the southwark and vauxhall waterworks company was a utility company supplying water to parts of south london in england .

the company was formed by the merger of the southwark and vauxhall water companies in 1845 and became part of the publicly owned metropolitan water board in 1903 .

in 1845 , the southwark water company merged with the vauxhall water company to become the southwark and vauxhall water company .
between 1839 and 1842 there was a period of unfruitful competition between the vauxhall company and the southwark and lambeth companies . eventually in 1845 the southwark and the vauxhall companies were amalgamated to form the southwark and vauxhall water company .
the southwark and vauxhall water company was incorporated in 1845 and was formed by an amalgamation of two earlier undertakings , the southwark and the vauxhall companies .
to see the hampton site of the southwark and vauxhall company in 1894 , click here .
between 1839 and 1842 there was a period of unfruitful competition between the vauxhall company and the southwark and lambeth companies . eventually in 1845 the southwark and the vauxhall companies were amalgamated to form the southwark and vauxhall water company . the works at kennington were dismantled and conveyed to the phoenix gas company in 1847 .
between 1845 and 1847 the vauxhall company ' s works at vauxhall bridge were abolished and the united company’s works were concentrated at battersea .
click here to see more on the original london location of the southwark and vauxhall company from 1870 to present .
before consulting any legal papers for the southwark and vauxhall water company readers should see the notes on page 40 .
. later that same year , the borough waterworks company purchased the london bridge licence from the new river company , and it was renamed the southwark water company . the company extracted water from the
the south london waterworks company was established by private act of parliament in 1805 . the company extracted water from the thames beside vauxhall bridge .
the era of free water gave way to the era of commercial supply with the foundation of the new river company ( 1612 ) and the london bridge waterworks ( 1581 ) . chelsea waterworks company was founded in 1723 , and in 1746 laid the first iron water main ( pipes were previously made of wood or lead ) . the southwark water company was founded in 1760 , the lambeth water works company in 1785 , the vauxhall water company in 1805 , the west middlesex waterworks company in 1806 , the east london waterworks company in 1807 , the kent waterworks company in 1809 and the grand junction waterworks company in 1811 .
click here to learn more about the 1845 - 55 location of the southwark and vauxhall water company , its subsequent location and additional reservoirs .
gv ii gates , gate piers , quadrant walls and railings bounding the pumping station , c1888 , for the southwark and vauxhall water company .
southwark and vauxhall water company was formed in 1845 on the merger of the southwark water company and the vauxhall water company . the reservoirs covered nearly 18 acres of ground which now houses battersea power station . steam engines were used to pump water to a height of 175 ft to supply brixton .
although no longer owned by the southwark and vauxhall water company . instead the operation was taken over by the metropolitan water board in 1902 .
the borough waterworks company was formed in 1770 , originally supplying water to a brewery and the surrounding area , which spanned the distance between london and southwark bridges . the adjacent area was supplied by the london bridge waterworks company .
records of the south london waterworks company ( later the southwark and vauxhall water company ) including papers relating to shares ; minutes of director ' s meetings ; stock certificates ; papers relating to works and papers relating to a lawsuit .
the east london waterworks company was founded by act of parliament in 1806 , and also acquired existing waterworks at shadwell , lea bridge and west ham .
in 1872 the lambeth waterworks company moved upstream on the thames to molesey , followed by the chelsea waterworks company . they built the molesey reservoirs there in 1872 .
1876 thomas william rumble was chief engineer to the southwark and vauxhall water co when alfred james corry was articled to him .
1852 the southwark and vauxhall water company bill went through parliament [ 3 ] this allowed a change of the source of supply from battersea to hampton . the company arranged to supply putney
vauxhall history is an online research database of knowledge and images covering aspects of the history of the london parliamentary constituency of vauxhall .
the southwark and vauxhall water company acquired land at hampton in 1851 and in 1852 an act was obtained to sanction the construction of new works and to enlarge the authorised supply area .
the mortality in the houses supplied by the southwark and vauxhall company was therefore between eight and nine times as great as in the houses supplied by the lambeth company ; and it will be remarked that the customers of the lambeth company continued to enjoy an immunity from cholera greater than the rest of london which is not mixed up as they are with the houses supplied by the southwark and vauxhall company .
in 1833 the south london waterworks company was supplying 12 , 046 houses with approximately 12 , 000 gallons of water . [ 14 ] in 1834 , the company was renamed the vauxhall water company . [ 10 ]
in 1833 the south london waterworks company was supplying 12 , 046 houses with approximately 12 , 000 gallons of water . [ 13 ] in 1834 , the company was renamed the vauxhall water company . [ 9 ]
in 1841 the east london waterworks company was supplying 36 , 916 houses . [ 14 ]
in 1841 the east london waterworks company was supplying 36 , 916 houses . [ 13 ]
the vauxhall water company originated as the south london waterworks company which had been incorporated in 1805 taking its supply from the effra at vauxhall creek . this supply was becoming polluted and silted up in the 1820 ' s and in 1834 a new act was acquired altering the name of the company , increasing its area of supply and authorising new intakes .
the london bridge waterworks company was dissolved in 1822 , and its water supply licence was purchased by the new river company . later that same year , the borough waterworks company purchased the london bridge licence from the new river company , and it was renamed the southwark water company . the company extracted water from the river thames using steam engines to pump it to a cistern at the top of a sixty foot high tower . [ 9 ]
between 1839 and 1849 many changes took place in the water - supply of london . the southwark water company united with the south london water company , to form a new company under the name of the southwark and vauxhall company . the water works at london bridge were abolished , and the united company derived their supply from the thames at battersea fields , about half - a - mile above vauxhall bridge . the lambeth water company continued to obtain their supply opposite to hungerford market ; but they had established a small reservoir at brixton .
click here to learn more about the two reservoirs of the lambeth waterworks company in regions of south london .
the london bridge waterworks company was dissolved in 1822 , and its water supply licence was purchased by the new river company . later that same year , the borough waterworks company purchased the london bridge licence from the new river company , and it was renamed the southwark water company . the company extracted water from the river thames using steam engines to pump it to a cistern at the top of a 60 - foot - high ( 18 m ) tower . [ 10 ]
as a result of the metropolis water act 1902 , the metropolitan water board took over the functions of the southwark and vauxhall water company in 1904 . when it did so the company was in the course of constructing storage reservoirs at honor oak and walton .
the following is the proportion of deaths to 10 , 000 houses , during the first seven weeks of the epidemic , in the population supplied by the southwark and vauxhall company , in that supplied by the lambeth company , and in the rest of london .
to comply with the legislation , the southwark and vauxhall company built new waterworks in hampton above molesey lock in 1855 . the site was shared with the grand junction waterworks company and the west middlesex waterworks company . the company also constructed the stain hill reservoirs which had a 36 - inch - diameter ( 910 mm ) main to battersea . a third reservoir was opened later in the year between nunhead cemetery and peckham rye . in 1903 the svwc supplied a population of 860 , 173 in 128 , 871 houses of which 122 , 728 ( 95 . 3 % ) had a constant supply .
click here to learn more about the 1852 relocation of the lambeth waterworks company intake to seething wells , thames ditton .
the east london waterworks company replaced their reservoir at clapton by a reservoir at stamford hill in 1891 . [ 18 ]
in 1833 the south london waterworks company was supplying 12 , 046 houses with approximately 12 , 000 gallons of water .
the water supplied by the company was taken from the lea , with waterworks on 30 acres ( 0 . 12 km
the lambeth waterworks company expanded in 1802 to supply kennington and about this time replaced its wooden pipes with iron ones . [ 7 ]
the lambeth waterworks company expanded in 1802 to supply kennington and about this time replaced its wooden pipes with iron ones . [ 6 ]
in his book , john snow published map 2 which showed the water distribution of the lambeth company and the southwark and vauxhall company . shown to the right is a section of map 2 , from the river thames in the north to the streatham district in the south .
the south london water works company was incorporated in 1805 and originally drew its water from the effra which flowed into the thames at vauxhall creek . the company constructed works at kennington and vauxhall bridge . in 1832 the supply of water from the effra was abandoned . two years later the company changed its name to the vauxhall water works company and a limitation on its right to supply part of lambeth and newington ( already within the lambeth water works company ' s area ) was lifted at the same time by statute .
click here to learn more about the pre - 1852 intake of the lambeth waterworks company near the base of hungerford bridge .
the east london waterworks company replaced their reservoir at clapton by a new reservoir at stamford hill in 1891 . [ 17 ]
prior to their transfer to the greater london record office , the records of the southwark and vauxhall water company were housed in muniment rooms at thames water premises , seething wells , surbiton and at new river head , rosebery avenue , ec1 .
according to a return which was made to parliament , the southwark and vauxhall company supplied 40 , 046 houses from january 1st to december 31st , 1853 , and the lambeth company supplied 26 , 107 houses during the same period ; consequently , as 286 fatal attacks of cholera took place , in the first four weeks of the epidemic , in houses supplied by the former company , and only 14 in houses supplied by the latter , the proportion of fatal attacks to each 10 , 000 houses was as follows . southwark and vauxhall 71 . lambeth 5 . the cholera was therefore fourteen times as fatal at this period , amongst persons having the impure water of the southwark and vauxhall company , as amongst those having the purer water from thames ditton .
also around 1855 , the southwark and vauxhall water company established a reservoir north of nunhead cemetery in southeast london , and built water lines to connect both the hampton and nunhead locations to the main battersea works ( see snow ' s map 2 below ) .
in 1761 the london bridge waterworks company acquired the rights to supply water to southwark and extended their mains across the bridge ( a very early cross - river supply ) . in 1822 the act was passed to remove old london bridge and its waterworks . the new owners of operations , the new river company , sold their interest south of the thames to john edwards vaughan who joined it to his existing bankside works to form the southwark water works .
waterworks were established in east london , at west ham in 1743 and at lea bridge before 1767 .
the south london water works company was incorporated in 1805 and originally drew its water from the effra which flowed into the thames at vauxhall creek . the company constructed works at kennington and vauxhall bridge . in 1832 the supply of water from the effra was abandoned as the water was polluted and silted up . two years later , in 1834 , the company changed its name to the vauxhall water works company and a limitation on its right to supply part of lambeth and newington ( already within the lambeth water works company ' s area ) was lifted at the same time by statute .
the chelsea waterworks company and the lambeth waterworks company , who shared the services of james simpson , established facilities at seething wells between thames ditton and surbiton . the chelsea ' s former site was taken over by the railways to make space for victoria station . the grand junction , west middlesex and southwark and vauxhall waterworks companies set up facilities above molesey lock at hampton designed by joseph quick . the stain hill reservoirs and sunnyside reservoir were constructed in hampton by the svwc in 1855 , with a 36 - inch ( 910 mm ) diameter main to battersea . a third reservoir was opened later in the year between nunhead cemetery and peckham rye . [ 9 ]
the amalgamated company established waterworks at battersea fields with two depositing reservoirs with a capacity of 32 million gallons ; and two filtering reservoirs holding 11 million gallons .
in july 1834 the southwark water company was incorporated and empowered to buy up vaughan ' s undertaking and to construct new works at battersea . the old intake at bankside was abandoned at the same time and a temporary supply was taken from the lambeth company .
cholera reappeared in london in june 1853 . john snow asked permission to obtain ( from william farr ) the addresses of people who died of cholera in the districts which received water supplies from both the southwark and vauxhall and the lambeth companies .
after the merger in 1845 , the new southwark and vauxhall water company was in residence by the river thames , just to the east of battersea park . the picture at the right shows the location in 1854 , derived from map 2 in john snow ' s book .
of the vauxhall water company’s supply , hassall wrote , ‘it is water the most disgusting which i have ever examined . when i first saw the water of the southwark company , i thought it as bad as it could be , but this far exceeded it in the peculiarly repulsive character of living contents’ .
the west middlesex waterworks company was founded in 1806 to supply water to the marylebone and paddington areas of london . in 1808 the company installed cast iron pipes to supply water from its intakes at hammersmith . [ 8 ]
the west middlesex waterworks company was founded in 1806 to supply water to the marylebone and paddington areas of london . in 1808 the company installed cast iron pipes to supply water from its intakes at hammersmith . [ 7 ]
the first public works was the waterworks of the southwark ( & vauxhall ) water company , established in 1840–1 , nine elms having been selected as an ideal site from which to draw drinking water from the thames for the people of south london . the second was the gasworks of the london gas light company , established beside an old tide - mill pond in the 1850s as an outstation , but greatly extended soon after to become the company’s main works [ 2 ] .
the west middlesex waterworks company established a 3 . 5 million gallon reservoir at campden hill near notting hill . in 1825 the company built a new reservoir at barrow hill next to primrose hill in north london .
the west middlesex waterworks company was founded by serial entrepreneur ralph dodd in 1806 to supply water to the marylebone and paddington areas of london . in 1808 the company installed cast iron pipes to supply water from its intakes at hammersmith .
the chelsea waterworks company was established in 1723
for the better supplying the city and liberties of westminster and parts adjacent with water
. [ 5 ] the company received a royal charter on 8 march 1723 . [ 6 ] the company created extensive ponds in the area bordering chelsea and pimlico using water from the tidal thames .
the chelsea waterworks company was established in 1723
for the better supplying the city and liberties of westminster and parts adjacent with water
. [ 4 ] the company received a royal charter on 8 march 1723 . [ 5 ] the company created extensive ponds in the area bordering chelsea and pimlico using water from the tidal thames .
chelsea waterworks , 1752 . two newcomen beam engines pumped thames water from a canal to reservoirs at green park and hyde park .
in 1761 the london bridge water works bought this business from a james whitchurch whose father had acquired it from wilkinson . in 1822 the new river company took over the london bridge water works and sold this southwark interest to a mr edwards vaughan who , in 1820 , had become the proprietor of another undertaking , the borough waterworks . having acquired the two concerns edwards vaughan consolidated them at bankside and named them the southwark water works .
the southwark and vauxhall water company acquired land at hampton in 1851 and in 1852 an act was obtained to sanction the construction of new works and to enlarge the authorised supply area . in 1870 the company began filtering the water at hampton and the following year , in order to prepare for the introduction of constant supply , decided to construct four covered reservoirs at nunhead . peckham , to be supplied with filtered water from hampton .
it will be observed , that the water of the companies on the surrey side of london , viz . , the southwark , vauxhall , and lambeth , is by far the worst of all those who take their supply from the thames .
when the water of the southwark and vauxhall company was examined by messrs . graham , miller , and hofmann , at the latter part of january 1851 , it contained only 1 . 99 grains of chloride of sodium , or about one - twentieth as much as it contained last september , and one - fifteenth as much as on 21st november 1854 .
copyright © 2018 vauxhall history · data provided is for information purposes only . although carefully collected , accuracy cannot be guaranteed .
at the forefront of such engine design was sir james restler , the chief engineer to the southwark & vauxhall water company . his design of the first rotative pumping engines was constructed by moreland & son in 1886 , thus the moreland engine house takes its name . as steam and pumping technology rapidly evolved , so new and more efficient engines were added .
it may , indeed , be confidently asserted , that if the southwark and vauxhall water company had been able to use the same expedition as the lambeth company in completing their new works , and obtaining water free from the contents of sewers , the late epidemic of cholera would have been confined in a great measure to persons employed among the shipping , and to poor people who get water by pailsful direct from the thames or tidal ditches .
the works at kennington were dismantled and conveyed to the phoenix gas company in 1847 .
he then went on to compare the death rates from cholera in the two areas . he used this information to calculate how much more risky southwark and vauxhall water was compared to lambeth water . in other words , he looked for an association between water source and the risk of death from cholera .
the mwb opened the east london waterworks reservoirs banbury reservoir and lockwood reservoir , and the bessborough reservoir , knight reservoir and island barn reservoirs at molesey . it also opened the kempton park reservoirs in around 1907 .
as london’s population rapidly grew in the latter part of the 19th century , so did the demand for clean water . one of the water companies at hampton , the southwark & vauxhall water co . , responded to the demand and began to construct new , improved pumping stations on the current ‘morelands’ site in 1870s and 1880s .
in 1718 a grant was made by the city of london to francis wilkinson to supply water to southwark , procuring water from the thames .
in 1832 the lambeth waterworks company built a reservoir at streatham hill , and in 1834 obtained an act of parliament to extend its area of supply . in the same year , the company purchased 16 acres ( 65 , 000 m 2 ) of land in brixton and built a reservoir and works on brixton hill adjacent to brixton prison . [ 13 ]
in 1832 the lambeth waterworks company built a reservoir at streatham hill , and in 1834 obtained an act of parliament to extend its area of supply . in the same year , the company purchased 16 acres ( 65 , 000 m 2 ) of land in brixton and built a reservoir and works on brixton hill adjacent to brixton prison . [ 12 ]
the number of houses in london at the time of the last census was 327 , 391 . if the houses supplied with water by the southwark and vauxhall company , and the deaths from cholera occurring in these houses , be deducted , we shall have in the remainder of london 287 , 345 houses , in which 277 deaths from cholera took place in the first four weeks of the epidemic . this is at the rate of nine deaths to each 10 , 000 . but the houses supplied with water by the lambeth company only suffered a mortality of five in each 10 , 000 at this period ; it follows , therefore , that these houses , although intimately mixed with those of the southwark and vauxhall company , in which so great a proportional mortality occurred , did not suffer even so much as the rest of london which was not so situated .
it is extremely worthy of remark , that whilst only five hundred and sixty - three deaths from cholera occurred in the whole of the metropolis , in the four weeks ending 5th august , more than one half of them took place amongst the customers of the southwark and vauxhall company , and a great portion of the remaining deaths were those of mariners and persons employed amongst the shipping in the thames , who almost invariably draw their drinking water direct from the river .
the table exhibits an increase of mortality in 1854 as compared with 1849 , in the sub - districts supplied by the southwark and vauxhall company only , whilst there is a considerable diminution of mortality in the sub - districts partly supplied by the lambeth company . in certain sub - districts , where i know that the supply of the lambeth water company is more general than elsewhere , as christchurch , london road , waterloo road 1st , and lambeth church 1st , the decrease of mortality in 1854 as compared with 1849 is greatest , as might be expected .
the reader will observe from the last division of the table that the proportion of deaths was , in every subdistrict , very much greater amongst the population supplied by the southwark and vauxhall company than amongst that supplied by the lambeth company , and that the relative mortality is nearly the same throughout , except in two or three instances , where there were but one or two deaths for the basis of calculation amongst the customers of the lambeth company . the second table shows the results of that part of the inquiry conducted by mr . whiting , treated in a similar manner .
in 1845 the limits of supply of the east london waterworks company were described as
all those portions of the metropolis , and its suburbs , which lie to the east of the city , shoreditch , the kingsland road , and dalston ; extending their mains even across the river lea into essex , as far as west ham .
[ 14 ] the water supplied by the company was taken from the lea , with waterworks on 30 acres ( 0 . 12 km 2 ) of land at old ford .
in 1845 the limits of supply of the east london waterworks company were described as
all those portions of the metropolis , and its suburbs , which lie to the east of the city , shoreditch , the kingsland road , and dalston ; extending their mains even across the river lea into essex , as far as west ham .
[ 13 ] the water supplied by the company was taken from the lea , with waterworks on 30 acres ( 0 . 12 km 2 ) of land at old ford .
at the time i was making my inquiry , the entire number of houses supplied by each water company was known , from a return made to parliament , but the number of houses supplied in each district and subdistrict by each company respectively was not known . in order , therefore , to see the exact bearing of my results , i found it desirable to extend the inquiry over the districts supplied exclusively by the southwark and vauxhall company ; for this purpose i obtained the assistance of mr . whiting , a medical man , who took great pains with his part of the inquiry , which was merely to ascertain whether the houses in which fatal attacks had taken place were supplied by the southwark company , or from some other source , as a pump well or tidal ditch . his inquiry extended over the first four weeks of the epidemic .
the 1852 metropolitan water act forced the joint company to build new works at hampton in 1855 . the company was taken over by metropolitan water board in 1902 .
in 2012 thames water sold the morelands & riverdale buildings to mr andrew black . thames water still own and operate all the filter beds and the other original pump houses at the hampton waterworks , west of this site .
in 1825 , the ponds of the chelsea waterwork company were used as the basis of the grosvenor canal which was opened to traffic that year . by this time there were complaints about the quality of the water that the company was drawing from the river thames , and in 1829 , under engineer james simpson the chelsea waterworks company became the first in the country to install a slow sand filtration system to purify the water . [ 11 ]
in 1825 , the ponds of the chelsea waterwork company were used as the basis of the grosvenor canal which was opened to traffic that year . by this time there were complaints about the quality of the water that the company was drawing from the river thames , and in 1829 , under engineer james simpson the chelsea waterworks company became the first in the country to install a slow sand filtration system to purify the water . [ 10 ]
in the beginning of the late epidemic of cholera in london , the thames water seems to have been the great means of its diffusion , either through the pipes of the southwark and vauxhall company , or more directly by dipping a pail in the river . cholera was prevailing in the baltic fleet in the early part of summer , and the following passage from the
weekly returns
of the registrar - general shows that the disease was probably imported thence to the thames .
in the mid 19th century the east london waterworks company purchased the coppermill at walthamstow and modified it to drive a water pump to assist in the building of reservoirs on nearby marshland in the lea valley . [ 17 ] the company built a series of reservoirs which were high maynard reservoir , low maynard reservoir , five linked numbered reservoirs making the walthamstow reservoirs , the east warwick reservoir and the west warwick reservoir .
in the mid 19th century the east london waterworks company purchased the coppermill at walthamstow and modified it to drive a water pump to assist in the building of reservoirs on nearby marshland in the lea valley . [ 16 ] the company built a series of reservoirs which were high maynard reservoir , low maynard reservoir , five linked numbered reservoirs making the walthamstow reservoirs , the east warwick reservoir and the west warwick reservoir .
while the southward and vauxhall water company made many changes during the 1850s , they occurred after 1853 - 54 when cholera was again epidemic in london . during the time of the epidemic , its intake was still in battersea area of the river thames , and thus still contaminated with cholera and other organisms . discovering this provided john snow with the opportunity of the grand experiment of 1854 .
throughout the 1890s additions were made to the hampton works and by 1903 the company was able to dispense with the battersea works .
in 1845 new works were built at battersea on the approximate side of the power station and in 1855 an intake from the thames was introduced at hampton . wells were also sunk at streatham , honor oak and merton abbey in 1888 and 1902 . in 1861 the company took over the richmond water company .
the grand junction waterworks company built a pumping station near kew bridge at brentford in 1838 to house its new steam pump and two similar pumps purchased from boulton , watt and company in 1820 . the water was taken from the middle of the river and pumped into filtering reservoirs and to a 200 ft ( 61 m ) high water tower to provide gravity feed to the area . a six to seven mile ( 11 km ) main took the water to a reservoir on campden hill near notting hill capable of containing 6 million gallons .
in 1829 , the east london waterworks company moved their source of water further up river to lea bridge as a result of pollution caused by population growth . clean water was now abstracted from the natural channel which had been by - passed by the hackney cut , to a new reservoir at old ford . [ 12 ] in 1830 the company gained a lease on the existing reservoir at clapton .
in 1829 , the east london waterworks company moved their source of water further up river to lea bridge as a result of pollution caused by population growth . clean water was now abstracted from the natural channel which had been by - passed by the hackney cut , to a new reservoir at old ford . [ 11 ] in 1830 the company gained a lease on the existing reservoir at clapton .
the lambeth waterworks company was founded in 1785 to supply water to south and west london . it was established on the south bank of the river thames close to the present site of hungerford bridge where the royal festival hall now stands . the first water intake of the company was on the south side of the river and supplied directly from the river . after complaints that the water was foul , the intake was moved to the middle of the river . [ 7 ]
the lambeth waterworks company was founded in 1785 to supply water to south and west london . it was established on the south bank of the river thames close to the present site of hungerford bridge where the royal festival hall now stands . the first water intake of the company was on the south side of the river and supplied directly from the river . after complaints that the water was foul , the intake was moved to the middle of the river . [ 6 ]
the single largest infrastructure project in recent years has been the creation of the thames water ring main , a
backbone network
for london ' s water supply . [ 22 ] this connects all the waterworks , and pumping stations ,
the grand junction waterworks company was created in 1811 to take advantage of a clause in the grand junction canal company ' s act which allowed them to supply water brought by the canal from the river colne and river brent , and from a reservoir in the north - west middlesex supplied by land drainage . it was thought that these waters would be better than those of the thames , but in fact they were found to be of poor quality and insufficient to meet demand . after trying to resolve these problems the company resorted to taking their supply from the river thames at a point near chelsea hospital [ 9 ]
the grand junction waterworks company was created in 1811 to take advantage of a clause in the grand junction canal company ' s act which allowed them to supply water brought by the canal from the river colne and river brent , and from a reservoir in the north - west middlesex supplied by land drainage . it was thought that these waters would be better than those of the thames , but in fact they were found to be of poor quality and insufficient to meet demand . after trying to resolve these problems the company resorted to taking their supply from the river thames at a point near chelsea hospital [ 8 ]
in table viii , showing the mortality in the first seven weeks of the epidemic , the water supply is the result of my own personal inquiry , in every case , in all the sub - districts to which the supply of the lambeth company extends ; but in some of the subdistricts supplied only by the southwark and vauxhall company , the inquiry of mr . whiting having extended only to 5th august , the water supply of the last three weeks is calculated to have been in the same proportion by the company , or by pump wells , etc . , as in the first four weeks , - - a calculation which is perfectly fair , and must be very near the truth . the sub - districts in which the supply is partly founded on computation , are marked with an asterisk .
how did it happen , if the character of the water has a great influence on the mortality from cholera , that in the belgrave district only 28 persons in 10 , 000 died , and in the westminster district , also supplied by the chelsea company , 68 persons in 10 , 000 ; and , again , that in the wandsworth district the mortality was only 100 , and in the district of st . olave 181 in 10 , 000 inhabitants - - both these districts receiving their supply from the southwark company ?
as the registrar - general published a list of all the deaths from cholera which occurred in london in 1853 , from the commencement of the epidemic in august to its conclusion in january 1854 , i have been able to add up the number which occurred in the various sub - districts on the south side of the thames , to which the water supply of the southwark and vauxhall , and the lambeth companies , extends . i have presented them in the table opposite , arranged in three groups .
in 1847 , the directors of the lambeth waterworks company decided to move the intake from the hungerford bridge area to a new location , away from the thames tides that brought contaminated water to their intake . they selected seething wells next to thames ditton , 22 miles up river and far from the contaminated water in the london section of the river .
in the subdistricts here enumerated , which were supplied , except just on the border of three of them , exclusively by the vauxhall company , the mortality will be observed to be nearly the same , only a little higher , than [ 246 / 247 ] amongst the population supplied by the same company , and mixed with that supplied by the lambeth company , as shown in the previous table . in the third table the figures contained in the two first are collected into a more compact form , to show the result of the inquiry during the first part of the epidemic , arranged in districts .
although the legislation that established the london water companies intended that they would compete for customers , in 1815 the east london company drew up a legal agreement with the new river company defining a boundary between their areas of supply .
areas of london . in 1808 the company installed cast iron pipes to supply water from its intakes at hammersmith .
in 1898 the svwc started work on the bessborough reservoir and the knight reservoir across the thames from hampton at molesey . by 1903 the svwc supplied a population of 860 , 173 in 128 , 871 houses of which 122 , 728 ( 95 . 3 % ) had a constant supply . [ 19 ] the lambeth waterworks company started work on island barn reservoir at molesey in 1900 .
to extend its area of supply . in the same year , the company purchased 16 acres ( 65 , 000 m
in 1898 the svwc started work on the bessborough reservoir and the knight reservoir which were across the river from hampton at molesey . by 1903 the svwc supplied a population of 860 , 173 in 128 , 871 houses of which 122 , 728 ( 95 . 3 % ) had a constant supply . [ 18 ] the lambeth waterworks company started work on island barn reservoir at molesey in 1900 .
, obtained from the thames at millbank , was filtered through sand and charcoal till it looked as clear as that of the chelsea company ; yet , in every epidemic , the inmates of this prison suffered much more from cholera than the inhabitants of the neighboring streets and those of tothill fields prison , supplied by that company .
a return had been made to parliament of the entire number of houses supplied with water by each of the water companies , but as the number of houses which they supplied in particular districts was not stated , i found that it would be necessary to carry my inquiry into all the districts to which the supply of either company extends , in order to show the full bearing of the facts brought out in those districts where the supply is intermingled . i inquired myself respecting every death from cholera in the districts to which the supply of the lambeth company extends , and i was fortunate enough to obtain the assistance of a medical man , mr . john joseph whiting , l . a . c . , to make inquiry in bermondsey , rotherhithe , wandsworth , and certain other districts , which are supplied only by the southwark and vauxhall company . mr . whiting took great pains with his part of the inquiry , which was to ascertain whether the houses in which the fatal attacks took place were supplied with the company ' s water , or from a pump - well , or some other source .
in 1897 the new river company started developing the treatment works spanning kempton park and hanworth to supply more water than their facilities at cricklewood drawing on the river brent .
at first they used wood mains to transport the water to customers , but then replaced them with iron in the early 1800s . in 1832 , the company constructed a reservoir at streatham hill , and then in 1834 constructed new waterworks and a second reservoir in brixton . two years later they sold some of their new brixton site to the city to construct a prison . all this while , the intake remained in the polluted region of the river thames .
' among the recent cases of cholera , not one has occurred in the district supplied by the kent water company .
it is necessarily arranged in districts - for the results were so published in the weekly returns ( 7 ) - and not in subdistricts . the mortality during the last ten weeks of the epidemic was greater than during the first seven weeks , but the reader will observe that a very great disproportion continues in every district between the mortality of the population supplied by one company and that supplied by the other . there is no district to which the supply of both companies extends in which the mortality is not more than three times as great amongst the persons supplied by the southwark company as amongst those supplied by the lambeth company , and the general result shows a proportion of ninety - one to eighteen , or more than five to one , as was stated before .
it was not until 1902 that the metropolis water act was passed , leading to the creation of the metropolitan water board . this took over eight private water companies , taking over the new river company headquarters on rosebery avenue , clerkenwell . the board was made up of 66 delegated members , 14 from the london county council , 31 from the metropolitan borough councils and city corporation , and 21 from the authorities of localities outside the water companies ' areas . from 1907 widespread reservoir and waterworks building was carried out .
in 1897 the new river company started developing the treatment works at kempton park to supply additional water to their facilities at cricklewood .
a specimen of water obtained on 21st november , from a house supplied by the southwark and vauxhall company , contained 28 . 8 grains of common salt per gallon , or about three - quarters as much as it contained in september , when the quantity was 37 . 9 grains . it is very obvious from the above analyses , that the water company obtain their supply from the thames at high water , or nearly so , although this is the time of the tide when the water contains the greatest amount of impurity . it is quite certain that the sea water cannot reach to thames ditton , any more than the contents of the london sewers , and therefore , whatever may be its source , the quantity of chloride of sodium in the water is quite conclusive as regards the purpose for which i examined into it , viz . , to distinguish between the water of the two companies .
the construction of london ' s current water distribution infrastructure dates back to the great fire of london in 1666 , which destroyed most of the city ' s previous water infrastructure , most of which was made of wood and lead . [ 2 ] one waterworks not affected by the fire was at shadwell which dated from 1660 . the city ' s water supply and distribution infrastructure has been continuously updated and upgraded since then .
which was opened to traffic that year . by this time there were complaints about the quality of the water that the company was drawing from the river thames , and in 1829 , under engineer
from 1974 the administration of the metropolitan water board was transferred to the new thames water authority . in 1989 thames water became a private company and set up a principal operating subsidiary , thames water utilities limited , to supply water and sewerage services .
the appearance of the southwark and vauxhall site was similar in reynolds ' s map of 1859 . what changed , however , was the name of the bridges . in snow ' s map 2 , there are two bridges , one on each side of battersea park ( the batters bridge and the battersea bridge ) . the newer of the two on the east side of the park was built in 1851 - 8 . it was a suspension bridge with cast - iron towers . after being completed in 1858 , it was named the chelsea bridge in the 1859 map ( see to the left ) , different from battersea bridge as shown in snow ' s map 2 of 1854 .
the construction of london ' s current water distribution infrastructure dates back to the great fire of london in 1666 , which destroyed most of the city ' s previous water infrastructure , most of which was made of wood and lead . [ 2 ] one waterworks not affected by the fire was at shadwell by the thames which dated from 1660 . the city ' s water supply and distribution infrastructure has been continuously updated and upgraded since then .
a major 21st large infrastructure investment has been the creation of the thames water ring main , a
backbone network
for london ' s water supply . this period also saw contingency planning reserve facilities used mostly in times of drought built at beckton . [ 25 ] [ 26 ] this connects all the waterworks , and pumping stations .
in the north districts of london , which suffered much less from cholera than the south districts , the mortality was chiefly influenced by the poverty and crowding of the population . the new river company having entirely left off the use of their engine in the city , their water , being entirely free from sewage , could have had no share in the propagation of cholera . it is probable also , that the water of the east london company , obtained above lea bridge , had no share in propagating the malady ; and that this is true also of the west middlesex company , obtaining their supply from the thames at hammersmith ; and of the grand junction company , obtaining their supply at brentford . all these water companies have large settling reservoirs . it is probable also , as i stated above , that the chelsea company in 1849 , by careful filtration and by detaining the water in their reservoirs , rendered it in a great degree innocuous .
a high service reservoir was built on forest hill in 1887 and a pumping station at wandsworth was brought into use in 1891 for pumping to wimbledon and the higher levels . wells were sunk at streatham in 1888 and later at honor oak ( 1901 ) and merton abbey ( 1902 ) . throughout the 1890s additions were made to the hampton works and by 1903 the company was able to dispense with the battersea works .
goodman , david c . and chant , colin ( 1999 ) european cities and technology ( london : routledge ) .
in the worst condition in which it is possible to conceive any water to be , as regards its animalcular contents . …a curious fact in connection with the water of the southwark company has been mentioned to me by mr hett , surgeon of bridge street , viz : …that a gauze bag tied to the tap of the water cistern is found at the end of a few days to contain a mass sufficient to fill an eggshell , consisting principally of the hairs of mammalian animals .


the union banking corporation ( ubc ) was a banking corporation in the us whose assets were seized by the united states government on october 20 , 1942 during world war ii under the u.s. trading with the enemy act and executive order no. 9095 .

union banking corporation

besides the union bank corporation , mr . lievense is president of the holland american corporation , the domestic fuel corporation , and the seamless steel equipment corporation .
the union banking corporation , 39 broadway , new york , has received authority to change its principal place of business to 120 broadway .
union banking was seized by the government in october 1942 under the trading with the enemy act .
union bank is a registered trademark and brand name of mufg union bank , n . a .
all of these occupy offices with the union bank corporation at 39 broadway . others in the group at that address are the kemari trading corporation , the riberena fuel and chartering corporation , kauffmann & co . and religious publications inc .
mr . lievense admitted that the assets of the domestic fuel corporation , the holland american trading corporation and the seamless steel equipment corporation had all been frozen along with those of the union banking corporation by the treasury department . he said the business of the whole group , aside , from the bank , hardly approached $ 1 , 000 , 000 annually .
union banking was seized by the government in october 1942 under the trading with the enemy act ( search ) .
reference is made to your letter of january 14 and to conversations which you and certain of your partners have since had with me relative to the status of the union banking corporation .
he insisted , however , that religious publications , inc . , although occupying offices with the union banking corporation and the others , was not a thyssen venture but was purely his personal affair .
herr thyssens adventure in the american business world dates back to august , 1924 , when without flourishes or ruffles the union banking corporation was incorporated with a capital stock of $ 400 , 000 , the money coming from the bank voor handel en scheepvaart , of rotterdam . it was licensed under the new york state banking laws as an investment corporation .
the real story continued to be suppressed . no reportage that the corporation was taken over by the us government under the trading with the enemy act in the fall of 1942 , nor that the address to where union banking corporation was moved was the office of the alien property custodian .
nor was it skull and bones that specifically instructed members to aid adolf hitler , though hitlers financier stowed $ 3 million in the union banking corporation , a bank that counted among its seven directors prescott bush .
the union banking corporation does no commercial business , and its only depositor is the bank voor handel en scheepvaart . its activities are limited to occasional payments and a few purchases and sales of securities . all shares of the union banking corporation are registered in the name of e . r . harriman , who is chairman of the board , except the qualifying shares held by directors . as the company is dutchowned , its banking accounts were frozen under the presidential proclamation of may 10 , 1940 .
brown brothers harriman & co . have never had any financial interest in the union banking corporation or any of its subsidiaries , and have never profited in any way from its activities . the association of some of its partners with the thyssen corporation , it points , out , was entirely a matter of courtesy .
government circles assert that the assets of the union banking corporation and its subsidiaries were frozen because capital and control came from netherlands institution called the , bank voor handel en scheepvaart ( bank for trade , and shipping ) in rotterdam one of the thyssen string of banking houses on the continent . it was subject to the freezing order , however , as a dutch corporation and not as a germanowned property .
during recent months this department has been obliged to give unusual attention to certain of the banking organizations in this country which have been affected by the freezing orders . this , however has not been true in the case of the union banking corporation because of the confidence which the department has in the directors of this institution
– unionbancal corporation , and its primary banking subsidiary , union bank , n . a . , announced several changes to the composition of its board of directors . effective today , four new members have joined the board of unionbancal corporation and union bank , n . a . as outside directors : michael d . fraizer , ann f . jaedicke , henry r . keizer and toby s . myerson .
mufg union bank , n . a . all rights reserved . member fdic .
when a new world war began the brown brothers harriman partners sensed possible embarrassment through association with a corporation stemming from german interests and considered withdrawal from the union banking corporations board . in a consultation with william r . white , state superintendent of banks , on the subject mr . white requested them to remain on the board to assure efficient administration of the corporations affairs by trustworthy and responsible persons during the emergency . they agreed to comply with mr . whites request .
find out how union has been helping the communities we serve for over 100 years .
a dutch producer daniæl de witt , from dutch national television interviewed sutton , chaitkin , tarpley and others in 1996 , for a documentary on skull & bones that included confirmation from dutch officials concerning the union banking corporation and its activities in financing hitler through a dutch bank , the bank voor handel en scheepvart ( bank for trade and shipping ) . from the documentary : original documents of the amsterdam based international institute of social history ( instituut voor sociale geschiedenis ) clearly show the connection between the bhs , the august thyssen bank from fritz thyssen and harrimans union banking corporation .
the union banking corporation was capitalized at $ 400 , 000 ( most of the stock held by roland harriman ) and acted as a repository for thyssens funds earned in the united states . tarpley and chaitkin have written that government investigators reported the union banking corporation has since its inception [ 1924 ] handled funds chiefly supplied to it through the dutch bank for thyssen interests for american investment .  averell harriman had been in berlin in 1922 establishing a berlin branch of w . a . harriman & co . under george walkers presidency at which time he became acquainted with fritz thyssen .
…harriman and helped establish the union banking corporation ( ubc ) , both of which were enmeshed with the financial interests of german industrialist fritz thyssen , who helped fund the rise of the nazi party . despite the release of documents in the early 21st century that confirmed that ubc’s holdings were vested by…
the second change was quite substantial , the post only ran the first twelve paragraphs of over fifty in the original , cutting out and cutting off any mention of
the private bank banking house of brown brothers harriman
and
prescott s . bush and . . . are directors of the union banking corporation
from the
news
proffered in the nation ' s capital that day .
the following four directors affiliated with mufg will complete the board of directors for mufg union bank , n . a . and mufg americas holdings corporation : takashi morimura , masashi oka , katsumi hatao , and hironori kamezawa . mr . morimura is deputy president of btmu and chief executive of btmu’s global business unit . mr . oka is president and chief executive officer of unionbancal corporation and union bank , as well as chief executive officer for the americas of btmu . effective july 1 , mr . oka will serve as executive chairman of mufg americas holdings corporation and mufg union bank , n . a .
the bush political family seems to have taken those words to heart , one example being the story of prescotts involvement with the union banking corporation and the financing of hitler and fascism . why there has been such a deliberate and hard cover - up of this affair is in no doubt due to its sensitive nature .
on july 1 , 2014 , when the bank of tokyo - mitsubishi ufj , ltd . ( btmu ) , a subsidiary of mitsubishi ufj financial group , inc . , integrates btmu’s u . s . branch banking operations with union bank , n . a . , the new legal name of the bank will be mufg union bank , n . a . and the legal name of the holding company will be mufg americas holdings corporation . as of july 1 , messrs . fraizer and keizer and ms . jaedicke will serve as board members of mufg union bank , n . a . and mufg americas holdings corporation ; mr . myerson will only serve on the board of mufg union bank , n . a .
in the american colony of thyssen enterprises perhaps the most interesting is , the union banking corporation , 39 broadway , nominal guardian of the $ 3 , 000 , 000 cache , all in united states currency a sort of nest egg for herr thyssen or perhaps for some of his highplaced nazi friends when the present troublous days are over .
no charges were brought against union banking ' s american directors . the federal government was too busy trying to fight the war , said donald goldstein , a professor of public and international affairs at the university of pittsburgh .
prescott bush was one of seven directors of union banking corp . , a new york investment bank owned by a bank controlled by the thyssen family , according to recently declassified national archives documents reviewed by the associated press .
two of mr . lievenses associates , on the board of the union banking corporation , , j . g . groeninger and n . j . kouwenhoven , are among herr thyssens chief managerial assistants in the conduct of many of his european projects . kouwenhoven is an old school friend of mr . lievense and is managing director of the bank voor handel en scheepvaart . he is also managing director of the holland american investment corporation and is on the board of the thyssenowned vlaardingen harborworks .
reports of bush ' s involvement with the seized bank have been circulating on the internet for years and have been reported by some mainstream media . the newly declassified documents provide additional details about the union banking - thyssen connection .
reports of prescott bush’s involvement with the seized bank have been circulating on the internet for years and have been reported by some mainstream news media . the newly declassified documents provide additional details about the union banking - thyssen connection .
effective today , the following members of the board of directors of unionbancal corporation and union bank will retire : aida m . alvarez , takeo hoshi , ph . d . , nicholas b . binkley , l . dale crandall and murray h . dashe . effective july 1 , katsunori nagayasu , chairman of btmu , will retire as a board member of unionbancal corporation .
there was no coverage of the herald - tribune articles information on the thyssen / union banking corporation connection in the national news weeklies , the new york times , the wall street journal or even the new york daily worker . the afternoon daily , hearst - owned j ournal - americans article was basically a condensed re - hash of the earlier herald tribune articles .
in addition to known lieutenants of the thyssen interests in europe , there appeared and continue to appear on the board of directors of this corporation the names of several partners of the private banking house of brown brothers harriman & co . , 59 wall street .
in the history of the class of 1917 yale college , volume v twenty - fifth record printed in 1942 , prescott proudly proclaims his directorship of the union banking corporation , listing it third behind cbs and the dresser manufacturing company and ahead of six other substantial companies . he had been on the banks board since 1934 , his father - in - law was a founder and had been the banks president . it really wasnt a bank per sä , but acted has a holding company for thyssen , the german steel trust and its related components in their dealings with american industrial and financial markets . it allowed the thyssen interests to raise money , sell and buy goods in america and then use union banking corporation as their reciprocal bank to transfer monies back and forth .
a headline that landed on the front page of the new york herald tribune in july of that year read : hitlers angel has 3 million in u . s . bank .  the reference was to the union banking corporation . prescott may have been upset or alarmed by the disclosure he was one of its seven directors . a person of less established ethics would have been panicked .
among other thyssen interests in new york are half a dozen corporations engaged in the shipping , export and import trades , centering chiefly about coal and steel industries and operating under the wing of the union banking corporation . these organizations did a thriving business in rolling up dollars for herr thyssen in years past , but have been brought virtually to a standstill during the last year by the war .
prescott bush ( search ) was one of seven directors of union banking corp . ( search ) , a new york investment bank owned by a bank controlled by the thyssen family , according to recently declassified national archives documents reviewed by the associated press .
prescott bush retired from the senate in 1962 , returning to his work at brown brothers harriman . he passed away in october of 1972 . antony sutton didnt write his book about the order of skull & bones and the union banking corporations involvement with financing hitler until 1984 . the story and prescotts defense didnt appear till april 2001 , just before his bonesman grandsons selection to serve as the president of the united states .
the dominating personality in the administration of the thyssen domain in the united states is the shy and little known cornelis lievense , a colorful little hollander who arrived in this country by way of montreal in may , 1926 , two years after the union banking corporation was set up mr . lievense is a naturalized american citizen having received his final citizen papers on jan . 29 , 1932 , at mineola , l . i .
as you are aware , my partners , e . r . harriman , ray morris , prescott s . bush and our manager , h . d . pennington , are directors of the union banking corporation , a state institution under your supervision . this corporation is located , at 39 broadway , and it is in effect a new york office , or agency , of the bank voor handel en scheepvaart , in rotterdam . because of possible uncertainty as to whether the bank voor handel en scheepvaart might be held to be a dutch institution , or whether it is , in fact , a german institution under a dutch name , my partners have been giving serious consideration to withdrawing from the board . should the united states enter the war , they feel they might be under some embarrassment because of their connection with the bank , even though we have no financial interest in the union banking corporation , nor do we participate in its earnings . they act as directors merely as a matter of business courtesy .
prescott definitely understood this and it seems as though he and brown brothers harriman were trying to keep the scandal in the dark before some newshound broke the soon to be squashed news because in the july 31 , 1941 , new york herald - tribune it says that seven months before , in january of 1941 , brown brothers harriman partner and bonesman , knight wooley had written to the ny state banking board superintendent that  [ s ] hould the united states enter the war , they [ the union banking corporation american directors ] felt they might be under some embarrassment , .
by accessing this link , you will be leaving union’s website and entering a website hosted by another party . please be advised that you will no longer be subject to , or under the protection of , the privacy and security policies of union’s website . we encourage you to read and evaluate the privacy and security policies of the site you are entering , which may be different than those of union .
in 1992 , webster tarpley and anton chaitkin authored george bush : the unauthorized biography ( some chapters are presented in this book ) , which took the investigations further . they found in u . s . government archives the vesting order seizing the union banking corporation and documented other harriman / bush controlled interests that were doing business with the nazis . their book was published by executive intelligence review , a lyndon laurouche organization , and again the reports were ignored .
continuing their board service with unionbancal corporation and union bank are four long - time outside directors : christine n . garvey , mohan s . gyani , barbara l . rambo and dean a . yoost . all four will continue their term when the legal name of the bank and holding company change on july 1 , 2014 .
fritz thyssen ( search ) was an early financial supporter of hitler , whose nazi party thyssen believed was preferable to communism . the documents do not show any evidence bush directly aided that effort . his position with union banking never was a political issue for bush , who was elected to the senate from connecticut in 1952 .
mr . hatao is deputy ceo for the americas and chief executive , headquarters for the americas of btmu . effective july 1 , mr . hatao will serve as chief executive officer of mufg americas holdings corporation and mufg union bank , n . a . as well as chief executive officer for the americas of btmu . mr . kamezawa is deputy chief executive , headquarters for the americas of btmu and will serve as deputy ceo for the americas of btmu effective july 1 . he was previously general manager of global markets planning division for btmu . mr . kamezawa will also begin his term on the board of mufg americas holdings corporation and mufg union bank on july 1 , 2014 .
the 4 , 000 union banking shares owned by the dutch bank were registered in the names of the seven u . s . directors , according a document signed by homer jones , chief of the division of investigation and research of the office of alien property custodian , a world war ii - era agency that no longer exists .
may wrote in his report of august 16 1941 :
union banking corporation , incorporated august 4 1924 , is wholly owned by the bank voor handel en scheepvaart n . v of rotterdam , the netherlands . my investigation has produced no evidence as to the ownership of the dutch bank . mr cornelis [ sic ] lievense , president of ubc , claims no knowledge as to the ownership of the bank voor handel but believes it possible that baron heinrich thyssen , brother of fritz thyssen , may own a substantial interest .
union bank & trust , located in virginia and beyond , offers a wide range of financial solutions including checking accounts , savings accounts , business loans and more . explore our offerings online including financial planning , investment services and retirement planning from union wealth management . bank online or visit one of our conveniently located branches or atms today .
this took place , of course , at a time when the present world tangle could hardly have been foreseen and when such courtesies were part of the normal routine of international banking relations .
the specific allegations about the union banking corporation first surfaced in antony suttons 1975 book , wall street and the rise of hitler . sutton at that time did not know about the order of skull & bones . after becoming aware of the order in 1983 he expanded his writings on the subject in how the order creates war and revolution in 1984 , which was later published , with antonys three other booklets on the order of skull & bones , together as americas secret establishment in 1986 . the charges were articulated again in 1988 in suttons the two faces of george bush .
while there is no suggestion that prescott bush was sympathetic to the nazi cause , the documents reveal that the firm he worked for , brown brothers harriman ( bbh ) , acted as a us base for the german industrialist , fritz thyssen , who helped finance hitler in the 1930s before falling out with him at the end of the decade . the guardian has seen evidence that shows bush was the director of the new york - based union banking corporation ( ubc ) that represented thyssen ' s us interests and he continued to work for the bank after america entered the war .
fritz thyssen was an early financial supporter of hitler , whose national socialist german workers’ party ( nazi ) mr . thyssen believed was preferable to communism . the documents do not show any evidence that mr . bush directly aided that effort . his position with union banking never was a political issue for prescott bush , who was elected to the senate from connecticut in 1952 .
headquartered in san francisco , unionbancal corporation is a financial holding company with assets of $ 107 . 2 billion at march 31 , 2014 . its primary subsidiary , union bank , n . a . , provides an array of financial services to individuals , small businesses , middle - market companies , and major corporations . the bank operated 422 branches in california , washington , oregon , texas , illinois , new york and georgia , as well as two international offices , as of march 31 , 2014 . unionbancal corporation is a wholly - owned subsidiary of the bank of tokyo - mitsubishi ufj , ltd . , which is a subsidiary of mitsubishi ufj financial group , inc . union bank is a proud member of the mitsubishi ufj financial group ( mufg , nyse : mtu ) , one of the world’s largest financial organizations . in july 2013 , american banker magazine and the reputation institute ranked union bank # 1 for reputation among its customers . visit
in view , of these uncertainties , together with the censorship affecting communications to and from rotterdam , i realize that the union banking corporation might be placed in an embarrassing position if all the directors were to resign at this time . i feel sure however that you will understand the position of my associates , and i would greatly appreciate , a frank expression from you as to the action which you feel that they should take should you believe that the interests of the banking department would be best served by their continuing as directors until the situation abroad has been somewhat clarified , i know that they will be glad to be guided by , your judgment and i shall greatly appreciate your reaction to this situation and your opinion as to what action , if any , should be taken by my associates .
the union banking corporation was a holding company for the nazis , for fritz thyssen ,
said loftus .
at various times , the bush family has tried to spin it , saying they were owned by a dutch bank and it wasn ' t until the nazis took over holland that they realised that now the nazis controlled the apparent company and that is why the bush supporters claim when the war was over they got their money back . both the american treasury investigations and the intelligence investigations in europe completely bely that , it ' s absolute horseshit . they always knew who the ultimate beneficiaries were .
he admitted also that the domestic fuel corporation , which had been bringing cargoes of , coal from the thyssen mining interests in europe to canada and other western hemisphere points , had been blacklisted by the canadian trade commission in the fall of 1940 .
union banking was owned by a dutch bank , bank voor handel en scheepvaardt n . v . , which was
closely affiliated
with the german conglomerate united steel works , according to an oct . 5 , 1942 , report from the federal office of alien property custodian . the dutch bank and the steel firm were part of the business and financial empire of thyssen and his brother , heinrich thyssen - bornemisza , the report said .
union banking was owned by a dutch bank , bank voor handel en scheepvaardt n . v . , which was “closely affiliated” with the german conglomerate united steel works , according to an oct . 5 , 1942 , report from the federal office of alien property custodian . the dutch bank and the steel firm were part of the business and financial empire of mr . thyssen and his brother , heinrich thyssen - bornemisza , the report said .
the union banking corporation maintains accounts with the chase national bank , the national city bank , the guaranty trust company , and ourselves . at present its account with us is the only one which is active , and the drawings are limited to the payment of salaries and usual office expenses . to further control its operations , we have arranged that either ray morris or h . d . pennington must sign checks jointly with the president of the company , mr . c . lievense , or with the , assistant treasurer , mr . w kauffmann , and that one of our gentleman from our organization must be present when access is desired to the companys safe deposit box at the chase bank . -
hitlers angel has 3 million in us bank ,  read the headline above a story reporting that adolf hitlers financier had stowed the fortune in union banking corp . , possibly to be held for nazi bigwigs .  bush knew all about the new york bank : he was one of its seven directors . if the nazi tie became known , it would be a potential embarrassment ,  bush and his partners at brown brothers harriman worried , explaining to government regulators that their position was merely an unpaid courtesy for a client . the situation grew more serious when the government seized unions assets under the trading with the enemy act , the sort of action that could have ruined bushs political dreams .
hitlers angel has 3 million in us bank ,
read the headline above a story reporting that adolf hitlers financier had stowed the fortune in union banking corp . , possibly to be held for
nazi bigwigs .
bush knew all about the new york bank : he was one of its seven directors . if the nazi tie became known , it would be a potential
embarrassment ,
bush and his partners at brown brothers harriman worried , explaining to government regulators that their position was merely an unpaid courtesy for a client . the situation grew more serious when the government seized unions assets under the trading with the enemy act , the sort of action that could have ruined bushs political dreams .
in the 1941 articles it was reported that union baking corporations three million in funds had been frozen in may of 1940 and that the three million dollars , came from organizations [ that ] did a thriving business rolling - up dollars .  there were four and a half billion dollars in foreign assets frozen by the us government since adolf hitlers armies began overrunning europe in us banks . dutch , belgian , norwegian and french assets were frozen in 1940 after the nazis occupied those countries . german assets were frozen june 14 , 1941 .
the second set of papers , which are in the national archives , are contained in vesting order number 248 which records the seizure of the company assets . what these files show is that on october 20 1942 the alien property custodian seized the assets of the ubc , of which prescott bush was a director . having gone through the books of the bank , further seizures were made against two affiliates , the holland - american trading corporation and the seamless steel equipment corporation . by november , the silesian - american company , another of prescott bush ' s ventures , had also been seized .
in 1924 , his father - in - law , a well - known st louis investment banker , helped set him up in business in new york with averill harriman , the wealthy son of railroad magnate e h harriman in new york , who had gone into banking .
the thyssen bank in rotterdam which nominally owned the new york corporation was bombed out of existence by the invading nazis in may , 1940 . no one in new york professes to know what has happened to the officers of the rotterdam institution . not a word of instruction or advice has come from abroad .
in order that you may understand clearly the reasons for our doubts , i should like to give you the background of our connection with the union banking corporation . our partner w . a . harriman was in europe in 1925 , and at that time he became acquainted with mr . fritz thyssen , the german industrialist . to the best of my knowledge , mr . thyssen formed the bank voor handel en scheepvaart and presumably controlled that institution . - at one of his meetings with mr . harriman , he told him he was forming a bank in new york to look after his interests in the united states and he asked mr . harriman to serve on the board . mr . harriman agreed that certain of his associates would serve in this capacity , and as a result various members of the harriman organizations and now of brown brothers harriman & co . , have been on the board ever since .
while the department would , not feel free to object if your partners , mr . harriman , mr . bush , and your firms manager , mr . pennington , should desire to resign as directors of the corporation , nevertheless the department would be gratified if these gentlemen could find it possible to remain on the board during this period of uncertainty .
as it turned out , his involvement wasnt pursued by the press or political opponents during his senate campaigns a decade later . but the episode may well have been one of the catalysts for a dramatic change in his life . just as the union banking story broke , bush volunteered to be chairman of united service organizations , putting himself on the national stage for the first time . he traveled the country raising millions of dollars to help boost the morale of us troops during world war ii , enhancing his stature in a way that helped him get elected us senator . a son and grandson would become presidents .
the thyssen / union banking article was continued on page 22 in the financial news section , with three almost full columns plus another full column ancillary story on thyssen . the articles are reproduced in full in the following pages . michael kranish , the boston globe reporter , when we contacted in august 2003 to tell him that the articles were actually published in 1941 said , well , i wrote that so long ago , i cant remember now why ? if it is 41 ? why it says 42 . it is a mystery to me . i do not know what the situation is . but it definitely was there , that is all i can say . the copy that i have , you know , someone put the date in it ? maybe that was wrong . i certainly would have tried carefully to put the right date .  mike then wanted to know my purpose for looking in to this . i tell him i am a researcher and writer looking into prescott bush and union banking . his then last words on the subject were , i have looked very thoroughly and i did not find the evidence that the conspiracy theorist allege , so ? if the date is different i just dont know why that is .
we believe people have a right to expect more from the companies they do business with – and they can expect more from union bank & trust , a bank whose virginia roots go back to 1902 . by offering fair financial solutions and honest advice , we create opportunities for families and business owners .
both groeninger and kouwenhoven are directors of the local holland american trading corporation . groeninger is also on the board of the bank voor handel en scheepvaart and is a director of the vulcan rhine shipping co . , another unit in thyssens industrial kingdom . kouwenhoven visited the united states about four or five years ago , mr . lievense said , but groeninger appears never to have been here .
mr . lievense speaks in soft , low tones and merely smiled broadly when questioned about his association with herr thyssen . his name appears as a director of the thyssen holland american investment corporation , at rotterdam . he is a member of the board of the august thyssen bank , aktiengesellschaft , at berlin , and , he is also a director of the handelscompagnie ruilvkeer , a thyssen bartering company at amsterdam .
what is also at issue is how much money bush made from his involvement . his supporters suggest that he had one token share . loftus disputes this , citing sources in
the banking and intelligence communities
and suggesting that the bush family , through george herbert walker and prescott , got $ 1 . 5m out of the involvement . there is , however , no paper trail to this sum .
bush and his partners at brown brothers harriman informed the government regulators that the account , opened in the late 1930s , was an unpaid courtesy for a client . the situation ,  wrote kranish , grew more serious when the government seized unions assets under the trading with the enemy act , the sort of action that could have ruined bushs political dreams .
pacing the floor of his office on the twentyfifth floor of 39 broadway , he said , all i know is that i am here and that the united states government is exercising strict supervision of all activities of the bank and these corporation . i cannot tell you whom i am working . you may be sure there is really little to do . all these corporations in their best years have done less than $ 1 , 000 , 000 annually .
he is a member of the advisory board of the harvard law school program on corporate governance and a member of the board of directors of japan society inc . mr . myerson is recognized as one of the leading corporate / m & a lawyers in the united states by legal 500 and by chambers usa and was chosen by his peers for the best lawyers in america in banking , corporate law and mergers and acquisitions law .
bush and his partners at brown brothers harriman informed the government regulators that the account , opened in the late 1930s , was an unpaid courtesy for a client . the situation ,  wrote kranish , grew more serious when the government seized unions assets under the trading with the enemy act , the sort of action that could have ruined bushs political dreams .  the phrase was an ominous one .
by september may had traced the origins of the non - american board members and found that dutchman hj kouwenhoven - who met with harriman in 1924 to set up ubc - had several other jobs : in addition to being the managing director of voor handel he was also the director of the august thyssen bank in berlin and a director of fritz thyssen ' s union steel works , the holding company that controlled thyssen ' s steel and coal mine empire in germany .
groeninger is managing director of the thyssenowned halcyon line , with headquarters at rotterdam . it was this corporation which refused to transfer its headquarters and assets outside holland when the netherlands government warned all industrialists to take their properties to dutch colonies at the time of the nazi invasion . just before the arrival of the german forces at rotterdam , the british and dutch navies seized eleven of the thirteen ships of the line and incorporated them in the british shipping pool . it is understood that three of these ships have since been destroyed . only two ships of the line fell into the nazis , hands .
well , we have found proof that the article did indeed appear in july of 1941 . first we found on alex jones urltoken website an article from the july 31 , 1941 , zanesville signal in ohio . the thyssen / union banking news story was in an ins ( international news service ) wire report , which says that it was disclosed today in a news story in the new york journal american . we then found , at ancestry . com , an ap wire report in the sheboygan press , a wisconsin newspaper of august 1 , 1941 which stated : the herald - tribune said thursday [ july , 31 , 1941 ] , that fritz thyssen , german industrialist credited with helping finance adolf hitlers rise to power , has $ 3 , 000 , 000 in american cash salted away in the bank vaults of downtown new york .  armed with the correct date , we were then able to find both the new york herald - tribune and new york journal american stories . the articles are presented in full later in this chapter .
senator bush served on the banking committee , many times as a contact person for world bank and federal reserve officials , who sometimes looked for more casual places to do business than the senate committee rooms . in his second term protecting his states interests prescott also served as a member of the armed service committee . for years connecticut had received more per capita of the defense dollar than any other state earning itself the sobriquet , the arsenal of democracy .  that the military - industrial complex began in connecticut in the 1800s is relevant but another tale .
– ms . jaedicke is the former deputy comptroller for compliance policy with the office of the comptroller of the currency , where she spent 33 years in a number of senior roles , including national bank examiner , director for multinational banking and deputy comptroller for supervision operations . ms . jaedicke also served as chair or member of the following regulatory committees : occ committee on consumer issues ; ffiec task force for consumer compliance ; occ enforcement committee and the occ bank secrecy act / anti - money laundering committee . after her government service , she joined promontory financial group as managing director .
. . . as the general manager , he acted on behalf of the harrimans and invested their money in the third reich . i remember when the corporate media finally acknowledged the existence of this story a year or so ago , and it immediately got played down because prescott was a
minority shareholder
in union bank . but as the general manager , grandpa bush was paid to make those investments for the harrimans , though they obviously weren ' t complaining . silesian - american , incidentally , was connected to a german steel company which used concentration camp labor . halliburton would have been proud .
president bush ' s grandfather was a director of a bank seized by the federal government because of its ties to a german industrialist who helped bankroll adolf hitler ' s rise to power , government documents show .
e . roland harriman , the bank chairman and brother of former new york gov . w . averell harriman ( search ) , held 3 , 991 shares . bush had one share .
both harrimans and bush were partners in the new york investment firm of brown brothers , harriman and co . , which handled the financial transactions of the bank as well as other financial dealings with several other companies linked to bank voor handel that were confiscated by the u . s . government during world war ii .
we did not have the resources to do these things ,
goldstein said .
fritz thyssen broke with the nazis in 1938 over their persecution of catholics and jews , and fled to switzerland . he later was arrested and spent 1941 to 1945 in a nazi prison . his brother lived in switzerland from 1932 to 1947 but continued to operate businesses in germany .
the new documents were first reported by freelance writer john buchanan in the new hampshire gazette .
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rumours of a link between the us first family and the nazi war machine have circulated for decades . now the guardian can reveal how repercussions of events that culminated in action under the trading with the enemy act are still being felt by today ' s president
george bush ' s grandfather , the late us senator prescott bush , was a director and shareholder of companies that profited from their involvement with the financial backers of nazi germany .
the guardian has obtained confirmation from newly discovered files in the us national archives that a firm of which prescott bush was a director was involved with the financial architects of nazism .
his business dealings , which continued until his company ' s assets were seized in 1942 under the trading with the enemy act , has led more than 60 years later to a civil action for damages being brought in germany against the bush family by two former slave labourers at auschwitz and to a hum of pre - election controversy .
the evidence has also prompted one former us nazi war crimes prosecutor to argue that the late senator ' s action should have been grounds for prosecution for giving aid and comfort to the enemy .
the debate over prescott bush ' s behaviour has been bubbling under the surface for some time . there has been a steady internet chatter about the
bush / nazi
connection , much of it inaccurate and unfair . but the new documents , many of which were only declassified last year , show that even after america had entered the war and when there was already significant information about the nazis ' plans and policies , he worked for and profited from companies closely involved with the very german businesses that financed hitler ' s rise to power . it has also been suggested that the money he made from these dealings helped to establish the bush family fortune and set up its political dynasty .
remarkably , little of bush ' s dealings with germany has received public scrutiny , partly because of the secret status of the documentation involving him . but now the multibillion dollar legal action for damages by two holocaust survivors against the bush family , and the imminent publication of three books on the subject are threatening to make prescott bush ' s business history an uncomfortable issue for his grandson , george w , as he seeks re - election .
bush was also on the board of at least one of the companies that formed part of a multinational network of front companies to allow thyssen to move assets around the world .
three sets of archives spell out prescott bush ' s involvement . all three are readily available , thanks to the efficient us archive system and a helpful and dedicated staff at both the library of congress in washington and the national archives at the university of maryland .
the first set of files , the harriman papers in the library of congress , show that prescott bush was a director and shareholder of a number of companies involved with thyssen .
the third set of documents , also at the national archives , are contained in the files on ig farben , who was prosecuted for war crimes .
a report issued by the office of alien property custodian in 1942 stated of the companies that
since 1939 , these ( steel and mining ) properties have been in possession of and have been operated by the german government and have undoubtedly been of considerable assistance to that country ' s war effort
.
prescott bush , a 6ft 4in charmer with a rich singing voice , was the founder of the bush political dynasty and was once considered a potential presidential candidate himself . like his son , george , and grandson , george w , he went to yale where he was , again like his descendants , a member of the secretive and influential skull and bones student society . he was an artillery captain in the first world war and married dorothy walker , the daughter of george herbert walker , in 1921 .
one of the first jobs walker gave bush was to manage ubc . bush was a founding member of the bank and the incorporation documents , which list him as one of seven directors , show he owned one share in ubc worth $ 125 .
the bank was set up by harriman and bush ' s father - in - law to provide a us bank for the thyssens , germany ' s most powerful industrial family .
august thyssen , the founder of the dynasty had been a major contributor to germany ' s first world war effort and in the 1920s , he and his sons fritz and heinrich established a network of overseas banks and companies so their assets and money could be whisked offshore if threatened again .
by the time fritz thyssen inherited the business empire in 1926 , germany ' s economic recovery was faltering . after hearing adolf hitler speak , thyssen became mesmerised by the young firebrand . he joined the nazi party in december 1931 and admits backing hitler in his autobiography , i paid hitler , when the national socialists were still a radical fringe party . he stepped in several times to bail out the struggling party : in 1928 thyssen had bought the barlow palace on briennerstrasse , in munich , which hitler converted into the brown house , the headquarters of the nazi party . the money came from another thyssen overseas institution , the bank voor handel en scheepvarrt in rotterdam .
by the late 1930s , brown brothers harriman , which claimed to be the world ' s largest private investment bank , and ubc had bought and shipped millions of dollars of gold , fuel , steel , coal and us treasury bonds to germany , both feeding and financing hitler ' s build - up to war .
between 1931 and 1933 ubc bought more than $ 8m worth of gold , of which $ 3m was shipped abroad . according to documents seen by the guardian , after ubc was set up it transferred $ 2m to bbh accounts and between 1924 and 1940 the assets of ubc hovered around $ 3m , dropping to $ 1m only on a few occasions .
in 1941 , thyssen fled germany after falling out with hitler but he was captured in france and detained for the remainder of the war .
there was nothing illegal in doing business with the thyssens throughout the 1930s and many of america ' s best - known business names invested heavily in the german economic recovery . however , everything changed after germany invaded poland in 1939 . even then it could be argued that bbh was within its rights continuing business relations with the thyssens until the end of 1941 as the us was still technically neutral until the attack on pearl harbor . the trouble started on july 30 1942 when the new york herald - tribune ran an article entitled
hitler ' s angel has $ 3m in us bank
. ubc ' s huge gold purchases had raised suspicions that the bank was in fact a
secret nest egg
hidden in new york for thyssen and other nazi bigwigs . the alien property commission ( apc ) launched an investigation .