Lamson Store Service Co

1881 American, William Stickney Lamson, filed a patent for a system with inclined rails for moving cash in a wooden ball from counter to cashier in shops.

1882 The Lamson Cash Carrier Company was incorporated.

1884 The British company was founded. John Magrath Kelly became an agent for the Lamson Cash Ball system in London, operating from a small private hotel in Craven Street.

By 1886, John Kelly had premises in Guilford Street, Bloomsbury with the cellar as a shop, the ground floor as factory, and the first floor as accommodation for his family.

1888 Business flourished; on 9 August, the Lamson Store Service Co Ltd was established at 1 Charlotte Street, Bedford Square, London, WC. The capital was £85,000 divided into shares of £10 each. The company had rights to the ball system for the "Eastern Hemisphere", i.e. Europe, Africa, Australia, New Zealand and the Middle East. UK Patent 18566 was granted to it. This comprised a wire-rail system for moving cash and receipts between shop counter and cashier.

1889 The Lamson Paragon Supply Co was established in London, by amalgamation of the Paragon Check Book Co (established 1886 in the City of London) and the Lamson Store Service Co, with rights to salesbook patents and manufacturing know-how throughout Europe and Australia.

1893 Lamson Paragon built a factory in Canning Town, and factories elsewhere in England and overseas.

c.1894 Kelly started selling Lamson Rapid Wire systems in the UK.

1897 The Bostedo Package and Cash Carrier Company brought its system to Britain.

1899 Lamsons bought out its interests in the UK, on 5 May, and established the Lamson Pneumatic Tube Co. Louis Gordon Bostedo (merchant) was one of the subscribers and the first managing director was John Kelly. The registered office was 20 Cheapside.

1901 Lamson Engineering Australia Pty Ltd was established as a branch of its London parent.

1905 The Lamson Despatch Company (NZ) became another branch. Originally the head office was in Wellington but in 1963 it relocated to Auckland and a branch was established in Christchurch.

Lamson Engineering SA was based in Johannesburg.

1911 The Lamson directors closed both the store service and pneumatic tube factories at King's Cross and moved all manufacturing to a new site at Hythe Road, Willesden Junction. There were successive enlargements and additional premises were purchased at 20/21 Hythe Road.

The Lamson Store Service Co, the Lamson Pneumatic Tube Co and Lamson Paragon Supply Co were operated separately although the chairman was the same (Sir Alan McLean M.P., from 1912).

1934 A serious fire happened at the factory. About seventy people were said to be employed there but the next day Lamson stated that the fire was confined to one section and practically all the employees, who numbered several hundreds, remained at work.

1937 The Lamson Engineering Co Ltd was incorporated as a private company on 20 January, acquiring the business and assets of the Lamson Store Service Co Ltd and Lamson Pneumatic Tube Co Ltd. Its offices were at 132 Cheapside.

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