I have been trying to find something, anything, out about George Birks, Sheffield Chartist and failed miserably. I want to know if he is the same man as the George Birks who married Ellen Crofts nee Hill in 1849. he was born in 1822 and was a table knife hafter. In 1861 he was imprisoned in the Town Hall on Waingate.
His step-grandson Walter Crofts was brought up by George and Ellen and went on to become the founder/secretary of the Table Knife Hafters Trade Association and was involved in the Workers Education Association. Walter was also an early member of the TUC.