I am trying to write this murder mystery set in world war two London for the NaNoWriMo thing, and I have learned something important about myself. I can write a novel in a month… as long as I don’t have to research anything on Google.
You would think that looking up facts about London cab drivers during the war years would be easy. And it is, up to a point. There are millions of articles involving the words: London, cab, cabby, taxi, world war two, petrol rationing, and so on. But sifting through all those words is impossible.
I am just trying to find the answers to a few simple questions:
1. Did London cabs drive around looking for fares during the war, and if so, how did they get gasoline during the restrictions?
2. Were all the cabs privately owned, and if not, could you call up a cab company and have a cab show up at your house?
3. If so, what were the names of these cab companies?
This seems simple enough. But I can’t figure it out. Supposedly there are tricks to Google, like putting a + sign in between words to limit the search. I tried that. It didn’t help. This is why I need a personal assistant.
If you have any advice, please help me. Or if you want to be my researcher and get credit in the book, let me know.
Also, I still need names for the book… good, English sounding names. I have more characters coming up… the Chief Inspector and some more cab drivers… so you still have a chance to become famous.
Thanks.
Pouring My Art Out 
You could write to these folks: http://www.hackneycarriagedriverscompany.com/
It’s the worshipful company of hackney cabs. We have a similar organisation in my field of lighting. They must have info or can guide you as they are obsessed by history and tradition. I know in my field when they have annual dinners everyone is in ornate dress and they toot horns and announce your name as you enter. All very formal, so they may be able to point in in the right direction.
What is your field of lightiing, if you don’t mind sharing.
He exudes rays… like a star…
I have a professionl interest in asking, Nosey Rosey. ;P
I have a professional interest in being silly
Since neither of us is currently making a living at our professions, the IRS would call them hobbies and disallow any deductions against them. So where does that leave us?
Hey, I get paid for silly… in book sales… not much, but still…
I don’t mind at all. As a distributor of components, so other people do the interesting things with them!
Yeah, baby… distribute those components!
😀 Been hard it it distributing today!
Don’t mock, you’d all be in the dark if it wasn’t for me 😉
You are the guiding light.
I guess that makes me other people then, but only if I do something interesting.
That’s the way life works.
Damn. This being other people is hard work. I don’t think I want to be other people anymore. Can I just be “you people.” There seem to be a lot of you people out there. What’s one more?
Nobody is more ‘you people’ than you, buddy.
Thank you for your support. Can I count on your votes in the primariy? Perhaps three or four. Vote early and vote often.
Only if you pick a running mate dumber than Sara Palin.
I haven’t been keeping up with the available females since I spend a lot of time here. But I do keep up with my reseaerch by reading the top newspapers and magazines. all of ’em, any of ’em.
One of you should like to read… or be able to…
Sorry it took me so long to get back. I was potificating elsewhere. The blue screen of death visited last night. Didn’t get up and running until late this afternoon.
I hate that blue screen… can’t even use it for special effects.
I only use it for special defects.
Don’t it make your brown screen blue?
It did make the computer tech’s pocket green.
And his skin.
you’re a lighting designer? I rarely get to see what people do with the components
Adult movies are all about the lighting…
I thought it was the soundtrack? but we touched o that recently
Yeah we did.
Thanks… I may do that during the editing. I have to do half of it still in less than a week…
Arthur, Albert, Norman, Harold, Edward, Charles – all names you can use – Surnames – Church, Farrier, Smith, Thompson or Newbold
Nice, but I meant to make you famous…
Jim, just Jim
Very ‘Treasure Islandy’
If you’re getting the same site showing up multiple times, you can put -site.name, or -certainunhelpfulword, and that can eliminate a lot of useless results.
I will give that a try, thanks.
That is why it took me too long to come up with a name for you back when. I was working with the hair theme, tying it to come up with a slang term for the Cheval de frise and then ran across Lord Chief Justice (made Baron upon appointment) Ellenborogh’s building one around the King’s Branch prison wall. Thus Reggie Ellenborogh. A Google side note: Now, if you Google “lord chief justice ellenborogh+Cheval de frise” the fourth entry on the first page is a link to PMAO and my comment. You’re moving up in the world.
thanks… I bet millions of people google that every day.
Ummm have you seen our new wePoets Know It page?? It’s what we do, virtual assistance…
I have trouble getting there now… I will check it out.
You do? Why?
I don’t know…
weird…can you just type in http://www.wepoetshowit.com
I go to a search page that shows all the people who did posts on the website, but not the website itself
huh
exactly
alright… I got there… and put it in favorites…
ha good!
yup
I mean I can see the posts you put up, but I don’t get taken to an actual website… or something…
http://hansard.millbanksystems.com/commons/1942/oct/01/taxi-cabs-london-illegal-charges
I better be a good cabbie, not a damn war profiteer.
see, that one implies there were taxi companies…
Yes, there were but it’s hard to get to the bottom of it. I’ll research further once time avails itself, ha!
Thanks… it is like a mystery puzzle about a murder mystery…
It seems as though there were many independently owned taxis. I did a search for London hackneys and this is what I found http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hackney_carriage
I found that one. It isn’t clear about the world war two years, or how many of each. It is like tracking down little bits of what I need.
October 1942: Armed London cabbies with their camouflaged taxis taking part in an ‘anti-invasion’ exercise . Their job was to resist ‘invading Germans’ who had established a bridgehead in Southend and were advancing on London through Epping Forest. Picture: Getty
http://www.news.com.au/business/companies/londons-black-cab-maker-in-administration/story-fnda1bsz-1226501518105
That is just cool.
The Kindness of a London Taxi Driver – A human interest story.
In 1942 I was bringing my wife and our baby daughter back to London from Manchester where they had gone to escape the bombing in London. We had arrived at Euston Station on our way to Waterloo and home to Ewell with a large pram and two suitcases, which took some time to unload from the guard’s van.
We joined the queue for the taxi rank which by now stretched a long way down the station. As we had no other means of getting to Waterloo apart from walking we could see that a very long wait for a taxi was in prospect.
One cab driver, however, saw our predicament and, ignoring the long queue, drove up to where we were standing and loaded us into his cab together with our luggage and the pram. This was much to the chagrin of the porters and others in the queue ahead of us, many of whom appeared to be First class passengers and officers. Threats were made by station staff to bar the cabbie from picking up fares from Euston in future, but these were ignored. Arriving at Waterloo I paid the ten shillings fare, the cabbie wished us good luck and would not take a tip.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ww2peopleswar/stories/35/a2114335.shtml
Thanks. I still need more info, but that one is helpful.
“During the Second World War the majority of younger cabmen were called up into the forces and production of new cabs again ceased for the duration. The taxi trade was one area during the war where women did not take over a man’s role, as there was no time for the women to undergo the extensive ‘Knowledge of London’ topographical test that the men had completed. A large number of cabs, along with their drivers were requisitioned by the Auxiliary Fire Service to tow trailer pumps. However, the cabs were underpowered for the job and most were returned to the ranks, although some drivers remained in the AFS and served with much distinction. For the trade in general, the remaining cabmen had to drive cabs that were maintained to the best of their owners’ limited resources on severely rationed petrol in blacked-out, bomb-damaged streets. Although servicemen, including the Americans provided some extra work, the trade again went into decline.” is what is on that page
Yup… thanks for the help… I am just faking my way through history now… sigh…
Sorry I couldn’t help any more
That was just ducky!
Try changing cab for taxi. They are called taxi’s over here more than cabs. You may find better luck. I found a page that may be what you are looking for. Probably not though, but you can have a look here
I tried taxi too. And I found that article lots of times. Good history on the making of taxis. I even found one about the taxi stands where the cabbies wait.