Eric Marshall Wragg (1920-1994) was the great grandson of spring knife maker William Henry Wragg.  He was born in Edale, Derbyshire, the son of William Henry Wragg (1883-1956) and his wife, Jessie née Marshall.   Eric recalled: ‘My father was a good cutler and my grandfather was a very proud man, they would both work for honour and not for money.  My father never made any money, we were always short’ (Answer, 1980¹).  During the depressed 1930s, Eric’s father had to take on part-time work (such as playing the piano every night in pubs) to earn a living.   

After the Second World War, Eric joined his father.   They operated as little mesters making knives for local shops and firms (such as Elliot, Petty, Taylor’s Eye Witness, and Morton), London retailers (such as Clements and Selfridge), and American customers.   Eric Wragg took over the business on the death of his father in 1956 and continued to make folding knives and Bowies (sometimes on a part-time basis) from a workshop at Mortons Scissors in West Street.  He retired in 1985.  His only son, John, did not follow him into the trade.

^1. Answer, Valerie, Sheffield’s Traditional Craftsmen (Sheffield, 1980)