English Electric


The English Electric Company Limited was a British industrial manufacturer formed after World War I by amalgamating five businesses which, during the war, made munitions, armaments and aeroplanes.
It initially specialised in industrial electric motors and transformers, locomotives and traction equipment, diesel motors and steam turbines. Its products were later expanded to include consumer electronics, nuclear reactors, guided missiles, military aircraft and mainframe computers.
Two English Electric aircraft designs became landmarks in British aeronautical engineering; the Canberra and the Lightning. In 1960, English Electric Aircraft merged with Vickers and Bristol to form British Aircraft Corporation.
In 1968 English Electric's operations were merged with GEC's, the combined business employing more than 250,000 people.

Foundation

Aiming to turn their employees and other assets to peaceful productive purposes, the owners of a series of businesses decided to merge them forming The English Electric Company Limited in December 1918.

Components

English Electric was formed to acquire ownership of:
The owners of the component companies took up the shares in English Electric.

Planned activities of the combined businesses

was appointed managing director in March 1921 and chairman in April 1926. Initially J H Mansell of Coventry Ordnance Works, John Pybus of Phoenix Dynamo Manufacturing and W Rutherford of Dick, Kerr were joint managing directors.
The five previously independent major operations under their control had these principal capabilities:
  • Coventry Ordnance Works: the plant was built for the production of heavy armaments but was suitable for the manufacture of large generating units
  • Phoenix Dynamo Works: during the war production was shells and aeroplanes but by July 1919 had been returned to electric motors
  • Dick, Kerr and United Electric Car: special war work munitions, aeroplanes and metallic filament lamps, prior to the war locomotives and tram cars
  • Willans & Robinson: made steam turbines, condensers and diesel motors, there was a foundry
Together these businesses covered the whole field of electrical machinery from the smallest fan motor to the largest turbo-generator.
In November 1919, English Electric bought the Stafford works of Siemens Brothers Dynamo Works Ltd. In 1931 Stafford became English Electric's centre.
File:Flickr - nmorao - Locomotiva 1449, Poceirão, 2008.08.31.jpg|thumb|200px|Locomotiva 1449 N.º UIC: 9094 110 1449-3
However, there was no post-war boom in electrical generation. Though English Electric products were indeed in heavy demand, potential buyers were unable to raise the necessary capital funds. In 1922, a drastic reorganisation of the works was carried through and that managed to halve overheads. The Coventry Ordnance Works was practically closed down. Cables, lamps and wireless equipment were then in buoyant demand, but that would have been a new field for the company to enter. English Electric's business was in heavy electrical and mechanical plant. Both the 1926 general strike and the miners strike caused heavy losses. In 1929 part of the Coventry Ordnance Works was sold and the pattern shop at Preston, neither of which was required.
By the end of 1929, it was clear the only solution to English Electric's financial difficulties was a financial restructure. The restructure acknowledged the loss of much of the shareholders' capital and brought in new capital to re-equip with new plant and machinery. In the event, an American syndicate fronted by Lazard Brothers and Co. bankers came up with the new capital, but left control in the hands of the previous shareholders.
In June 1930, four fresh directors were appointed, filling four new vacancies.
Ten days later, there was a formal announcement of an American arrangement. "English Electric, with works at Preston, Stafford, Rugby, Bradford and Coventry, had entered into a comprehensive arrangement" with Westinghouse Electric International Company of New York and Westinghouse Electric & Manufacturing Company of East Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania US, whereby there would be an exchange of technical information between the two organisations on steam turbines and electrical apparatus. It was made clear that this technical and manufacturing link did not carry with it any control from America. In recognition of the exchange arrangement, Westinghouse had offered to provide further capital, which would be less than 10% of the total, including that new capital organised earlier by Lazard Brothers.

George Nelson

Seven weeks later the chairman, Lionel Hichens, who had temporarily replaced John Pybus in 1927, retired at the end of July 1930 and was replaced by Sir Holberry Mensforth as a director and as chairman. It was then announced that George H. Nelson had been appointed to the board and would take up the position of managing director early in October. Mensforth had been taken away from his position as general manager of American Westinghouse Trafford Park Manchester, where George Nelson had been his apprentice, in 1919 by the Minister of Transport. The minister had given Mensforth the responsibility of easing the transition of the nation's munitions businesses back into peacetime industry. It was Mensforth who had arranged the technical exchange agreement and extra capital with Westinghouse. They began to reorganise.

Relocations

The main base of the company's operation was moved from London to Stafford including the sales departments, general and factory accounts and the principal executives previously in London. The managing director was to divide his time between the various works but would be mainly in Stafford or in London
On 30 December 1930 the engineering shops at Preston closed leaving the following distribution:
  • Preston: specialists in high-tension direct-current railway electrification, rolling stock and trolley buses Dick, Kerr
  • Stafford: medium-sized electrical plant, transformers and switchgear and large turbo-alternator work Siemens
  • Rugby: prime movers, steam turbines and condensing plant, Fullagar and Diesel engines and water turbine plant Willans & Robinson
  • Bradford: small motors and control gear and traction motor and traction control work Phoenix
  • Coventry: engineers small tools, zed fuse transferred to Stafford in 1931 'C.O.W.'''''

    Radiators and cookers

Manufacture of domestic apparatus got underway at both Stafford and Bradford during 1931. They were followed in 1934 by a range of household meters of various kinds. In the same report to shareholders, the chairman pointed out that every day 330 more homes adopted electricity for heating cooking and lighting and between 1929 and 1935 the production of electricity in Britain had increased by 70 per cent.

Recovery

1933 proved to be the first of four years of real achievement. At the beginning of July 1933, Mensforth stepped down and George Nelson took up the post of chairman. Nelson remained managing director. Mensforth kept a seat on the board from which he later retired at the end of 1936.
English Electric's recovery was noted by commentators as remarkable. During 1936, past preference dividends had been brought up to date: they were English Electric's first dividend since a 1924 dividend on ordinary shares. The balance sheet at the end of 1936 showed liquidity was in a strong position and the chairman told shareholders that the rate of production in the factories for the last three months of the year was double the rate of production in the first three months.
During 1938, the first dividend was paid on ordinary shares since 1924.
In the summer of 1938, a large display advertisement confidently declared:

World War II

Airframes

The first steps to strengthen the Royal Air Force had been taken in May 1935 and English Electric was brought into the scheme for making airframes working in conjunction with Handley Page. The chairman reported to shareholders that though both Dick, Kerr and Phoenix were involved in the aircraft business during and shortly after the previous war the problems had so changed they were now completely new to the company. He also noted as he ended his address that the demand for domestic appliances including cookers, breakfast cookers, washing machines and water heaters was growing progressively.
The Preston works without subcontracting made more than 3,000 Hampden and Halifax aircraft.

Aero engines

In December 1942, English Electric bought the ordinary shares of D. Napier & Son Limited. Mr H G Nelson, son of English Electric chairman George H Nelson, was appointed managing director.
Napier's Sabre engines were used in Typhoon and Tempest aircraft and Lion engines in Motor Torpedo Boats

Tanks, locomotives, submarines, ships, power generation

The Stafford works made thousands of Covenanter, Centaur and Cromwell tanks as well as precision instruments for aircraft, electric propulsion and electrical equipment.
The Rugby works made Diesel engines for ships, submarines and locomotives, steam turbines for ships and turbo-alternator sets for power stations.
Bradford made electric generators for ships' auxiliaries and a wide variety of other naval and aviation material.

Employees

In April 1945, English Electric employed 25,000 persons in its four main works. Subsequently the chairman revealed that the peak employment number during wartime had been 45,000 when including Napier's people. C. P. Snow was appointed director of scientific personnel in 1944. Later he was physicist-director, a position he held until 1964.