crail tree, Jun 2011.
4. ↑ 1891 Census for Scotland, Record Type: Census transcripts, Location: Scotland, Record Info: via Ancestry.com. (1891)
   Kelvin, Glasgow Barony, Lanarkshire, Reg 644/9 ED 9 Pg 17 Sched 88, hsehold of James & Mary RUNCIMAN, extracted Jun 2007.
5. ↑ Statutory Registers Index: Scotland, Subject: Births deaths marriages index, Location: Scotland 1855 , Film Nu
   Birth 1882 Charles John Th RUNCIMAN , reg. Kelvin, Glasgow City, Lanarkshire, 644/09 0027, extracted from index Jan 2012.
6. ↑ Statutory Registers Index: Scotland, Subject: Births deaths marriages index, Location: Scotland 1855 , Film Nu
   Dth 1969 Charles John T RUNCIMAN , aged 87, reg. Eastwood & Mearns, RFW 562/00 0324, extracted from index Jan 2012.
7. ↑ family info says 1881, reg. 1882, so might be late 1881, reg. 1882?