Hyatt Family Tree

William aged 8 was at the "Commercial Travellers School" in Pinner, Middllesex. Aged 18 was living with Deborah and her new partner Thomas Hugh Bremridge.

The Royal Commercial Travellers School, Pinner, was known until 1918 as The Commercial Travellers' School and after Jun 1965 as The Royal Pinner School.

Service number K39756
Archive reference ADM 188/946/39756
Record set Royal Navy Seamen 1899-1919

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Mr John Robert Cuffley of Ipswich, an able and energetic traveller, was the founder of the Commercial Travellers' Schools. He inspired many of his colleagues with his vision of a school which would ..."house, feed, clothe and educate the necessitous children of brethren "on the road" who met untimely death or became unable to earn their livelihood"... He was involved in the inauguration of the 'Merchants & Travellers Insurance Association' and negotiated that 1/16th of any profits made should be set aside for founding a school for children whose fathers had died or were severely handicapped as a result of their work as commercial travellers. In the words of George Moore ..."When they [the Travellers] die in the service of their employers, what is to become of their children? They have been able to save but little money, for they are for the most part badly paid."...

The method of entry to the Schools was by election at the Court of the Board of Governors, whereby prospective pupils nominated by sponsors were required to have collected sufficient votes from individual and association members, a system which continued in principle throughout the Schools' existence. The first Court in December 1846 saw twenty children elected for admission in 1847. The premises were formally opened on August 2nd 1847 with fourteen boys and six girls. Fifteen more children were elected in 1847 and a further thirty in 1848. By June 1849 there were eighty-six children resident, increasing to one hundred by 15

By 1852 there were 123 children on the roll and new premises were urgently required. George Moore and the Board thought a rarer house should be purchased for modification and expansion to allow for the increase in numbers. In 1855 HRH Prince Albert opened the new Schools at Pinner with accommodation for up to 300 children. The parents of any enrolled child had to be commercial travellers, sales and technical representatives or manufacturers agents and the children were not required to sit an entrance examination. Payment of fees was geared to income, although the institution was mainly charitable and free for children of dead or disabled parents.