Snippets of interest – British Manufacturing History

Category: Snippets of interest

24 Posts

Snippets of interest

Aluminium and hydroelectric power

May 26, 2023

Snippets of interest

The Festival of Britain 1951 – as a pivotal event

May 11, 2023

Snippets of interest

Lucas – King of the Road (and air)

February 18, 2023

Snippets of interest

The British Motor Industry and Semiconductors

January 26, 2023

Snippets of interest

Addressing obstacles to progress

December 24, 2022

Snippets of interest

The unexpected joys of research

December 8, 2022

I thrill when I read about British motor companies doing well. It is in my blood. I then pause to reflect. Successive British governments have neglected manufacturing, preferring to see salvation in financial services. This worked in the sense that the better paid in financial services made a great deal of money, which found its […]

The elephants in the manufacturing room

As I explore the successes of British manufacturing, I am always aware of the elephants in the room: slavery, factory conditions and global warming. The evil of Slavery provided cheap cotton to Manchester spinners and weavers and, in due course, to the mills powered by water and then by steam. The massive production of cotton […]

A view from the last Coronation that resonates today

By me, as I type, is a Coronation stool used by either my father or mother seventy years ago. My father, Major General Sir Leslie ‘Bill’ Williams was Representative Colonel Commandant RAOC although his day job was as export director of the Rootes Group with a particular focus on the Middle East. The photograph was […]

Century old textile factory powered by hydroelectricity – in Spain

The town of Anna some 60km inland from Valencia is blessed by ample supplies of water and spectacular waterfalls. The water was first used as a mill. It was then transformed to electricity generation with help from the Volta company for the nearby village and then to power a textile factory. It fell out of […]

A very affirming review from acclaimed author Andrew Lownie

I will thrilled to find this review on Amazon. Wide ranging and full of interest A clever idea to bookend the story of British manufacturing between the 1951 Great Exhibition and 1951 Festival of Britain. Based on extensive research and linking a whole plethora of British industries, this makes fascinating connections between the various drivers […]

British Manufacturing History

My exploration of the story of British Manfacturing

Category: Snippets of interest

Aluminium and hydroelectric power

Spark Festival Lincoln

The Festival of Britain 1951 – as a pivotal event

The Great Exhibition of 1851

Lucas – King of the Air

Textiles in Lancashire

Lucas – King of the Road (and air)

The British Motor Industry and Semiconductors

Addressing obstacles to progress

The unexpected joys of research