A journey into the past with Liz Spiret and Miles Gooch
The book was first signed in March 1947 when King George VI and Queen Elizabeth visited Ladysmith
Local historian and tour guide Liz Spiret recently loaned the Borough of Ladysmith Visitors Book from the municipality to uncover names of interest of people who have visited our little town over the years and signed their names in the book.
This is part of her ‘Heritage Royalty in Ladysmith’ project.
As Liz was going through the book, she was amazed at the data it presented.
The book was first signed in March 1947 when King George VI and Queen Elizabeth visited Ladysmith. Nelson Mandela’s signature is also present in March 1993.
Liz Spiret’s son-in-law, Miles Peter Gooch, recently came to Ladysmith to visit them and was astonished when Liz found Daniel Fulthorpe’s signature in the Visitors Book.
Here’s a little bit about Daniel Fulthorpe’s grandfather, Miles’ great great grandfather, the first Baronet:
Sir Daniel Gooch was a self-made railway and telegraphy pioneer of renown in England’s Industrial Revolution during the reign of Queen Victoria.
Starting in a foundry on a low wage, he worked his way up to become one of England’s most successful engineers and the first to be knighted for an engineering achievement; the laying of the first successful telegraph cable across the Atlantic.
He was apprenticed to the famous Robert Stephenson, where he designed steam locomotives and was then hired by Isambard Kingdom Brunel as the chief engineer of the Great Western Railway.
After many years of service, he became its chairman, a position he held for 27 years, and rescued the company from bankruptcy, turning it back into a thriving company and one of the largest in the world.
He had a number of notable achievements to his name, including designing the world’s fastest locomotives, devising and introducing the first public healthcare service, which was used as the model for Britain’s National Health Service, and founding the town of Swindon.
Sir Daniel was born in 1816 and died in 1889.
“I feel very honoured to find this great history of mine. This is really a great milestone in my family,” says Miles.
