Title
Jack Blears Papers
Reference
YA2001.129
Production date
1936 - 1996
Creator
- Blears, JackBiographyBiography
Jack Blears started as a Special Apprentice with Metropolitan-Vickers Electrical Co Ltd in 1936. After his apprenticeship he became a Section Leader in the Physics Section of the Research Department. He went on to become Chief Engineer of the Scientific Apparatus Department in 1954. He left Metropolitan-Vickers Electrical Co Ltd in the 1960s when the company became part of the GEC Group of companies.
After leaving Metropolitan-Vickers electrical Co Ltd he went to work at Liverpool Polytechnic, now Liverpool John Moores University. On retiring from the Polytechnic in 1979, he responded to the challenges presented by changes introduced by government on the education system, particularly the engineering/technology sectors. Jack Blears was one of a group of university professors who annually met up to discuss ideas about matters to do with education of engineers. This group established themselves as The Engineering Professors' Conference (EPC).
In 1979 Jack Blears was appointed Honorary Research Officer of a Research Unit created by the EPC. The Unit looked at official and un-official published statistical data to identify trends developing in engineering, both in the UK and internationally. This work took forward ideas emerging from the EPC committee meetings.
Scope and Content
Collection including research papers written by Jack Blears during the course of his work, reports published by the companies he worked for and by other individuals/organisations and correspondence between Jack Blears and others relating to the history of Metropolitan-Vickers Electrical Co Ltd.
Extent
11 linear metres
Physical description
Good
Language
English
Archival history
Collected by Jack Blears during his career and then donated by his daughter, Helen Buckley, to the Museum in 2001.
Level of description
TOP
Repository name
Science and Industry Museum
Associated people and organisations
- Metropolitan-Vickers Electrical Co LtdBiographyBiography
Metropolitan-Vickers Electrical Co Ltd was the new trading name given to British Westinghouse Electric and Manufacturing Co on 8 September 1919. The predecessor company had sold its controlling share to the Metropolitan Carriage Wagon Co in 1916 in order to gain membership of the Federation of British Industries. In 1919, Vickers acquired the Metropolitan Carriage Wagon Co, along with its controlling share in British Westinghouse, prompting the change in name to Metropolitan-Vickers Electrical Co Ltd.
The American owned British Westinghouse had established its English operations at Trafford Park in 1899, and Metropolitan-Vickers Electrical Co Ltd continued on the same site from 8 September 1919. The company was initially known for its electricity generators, later diversifying into the manufacture of steam turbines, switchgear, transformers, electronics and railway traction equipment.
The passing of the Electricity (Supply) Act in 1926 provided a boost to the company’s post-war fortunes, with the creation of the National Grid generating demand for the company's products.
In 1928, Metropolitan-Vickers Electrical Co Ltd merged with its rival British Thomson Houston Co Ltd, retaining both names for trading purposes. The following year, on 4 January 1929, Associated Electrical Industries Ltd (AEI) acquired Metropolitan-Vickers Electrical Co Ltd and the British Thomson Houston Co Ltd. Again, both trading names were retained, and a fierce rivalry was established between the firms which the parent company was unable to control.
In 1931, Sir Felix Pole joined Metropolitan-Vickers Electrical Co Ltd as its new chairman. He oversaw a period of expansion for the company leading into the Second World War. In 1939, seeking a more concise name for the company, the Board of Directors decided upon Metrovicks, which became interchangeable with the official company name of Metropolitan-Vickers Electrical Co Ltd. Under Sir Felix Pole's chairmanship, Metropolitan-Vickers developed new products for the aviation industry and during the war was one of the sites where Lancaster bombers were built. In 1941, the company developed the first British axial-flow jet engine, the Metrovick F.2.
Following the Second World War, the company appointed Oliver Lyttelton as chairman, with the aim of increasing the efficiency and productivity of AEI. Despite his success in achieving this aim, Lyttelton was unable to resolve the commercial rivalry between Metropolitan-Vickers Electrical Co Ltd and the British Thomson Houston Co Ltd.
During his second period as chairman, from 1954-1963, Lyttelton, now Lord Chandos, oversaw the development by Metropolitan-Vickers Electrical Co Ltd of the first commercial transistor computer, the Metrovick 950. Chandos also resolved to extinguish the competition and internal divisions between Metropolitan-Vickers Electrical Co Ltd and the British Thomson Houston Co Ltd, and both company names ceased to be used from 1 January 1960, with all subsidiaries going on to trade under the name of Associated Electrical Industries Ltd.
- Liverpool John Moores UniversityBiographyBiography
The Liverpool Mechanics Institute was founded in 1823 this was followed by the establishment of the Liverpool Institute and School of Art, the Liverpool Nautical College and in 1900 Irene Mabel Marsh opened the IM Marsh Campus. These institutions came together initially as a Polytechnic before becoming known as the Liverpool John Moores University in 1992.
The university was named after Sir John Moores (1896-1993) founder and owner of Littlewoods, a retailer, mail order company and football pools company.
Conditions governing access
Open access.
Conditions governing Reproduction
Copies may be supplied in accordance with current copyright legislation and Science Museum Group terms and conditions.
Related object
System of arrangement
An artificial system of arrangement has been imposed on the collection.