Thomas Winstanley
Thomas Winstanley was born on January 9, 1910 to John and Sarah Winstanley, of 225 Burns Street in the Poet’s Row section of North Camden. His father, born in England, had come to the USA in 1895 and settled in North Camden. The family lived at 421 Erie Street when the Census was taken in 1900. John Winstanley worked in the nearby shipyards as a carpenter and as a caulker. The Thomas Dickinson family lived next door at 421 Erie. Son William, born in December of 1891, grew up to operate a garage at the point of Market and Federal Streets for the better part of 50 years.
When Thomas Winstanley was born, the family included siblings John, Mary, Richard, and Joseph when the 1910 Census was enumerated. John Winstanley left the shipyards for a short time, the 1914 City Directory listing him at 1000 Segal Street where he operated a variety store. This did not work out, and by September of 1918 both he and John Jr. were working as ship’s carpenter and helper respectively, at the William Cramp and Son Dry Dock in Philadelphia. The family had moved to 228 Milton Street.
The 1920 Census shows the family had added two daughters, Elizabeth and Lydia, and had moved to 228 Milton Street, around the corner… and virtually through the back yard, of the Burns Street house. The 1924 and 1927 City Directories shows the family at 228 Byron Street, still in Poet’s Row.
The 1929 City Directory lists John and Sarah Winstanley at 8 Church Street in East Camden, but by April of 1930 the family had returned to Burns Street, this time at 232 Burns. The Census of 1930 reveals that three more children, Florence, Anna, and William, had arrived. Thomas Winstanley, then the oldest child still at home, was working as a painter in one of the nearby shipyards.
Just after 10 P.M. on February 20, 1946, yet another major fire occurred in the S.S. Kresge Department Store at 29–33 Broadway near Federal Street. First arriving units found heavy smoke billowing from the building as second and third alarms were transmitted in quick succession.
Shortly after midnight, a backdraft injured five members as flames raced through the building. Firemen William Reed, Thomas Winstanley, Theodore Guthrie, Thomas McParland and Captain Howell Needham were removed to Cooper Hospital for facial burns; whereupon each member insisted on returning to the fire following treatment. At 12:30 A.M. Deputy Chief Charles Erickson directed the Fire Dispatcher to recall a platoon of off duty members and summon them to the fire. By 2 A.M. the flames had broken through the roof and were visible ten blocks away. As the first floor began to collapse Engine Company 8 was forced into the street as a roaring column of tin vented outward some thirty-five feet over Hudson Street. While the Department was making a major effort on Broadway, another fire broke out at the Camden Foundry Company, Front and Elm Streets, North Camden. Engine Company 11 assisted by off duty members staffing reserve apparatus confined this fire to a section of the building.
The 1947 Camden City Directory shows that Thomas Winstanley had married and had also joined the Camden Fire Department. He was then living at 214 Milton Street, around the corner from the house he grew up in. He served with Engine Company 6 at Front and Linden Streets in the late 40s and early 1950s. After being promoted to Captain he served with Engine Company 2 at Fire Headquarters, North 5th and Arch Streets.
The 1956 and 1959 New Jersey Bell Telephone directories show that Thomas Winstanley was living at 717 Bailey Street. By 1969 he had moved to 244 North 40th Street in East Camden and was living there into the 1980s.
Thomas Winstanley passed away on November 15, 1987. He was survived by his wife, Regina Stankiewicz Winstanley, who joined him in July of 1990, brother William Winstanley, who had retired at the beginning of 1987 as a Captain with the Camden Fire Department after more than 35 years of service, and sister Anna.
Photos
Thomas Winstanley
Mrs. Kobus Names 3 Cops, 4 Firemen
Camden Courier-Post —
Son of Former Fire Captain Among Men Appointed to Police Force
Appointment for three policemen and four firemen, all of whom will report for duty today, was announced yesterday by Commissioner Mary W. Kobus, director of public safety.
The new policemen will be assigned to duty in company with older officers to gain experience. The new firefighters will be trained at the police fire school.
Edward D. Tatem, of 565 Mt. Vernon street, one of the new patrolmen, is a son of former Fire Captain William Tatem. Tatem is a graduate of Camden High School. Roland E. Comerford, of 2931 Cramer street, who also was appointed to the police force, is a son of Fireman William Comerford, chauffeur for Battalion Fire Chief Charles Erickson. Young Comerford is a graduate of Woodrow Wilson High School.
The third new policeman is Joseph Hooven, of 918 North Nineteenth street. He is a Camden High graduate and also studied two years at Villanova College.
Those appointed firemen are Phillip H. Farrow, of 529 Newton avenue; John Gryckiewicz, of 810 North Front street, Thomas Winstanley, of 329 Bailey street, and Anthony Bretschneider, of 1621 Louis street.
Farrow and Gryckiewicz graduated from Woodrow Wilson and Gryckiewicz served a four year enlistment in the Navy. Bretschneider graduated from a Philadelphia high school and attended evening classes at Woodrow Wilson.
All appointments were made from a State Civil Service Commission list of eligibles. Commissioner Kobus has adopted a policy of appointing high school graduates to both the police and fire departments.
Mrs. Kobus to Ask More Cops, Firemen for City Next Year
Camden Courier-Post —
New Appointment Return Forces to 1938 Status; Defense Increases Need
Appointment of 22 patrolmen and 10 firemen by City Commissioner Mary W. Kobus during the past three months has brought the personnel of the public safety department to figures comparable to 1938.
That announcement was made yesterday by Commissioner Kobus, who expressed the hope the city could afford additional members of both departments in the near future “as a safety measure and because of the great national, State and local defense programs, in which we must participate.”
“Camden is rapidly taking its rightful place as one of the greatest industrial centers of the entire nation. Thousands have been added to the payrolls of our various great industrial plants. Houses are at a premium within the city, and it is natural for the public safety department to keep in step with the times,” the commissioner stated.
“We have hundreds of new traffic problems confronting us today, that never existed back in 1931, when the police department was manned by 247 regular members and 83 special policemen and investigators.
Comparable to 1938 Figures
“Today the personnel of the police department totals 194 men, with no special investigators. This is comparable to 1938, when we had a total of 192 members of the department. Since 1938, 12 policemen have died and eight others requested to be placed on pension, after long and honorable service to their city.
“No replacements were made until a civil service examination was held and a list of eligible men provided. I have appointed 22 policemen from that list and 10 men as members of the city fire department, which had nine vacancies due to deaths and retirement.
“I will ask that sufficient money be placed in my budget for next year to appoint a few additional policemen, due to the defense measures which have been set up, and in which the public safety department is expected to participate.”
All of the new police and fire appointees must serve for one year at a salary of $1500. The second year they receive $1560, with their salaries going to $1680 for the third year and $1800 for the fourth year.
Normally they would have received $2040 for the fifth year, when they become full-fledged members of the department, but a referendum approved by the voters at the last general election sets the salary of police and firemen at $2400 annually after 1943.
As it will be after that year the present appointees will reach the end of the five-year period during which they receive annual increments in their pay, it was indicated they would jump to $2400 after their fourth year in the two departments.
Appointments Listed
The new policemen appointed by Commissioner Kobus were:
Joseph Caputi, 332 Mt. Vernon street; Joseph M. Carroll, 427 Lansdowne avenue; Roland Comerford, 2931 Cramer street; Vincent Conley, 423 Beideman avenue; James Eskridge, 716 North Seventh street; Joseph Hooven, 501 Beideman avenue; Julius Kaunacki, 1183 Sheridan street; William E. Kelly, 55 State street; William F. Large, 729 Mickle street; William H. Neale, 773 Line street; Francis J. Nelson, 720 Penn street; John E. Opfer, 323 North Second street; Cecil H. Picou, 1127 Cooper street; Earl Quinton, 687 Jefferson avenue; Edw. W. Tatem, 565 Mt. Vernon street; Harry Tracy, 2003 Federal street; Harold I. Vecander, 1039 North Twenty-sixth street; John H. Watkins, 2902 Constitution road; Edward Watson, 1048 Haddon avenue; Donald R. Watson, 841 Lois avenue; George T. Weber, 1231 North Thirtieth street; Stanley Zuckowicz, 1157 Thurman street.
The new appointees to the fire department are:
Philip H. Farrow, 529 Newton avenue; Anthony W. Bretschneider, 1621 Louis street; John Gryckiewicz, 810 North Front street; Thomas Winstanley, 329 Bailey street; William Palese, 900 South Fourth street; Anthony Dzinski, 1230 Atlantic avenue; Joseph R. Guarino, 25 Morse street; Martin B. Nelson, 561 Spruce street; William Cleary, 614 Federal street; Otto Kaiser, 904 North Twenty-sixth street.
Engine 6 Wagon and Pumper at Front & Linden Streets — circa 1948
Left column, from left: Captain William Deitz, Firemen Robert Dukes, Harrison Pike, Mario Fattore, Edwin Callahan. Right column, from left: Firemen Thomas McParland, Philip Farrow, Thomas Winstanley, James Stewart, Ernest Tartaglia, John “Shorty” Prucella
Engine 6 Wagon and Pumper at Front & Linden Streets — circa 1949
On apparatus: John Prucella and Harrison Pike — Motor Pump Operators, left to right: Philip Farrow, Edwin Callahan, Thomas McParland, Robert Dukes, Captain William Deitz, Thomas Winstanley, James Stewart, Mario Fattore, Ernest Tartaglia
Six Firemen Cited Here for Heroism
Camden Courier-Post —
Six Camden firemen have been cited for outstanding service by the Fire Department Merit Board for rescuing three Puerto Rican children from a blazing second floor apartment at 444 N. 5th st. last Dec. 26.
Receiving special mention, according to Fire Chief Pfefferle, were District Chief Winfield LeViseur, Capt. Thomas Winstanley, Acting Capt. Eugene Alston, Firemen Frank Deal, Charles Davis and Howard Lewis.
The Merit Board, composed of chiefs in the Camden Fire Department, also pointed out the heroic work of Michael Cimini, a bartender, of 925 N. 22nd st., who rescued four other children before arrival of firemen.
Firefighters Fete ‘Shorty’ Prucella After 39 Years in Service of City
Camden Courier-Post —
A GOLD WATCH in recognition of his many years of service with the Camden fire department was presented Tuesday to John B. “Shorty” Prucella, 75, retiring member of Engine Co. 6, by his “buddies” of the station. Prucella, who will retire July 15 after 39 years, is given the watch by Hoseman Ernest Tartaglia. Standing, left to right, second row, are Capt. William H. Deitz, P. Farrow, E. Callahan, H. Pike, H. Needham and Capt. Harold Megee; back row, Capt. Thomas Winstanley, of No. 2 Engine Co.; M. Fattore, T. McParland and William Reed.
John B. “Shorty” Prucella on July 15 is going to stop fighting fires, rescuing cats up poles and trees, returning lost children to anxious parents and marching in parades.
On that date Prucella, oldest member of No. 6 Engine Co., will go on pension after 39 years service.
Shorty, as the other eight members an [sic] two captains of his company call him, is 75. He is one of the two remaining veteran fire fighters in the city who formerly drove horse-drawn apparatus.
The other horse driver is Battalion Chief Clarence Madden.
Prucella joined the city electrical bureau in April, 1910, and after 19 months service, transferred in November 1911 to the fire department. It was at Engine Co. No. 5, formerly at Twelfth and Federal streets, where he drove a horse-drawn fire truck.
Receives Watch as Gift
Later, Prucella served at No. 4 Engine Co., formerly at Fourth and Vine streets. He has been stationed at No. 6 company, Front and Linden streets, for the last 17 years.
Shorty’s comrades, in a surprise ceremony Tuesday, presented him with a gold watch. Attending the affair were Captains William H. Deitz and Harold Megee, of the same company; Firemen P. Farrow, E. Callahan, H. Pike, H. Needham, M. Fattore, T. McFarland, William Reed and Ernest Tartaglia, and Battalion Chiefs Edgar Ellender and Howard Gick.
Prucella lives at 919 Penn street with his wife, Hattie; a daughter, Elizabeth, and a son, Raymond. He has two grandchildren.
Will Take It Easy
The veteran smoke-eater announced his future plans call for “taking it easy” and reminiscing about old times.
“The ‘fire department’ is gone now,” Prucella commented. “What people called the fire department went out with the horses. Horses gave something to fire fighting, and when they left there just wasn’t any ‘fire department.’
“Of course, considering that out [sic] engines get out of the fire house in 20 seconds today, is enough to show that horses could never compare with anything we have today. But the horse drawn wagons got out of the firehouse in two minutes, and Heaven help the man who got in their way.
“It hurt when the old plugs were taken away. The keenest horse we owned was turned over to the street cleaning department.”
Biggest fire in Prucella’s experience was the Hollingshed fire in 1940, but he doesn’t like to think about it because 14 persons lost their lives.
Prucella is a member of the International Firefighters Association, Police and Fire Club, Firemen’s Mutual Benevolent Association and the Camden Lodge of Moose.
Injured as Fire Destroys Kresge Building
Camden Courier-Post —
BROADWAY STORE BUILDING WRECKED BY THREE-ALARM FIRE—Shown is the interior of the S. S. Kresge building, at 29-33 Broadway, which was destroyed by fire last night and early today. Five firemen were burned in the blaze, which threatened the central business district.
2nd Blaze Calls Out All Men
Camden’s entire fire-fighting facilities were called on during the night to battle two blazes, one a three-alarm in which five firemen were injured.
The three-alarm fire swept the S. S. Kresge building at 29-33 Broadway, threatening the central business district until brought under control.
Discovered at 10.17 p. m., the Kresge fire brought all except three of the city’s 12 companies to the scene. At 1.52 a. m. fire broke out at the Camden Foundry Co., Front and Elm streets, requiring the three remaining companies.
The North Camden blaze was confined to a small section of the building. Firemen said it was caused by an overheated stove which set moulding afire. Firemen returned from this blaze at 2.15 a. m.
With five firemen temporarily unavailable for service because of face and hand burns, Deputy Chief Erickson appealed to the city electrical bureau at 12.30 to summon all available off-duty firemen.
Firemen were forced to lie flat on the slush-covered pavements to play hoses into the Kresge building because of the dense smoke billowing from doorways and windows. After two hours, many were at the point of exhaustion.
Smoke Fills Building
The fire was believed to have started in the basement and the building was filled with smoke when firemen arrived. They were unable to enter the building.
At 2 a.m. the flames broke through the roof and were visible for 10 blocks. The first floor was sagging at the ends of the building after the fire broke through the center.
Forcing a corrugated iron receiving door in the rear, firemen of Engine Company No. 8 were forced to drop to the street as flames shot 35 feet into Hudson street.
Lines Through Terminal
Hose lines were run through the highspeed line terminal, which adjoins the fired building. A line was played into the building from the roof of the terminal.
Several times firemen were forced to crawl backward from the building as back-lashes of flames roared from the interior.
Taken to Cooper hospital with burns of the face were Firemen William Reed, Thomas Winstanley and Thomas McParland. All returned to the fire for duty.
Treated at the scene were Acting Captain Howell Needham and Fireman Theodore Guthrie. They were burned about the hands and face.
Water Bureau Helps
Shortly after arrival Acting Chief Walter Mertz announced the city water pressure was low and water barely trickled from a plug on Hudson street near the rear of the building.
Water Superintendent Edward Sheehan was notified and upon an inspection of the plug, found the control system had been broken as firemen attempted to open it. This reduced the ordinary flow by about two-thirds, Sheehan said.
Before he arrived at the fire, Sheehan ordered five extra pumps put into operation at various city pumping stations to increase pressure. When the fire broke out, the city pumps
Firemen Here Get Advanced First Aid Course
Camden Courier-Post —
More than 40 members of the Camden Fire Department have completed the Red Cross course in advanced first aid according to announcement today by Howard F. Keller, Collingswood, chairman of the Camden County Chapter’s first aid committee.
Instruction sessions were under the direction of Fire Chief William V. Pfefferle, Drillmaster Anthony Dzinski, a member of the local chapter first aid group, assisted by Nicholas E. George, were instructors. Dzinski is a member of the Red Cross faculty at the National Aquatic School held in this area each year for instruction in advance safety techniques. Dick Harris, director of Red Cross safety services, supervised.
All members of the graduating class are personnel of several units housed at fire department headquarters here. These include the Headquarters Company, Engine Company 2, Rescue Squad 1 and Truck Company 1. These groups include:
Rescue Squad: Captains Arthur Batten, Philip A. Stinger and Albert Weller; Edward Brendlinger, Harrison MacNeir, Robert Olesiewicz and James W. Smith.
Headquarters Company: Raymond Banford, John K. Voll and John W. Yates.
Truck Company 1: Captains Daniel Jiannetto, Robert E. Dukes and Otto V. Kaiser; William Watkin, Chester Gedrich, George Baxter, John Mogck, George C. Hennessy, Charles Devlin, Ambrose W. Faust, Joseph McTaggart, Howard R. Taggart, William G. Winstanley and Elmer Johnson Jr.
Engine Company 2: Captains James R. Asher, Thomas Winstanley; Carl Wirtz, James McGrory, Edwin V. Decker, James Stewart, Francis X. McTaggart, Anthony T. Orme, Mario D. Fattore, James O. Jones, Francis P. Stibi, William Hopkins, Robert E. Briggs, John Giuliano, Casper Martelli, Harold H. Pike, John J. Vane, William Stibi, John DiMaggio and Harry Kleinfelder.
Engine Company 2 — circa 1960
Engine Company 2 with new pumper in front of quarters, 5th & Arch Streets, 1960. Bottom row, from left: Fireman Harrison MacNeir, Chief Edward MacDowell, Fireman James Troutman, Captain Albert Weller, Fireman Charles Devlin, Fireman William Hopkins, Fireman George Hennessey; Top row, left to right: Fireman Francis Stibi, Fireman Robert Briggs, Fireman Bertram Dahl, Fireman Erwin Brennan, Captain Thomas Winstanley, Fireman Anthony Orme
Winstanley
Camden Courier-Post —
On November 19, 1987, Thomas, age 77 years. Beloved husband of Regina S. (nee Stankiewicz) of Camden, N.J. Also survived by one brother William, four sisters Sadie Cummings, Elizabeth Becker, Florence Grant, Annamae Gallagher, one grandchild and three great grandchildren. He was a captain in The Camden City Fire Dept. until retiring seventeen years ago after thirty two years of service and was a member of The Farragut Sportsmens Assoc. Relatives and friends are invited to attend the funeral services on Tuesday 10am at The Edward P. Leonard Jr. Funeral Home, 35th Street and River Ave., Camden, N.J. Interment Arlington Cemetery. Friends may call Monday after 7pm at the funeral home. Parking on premises.