The Trench of Death

The 'Trench of Death' (Dodengang) is located near the Belgian city of Dixmuide in Flanders. It is the last remaining section of the First World War trench system in Belgium.

In Use

Before Restoration

After Restoration

Ypres 1919

The city of Ypres (Ieper), situated within a deadly salient of the Western Front, suffered so much throughout the course of the First World War that by Armistice Day there was not a single building in the municipality that remained in tact.  Four years of shelling had reduced its ancient core to rubble.

• First Battle of Ypres, (19 October - 22 November 1914)
• Second Battle of Ypres, (22 April - 25 May 1915)
• Battle of Messines, (7 - 14 June 1917)
• Third Battle of Ypres (Battle of Passchendaele), (31 July - 10 November 1917)
• Battle of the Menin Road (20-25 September 1917)
• Fourth Battle of Ypres - Battle of the Lys, (9 April - 29 April 1918)
• Fifth Battle of Ypres, (28 September - 2 October 1918)

One Canadian soldier, Sergeant John.Armstrong Brice, described the devastation in a letter home:

I don't suppose there is any place on earth in quite such a mess as the surface of the earth surrounding Ypres. For over six miles in depth the land is nothing but a sea of shell- craters

click on images to enlarge

“I should like us to acquire the whole of the ruins of Ypres… A more sacred place for the British race does not exist in the World.”
- Winston Churchill,  January 1919

"I was thy neighbour once, thou rugged Pile, thou whiteness, Ypres,
How mighty in thy misery, how royal in thy ravishing,"
- Edmund Blunden,  On Reading that the Rebuilding of Ypres Approached Completion

After the war, Ypres was rebuilt in a remarkable campaign of restoration.

Manchester Evening News
24 July 1967

Joseph Frederick Cawdery (1907-1963)

Joseph Frederick "Fred" Cawdery was born in Salford in 1907. He married in Salford in 1936, and died there in 1963.

Fred's parents were Francis Arthur Cawdery and May Hall.

Fred was baptized at the local parish church, Stowell Memorial, on 5 June 1907 [1]

Fred

Hilda

Wedding Day
click on images to enlarge

Fred married Hilda Robertson Turner. Hilda was born on 27 July 1906 [2], and christened at the Church of St. Clement, Ordsall, Salford on 3 October 1906. Her mother was Eleanor Turner.

Hilda's death was registered in Bury, Lancashire.

Hilda and Fred had two daughters,

• Hilda Muriel Cawdery was born in Salford in 1941, and married Stuart A. Taylor at Westminster, London in 1971.  She became a medical doctor specializing in microbiology. [3]  Their children are: Alexander James V. born in Lambeth in 1975, and Lauren Frances, born in 1977 in Brighton. 

• Gillian E. Cawdery was born in Salford in 1945. She married Robert S. Smith in 1968 in Salford. Their children are Jane Catherine born in Salford in 1969, and Elizabeth Smith born in Salford in 1972.

 Notes

[1] parish record:
Baptism: 5 Jun 1907 Stowell Memorial, Salford, Lancashire, England
Joseph Frederick Cawdery - [Child] of Francis Arthur Cawdery & May
    Abode: 23 West Brownhill Street
    Occupation: Joiner
    Baptised by: A. C. Sinclair
    Register: Baptisms 1905 - 1912, Page 86, Entry 687

[2] parish record:
Baptism: 3 Oct 1906 St Clement, Salford, Lancashire, England
Hilda Turner - [Child] of Eleanor Turner
Born: 27 Jul 1906
Abode: 4 Isaac St. ()rdsall)
Baptised by: C. T. Campion
Performed at: At St. James's Mission Church
Register: Baptisms 1903 - 1911, Entry 1282

[3] Dr. Cawdery worked at the Department of Microbiology Kidderminster General Hospital.

Arthur Valentine Cawdery

Arthur Valentine Cawdery was the son of Francis Arthur Cawdery and May Hall.  He was born in 1905 in Salford, and christened on 1 March 1905 at Stowell Memorial Church.

He married Elsie R. King in Bolton, Lancashire in 1932.

Elsie was the daughter of  Robert Edward and Louisa Beardsworth King, born 27 May 1907, and christened on 11 August 1907 at St. George, Bolton, Lancashire. Her family [2] lived at 4 Howarth Street, Farnworth. Her father was a Spindle & Fly Maker [1].

Arthur and Elsie appear to have been childless.

Manchester Evening News  24 Dec 1945

Four Men Sent for Trial. Two thousand yards of bed ticking, valued at £2OO, were involved in a charge of warehouse breaking and larceny at the premises of the Brookside Finishing Company, Toothill Bridge Works. Bolton, on which Valentine Arthur Cawdery. aged 40. motor driver, of Shipton Street; James Cockerill Kenyon, aged 32. general dealer, of Deane Road; James Loynd,  aged 31, unemployed, of Chorley Old Road; and Benjamin Hogarth, aged 30, turner-fitter, of Greenland Road, were at Bolton to-day committed to Quarter Sessions.

Arthur died in Farnworth, Lancashire in 1964. Elsie apparently died in Bolton in 1977 [3].



Parish Record:
Baptism: 1 Mar 1905 Stowell Memorial, Salford, Lancashire, England
Arthur Valentine Cawdery - [Child] of Francis Arthur Cawdery & May
    Abode: 23 West Brownbill St.
    Occupation: Joiner
    Baptised by: Arthur Botterill
    Register: Baptisms 1898 - 1905, Page 270, Entry 2155

 Elsie

Notes


[1] Used in the cotton industry: a fly is the mechanism which moves back and forth so that the thread is wound neatly on a spindle. Spindles are used for holding thread on the looms.
[2] Elsie at at least three siblings:

Baptism: 13 Dec 1908 St George, Bolton, Lancashire, England
Fred King - [Child] of Robert Edward King & Louisa
Born: 21 Oct 1908
Abode: 7 St. Helena Road
Occupation: Spindle & Fly Maker
Baptised by: C. E. Davies
Register: Baptisms 1883 - 1913, Page 347, Entry 2774

Baptism: 13 Jul 1916 St George, Bolton, Lancs.
Isabella King - [Child] of Robert Edward King & Louisa

Born: 2 Dec 1913
Abode: 3 Clarence Court
Occupation: Spindle & Flyer maker & now Pte. 9th Batt. L.N.L. Regt.

Baptised by: H. J. Elsee
Register: Baptisms 1913 - 1947, Page 27, Entry 216

Baptism: 13 Jul 1916 St George, Bolton, Lancs.
Emma King - [Child] of Robert Edward King & Louisa
Born: 28 May 1916
Abode: 3 Clarence Court
Occupation: Spindle & Flyer maker & now Pte. 9th Batt. L.N.L. Regt.
Baptised by: H. J. Elsee
Register: Baptisms 1913 - 1947, Page 28, Entry 217

[3] The birth date (3 May 1904) on this record does not match the parish record.  She was cremated on 11 May 1977, having died on 5 May 1977

Lilian Cawdery (1900-1972)

Lilian (Lily) Cawdery was the daughter of Francis Arthur Cawdery and May Hall.  She was born in Salford, Lancashire, probably at 23 West Brownbill Street, on 10 July 1900, and was christened at the local parish church, Stowell Memorial, on 25 July 1900.










On 24 July 1920, at the age of 20, she married Frank Binns at Stowell Memorial. Her sister, May Cawdery and her fiancé, John Taylor, were their witnesses.

Frank was born on 5 December 1899 and christened on 27 Dec 1899 at the Church of St. Cyprian, Ordsall, Salford. At the time of his birth, his father and mother, Thomas and Ellen Binns, lived at 1 Pomona Street, Ordsall Salford.  Thomas Binns was a joiner. At the time of their marriage, they both worked in engineering. Lily was an armature winder and Frank a coil winder.














Lily and Frank had two children: Douglas Arthur and Dorothy.

Dorothy was born 9 February 1926 in Salford.  She married Bernard Mason in 1953 at Ilford, Essex.
They had one daughter, Barbara Mason, born at Ilford, Essex in 1956, and probably a son, Christopher Mason born in Stepney in 1955.

Dorothy Binns

Bernard Mason & Dorothy

Barbara & Christopher

Lilian died in Stepney, Middlesex in 1974.  Frank Binns died in Essex in 1964. Dorothy died in Southend-on-Sea in 1992. Bernard died in Southend-on-Sea in 1988.

John William Cawdery (1859-1929)

John William Cawdery was the son of George Cawdery and Mary Elizabeth Tricks.  He was born in Clerkenwell,  London, in 1859.

He (John Cawdory) appears to have been married twice. First to Jane Oakley Watkins (1861-) in 1878.  The young couple lived on Walcot Square, Lambeth in 1881, and he worked as a carpenter. This marriage may have ended in divorce in 1887. [1]  "Jenny" Watkins (Mrs. Cawdery) is referred to in the Preston Herald (3 Feb 1883) where she made her first appearance on stage as "Nan" in the play, Good for Nothing", while John worked as the machinist.

The 1891 census shows John W. Cawdry living on Great Titchfield Street in Marylebone with his new wife, Margaret, and the following children:

• Lilian 
• Maggie
• John William Cawdery born in 1889 at Horton (near Bradford), Yorkshire

John's sister, Jane (Mary Jane Cawdery (1857-1929), is living with them.

The 1899 electoral rolls show that John was residing at 67 Prince George Road, Stoke Newington in the Borough of Hackney, and that he had another property located at 98 Orchard Road, West Kensington.

The 1901 census shows that he was living at [30] Pemberton Road in Harringay with his wife, Margaret Hope Cawdery (1861-) [1] of Preston, Lancashire, and their children:

• Lilian born in Preston about 1883/4: a dressmaker's apprentice [?marriage]
• Maggie born in Islington [2] about 1886: a dressmaker's apprentice [marriage]
• Cora born in Islington [3] in 1893 [marriage]
• Frederick A. [4] born in North Kensington about 1898
• William H. R. [5] born in Harringay on 25 July 1900. He died in Brent, Middlesex in 1981.

Their son, John William, does not appear in the 1901 census, and probably died in infancy. 

Another child, Hope Clementine, was born in 1903 at Edmonton, London. [1911 census].

The 1909 electoral rolls show John William Cowdrey at 94 Netherwood Road, West Kensington.
The 1910 electoral rolls show his address as 6 Richmond Road, Hammersmith
The 1911 census shows that he was living in South Hammersmith.

John died in 1929 in Brentford at the age of 70.

Like his father and brothers, John William Cawdery was a Master Carpenter.  He also worked as a stage machinist, stage designer and builder, and as an engineer. He was both inventive and entrepreneurial.

1876-77: John Cawdery patents "The Rolling Wave" [7], which was used in the final scene of a pantomime at the Theatre Royal and Opera House in Southampton.

1890  J.W. Cawdery files patent 5818 in Newcastle Upon Tyne for "Improvements in apparatus for working theatrical machinery." (Shields Daily Gazette Tyne and Wear,  1 May 1890) and patent 5771 "working theatrical scenery".

J. W. Cawdery was responsible for the mechanical effects in the production of the rollicking romantic drama, Arragh-na-Pogue by the Irish authour, Dion Boucicault.  It ran from 29th August to 7th November 1891 at the Royal Princess's Theatre, Oxford Street, London.

1891. J.W. Cawdery appeared in a "weird ghoul-like dance" on stage at the York Easter Pantomime. (Yorkshire Gazette, 4 Apr 1891)

Cawdery's Patent Switchback Steeplechase, Limited.

Drawing to illustrate Cawdrey's patent 

In 1894, John filed a patent for a variation of the Switchback Railway, which has nothing to do with trains, but was an early form of the modern roller coaster.  In essence, John's invention was a mechanical horse racecourse, which became a popular Victorian amusement.

The course is graded like the course of a switchback railway—with successive hills and valleys to enable a good, but not a dangerous, speed to be kept up (the rider could vary the speed). Each horse runs along a rail, raised above the course on stout upright posts; and when the rider mounts his steed, and is started with a gentle push, the useful force of gravity takes the matter in hand, and sees horse and rider safely to the end of their ride. The Royal Magazine v.8 (1902)

John and his backers formed Cawdery's Patent Switchback Steeplechase Ltd, in 1896. Investors were asked to buy stock to the tune of £60,000, The first "Gravity Steeplechase Racecourse" was built in the grounds of Alexandra Palace, London.  Plans were also made to install a racecourse at a proposed Swaneries Marine Park at Southend-on-Sea, and another at Brighton. The company was dissolved in 1902.[6] The patent was eventually sold to George Tilyou, an American,

Gravity Steeplechase at Alexandra Park, London

who built a racecourse as the centerpiece of his amusement park at Coney Island, New York.

• 1897: The building of the Alexandra Theatre and Opera House, Stoke Newington. "The stage, which is a very large one, is fitted with the latest improvements, and is capable of staging the biggest productions or the heaviest of pantomimes, has been laid under the experienced direction of Mr J. W. Cawdery."

• 1898: The rebuilding of the Dalston Theatre, Hackney. "The stage is of a size capable of taking any production, with a proscenium opening of great width, and has been fitted up by Messrs Cawdery and Co."

• 1898: Construction of the Grand Theatre, Luton. The stage was fitted out (with all the latest improvements) by Mr J. W. Cawdery of London. 

• 1900: Construction of the stage of the new Empire Theatre in Swansea.

• 1922: International theatre exhibition : designs and models for the modern stage, held at the Victoria & Albert Museum. The half-scale model of the theatre of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts, Bloomsbury. J. W. Cawdery & Co. built the stage model.

• 1929: During the construction of the Streatham Hill Theatre, "Cawdery's Theatre Service" was hired as a consultant on the building's stageworks. 

Live performances were gradually being challenged by the growing number of movie cinemas being introduced in the early decades of the twentieth century, and many theatres were converted to cinemas over time. John tried to keep abreast of these changes. In the trade publication, The Era (4 Dec 1922), we see him advertising 

J. W. CAWDERY CO. THEATRICAL AND KINEMA CONTRACTORS  

Around this time, he became interested in acoustics (The Era 14 Dec 1922) as the new medium of film began to experiment with sound.  In this particular issue, he advertised "our patent Kinema Frame".

J. W. Cawdery & Co. SPECIALISTS IN ACOUSTICS

John patented a cinema screen that could be raised and lowered using a system of pulleys and counter weights, which could be operated by "one man only".  He filed the patent on June 12, 1923.

Drawing to illustrate patent 220,412
"Improvements in or relating to optical projection screen and also the method of lowering and rasing same"

On 14 March 1919, John filed a patent entitled "Improvements in Parachutes". At the time, he was living at 150 Sinclair Road, West Kensington.  It is acknowledged [8] that his invention represents an important milestone in the development of parachutes, because it allowed the parachutist to steer the chute by using guidelines attached to lateral flaps in the canopy.

Drawing to illustrate Cawdery's improved parachute

Of Interest 

Video: Victorian stage machinery

Notes

[1] Margaret Hope Lancaster: married in Wharfdale, Yorkshire in 1888.  The date and the registration of their first born as Lilian Cawdery Lancaster suggests the first two children were born out of wedlock.  The Cawdery - Lancaster marriage may not have been possible until the Cawdery-Watkins marriage had been dissolved.
[2] The 1911 census records Tilington as Maggie's birthplace. This is probably a transcription error for Islington..
[3] The 1911 census records Tilington as Cora's birthplace. .
[4] Frederick Alexander Cawdery born in West Kensington.
[5] William Henry [Redvase] Cawdery 
[6] J. W. Cawdery & Co., Palatine Works, Palatine Road, Stoke Newington and of 30 Pemberton Road, Harringay, was a firm described as a "builder and theatrical contractor". It also filed bankruptcy in 1902. (Law Times). It appears that this was a company separate from the Steeplechase venture, and may have been a financial casualty of the latter's demise. Some sources erroneously call him James William Cawdery.  
[7] I do not know the exact nature of the 'Rolling Wave' but it may have looked like this.
[8] See Matthews ; US Forest Service ; 

May Cawdery (1898-1955)

May Cawdery was the eldest daughter of Francis Arthur Cawdery and May Hall.  She was born at 23 West Brownbill Street in Salford, and lived there all her life.  Her mother had moved into the house sometime before 1891, and her extended family continued to reside there until just before the property was demolished during the urban renewal of the 1960s. May died in the house on the 30th of December, 1955 of cancer.  She was 57.

May was born on the 18th of May 1898, and christened at the local parish church, Stowell Memorial, on the 1st of June in the same year.

May Cawdery birth certificate (copy)

click on images to enlarge

1912

The document above shows that on the day before her 14th birthday, her schooling had come to an end, and she was preparing to enter the world of work.  During the First World War, May worked at British Westinghouse in Trafford Park in support of the war effort.

On the 30th of July, 1921, May married John Taylor at St. Cyprian's Church (1899-1963), Salford.

John & May

Marriage certificate (copy) of May Cawdery and John Taylor [1]

The church was very close to where John's family lived at 13 Troy Street (Ordsall).

Troy St and St Cyprian (yellow cross) on Taylorson St. in Ordsall, Salford

St. Cyprian (taken 1955)
photo credit: Ken Williamson

May and John had three children

• John (7 March 1926- 13 Feb. 1985)
• Frank Charles (04 Feb 1931-Dec. 1984)
• May (living)

May Cawdery Taylor was cremated. Her remains were scattered in the Garden of Remembrance, Peel Green Cemetery.

Death certificate (copy) of May Cawdery Taylor

Notes

[1]  The transcription (shown below) from the OnLine Parish Clerks for the County of Lancashire website contains a transcription error.  John was a tram driver for the Corporation, not a train driver.

Marriages at St Cyprian
in the District of Ordsall, Salford 
Marriage: 30 Jul 1921 St Cyprian, Ordsall, Lancs.
John Taylor - 25, Train Driver, Bachelor, 13 Troy Street
May Cawdery - 23, House Duties, Spinster, 23 West Brownbill Street
    Groom's Father: Charles Taylor, Clerk
    Bride's Father: Francis Arthur Cawdery, Joiner
    Witness: Walter Nicholls; Hannah Armstrong
    Married by Banns by: Joseph Phoenix, Officiating Minister
    Register: Marriages 1915 - 1929, Page 120, Entry 239
    Source: Manchester Central Library

See also Salford Street Party 1937

George Cawdery 1834-1898

George Hagen Cawdery [1] (1832-1898) was the son of George Cawdery (1811-1862) and Elizabeth Smart (1809-).  He was born in Lambeth, and christened at St. Mary-at-Lambeth Church, which lies adjacent to the Tudor gatehouse of Lambeth Palace, on 7 July 1833. He had two sisters, Mary Hagen Cawdery (1823-1898) and Elizabeth Cawdery (1837-).

St Mary-at-Lambeth

George was married three times. His first wife was Mary Elizabeth Tricks (1833-1872), whom he married on 12 October 1852 at the Old Church,St. Pancras,  London. Their children were Susannah Cawdery (1854-); George Edwin Cawdery (1855-1913); Mary Jane Cawdery (1857-1929); John William Cawdery (1859-1929); Joseph Samuel Devereux Cawdery (1861-1944) and Richard Cawdery (1869-1877).  Mary Elizabeth Tricks Cawdery died in Dublin, Ireland, probably early in 1872.

Old Church, St. Pancras

George's second wife was Teresa Scott (1842-1879). They were married in Dublin, Ireland, probably late in 1872. They had four children: Michael Charles Cawdery; Francis Arthur Cawdery, Mary Georgina Cawdery (1876-) [2] and Susan Cawdery (1874-).  Teresa Scott Cawdery died at Barrow Upon Soar, Leicestershire.

Teresa Scott Cawdery

In 1880, George married Jemima Adams, a widow living in Camberwell.  Her maiden name was Richens (1835-1892), and she was born in Elcombe, and christened in Wroughton, near Swindon, Wiltshire.  They had no children. The marriage took place at St. Giles, Camberwell in Southwark. Jemima died in 1892 in Lambeth.

St. Giles, Camberwell

George Hagen Cawdery died on 15 July 1898. The following notices marked his passing.

• MR. S. F. Langham held an inquest on Monday, at the Southwark Coroner's Court, respecting the death of George Cawdery, sixty-eight, late a stage carpenter, who was found dead in a lodging-house, 109, Blackfriars-road, last Friday. The deceased had been a master stage carpenter, and was one of the most familiar figures behind the scenes at the London and provincial theatres. In the old days he worked for Phelps at Sadlers' Wells, and he had erected scenery for Sir Henry Irving at the Lyceum. Death was due to syncope from heart disease. A verdict of natural death was returned. (The Church Weekly [London] Friday, July 22, 1898 page 10) 

• [Theatrical, Musical, and Equestrian Obituary: From December 1897 to end of November 1898] CAWDERY, George, Master Stage Carpenter, aged 68, July 15. (The Era Dramatic and Musical Almanack 1889 page 97)

George's career as a master carpenter specializing in theatre scenery began in London.    He appears to have been given an entrée into the business by his paternal uncle, William Cawdery (1809-1875). We see William's name on a playbill for an 1857 production of Othello at  Sadler's Wells Theatre. [4]

source: University of Kent

However, it is wrong to think that George's job was merely to build scenery. He is frequently described as a 'machinist', the person responsible for the stage machinery and technology operating above, on and below the stage. This machinery is used not only for moving scenery, but in creating special visual effects.

"The sophisticated technology and machinery of the late 19th century stage produced a succession of 'sensation' dramas in which special effects became the principal attraction. Scene painters working with expert technicians produced realistic reproductions of the natural world. Using ropes, flats, bridges, treadmills and revolves, they could produce anything from a chariot race in Ben Hur to a rail crash..." Source:  Victoria & Albert Museum

EXPRESS TRAIN,

EXPRESS TRAIN, The Mechanisms! this Scene has been adapted and arranged for the present Stage by Mr George Cawdrey, Machinist, Theatre Royal, Dublin.

Headline: Waterford Standard 18 June 1870

• Mr Magician Cawdery, our excellent master carpenter, having transformed the arena, into a stage again in a very short time. Saturday 10 April 1886, The Era, London,

• more than the usual number of startling mechanical effects, supplied by Mr. George Cawdery (late of the Prince's Theatre, Manchester) Saturday 02 January 1886, The Era, London

• Mr George Cawdery is again responsible for the numerous mechanical effects, all of which work smoothly. Saturday 29 December 1888, The Era, London,

• The mechanical arrangements of Mr George Cawdery are first-rate. The Transformation, Ariel's Dream, designed by Mr Cawdery, is grand. Sunday 05 January 1879, The Era, London,

• A word should be said for Mr. Cawdery, stage constructor and carpenter, whose work is of the very best, and has met with the approval of the directors [of the Theatre Royal, Exeter] without exception.  Trewman's Post, 8th of October 1889. 

• the magnificent effects in the gorgeous spectacular opening fell most largely to the share of the machinist, Cawdery, who has now made his seventh wonderful hit. (Irish Times 20 February 1874)

The Western Morning News (24 Dec 1889, Devon, England) reports that George was operating "complicated machinery" during the Christmas season performance of Cinderella at the Grand Theatre in Stonehouse, Plymouth.

George's knowledge of stagecraft was an invaluable resource. When the Salford architect, Alfred Derbyshire, was hired to design the Lyceum Theatre (Crewe) in 1885, he recruited George Cawdery to design the entire stage area.

George and his family moved to Dublin just before the Gaiety Theatre opened in 1871 in order to take advantage of the city's thriving theatre business. The Waterford Standard (18 June 1870) places him at the Theatre Royal, Hawkins Street, Dublin.  His sojourn in Ireland was eventful. His first wife died and he remarried. His four children to Teresa Scott were born in Ireland's capital.  During this period, he lost his son, Richard, and probably his daughter, Susan.  His return to England appears to coincide with the opening of the Royal Opera House at Leicester in 1877. Teresa died outside Leicester in 1879.

Theatre Royal, Hawkins St., Dublin
Source: National Archives of Ireland

George's lifelong connection with the theatre had a profound influence on most of his children. George Edwin, John William and Francis Arthur all followed in their father's footsteps.  George and George Edwin actually worked together at times (e.g. Freeman's Journal, Dublin 23 Jan 1874).  His son,  the very agile Joseph Samuel Devereux Cawdery, became a pantomine favourite, performing in London, the Provinces and in Ireland.  We read in Freeman's Journal (Dublin 21 Dec 1876 ) that Joseph was performing in the Christmas production at the Queen's Royal Theatre on Pearse Street (formerly Brunswick St.), while his father worked behind the scenes.

QUEEN'S ROYAL THEATRE. Sole Lessee and Manager Mr. Arthur Lloyd. ST. STEPHEN'S DAY, at 1.30 and 7.30, The Splendid Christmas Pantomime, entitled SINDBAD THE SAILOR, THE OLD MAN OF THE SEA, THE MAGIC HAT, AND THE DEMONS or THE DIAMOND VALLEY. 

In another issue of Freeman's Journal (29 Sept 1876), the "Brothers Cawdery" performed a "grand pantomimic ballet" as the final perfomance in a lineup of acts organized to benefit the Royal Dramatic College.[5]

        

Joseph Samuel Devereux Cawdery

Joseph Samuel Devereux Cawdery

Yet it used to cause roars of laughter to see the Sprite,—the imp—roll down the centre of the stage, disappear through the Grave Trap and immediately afterwards fly up into the air through the Vamp Trap. Devereaux Cawdrey's leaps through the scenery were uncanny. He was an unusually clever pantomimist; he once closed the scene at Stockport by springing into the air through the Vamp Trap and disappearing into the flies, leaving the men chasing him looking in wonder at the ceiling. His was an outstanding exhibition.
On his retirement, Cawdrey became equally noteworthy as a stage layer or designer. He designed, and laid for the Revill's in 1891, the stage at the Theatre Royal, Ashton-under-Lyne. That stage is also fully equipped with traps, graves, sinks and rises.  (From the Theatre Royal, Stockport's Jubilee Programme June 6th, 1938).

• Lightning "Trap" Scene invented and performed by Mr Devereux Cawdery (Freeman's Journal, Dublin, 26 December 1896)

• Robinson Crusoe. The leading feature of the pantomime, however, is the dancing, the jumping, and the acrobatic feats by Devereux Cawdery (an admirable Man Friday) (The Grand Theatre and Opera House, George Street, Hull) Hull Daily Mail 28 Feb 1893.

• Familiar is the name of Mr. Devereux Cawdery, who is loudly applauded for his trap door business, which is as praiseworthy as the ingenuity displayed in the construction. The Stage (London, 10 Oct 1895)

Joseph Samuel Devereux [3] Cawdery's first wife was Laura Rosina Teague (1858-1905). Their daughter, Violet Florence Devereux Cawdery (1891–1961), also appeared on the stage at the Adelphi and the Strand Theatre, both in London.

George Cawdery was buried in Nunhead Cemetery (Southwark).

click on image to enlarge

[1] Hagen also rendered as Agin and Hagin.
[2] Mary Georgina Cawdery was born on 29 Dec 1876. Her birth was registered 20 January 1877.
[3] Devereux also rendered as Devereaux and Deveraux
[4] See playbills 1; playbills 2; notice 1; notice 2; 1846; 1849; 1853; Royal National Opera.
[5] The composition of the "Brothers Cawdery" is unclear, but it was not a singular event. The Freeman's Journal (14 July 1876) reports:  "the whole to conclude with Comic Sensational Demon Ballet, entitled THE ICE FIND, - In which the Brothers Cawdery will introduce their Inimitable Star Trap Performance, High Leaps".