NINETY YEARS OF ENGINEERING  -  THE STORY OF DAVEY, PAXMAN & CO LTD

This history of Davey, Paxman & Co was written by Peter L Woodall, then an employee of the Company, in 1955-56.  Whilst reading it one needs to bear in mind it was written nearly fifty years ago, when the world was very different from the one we know today.

At least four versions of the history, each with very minor differences, circulated in the Company in the 1980s and 1990s.  The version below is the earliest known, taken from a typescript dated 6/4/56 with handwritten annotations.  The typist’s reference on the document is ‘PLW/IGJ’, showing Mr Woodall himself was the originator.

The history refers to a set of illustrations.  I have never seen this set, and the photographs are not known to exist as a discrete collection in the Paxman archive.

The notes in italics enclosed in round brackets are mine.

Richard Carr
28th January 2002

NINETY YEARS OF ENGINEERING
THE STORY OF DAVEY, PAXMAN & CO LTD

In the Suffolk village of Earl Soham in the 1790s James Paxman flourished as a "Machine Maker", building agricultural implements and hand and light power driven tools.  After the turn of the century he moved to Elmstead, a village just East of Colchester, and became the proprietor of a small smithy, fitting and wheelwright's shop, where he continued in business until 20th April 1838.  On this day he entered into an agreement with Samuel Prike, "Wheelwright", also of the Parish of Elmstead, wherein Paxman agreed to transfer his small works to Prike upon the latter paying an agreed valuation of £29. 1s. 2d.  This sum was paid and the bill receipted by Paxman on the 23rd of the same month.  Little or nothing more is known of the life of James Paxman senior, and he died in 1849 leaving a widow, three sons and two daughters, the eldest boy, James Noah being then in his 17th year.

James Noah Paxman was born in Colchester on March 7th, 1832.  Leaving school at the age of fifteen, he began his apprenticeship with Thomas Catchpool, an ironmonger of Colchester.  Later, Catchpool was joined by Juno Thompson at 151, High Street.  Young Paxman derived the utmost benefit from his apprenticeship, varied as it undoubtedly was, and this fundamental grounding served him in good stead for the rest of his life.  He was appointed Works Manger at the age of 19, a post he occupied with distinction until 1865, when he resigned and founded the present firm.
 
The Great Exhibition of 1851 held in Hyde Park, made a tremendous impression on the young man and influenced him for the rest of his life; participation of his Company in exhibitions and fairs in many parts of the world bears witness of this.

While with Catchpool & Thompson, James Paxman was responsible for two unusual ventures.  The first in 1853 covered the design and construction of a steam carriage for the late Captain Norrell, powered by a small engine with duplex cylinders, but this was banned from the roads by the local authorities.  The second venture was much more successful and consisted of designing and fitting twin steam engines in a tug boat to work the river traffic for the Steam Navigation Commissioners between Sudbury and Colchester.  At that time, navigation of the river was difficult due to the many bends and shoals, and the production of a suitable shallow draught boat to fulfil such operating conditions was a great accomplishment.  It commenced work on the River Stour in 1861 and operated very successfully for many years.  Therefore when James Paxman founded his own company in Colchester in 1865 as a general engineer, he already possessed considerable experience as a practical mechanic and as a designer.

In the first few weeks of the new Company, the following announcements appeared in the local press:

STANDARD IRON WORKS
CULVER STREET, COLCHESTER
Important to Farmers, Millers, Builders and all using Machinery or Iron & Brass Work of every description.
DAVEY, PAXMAN & DAVEY
beg to announce to the inhabitants of Colchester and the Public generally that they are carrying on at the above works, Iron & Brass Foundrying, the Manufacture and Repair of Steam-engines & Boilers, Combined Thrashing Machines, Agricultural, Mill Work, Hydraulic Engineering, etc., etc., etc., and they hope by combining a thorough practical knowledge with the strictest attention to their business, punctually in the execution of orders with the assistance of First class Machinery and Labour, to merit that support which they respectfully solicit.

Paxman's first permanent Works, the Standard Ironworks, was situated in Culver Street, in a brick and timber building.  He had in partnership with him two brothers, Henry Davey and Charles M Davey, and traded under the names of "Davey, Paxman & Davey, Engineers".  Several years later, Mr T J Balls joined them and the title became Davey, Paxman & Co.  The brothers Davey retired in 1876, Mr Balls doing so in 1885, and the sole management then devolved upon Mr Paxman, at which time the eldest son, William, joined his father.  In 1897 the concern became a limited company under the name of Davey, Paxman & Co Ltd.

Not long after his establishment in Culver Street, Mr Paxman allowed Mr Arthur G Mumford to share part of his Works, and when Paxman's moved to a new site in 1876, Mr Mumford took over the whole building and flourished as a manufacturer of marine engines and pumps until 1933.

Paxman's new factory was also called the Standard Ironworks.  The site, which had previously been a brickyard, was close to Hythe Quay and the astute enterprise of the founder is exemplified by his re-opening the brickyard and producing all the bricks necessary for building the new works.  Upon the factory's completion, the brickyard plant was dismantled and the space later used for extensions.  The shops and works at this stage were substantially built of red brick and stone and covered an area of eleven acres.

Among the early products of the new Company were many types of agricultural machinery, mill gearing, steam engines, boilers, and iron and brass castings.

The transportation problems in the days before metalled roads were common, presented various problems, and teams of up to twelve horses were required to haul a truck carrying a boiler.  This also resulted in clashes, firstly with the Colchester Council - due to damage to the road surface caused by the heavy loads, and secondly, with the Rector of St Leonards church - because of the damage reputed to have been caused to the foundations of this ancient church by the same heavy loads.  On the other hand, the river was used as the main highway to transport much of the heavier equipment.  All coal and steel plate was brought by boat and unloaded at Hythe Quay.

One of the most interesting implements built was the Paxman Patent Steam Corn Dryer, which when exhibited in 1869 at the Royal Agricultural Society's Shows at Manchester and Derby, won a silver medal at each.  In local shows at Leicester and, appropriately enough, at Colchester, in the same season, the design took first prize.  The Partners claimed that "This machine will dry well and without injury all kinds of Grain, Seeds, Coffee Berries, Brewer's Grain, Spent Hops, etc.".  The grain fed into the hopper at one end of the dryer, traversed a steam-heated cylinder which slowly rotated, the dried grain being delivered at the other end through a spout.  A corn dryer, incidentally, was the first job started on that morning when the Works first opened on 29th September 1865, and was later covered by Patent 2023 of 1867.

By 1870, the first steam engine unit appeared and had a very favourable press: "The Engineer" saying of the vertical boiler on which the engine was mounted, "We have no hesitation in pronouncing it the best vertical boiler yet produced".  The views of this interesting little power plant, including a section of the multitubular boiler with curved tubes, are to be seen in Fig. 2 - a reproduction incidentally of one of the firm's typical advertisements at this period.  This boiler was 2' 6" dia. x 6' 6" high, with a heating surface of 73.9 sq. ft.  The vertical engine attached to it had a single cylinder, 6¼" bore x 12" stroke and ran at 115 rpm.  When tested at the Royal Agricultural Show in that year, the plant proved to be the most economical tested, requiring only 6.0 pounds of coal per bhp hour.

Mr Paxman visited the Kimberley Diamond Mines in 1871 and installed the first machinery to be sent from Colchester.  The association with Kimberley was to be long and profitable, embracing the export of Paxman boilers, engines, and particularly, diamond washing and sorting equipment.  This market was finally closed by the outbreak of the Boer War.  Similar machinery for washing and sorting rubies was supplied to Burma.

With the Paxman interest in mining, it was not surprising that the manufacture of winding on hauling machinery became an important outlet for the Company's products.  Ten types of engines were offered, each in several cylinder sizes.  Complementary to the winding machinery, pit head frames were also built, together with pit cages and trucks.  Other mining equipment offered included Centrifugal Roller Quartz Mills, Stone Breakers, Ore Crushers, Ore Feeders, Fuel Vanners, Grizzlers, Amalgamators, and other implements peculiar to gold mining in particular.  

The immediate success of these stationary vertical engines and boilers encouraged the Company to increase its range to include horizontal stationary and portable engines.  A patent water heater for fitting to any power plant was also added to the list in 1875, and a charming little wood-cut of these is shown in Fig. 3.

The first portable engine was exhibited at the Cardiff Show of the Royal Agricultural Society in 1872, the boiler being of the locomotive type but fitted with ten Paxman water tubes; these tubes being curved and connecting the crown of the firebox with the sides, their function being to break up the gases on their way to the smoke tubes.  That the idea was successful there is no doubt, as the boiler returned the excellent figure of just over 10 pounds of water evaporated per pound of coal and the technical press said, "This, Mr Paxman's first competitive portable engine has proved in every respect so successful that we advise older firms to mind what they are about, or they may find themselves seriously beaten in the next competition".

Among the many large public and private installations powered by the Company should be mentioned the group of compound condensing steam engines, coupled to compressors, together with the attendant battery of boilers for the Compagnie de l'Air Comprimé Systèmme Popp at St Fargeau, Paris.  This installation developed about 4,000 horse power and supplied compressed air for distributing through the streets of Paris driving various prime movers.  It comprised of twelve 400 hp horizontal coupled compound girder engines, steam being supplied by Paxman Economic boilers.

At the Great International and at other London exhibitions at which Paxman machinery was on show, including the Fisheries, Health, Invention, Colonial, Italian, Royal Military, Royal Naval, The Mining, French, German, Electrical and "Venice in London", many were dependent upon the Paxman exhibit for illumination of various courts, gardens and halls.

The engines were also exhibited at many trade fairs held overseas and in the provinces, including Paris, Philadelphia, Sydney, Calcutta, Amsterdam, Tasmania, Austria, Sweden and Chile, where they collected an imposing array of gold and silver medals and other awards.

For 30 years (1880-1910) Mr Paxman travelled extensively, opening and visiting Paxman agencies in Europe and North Africa, and due to his energy and initiative the export market increased considerably.

The next type of portable was designed to the unusual form seen in Fig. 4.  The single cylinder and its covers were all jacketed and the whole of the engine and motion was secured to a wrought iron frame of I-sections, these in turn being bolted to the boiler by suitable brackets.  Therefore, simply by slackening a few bolts, the whole engine and motion could be removed from the boiler.  At the Royal Agricultural Show at Newcastle-upon-Tyne in 1887, the Paxman engine, under the personal care of Mr Paxman, returned the excellent figure of only 2.528 pounds of coal per brake horse power per hour when running at its normal speed of 132 rpm.  A compound engine with cylinders 5¾" and 9¼" with 14" stroke returned the even better figure of 1.804 pounds per brake horse power per hour at 134 rpm, using steam at 150 pounds per square inch.  As a result, the single cylinder engine carried off an award of £100 and the compound engine £200.  The designing, building and testing of this engine was accomplished in eight weeks.

As time went on, the horizontal engine began to appear in various forms, including compound, cross-coupled compound, tandem compound and so on, the exhausters or compressors were mounted in tandem behind the steam cylinder or cylinders.  An example of a typical horizontal engine is shown in Fig. 5, which illustrates the famous "Colchester" horizontal engine of which very many have been made for all parts of the world.  Being self-contained on a girder frame, it required only a simple and cheaply made foundation.  This engine was made in eleven sizes ranging from 10 to 150 horse power.

Often a particular type of horizontal engine would be direct-coupled or connected by gearing to a winding drum so that lifting or hauling for any specific purpose could be carried out.  Usually the drum or drums were mounted on the crankshaft and between the cylinders when the engine was of the compound cross-coupled type.

With the introduction of the Lentz valve gear at the Paris Exhibition in 1900, a great 
saving in fuel consumption was shown and soon afterwards the Standard Ironworks commenced the manufacture of the Paxman-Lentz engines.  Fig. 6 shows a very fine example of a cross-coupled compound mill engine of 1,000 IHP, fitted with Lentz valves.

The Paxman engine was designed to use high pressure and highly super-heated steam, and a figure as low as 10.34 pounds of steam per indicated horse power per hour being obtained on test.  Single cylinder engines ranged from a cylinder bore and stroke of 13" x 24" to 29" x 54", and the compound from 9" and 15½" x 18" to 29" and 48" x 54", the last producing a normal output of 1,970 IHP; many of these engines are still operating at the present time.

The early years of the twentieth century saw the steam age at its zenith, and while there was feverish competition to produce plant of greater efficiency, each and every component part was constructed with meticulous care: much of the engine was hand-built by a single squad of men, and functional design was for a future age.  All brass and steel parts were highly polished and the boilers and cylinders were clad in sheet steel painted and lined in contrasting colours, and finally embellished with a highly coloured replica of the Company's badge.

At this stage it would not be inappropriate to make reference to the great contribution to the prosperity of the Company, brought about by an agreement between Mr James Paxman and Mr Thomas Bell Lightfoot and the Linde British Refrigeration Company to manufacture refrigerating machinery: horizontal and vertical Ammonia Compressors driven by steam engines.  This work started in 1890 by the supply of a 10" x 17" horizontal, double-acting ammonia compressor driven by a Paxman girder or Class B steam engines, through a common crankshaft, for Messrs Prices & Co.

This side of the business quickly developed and a wide range of compressor units was designed and supplied to all the main ports and distributing centres, both in this country and overseas, and on board ship, many of the units supplied being a combination of a self-contained compressor, steam engine and condenser with ammonia coils and, in some cases, complete with boilers.

About the year 1900, the manufacture of carbonic acid compressors was commenced; these were comparatively small machines for cold stores and butchers; those for marine purposes were larger and steam or electric motor driven and included installations for the British Admiralty and Japanese Navy.

In the year 1930 a new range of vertical, single-acting, high speed ammonia compressors was launched, designed for two, three or four grouped cylinders driven by oil engine or motor.  These compressors proved a great success and are still produced by the Lightfoot Refrigeration Co Ltd for such a variety of undertakings as nylon and ice cream manufacture and skating rinks, and form an important part of our present day manufacturing programme.

Parallel with the development of the horizontal engine, the vertical type developed over the years, and an excellent example is depicted in Fig. 7, illustrating the "Windsor" engine in its compound form.  They were all highly finished and designed for running over long periods, without adjustment, when driving electrical generating plant.

Other totally enclosed high speed engines with forced lubrication were another speciality and were made in both two-crank compound and three-crank triple expansion types and a number were made for various electricity undertakings and naval dockyards at the beginning of the century.  They could be supplied up to 3,000 IHP.

Perhaps the best known vertical engine made at the Standard Ironworks was the "Paxman-Peache" patent high speed, single-acting engine, which was also totally enclosed with forced lubrication.  How simple the engine looks is shown by Fig. 9 which is a view of a group of "Paxman-Peache" engines in a typical power station of the period.

The development of the portable engine was always being fostered as were the two derived types, the overtype and the undertype.  A fine example of the undertype is to be seen in Fig. 10.  Built upon a girder frame and made in sections and bolted together, they were supplied up to 60 Nominal horse power.  The cylinders were compounded, steam jacketed and each had its separate valve chest.  Paxman's Patent Automatic expansion gear was fitted to the high pressure cylinder controlled by the governor so that the cut-off was always proportional to the load.  In the size mentioned the cylinders were 16" and 25" x 24" and the normal running speed was 90 rpm.

One of the handiest types of steam engine ever devised is the humble traction engine and as may be imagined, there was a Paxman example, illustrated in Fig. 11.  The general purpose machine had a single cylinder, four shafts in the transmission and was single geared on the last motion.  A differential was fitted on the right hand side of the rear axle.  These useful machines were available in five sizes ranging from 5 to 10 NHP.  To comply with the Heavy Motor Car Order, a five ton steam tractor was produced with a single cylinder 6" x 9", three shafts in the transmission and, like the heavier traction engines, used steam at 160 pounds per square inch.  For sustained haulage, there was a 7 NHP road locomotive with compound cylinders, 6" and 10½" x 12", taking steam at 180 psi.  A special single cylinder "Colonial" traction engine was made and exported to many parts of the world, having extra heating surface thus enabling it to use as fuel, straw and similar waste products.

Another very interesting example of agricultural machinery, and one derived mainly from the traction engine, was the light type Darby Digger designed and made at the Standard Ironworks under the personal direction of the late Mr Thomas Churchman Darby.  It took the form seen in Fig. 12 and was also sometimes known as the "Colchester" digger.  It comprised two sets of digging forks operated by built-up levers receiving their motion directly from the engine crankshaft, one being 90 degrees out of phase with the other.

Special productions always have an appeal, and therefore the special portable engine depicted in Fig. 13 is included and represents an electric light engine supplied to travelling showmen.  The outfit was complete with DC generator mounted on a small front platform with the switchboard fixed to the end panel of the side curtain boards.  The other end board was hinged and could be strutted up as shown to form a shelter for the attendant.  A side framing served as a fixing for the drop boards on each side, and from this framing the roof or canopy was supported on the favourite four-square twisted brass columns.  The whole plant was beautifully finished in the varied brilliant hues so beloved by the showman.

In 1905 the Standard Ironworks, in collaboration with the late F Bretherton, produced the very fine and efficient five ton steam wagon seen in Fig. 14.  It was made to Bretherton's own design and for his own firm of Bretherton & Bryan, London, N.W.  It had a locomotive type boiler fired from the top via a control chute and worked at 200 psi.  The engine was an under-mounted horizontal compound, having cylinders 5" and 7¾" x 9" with the steam chests below the cylinders as in some Great Eastern Locomotives.  This wagon was exhibited at the Agricultural Hall Motor Exhibition in March 1906 and with the wide flare to its chimney top was a most distinguished looking vehicle.  Bretherton, incidentally, was an engineer and designer of note, and after the First World War was consultant to Messrs Robey & Co Ltd, of Lincoln, on the design and production of their famous overtype compound steam wagon.  Old employees and friends will note the background in Fig. 14 which shows the old entrance to the main offices, and on the right hand side the Work's yard crane traction engine.

In 1923 a railway goods locomotive was built for the Ravenglass and Eskdale Railway, this was the first 2-8-2 locomotive to run on a British railway and was a 1/3 scale model of a projected main line locomotive; an additional point of interest was the use of the Paxman poppet valve and valve gearing.  The locomotive weighed nearly 6 tons and measured 23 feet in length, having a tractive effort of 21,000 lbs. capable of pulling a load of 70 tons on the level.  This was followed by seven railway locomotives made for the Romney, Hythe & Dymchurch Railway, having a gauge of 15".  These are among the best known of all the Paxman steam engines and every reader must at one time or another have seen illustrations if not the actual locomotives; a view of one is included in Fig. 15.  The first five had two simple cylinders, 5¼" x 8½", and the last two - three cylinders of the same size, but later the middle cylinder was blanked off.  The last was made in 1927, and was also the last steam engine to leave the Standard Ironworks.

James Paxman died on the 30th March, 1922, in his 91st year, after a long, active and fruitful life.  His last years were spent in partial retirement at Bournemouth.  How much had he been responsible for!  Some of his achievements have already been noted, but the following landmarks are worthy of mention.

He pioneered the fitting of boiler tubes without ferrules and the use of steel for locomotive type boilers in place in Lowmoor iron and copper.  He was presented to King Oscar of Sweden in 1871, receiving from his hands the Gold Medal at the Swedish Exhibition.  The Paxman Economic Boiler was the precursor of all other economic boilers.  One of his steam engines was installed in Windsor Castle and Queen Victoria permitted this range of engines to be called the Windsor Engine.  When Colchester's Moot Hall was re-built the cost of the Tower and statuary was borne by Mr Paxman and called the Victoria Tower, again with the gracious permission of the Queen.  He was in politics a staunch liberal, but in 1901 he visited America, solely to study the question of Tariffs; on his return he, with Joseph Chamberlain, left the Liberal party and became a member of the Executive Committee for Tariff Reform.

He engendered in his workmen and apprentices a love for accuracy and good workmanship, and this to the benefit of engineering not only in his own Works, but also in spheres outside, as evidenced by the careers of some of his employees, who later left the Standard Ironworks.

For instance, Harry S Broom and Jethro Wade (one of the foremen) commenced in business on their own account in High Wycombe and established the firm of Broom & Wade Ltd.  There were, too, W Duddell, who became renowned in the field of electrical research, P Bjorling, an authority in hydraulics, and Loughnan St L Pendred, for many years editor of "The Engineer" and at one time President of the Institute of Mechanical Engineers and President of the Newcomen Society for the study of the History of Engineering and Technology.

For many years, Mr Paxman had resided at Stisted Hall near Braintree.  He was elected Alderman in 1892, and was twice Mayor of Colchester in 1887 and 1897 - and Sheriff for Essex in 1903/4.  He was twice married and left a widow and three sons and two daughters.  Two of the sons were to carry on his great traditions - Major William Paxman, who was then a Director, and Mr Edward Paxman, then a student at Cambridge University.

During his last years, much of the management of the Company devolved upon Major William Paxman and Mr P A Sanders later to become Sir Percy Sanders, who was appointed as Deputy Chairman of the Company in 1920.  (Deputy Chairman when this document was written, April 1956.)

The period from 1914 onwards saw many important changes in the industry, and it is not surprising that these affected Paxman's greatly.  Under the leadership of Mr Sanders considerable expansion was made during the war and the output of the Company was devoted to the manufacture of armaments and equipment for home and allied governments.  It was, in the early days of the war, one of three firms entrusted by the Admiralty with secret work.  Records showing the class of work undertaken include complete quick-firing guns and breech mechanisms for other naval guns, submarine mines, electric contact mines, depth charge plungers, kites, paravanes and otters, all used in connection with mine warfare.  Engines and boilers for 'Standard' ships, tank hulls, shells with primer and nose pieces in vast quantities and complete boiler plants for Admiralty and War Office installations.

After the war, Paxman's joined the Agricultural & General Engineers Ltd (AGE), a combine of fourteen firms all actively engaged in similar manufacture.  This combine, founded in a period of expanding world markets, had a centralised management and selling organisation in London.  The member firms were, in principle, to confine their activities to pre-determined channels, thus destroying to a great degree the initiative and flexibility which had resulted in the prosperity of not only Paxman's but the other member firms.  In the changing scene of the 1920s, the combine did not prove flexible enough in its operation and it was brought to penury in the Chancery Division of October 1932, Paxman's thereby losing the large sums they had invested in the combine and, though they were as an individual company still prospering, they fell with the rest of the Combine.

The period immediately following the failure of the AGE was extremely difficult, and the continuance of the Company and its subsequent reorganisation was the result of the initiative, drive and financial assistance of Mr Saunders.

The Company was re-formed soon after, under the Chairmanship of Lord Goschen and under the active direction of Mr P A Sanders and Mr E P Paxman.  The rapid expansion of the Company required an increase in the available capital and thus Sir Bernard Greenwell joined the Board in 1937.  Sir Bernard's stay with the Company was not long, as he died in 1940 and his son, Sir Peter, then on active service, disposed of his shares to Messrs Ruston & Hornsby Ltd of Lincoln, who then gained the controlling interest in the Company.  The two companies then formed an association, each being responsible for the development of complementary ranges of diesel engines and other products.

However, whilst these changes were taking place in the financial structure of the Company, the technical advance proceeded unabated and this was due mainly to the drive and initiative of Mr Edward Paxman, the youngest son of James, who, having finished his studies at Oundle and St John's College, Cambridge, where he obtained a first class honours in mechanical engineering, spend some time with Metropolitan-Vickers Electrical Co Ltd and the Blackstone Co Ltd of Stamford, gaining experience in the design of the compression ignition engine.  On his return to Colchester in 1926, he joined the Company as Chief Engineer and started on the design of this type of engine which, in later years, was to become his ruling interest and in the development of which he became one of the leading names.

However, the manufacture of oil engines really began in 1904, when a horizontal engine to use "light spirits" was offered to the public.  Benzine, benzoline, petrol, gasoline, naphtha or any similar fuel having a specific gravity not less than 0.8 were defined as "Light Spirits".  Fig. 16 shows an early benzine engine with a removable cylinder liner, water jacket and balance cranks.  Magneto ignition was used with variable timing while the engine was running.  At full economic load, fuel consumption was from 0.06 to 0.07 of a pint per brake horse power hour.

Engines to run on town or producer gas were made at the same time and offered with a single cylinder or with two cylinders cross-coupled.  A view of the latter layout is to be seen in Fig. 17.  There were six sizes in this range, from 136 bhp normal working load, to 270 bhp.  Governing was effected by means of the Paxman patent throttle governor which controlled the amount of opening given to the gas valve, thus determining the strength of the mixture delivered to the engine and the power developed.  Single cylinder engines were listed from 2½ to 135 bhp.  With producer gas the effective bhp was slightly less and the plant necessary for generating the gas could also be made and supplied for use with any engine.  In many cases separate producer gas plants were made and supplied for use with other makes of gas engine.

The Paxman heavy oil engine incorporated many novel features and such engines have been built from 1914 onwards.  It is not often that a steam engine detail can be applied successfully to a heavy oil engine, but such was the case with the Paxman engine, where the exhaust valve mechanism used on the larger steam engines was also incorporated on the oil engines.

The injection system was based on the Blackstone & Carter Patent, and is shown diagrammatically in Fig. 19. It is usually known as the "Spring Injection" Device.  In operation, a metered quantity of fuel oil is delivered by a governed pump at about 10/15 psi to the chamber on the cylinder head, where it is totally confined and only subjected to pressure immediately prior to injection.  Injection occurs at about 1,000 psi and produces a prolonged and almost perfect combustion.

These famous vertical engines were supplied with from one to ten cylinders and ranging from 35 to 1,166 normal horse power respectively, and a view of a typical engine is seen in Fig. 17.

The first of the spring injection, vertical, heavy oil engines was produced in 1925, having a single cylinder, 10" x 15¼", rated at 40 bhp, running at a speed of 330 rpm.  This was followed by a three cylinder engine used in the Company's power house for test and experimental purposes.

A single cylinder unit was soon after installed in a gravel pit at Greenhithe in Kent, followed by a two cylinder, 80 hp engine installed at Severall's Mental Hospital near Colchester.  In 1927 a single cylinder engine was exhibited at the British Industries Fair and later in the same year a single 9½" (another source suggests this should be 8½”) x 12" engine was produced, developing 25 bhp at 360 rpm.  The fourth range of engines in this series also appeared in 1927, having a cylinder 15½" x 20", developing 115 bhp per cylinder at 300 rpm.  In 1928 a six cylinder engine of this last range was exhibited at the B.I.F., this being the largest at the Fair.

The unit installed at Severall's Hospital was regarded as a showpiece to which prospective customers could be taken during their visit to Colchester.  This unit was under the care of Mr Beaching, an excellent chief engineer whose power house could always be relied upon to be a credit to himself and to the Company.  On the particular day in question, he was informed that Mr Edward Paxman and a party of influential guests were on the way out to see the engine running, and the engine attendant was immediately instructed to start up.

The procedure adopted was to turn, by means of a heavy steel bar, the six foot diameter flywheel until it was in the starting position, i.e. the piston just over top dead centre, and to remove the bar; - this was important, before admitting starting air.

Mr Paxman arriving with his guests a few minutes later, uneasy at not hearing the engine running, rushed inside to find the attendant lying unconscious - having tried to bar round with air in the cylinder, the engine taking charge and the turning bar striking the attendant.  However, he recovered after first aid treatment and the engine was then put through its paces to, we hope, the satisfaction of the visitors.

In 1928 an eight cylinder engine (15½" x 20"), fitted with Buchi Superchargers was supplied to Ashford UDC, driving a 600 kW alternator and was the first such supercharged unit to be put to work commercially on a land installation in this country.  Very soon after, a similar unit was supplied to the Basingstoke UDC, and these two engines were the two largest airless injection pressure-charged engines in ordinary commercial use in this country at this time.  (The order book shows that the first of these engines to be ordered and delivered was for Basingstoke, not Ashford.  The 1928 date is correct for both.)

Naturally, a number of teething troubles were experienced with these early supercharged engines, such as the lubrication and cooling of the bearing between the rotor of the exhaust gas turbine and the blower, cracking of the cylinder heads and burning of the turbulence block cast on the piston top.  These difficulties were overcome, and it is interesting to note that for both types the fuel consumption was about 0.59lbs. per kW hour.

During this period an advance was made which was to have an important effect on oil engine design - this being the introduction of the totally enclosed engine, at that time designed for working in dust-laden atmospheres, but leading to the introduction of pressure lubrication throughout.

Also, an important order was secured which was to result in the Paxman interest in marine engines, and this was the supply of the main engines for the twin screw diesel-electrical passenger vessel, M V 'Lochfyne', built by Messrs William Denny & Brothers Ltd for Messrs David MacBrayne Steamship Company, for service between Glasgow, the coast towns and the Western Isles.  This vessel was of great technical interest, chiefly with regard to the propelling machinery which consisted of two Paxman five cylinder 1,000 IHP pressure-charged engines driving Metropolitan-Vickers direct current generators supplying current to two propelling motors.  The engines were 15½" x 20" bore and stroke, each having five cylinders and spring injection.  It is remarked in the press description of the engines that the camshaft was driven by the Hans Renold roller chain.  This vessel had a length of 214 feet, breadth of 30 feet and a speed of 16 knots.  This started an interesting era and Paxman engines were supplied to a number of MacBrayne vessels, including the M V 'Lochnevis' which was notable, for it was the first propulsion engine to be isolated from the hull by being mounted on springs.  Another notable advance was the 'Sir Montagu', the first diesel-electric tug to operate on the Thames; this was fitted with an 8 cylinder engine.

Hitherto, all these engines had been constructed with separate 'A' frames supporting each cylinder, but towards the end of 1931 the first monobloc engines appeared.  Each cylinder was 9" x 12" and, at a designed speed of 600 rpm, developed 50 bhp.  Twin camshafts were placed on top of the cylinders, one on each side, to operate the inlet and exhaust valves by single rockers.  The cylinder block, being a single casting, was carried on a series of 'A' frames and was attached through these frames to the bedplate by long through bolts extending to the level of the cylinder head.  With the demand for increased speed, the spring injection system had earlier been replaced by Bosch fuel pumps and these were accordingly fitted to the new series of engines.

During 1932, as we have seen, the AGE Ltd saw its last days and the association with Messrs Blackstone & Co Ltd (also members of the A G E) terminated, and the Company was re-formed under the active management of Mr Sanders and with Mr E P Paxman as Technical Director.

Paxman's then started the development of their own type of engine, using the Comet Mark III combustion chamber designed by Messrs Ricardo Limited.  By 1934, the first four cylinder Paxman-Ricardo engine was being offered, having a bore and stroke of 4.5/8" x 5.7/8" and developing 40 bhp per cylinder at 1,000 rpm.  This proved most successful and was then offered with one to six cylinders and was followed by a larger engine having a bore and stroke of 5½" x 7"; this being produced in 4 models having 4, 5, 6 and 8 cylinders.

There was an immediate demand for these engines and they were built to meet industrial and marine requirements until 1939 when, due to the outbreak of the war, practically the full output of the factory was given over to fulfilling the requirements of the three services.  All production of the smaller engines was then concentrated on the supply of four cylinder engines for searchlight generating sets for the War Office, and the larger engines, built in 4 and 5 cylinder models, were installed on the wartime built destroyers and corvettes, and a number of 4, 6 and 8 cylinder engines for 'mains failure' sets, to the order of Chance Bros. Ltd of Smethwick for supplying power to Post Office cable repeater stations, aerodromes and armament factories.  These sets were completely self-contained and automatic in operating, running up to a speed of 1,500 rpm and taking full load immediately the power supply had been interrupted by enemy action, and automatically shutting down when power came on.

However, after the war the manufacture of these smaller engines was discontinued and they were replaced in a group by the Ruston & Hornsby engines of equivalent sizes.

The development of the larger engines progressed rapidly and culminated in the immediate pre-war years in the RX engines which were the forerunners of the present YL range.  The RX engine, built mainly as a 4, 6 or 8 cylinder engine, developed 56 bhp per cylinder when running at a speed of 750 rpm.  This retained the single cylinder block construction which, mounted on 'A' frames, followed earlier practice and incorporated the Ricardo system of whirlpool combustion.  These engines were built for marine and industrial use, and notable installations were the 6 cylinder engines fitted in the HMS 'King George V', 'Edinburgh', 'Renown', etc., for generating purposes in 1938.  A slightly smaller version of this engine was built and installed as propulsion unit in the M V 'Pomeroon', 'Lady Northcote' and 'Barrima', which operate off the coast of British Guiana.  These small craft were built on the Clyde, each having two engines of 180 hp at 1,000 rpm.

Once the success of this engine was assured, it was further developed and constructed from steel plate to a system devised by Mr C H Stevens, which system had been previously used in the later types of spring injection engine.  This arrangement permitted the engines to be built from steel plate, each vertical and horizontal member being cleverly interlocked so that the stresses set up were absorbed mechanically and not through the welded joints.  These engines, in six cylinder form, were built throughout the war in large quantities and the whole of the famous U-Class submarine programme was engined by this, the Paxman RXS engine.

After the war the engines were modified in certain respects, having from 4 to 16 cylinders; the 4, 6 and 8 being in-line engines built in cast iron, and the 12 and 16 Vee type, constructed from steel plate.  These engines were either normally aspirated or pressure charged, covering a power range from 187 bhp for the 4 cylinder engine, to 1,420 bhp and running to a maximum speed of 750 rpm.  Since then the whole range has been modified and the cast iron in-line engines superseded by the YL type Vee engine built 8, 12 and 16 cylinder sizes.

Let us again return to the early 1930s and the birth of the first Vee engine, probably the crowning achievement of Edward Paxman's life; he saw 'space' as a marketable commodity and realised that in many applications, limitations of space and weight would be of immense value; the many barriers to reducing the size of engine were only hurdles to be jumped, each one in turn, and finally - what started as an adventure in engineering - resolved into a dire national necessity.

The first Vee engine, the Vee RA, with a cylinder bore and stroke of 6½" x 7½", had 12 cylinders, 6 on each side, with an included angle of 60 deg.  It followed what was then current practice, inasmuch as the crank bearings were carried in the bed.  The Vee RB followed, with certain innovations.  These engines were extensively tested, first on the test beds, then in the Works' power house, but it was realised that the only effective test would be to run them in service, and therefore they were installed in various power houses where the engineers in charge had faith in Edward Paxman and could see the merits of this engine.  Its merits were also noted in the marine world and two engines were installed in an experimental high speed craft, known as the 'Tarrett'.  Built in 1938, this vessel was fitted with two 16 cylinder engines giving a two hour rating of 1,000 hp each at 1,750 rpm and 800 hp at 1,500 rpm continuously.

Then came the war which finished experimental work to a large degree, and every effort was made to push up the production of the smaller engines for the War Office and Admiralty, together with the U-Class submarine engines.  Yet the Vee engines in operation were carefully watched and the design was constantly under revision.  However, the lull was to be a short one, for with the cold war of 1939-40 came from the fertile brain of Mr Winston Churchill the idea of massive excavators cum tanks that would dig themselves through the enemies’ defences, and the projected design called for a powerful, compact engine - the Paxman Vee engine being the obvious answer; in a matter of days, even hours, the design of the engine and the transmission were modified to meet this requirement and with every priority, and in secrecy, the Nellie project - as it was known - took shape and trials were run which gave much valuable data, particularly for the next step in the story of the Vee engine which followed.

The hull of the 'Nellie' (officially known as a Cultivator) was 77 feet long, 8 feet high and 6½ feet wide, powered by two 12 cylinder Paxman engines running at 1,375 rpm, and dug a trench 5 feet deep, the effective depth being increased by the soil deposited on the banks.  The weight of this mammoth was 120 tons, but it could be broken down into three for transport.  Whilst the speed of the 'Nellie' was less than one mile per hour, it was estimated that the 'No Man's Land' in front of the Siegfried Line could be covered during the hours of darkness and, given a number of these cultivators, vast numbers of troops and armoured vehicles moved up inside the range of the German guns and a surprise attack staged.  The cultivators were controlled from a small cockpit mounted on the top, and it was so arranged that when at the end of the trench, the cultivator itself stopped and acted as a ramp for the track vehicles to climb out of the trench on to the open ground.

Then came Dunkirk and the Nellie project collapsed; but almost before the last soldiers had escaped, it would seem that Mr Winston Churchill was planning the re-entry of our troops to the continent.  This was followed by what must be one of the most dramatic periods in the history of development of the oil engine.  The calling of Mr Paxman to Whitehall and his return the next evening with an armful of pencil drawings and notes in which were the main details of the famous TP engine.  Teams of designers under the guidance of the Chief Engineer Mr A G Howe, now Engineering Director, worked throughout the 24 hours until the design of the engine was modified to meet the Ministry of Supply's requirements for a marine propulsion unit, and Mr Paxman returned to London with his proposals and obtained final approval.

The Ministry of Supply immediately leased the premises of what had been the Britannia Lathe factory of Colchester, which was then in a derelict state.  The company were appointed managers and at once started reconstruction work, laying down storage space, test beds, cooling water mains, and generally strengthening the original wood structure.  At the same time, in the main factory the details of the design were being completed and the various jigs and tools designed to permit quantity production.

The war had entered a very critical stage, and the personnel on the factory floor were extremely conscious of the importance of increasing the flow of engines through the factory; they were therefore dismayed to find a disruptive force, armed with the highest priority and with full permission to appropriate any machine to carry out work.  This disruption lasted for two or three weeks, and in a corner of the Works were being assembled the two prototypes of the new TP engine.  These engines were quickly completed and acted as guinea pigs on the test bed.  Work continued on these two engines, improving their performance and making alterations to design, which would assist their production and assembly.

The jig and tool department was by then working at full pressure, making multiple sets of jigs for each and every part of the engine, which were distributed through a department of the Ministry of Supply, headed by Mr C M Everett, to over 400 engineering concerns, large and small, throughout the country, who immediately started to manufacture the 1,300 odd different pieces that went into the construction of each engine.  As these pieces flowed into the Britannia Works, they were assembled and the engines tested by totally unskilled male and female staff.  A secondary organisation was set up for security reasons away from Colchester, and altogether over 4,000 engines were produced and installed in all the diesel engined tank landing craft built in this country, and which played a leading role at the Normandy beachheads.

It must be remembered that whilst these engines were built for a specific purpose, in actual fact many hundreds of the vessels were converted after the war into freighter and passenger vessels and are still in operation in Europe and as far overseas as Borneo - indeed, at the present time these vessels still appear in the market and are converted for deep sea trading.

Each turn of the war at sea had appeared to have repercussions at Colchester.  Whilst the smallest Paxman engines, the 4 cylinder Mark RQ, were being produced in quantities for the War Office as searchlight power units, and for the Admiralty as generating sets for the landing craft, a further development of mine warfare by the introduction of the magnetic mine, brought an immediate demand for the B.4 Impulso sets powered by the RW engine, in the 100-120 hp range. These were used for sending out intermittent electrical currents which had, in effect, exploded any magnetic mines in the area.

Various other craft appeared, all propelled by either the 12 cylinder TP engine or its 16 cylinder equivalent.  Perhaps one of the most famous of these departures was the Motor Gun Boat operated by the Naval Intelligence Department.  These vessels carried out sorties and patrols off the French coast, conveying agents and obtaining information.  Five of these vessels were converted to cargo vessels and sailed under the Red Ensign, manned by Merchant seamen.  These: the Gay Viking, Gay Corsair, Hopewell, Nonsuch, and Master Standfast formed a fleet which, under the control of Sir George Binney [of the Ellerman Wilson Line Ltd], ran the German blockade to Lysekil in neutral Sweden, taking out cargoes of fuel oil and returning with cargoes of the vital ball bearings so urgently required at that time by the aircraft builders in this country.

Repair and maintenance of the engines was in the care of a Paxman Engineer, Mr Eric Rowe, who was flown out - one of the earliest passengers to travel in the bomb rack of a Mosquito aeroplane.

While many successful crossings were made by the vessels, the Master Standfast within a few miles of the Swedish terminal port was accosted by a German vessel wearing Swedish flags, and was never seen again, the Master and Chief Engineer losing their lives.

Many are the stories which can be told of this stirring episode but one minor incident, which caused some amusement, resulted from the loss of Mr Rowe's special tools which had been lost in the Master Standfast.  Hearing that an excellent tool shop was in a nearby town, Rowe with a Swedish friend called on the retailer.  Finding himself in a magnificent apartment, Rowe realised that some mistake had occurred.  He immediately reviled his Swedish friend and the occupant of the office in his own inimitable way, only to be interrupted in perfect English to learn that he was speaking to the German Consul, who indeed had a son who lived a few doors away and who would be only too happy to supply Mr. Rowe's requirements.

Besides ball bearings, these vessels were instrumental in conveying to England many Norwegians who had escaped through Sweden to join the Free Norwegian Forces in England.

Another interesting project was the building of sixteen motor Fishing Vessels on the south coast.  These vessels were to outward appearance replicas of the French fishing craft that could be seen in numbers off the French coast; the crews were dressed as typical French fishermen, and the main difference was the speed at which they could move (16 knots), which made range finding and capture extremely difficult.  The deck winches and other species of equipment which habitually cluttered the decks, were made of balsa wood, under which were hidden quick firing guns and other offensive weapons.  These vessels, powered by Paxman engines, were used for landing agents on the French coast at night or, by intermingling with the actual fishing fleet, the agents could be transferred by day.

The loss of the aircraft carrier 'Ark Royal' brought home very forcibly the lesson that in the event of enemy action and the possible immobilisation of the steam plant, the provision of an auxiliary source of power and lighting was absolutely essential, and immediately all aircraft carriers were fitted with generating sets employing Paxman 500 hp engines as prime movers.

Another important task undertaken at the Britannia Works was the 24 hour reconditioning service.  At each port in the country, spare engines were held in readiness, and any engine which required repairs could be easily lifted out of the landing craft and replaced by a new engine, the original being returned to our Works.  These engines, many of which had been damaged by enemy action, indeed lifted off the sea bed, together with those due for routine overhaul were stripped right down and the various components cleaned in acid or vapour baths according to their material, dimensionally checked and generally inspected.  Any parts sub-standard were rejected and replaced, and the engine was rebuilt and tested; many engines were returned to the Works in this fashion several times during their wartime life.

At the conclusion of hostilities, the Company found itself geared to the production of these TP engines which were primarily marine engines with a limited requirement in the immediate post-war years.  Furthermore, based on the wealth of experience which had accumulated, it was realised that certain modifications were desirable; many of these modifications would have been put in hand earlier but for the resultant dislocation to production and to the very complex spares distribution organisation.  Consequently, immediate modifications were put in hand and production engines then being built embodied these improvements.  Likewise, many existing engines, both in Admiralty service and those finding their way into commercial use, were also modified.  This, however, was a temporary phase and later the engine was re-designed, incorporating all the improvements thought necessary, and the engine finally took its place in the Ruston-Paxman range as the RPH II engine.

However, in the intervening time, many of these engines had been placed in service commercially, fulfilling a great need particularly during the period of the power cuts, when many of them were converted into generating sets.

During the war years, the entire production of the Company was to a large degree at the disposal of the Country, and consequently sales in commercial markets were practically non-existent.  Therefore, when the usual avenues of trade were re-opened, the fight for world markets became important, and on the success depended the future prosperity of the Company.  However, this story can be best told by Ruston & Hornsby who through their world wide selling organisation handle the sales of Paxman Diesels for all industrial and marine duties, direct sales by Colchester being limited, in the diesel engine field, to certain applications.

Nevertheless, the particular applications handled through Colchester were to expand in magnitude and the story of Paxman's would not be complete without some mention of the post-war years.

The Company was to receive a serious blow in losing Mr Edward Paxman, whose brilliant brain had led the Company through a difficult phase.  When one considers that the 7" bore Vee engine is still in advance in many ways of contemporary design, one can conceive how far in advance of the time this engine must have been in 1937 when it was first offered.

Edward Philip Paxman collapsed in his office while telephoning to London, and passed away the next morning, March 25 1949, without regaining consciousness.

He had acted as Chief Engineer and Director and, on the association of the two companies, became Managing Director of Paxman and Director of Ruston & Hornby.  Mr Paxman was a member of the Institute of Mechanical Engineers, he served on the council of BICEMA and was a founder-member of BICERA and chairman of its council.  He also served on the Grand Council of the FBI and was patron of the Engineering & Marine Exhibition.  In 1948 he was elected Master of the Worshipful Company of Farriers and was a Justice of the Peace for Lexden and Winstree UDC.

The deliberations of many of the technical societies were enriched by his contributions, and local institutions and societies owed much to his guidance and help.  At the time of his demise he had just completed the building and furnishing of a club for employees of the Company, which was - as the Edward Paxman Memorial Club - to become a symbol of lively interest in the welfare of the Company's employees.

Immediately after the war, Mr Paxman had toured overseas and returned with the conviction that there was a wide market for 7" bore Vee engine, and in particular he foresaw that expansion of the world's oil fields would require diesel power.  Therefore, the design of the first oil well drilling 'package' set was put in hand, working in close collaboration with the Oil Well Engineering Company of Cheadle Heath.  These sets were put into operation in various overseas oil well drilling installations, and Paxman engineers kept in close touch to perfect the design not only of the set as a whole, but also the details of the actual engines were improved to cover the particular duty, with engines running for months on end in a variety of operating conditions, the technical information obtained was considerable, particularly in respect to the periods for maintenance and overhaul.

Finally, in view of the current interest in the dieselisation of the railways, it is not inappropriate to mention the part played by the Company in this one field.

The first Paxman engine, indeed the first diesel to be installed by a British railway in a locomotive, was a 400 hp six cylinder Vee type (this is incorrect – it was an in-line type, a 6VXS, producing 412 hp at 750 rpm), one of the first to be built to the Stevens Patent with all-welded steel frames.  It was admittedly mainly experimental and mounted on an old steam locomotive chassis. The engine was put into operation on the old LMS Railway in 1929 (this is inconsistent with an order book entry showing that the VXS engine was not ordered until 1931, then delivered in 1932).

A second Paxman engined diesel locomotive, this time designed as such by the Hunslet Engine Co, was put into operation in 1934, and this engine has now had a long period of successful service and is still in operation.  The engine employed here was smaller - 188 hp - but of similar design.

From then until the outbreak of the war, Paxman railway deliveries were mainly of the small sizes: the RQ and RW engines with an output range of from 44 to 200 bhp.  At this stage the new RZ engine, having 6 cylinders, with an output of 274 hp was also produced, but this range of necessity dropped at the outbreak of the war.

At this time Mr Paxman felt convinced that there was a future for the high speed 7" bore Vee engine in the traction field, and consequently, though this engine was being developed to meet marine and industrial applications, its future for traction duty was never lost sight of during the design stage.  However, the years 1939-45 intervened and the Company's active interest in traction had perforce to lapse into the background.

As the war in Europe ended and that in the East reached its closing stages, the thoughts inevitably returned to the traction field and the first post-war locomotive was designed in conjunction with Crompton-Parkinson Ltd.  The urgency of the matter did not permit putting in hand the redesigned engine as then envisaged, therefore the power unit consisted of an existing TP engine.  This locomotive, now operating in a Steel works, has given much valuable information and was the precursor of many other Paxman engined locomotives of all types and sizes, from shunting to main line passenger locomotives, to a total of 350, developing an aggregate of nearly 150,000 horse power.

With the growth of diesel manufacture it was natural that the Company would adopt divisions for administrative purposes.  These are known as the Diesel division and the Boiler & General Engineering division and, though emphasis has been laid in the last few pages on the progress of the diesel, the Boiler division was progressing in many ways, not as much in the matter of design but more in improved methods of manufacture.

The construction of all fabricated steel engines was, of course, carried out by the B & G E division: consequently, it was necessary to keep abreast of all new techniques which could be used to improve the standard of work.  It should be noted that while early experiments in this field were based on the design of the cast-iron engine and then converted to a similar engine of fabricated steel, it was soon realised that to obtain full benefit from the advantages offered, the engine should be designed from first principles as a fabricated structure.  Those were the early days of welding when too great a reliance could not be placed on the welded joint subjected to tension, therefore the engines were built using the system perfected by Mr C H Stevens, where parts of the engine subjected to tension were positively secured by interlocking plates.  However, as welding technique methods and, particularly, methods of inspection improved, so the designs were modified to take full advantage of these improvements.

Again, when defence requirements in the immediate post-war years called for a unit built of mainly non-magnetic materials, the underbase or foundation on which the engine and generators were mounted indicated a requirement for welding of aluminium alloys of heavier section than had hitherto been attempted either in America or in this country.  This difficulty was quickly overcome and the method adopted has been successfully employed over a number of years.

In the early 1930s the Company decided to manufacture Rotary Vacuum filters.  These consist of large cylindrical drums having a diameter of up to twenty feet, rotating in a bath of semi-liquid slurry.  These were used at first to separate the water from the coal dust from the mine washeries which had hitherto run to waste; the coal dust being delivered in the form of a cake and made into briquettes and other forms of manufactured fuel.  Even the washing water could be used repeatedly, which in itself was an important advantage in some areas.

The requirements for similar filters in other industries rapidly became apparent and each industry indicated requirements peculiar to itself, so that now the filters may be manufactured in cast iron or fabricated from steel plate, stainless steel, non-ferrous materials or, in certain instances where corrosive acids are used, the whole filter is covered with a rubber coating.  The shortages of fuel has increased greatly the need for the filter and they are now being used to supplant older methods of kiln dredging.

We have already laid stress on the importance we attach to keeping abreast of modern thought, particularly as applied to welding technique, and the factory is now consequently equipped with the most modern X-ray plant for inspection of weldments, together with welding equipment, manipulators for handling large structures and stress-relieving furnaces, and the Company can now claim the honour of being included on the list of firms who are competent to manufacture fabricated welded pressure vessels to Lloyds’ highest requirements.

The Economic boiler, which was originally a Paxman design, has been copied by many of the leading boilermakers in the country; this boiler is now produced as an all-welded structure.

The Company are very much aware of the requirements for a portable or semi-portable boiler, and arrangements were put in hand to build under licence the 'Keystone' boiler which has been successfully built in America for a number of years.  This boiler is now in production and is finding a ready market.

It is appreciated that whilst this story deals with the achievements of the Company as a whole, the credit goes to the many individuals, past and present, who have contributed in varying degrees to the advance made.  The direct family connection between father and son was broken by the untimely death of Edward Paxman, but indirectly it has continued through Sir Percy Sanders.  Many employees still with us have completed fifty years of service and in many cases their fathers or grandfathers originally joined Mr James in the very early days.

This story is written to record a span of 90 years of hard work and solid achievement, which otherwise might vanish from man's fleeting memory before the next chapter is written in ten year's time.

With the advent of the atomic age it is difficult to foresee the future, but it can be assured that Davey, Paxman & Co Ltd, together with Ruston & Hornsby Ltd, can with their united resources look forward to playing their full part in the next decade.