Wilkinson Sword
as The Wilkinson Sword Co of 27 and 28 Pall Mall (1903), then 53 Pall Mall, London, SW. Factory at Oakley Works, Acton, London, W. (1922)
as The Wilkinson Cutlery Co Ltd of Tudor House, Rathbone Place, Oxford Street, London, W1 - Manufacturers: The Wilkinson Sword Co, of Acton. (1929)
as The Wilkinson Sword Co Ltd of Oakley Works, Southfield Road, Acton Green, London, W4. Telephone: Chiswick 1247. Cables: "Swordproof, London" (1947)
of Birmingham
1772 Henry Nock, who was an acclaimed gun maker, set up the business.
1804 James Wilkinson, who had been an apprentice, became Nock’s partner after marrying Nock's daughter. Wilkinson Sword were appointed Royal Gun makers to HM King George III.
1805 On Nock’s death, Wilkinson inherited the business. His son, Henry Wilkinson subsequently moved the company to Pall Mall and extended the business from bayonet making to sword manufacturing.
1879 By now, the business had moved to bigger premises in Chelsea and became the privately owned company called The Wilkinson Sword Co.
1880 Company incorporated.
1890s Wilkinson Sword steadily expanded its product range. By the turn of the century over 5,000 products were sold, from bayonets and swords to cut-throat razors and motorcycles.
1898 The revolutionary Wilkinson Sword safety razor was introduced.
The company diversified into a number of new products, including bicycles, typewriters and automobiles, as well as luxury motorcycles. The first Wilkinsons were designed for military reconnaissance by P G Tacchi, who was granted a patent for the design in 1908. Demonstrated to the British military in the Summer of 1908, the Wilkinson motorcycle failed to impress the authorities, despite optional accessories including a Maxim machine gun mounted on the handlebars. Undaunted, the company continued development and exhibited a new version a year later at the Stanley Clyde Motorcycle Show at the Agricultural Hall, Islington, London in 1909. This model had a 676cc four cylinder engine and was designated the 'TAC' (for 'Touring Auto Cycle'. An upgraded version of the military model was also exhibited, with a revolver holster fitted to the side of the seat.
A new engine was developed at their Oakley works in Chiswick for the luxury production Wilkinson in December 1911, designated the 'TMC' (for Touring Motor Cycle).
Wilkinson also diversified into light car production around this time and designed a substantial enclosed sidecar with leaf spring suspension as an option for the TMC. Only about 250 Wilkinsons were produced before the First World War restrictions brought the line to its end in the Spring of 1916 and the Wilkinson company had to produce thousands of bayonets for the war effort.
1914 Sword cutlers, gun and equipment makers. Specialities: everything for army or navy officers, outside cloths, guns, rifles, swords, revolvers. [1]
WWI. The company focused heavily on the war effort, with the provision of Armaments.
After the war Wilkinsons decided to continue to develop the in-line four engine but in a new car called the Deemster.
1922 British Industries Fair Advert for Wilkinson's Rustproof Pruners with Sword Steel and Stainless Steel Blades. All parts interchangeable. (Stand No. D.12) [2]
1929 Listed Exhibitor - British Industries Fair. Safety Razors, Razors, Safety Razor Blades, Razor Strops, Scissors, Hunting and Sheath Knives, Nail Nippers, Sword Sticks, Pruning Shears and Scissors. (Stand No. J.10) [3]
1939 Advert on this page for Razor. [4]
WWII. For the Second World War, Wilkinson Sword manufactured aircraft fire protection systems, commando knives and armoured clothing, including the famous Flak jacket used widely by US army and Air Force personnel.
An anticipated return to razor production after the war was temporarily thwarted by a brass shortage. In the interim, the company expanded its garden tools range before resuming razor production.
1947 Listed Exhibitor - British Industries Fair. Manufacturers of Safety-Razors, Pruning-Shears, Nail-Nippers, Ice-Skates, Swords. (Olympia, Ground Floor, Stand No. D.1656) [5]
1954 Advert on this page for Garden Shears. [6]
1956 Developed double-edge razor blade using Swedish stainless steel rather than a brass base, which revolutionized the market for razors[7]
1961 Swordsmiths, manufacturing "Wilkinson Sword" razor and razor blades and wide range of "Wilkinson Sword" garden tools. [8]
1973 Merger with British Match Corporation; bringing the 2 diversified companies together had questionable logic although it would allow Wilkinson to make use of British Match's established distribution networks[9]. The merger was cleared by the Monopolies and Mergers Commission[10].
See Also
- Wilkinson (Wilkinson Sword) for motorcycles.
Sources of Information
- ↑ 1914 Whitakers Red Book
- ↑ 1922 British Industries Fair Advert ccxxiv; and p85
- ↑ 1929 British Industries Fair p181
- ↑ [1] History World
- ↑ 1947 British Industries Fair p299
- ↑ [2] History World
- ↑ The Times, 24 May 1973
- ↑ 1961 Dun and Bradstreet KBE
- ↑ The Times, 24 May 1973
- ↑ The Times, 29 September 1973