In 1960, i.e. sixty years ago, the Kattwyk Coking Plant prepared a special
medal in memory of William Lindley. On the obverse there is a bust of William
Lindley with the inscription:
HAMBURGERGAS (Gas of Hamburg, in the upper part) and WILLIAM LINDLEY, ERBAUER DES ERSTEN
HAMBURGER GASWERKS (W.Lindley, constructor of the first gasworks in Hamburg, in in the lower part). There is a large inscription on the
reverse: HGW KOKEREI KATTWYK 1960 (Hamburger Gasworks, Coking Plant, Kattwyk 1960).
Collection: Societas Lindleiana
The commemoration involved the opening of a new coking plant in an industrial
district of Hamburg, opened in 1960. The new coking plant was short-lived. It
was extinguished in 1981 and was demolished a year later.
In August 1844, the foundation stone laying ceremony for the construction of the first gas coking plant at Grasbrook was held. A year later, the first public gas lanterns to illuminate Hamburg's main streets with coal gas were introduced. In the fall of 1845, there was such a large flood that the new gas facilities were unusable. A new building was needed. “It was taken over by the English engineer William Lindley, who was also responsible for building a modern water supply in Hamburg. The gas lanterns burned again at the end of 1846: 2020 in numbers. The brightness of the streets made the gas plant so popular that its image adorned the backs of playing cards, "writes Sasha Disko-Schmidt in the text Gasversorgung für die moderne Stadt (Gas supply a modern city).
Source:https://geschichtsbuch.hamburg.de/epochen/industrialisierung/gasversorgung-fuer-die-moderne-stadt/
Kattwyk, together with Altona, found itself within borders of Hamburg in 1937. Currently, this name is connected with the unusual Kattwykbrücke drawbridge over the southern Elbe for rail and road traffic. A 290-meter-long bridge connects Moorburg with the eastern Kattwyk peninsula, which belongs to the Elbe Hohe Schaar and Wilhelmsburg islands.
20 years have passed since our first meeting at the Polish Institute in Darmstadt in 2003, when Ryszard Żelichowski presented the first edition of his book The Lindleys. The history of an engineering family.In following years, the family reunion took place in Warsaw (2007), Hamburg (2008), Prague (2009), Frankfurt am Main (2012), Baku (2014, 2017) and Hamburg (2015 and 2018).
Munich 2023.
At the end of the pandemic mixed team of English and German families, started to think about a new place to meet.The choice of Munich seemed natural. One of our seniors, Ursula Caspar (1931-2023), who turned 90 in 2021, lived there, but due to the pandemic we could not visit her.Secondly, in Munich is located the famous German Museum, which William Heerlein Lindley co-organized with German engineer Oskar von Miller, sat on its Management Board and served there for many years as secretary-recorder (Schriftfüher). The Archive, which is part of the Museum, since 1920 holds materials donated by the wife of Sir William Heerlein, Lady Fanny Henrietta Lindley (1859-1931), in the form of Lindley Stiftung (Lindley Foundation). And least but not last, 170 years ago (1853) William H. Lindley was born. A nice, round date to celebrate.
Unfortunately, fate decided that Ursula Caspar left us in April this year, and before her, both her brothers Alexander and Dietrich.
Margrit and Lorenz Neubauer, Karin Deubner and Tom Lindley. A warm evening in the Hirschgarten, a Bavarian
specialty
After consultation with the Archive and the family, we agreed that we will continue our reunion. The best time to visit Minich, according to the Archive directors, was 12-14 September. The organization of our three-day reunion remained the responsibility of Eugen Deubner from Wiesbaden, who remains in permanent contact with the German part of the family. The English part led by Bill Lindley eagerly joined the project.
Eugen Deubner, Ben Lindley and Alex Egerton
Bill Lindley, Ryszard Żelichowski and Ben Lindley
The chief-goal was accomplished. After five years we met and enjoyed the re-union and had a great time together. The highlights were: the presentation by Dr. Röschner, deputy director of the Archive, some of the treasures of the Archive, including examples of Lindleiana collection and a witty and informative tour of the Deutsches Museum guided by Alexander Lucas.
We look forward to the next family reunion, possibly in England.