Postcard of Sheffield at Work 1915. Source: Picture Sheffield.
Many of those buried in Sheffield Cemetery were connected in some way with metal work. They range from hugely successful steel industrialists like Mark Firth and George Senior to ‘little mesters’ – craftsmen who worked for themselves or who worked semi independently for established concerns. The families of the cutlers, wives and children, were also involved as apprentices or finishers, for one person’s output would not provide a large enough income. File cutters, blade forgers, pen knife makers, scissor and razor makers, saw makers, tool makers, grinders and other trades – all are represented in the cemetery, and none were conducive to long life. Far less is known about them because unless their name appears in the local newspaper, they have left little in the way of records, surfacing only fleetingly each decade on census returns.
You can read more about people who worked in the steel industry and who are buried in the Cemetery in the Sheffield General Cemetery Trust’s publication Made in Sheffield and follow the self-guided trail Industrial Connections.
