J. Irving England - Businessman, Philathropist,

Joseph I. England was born in Worcester, MA on  June 20, 1912, to Earl Gay and Arona Edythe (Quilliam) England. He attended Worcester schools and graduated from Worcester Boy's Trade High School.  Irving furthered his education at Fitchburg State College's Industrial Arts Program, and went on to work as an engineer for American Steel & Wire, in Worcester, and Simonds Machine Co. in Southbridge.  He also taught at Cole Trade High School in Southbridge for a time.

 Brookfield Machine, Inc. was founded by Irving in 1948.  Located at the end of Central St. in West Brookfield, the company designed and manufactured precision tools. Irving, a licensed  mechanical engineer continued to manage this company until a short time before his death on April 15, 1988.

Irving, not only founded and managed Brookfield Machine, Inc., but also enjoyed  many other interests and hobbies including photography, outdoor sports, and flying his own plane.  He was a federally licensed firearms dealer and collector.  Mr. England was involved in many professional, and community organizations, including the American Society of Tool Engineers, the Rotary Club of the Brookfields, the Baypath Lodge of  Masons, and the Melha Temple Shrine of Springfield.  He served for many years as a scouting coordinator for the Mohegan Council of Boy Scouts.  Generous with his wealth, he publicly supported many local causes in West Brookfield, including historical preservation, and the West Brookfield Volunteer Fire Department, and Rescue Squad.  He also privately helped fellow citizens and local organizations in need., seeing to it that Boy Scouts had uniforms, and that the local Rescue Squad met its annual fund raising goal. Today the J. Irving & Jane L. England Charitable Trust continues to contribute to worthy causes locally.


The photo below, courtesy of William Jankins, was most likely taken in Boston, in 1986 when Mr. England received a Massachusetts Historical Commission Preservation Award for his involvement in the restoration of the Rice Memorial Fountain located on the town common in West Brookfield.

Sen. Edward Kennedy and J. Irving England