Records of the Williams Hudson Group

This collection comprises minute books, registers of members, account books, plans and photographs of the businesses and companies that formed the Williams Hudson Group (1869-1981), including Samuel Williams and Sons Ltd, who were responsible for building the HMS Thunderer.

Williams Hudson Group Limited is the parent holding company for a number of companies, and was incorporated on 30th September, 1936, bringing together Samuel Williams & Sons Ltd and John Hudson Ltd, and their subsidiaries. The Group went on to acquire more companies, covering aspects of trade including international transportation and wharf ownership, road transportation, property dealing, motor retail, finance, hotels and building, engineering and metalwork, fuel distribution, storage and manufacture.

The Williams Hudson Group went into liquidation and was sold to an asset stripper in the 1980s, who divided up and sold off the various companies that comprised it. The majority of the companies whose archives are contained within this collection were part of Williams Hudson Group, but some are believed to be other companies which had been taken over by the asset stripper and whose files had become mixed with those of the Williams Hudson Group.

This collection is open to research and can be viewed at the Barking and Dagenham Archive and Local Studies Centre. To make an appointment to visit the reading room, please telephone 020 8227 2033 or email at localstudies@lbbd.gov.uk.

Catalogued in accordance with ISAD(G).

For further information about the contents of this collection, please contact the Barking and Dagenham Archive and Local Studies Centre telephone 020 8227 2033 or email at localstudies@lbbd.gov.uk.

For further information about our reprographics and publication charges, please visit our website http://www.lbbd.gov.uk/MuseumsAndHeritage/BoroughArchivesandLocalStudies/Pages/Copyingandreproductionservices.aspx

The material contained within this collection was rescued by employees of Samuel Williams & Sons on the liquidation of the company, and was later donated to London Borough of Barking and Dagenham Archives and Local Studies Library.

The acquisition of additional material is not expected.