Grace's Guide To British Industrial History

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Grace's Guide is the leading source of historical information on industry and manufacturing in Britain. This web publication contains 164,585 pages of information and 246,144 images on early companies, their products and the people who designed and built them.

Grace's Guide is the leading source of historical information on industry and manufacturing in Britain. This web publication contains 147,919 pages of information and 233,587 images on early companies, their products and the people who designed and built them.

Martin Diederich Rucker

From Graces Guide
October 1903. With a Bowden.

Martin Diederich Rucker (1855-1922 )

1855 Born in Stoke Newington, son of Martin Diederich Rucker

1880 May 22nd. Married at Blackfriars, Martin Diederich Rucker only son of Martin Diederich Rucker of Croydon to Emmie Lottie the eldest surviving daughter of Allen Page Nicholls.[1]

1881 Living at 4 Cedar Road, Tottenham: Martin Rucker (age 26 with no birth place listed), a Bicycle Agent. With his wife Emmey (age 26 born London). One servant. [2]

1882 BSA made 65 tricycles for Messrs. M. D. Rucker and Co. of London; the tricycle was known as "The Rucker".

1884 Bankrupt. 'Rucker, Martin Diederick, 82, Bethune-road, Stoke Newington, Middlesex, and Jackson, Herbert Soames, Finchley, Middlesex (trading as M. D. Rucker, Jun., and Company, 6, Letchford's-building, Bethnal Green, Middlesex). Bicycle and Tricycle Manufacturers'[3]. His father died the same year in Nottingham[4]

T. Harrison Lambert introduced M. D. Rucker to Humber and he became the manager of the company's Holborn Viaduct branch.

1892 Rucker became General Manager of Humber when Thomas Humber retired.

1895 E. T. Hooley, M. D. Rucker and Harry Lawson bought the assets of the Daimler Motor Syndicate‎ for £35,000 and formed the British Motor Syndicate.

1896 of Brambles, Walton-on-Thames. 'Director of public company'. Subscriber to shares in the Dunlop Pneumatic Tyre Co at its formation. [5]

1896 Along with the directors, Rucker was dismissed from Humber after the scandal about the Humber Extension Company.

1901 Living at Ifield Hall, Sussex: Martin D. Rucker (age 46 born Hackney), Living on Own means. With his wife Emmie L. (age 46 born Croydon). Also a visitor and eleven servants. [6]

1905 Declared bankrupt. Claims he made over £450,000 in the Dunlop Pneumatic Tyre Co promotion but has lost it on the Stock Exchange and with New and Mayne and the Pennington Cart patents[7] [8]

1905 August. A sitting was held the London Bankruptcy Court, on Tuesday, before Registrar Linklater for the public examination of Martin Diederich Rucker. In answer to Mr. E. S. Grey, Official Receiver, the debtor stated that he started business in 1882 in partnership a cycle manufacturer at Bethnal Green. He arranged with his creditors in 1885, paving 7s. Od. on claims to the amount of £3,000. In 1896 he paid the balance of the debts, with interest at 5 per cent. He became manager of the London branch of Humber and Co., and subsequently on the business being transferred to Humbers (Limited), he became general manager of that company at £800 a year, with commission. That employment ceased in ... when his income was £9,000 a year. In 1896 he was introduced Mr. E. Terah Hooley by Mr. Harrison Lambert, and became interested with him in the promotion of the Dunlop Pneumatic Tyre Company (Limited), under an arrangement for profit sharing. The gross profit on the deal was £3,000,000; the profit divisible between them was about £1,000,000. He received in "meal or malt" £451,241, of that sum £50,000 was represented by the yacht "Venetia," which afterwards sold to Mr. Whitaker Wright for £30,000. In further payment he took the King's yacht "Britannia,"' valued at £6,250 and afterwards sold it for £3,000. On the failure of Mr. Hooley his proof was admitted against the estate for £1,150. He sold that claim to Mrs. Hooley for 5,000 shares in the Siberian Gold Fields Company, Limited, which he afterwards sold for £500. In 1896 he purchased the Woodlands Estate Surrey, and became Master of the West Surrey Staghounds. He farmed land there and at Slyfield, Cobham, where he preserved game. He was also an owner and breeder of racehorses and a yacht-owner. He then possessed sufficient capital to justify his expenditure. It was true that he did not invest his capital and live upon the interest, but used it and lost in various speculative investments. In 1898 he registered himself as a limited company under the style of the Charlwood Stock and Dairy Company. Limited. It acquired the Woodlands stock and furniture and the Slyfield property. This was done with a view to his raising money by debentures instead of by bill of sale. He raised £8,000 on 10 per cent, bonds, and upon the realisation of the property only sufficient was realised to pay charges and current debts. In 1889 he moved to Ifield Hall, Sussex, rented by his wife at £305 a year, and in October 1904, he removed to Woodcroft, Earlswood, at a rental of £150 a year. His expenditure had been as follows: — Over Woodlands, to living, etc., £95,956; it sold for £53,250. resulting a loss of £38,706; over Sefton Lodge and tan gallon, purchased from the late Mr. Harry McCalmont, £36.049; lost over the purchase and sale of racehorses, £23,000. He lost £3,000 on the purchase and sale of carriage horses. A loan of £1,500 to former Master of the West Surrey Staghounds had not been repaid. Since 1899 he had carried on business Street as a commission agent, selling "anything he could." He had been a director Humbers (Limited), the Coupe and Dunlop Brougham Company (Limited), the Clement-Gladiateur Companv (Limited), the General Assurance and the Bradlev Motor Patents (Limited). He had used his wife's banking account since 1902. his own having then "run dry," and of his present liabilities £2,397 was due to his wife, £1.089 for law costs, £3,995 for personal debts and £3,307 upon guarantee. The examination was concluded.'[9]

1911 Living at Woodcote, Byfleet Road, Weybridge. Charles Fletcher Lumb (age 38 born London), a Director of Manufacturing Companies. With his wife Marguerite Lumb (age 31 born Havana, Cuba) and their son Charles Edward Lumb (age 4 month born Weybridge). Also visitors; Martin Diederich Rucker (age 56 born Stoke Newington), a Manufacture of Aeroplanes. With his wife (married 30 years with no children) Emmie Lottie Rucker (age 56 born Norwood). Three servants. [10]

1922 Died in Billericay[11]

See Also

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Sources of Information

  1. London Standard - Wednesday 26 May 1880
  2. 1881 Census
  3. [1]Gazette Issue 25390 published on the 26 August 1884. Page 28 of 44
  4. National Probate calendar
  5. The Times, Monday, May 11, 1896
  6. 1910 Census
  7. Nottingham Evening Post - Monday 10 July 1905
  8. Surrey Mirror - Friday 11 August 1905
  9. Surrey Mirror - Friday 11 August 1905
  10. 1911 Census
  11. Death Index