Today is the birthday of George Alexander Gale (c. 1828 or 29-October 30, 1914). Since we don’t know his exact birthdate, or even the year for that matter, today seems as good a day as any to celebrate his life. George Gale was the son of Richard Gale, who in 1847 bought the Ship and Bell, a pub and brewery, in Horndean, a village in Hampshire, England. Although his father and four sons all worked at the brewery, George ended up running he business so when they registered the business in 1888, it was named George Gale & Co. and continued under that name until it as bought by Fuller’s in 2005.

Here’s a portion of the Gale Brewery history from the journal Brewery History Society by M.W. Laver:

From the Eighteenth Century the Gale family were contributing to Horndean’s commercial life via their activities as Grocers and Bakers. Richard Gale (born in 1802) succeeded his mother Ann in this capacity and branching out as Coal and Corn Merchant, at Pyle Farm, which is today two very active oil wells. In May 1847 he purchased the “Ship and Bell” and its associated brewery. According to legend, this was after seeing his men who were working in the fields nearby heading for the inn on Friday nights after collecting their pay packets!

Unfortunately in the early 1860s the brewery was burnt down, mainly because it was constructed of wood and open fires were used to boil the copper. With the insurance monies paid after the fire the present Victorian brewery was built in 1869. Two of the original brewery buildings because they were constructed of flint survived the fire. The Blacksmith’s shop and the Cooper’s shop can still be seen today, where they are now used as store rooms.

George Gale and Company should have been Richard Gale and Company but for a tragic twist of fate. For generations the first son was always named Richard, as the founder of the original brewery was also called. Although he lived for thirty-nine more years, his four sons were all said to be suffering from Tuberculosis. The oldest son, Richard Rogers, survived just long enough to produce an heir also called Richard Rogers and so it was a younger son, George Alexander, who took charge of the family business. It was George who was in charge in 1888 when the company was formally registered, hence the name it carries today. In the 1880s George Gale seems to have had some fairly radical ideas regarding the relationship between work and home. He endeavoured to create a family atmosphere within the firm (which still exists today), even going to the extent of building thirty houses for his employees to live in. Some of these houses are still in use today and used by the staff.

By 1859 George Gale had extended his interest to include malting and by 1875 has expanded the business to include Southsea. In 1884 William Smeed joined the company, bringing to it his interests in the Eagle Brewery, Landport. In 1888, it was registered as a Limited Company under the Chairmanship of George Gale. George Gale’s nephew, Richard Rogers Gale was one of the first directors after the business became a public company. His son, Richard Newman Gale joined his great-uncle George on leaving school and became a director in 1925. His son Major Richard W. Gale became a director in 1936.