Golden Jubilee of a Famous Maker
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One of the Earliest and Most Successful Pioneers in the Industry, Dennis Bros., Ltd., Celebrates a Proud Moment in Its History
ALARGE gathering of the many friends of Dennis Bros., Ltd., attended a luncheon at the Savoy Hotel on November 15, which not only celebrated the golden jubilee (1895-1945) of that famous company, but was also in honour of Mr. N. P. Andrew, marking his resignation from the chairmanship, which position he had occupied for 31 years.
The first speaker was Mr. S. E„ Garcke, C.B.E., M.I.Mech.E., the new chairman, who had been only three
years on the board out of the 50 years of steady progress. He mentioned that Mr. Andrew had insisted on retiring, but he was stil/ a director and active, and no one in the company would dare to come to an important decision without his sagacious advice. Mr. Andrew always put his interests after those of the company. The Allies in the war had become rivals in peace, but a Socialist country with willing workers could beat others in which the workers were forced. We must export or starve. The company was concentrating on research for the export trade, where quality must count. If slackness were to become the habit, we would tread the path of national bankruptcy. He did not believe in too rapid a removal of controls, but there are many small ones which could be lifted. He suggested to the Minister of Supply that if industry were to be nationalized, ours should be placed very low down on the list.
The reply was made by Mr. Jobn Wilmot, Minister of Supply. He started in a humorous vein by saying that he found himself in imminent danger of purchasing a motor lawn mower. The Dennis company had played a. wonder ful part in British automobile engineering, and had made a remarkable contribution to the war effort, producing 700 Churchill Tanks, 750,000 bombs and many thousands of engines for landing craft. Of controls, he said they were the defence of the patriotic citizen against the unpatriotic competitor. He told a good joke regarding the Board of Trade. Two engineers were looking over the side of a ship, when they saw a board. One said that it must be the Board of Trade. The other said, "No,
it cannot be—it's moving." He referred to the engineering quality of Dennis products, and the very high degree of skill displayed in their manufacture. He mentioned that 120 employees had been with the company for over 25 years.
Mr. Andrew rather depreciated his own efforts. He said that if his ability had got him where he was, the average efficiency must be very low. He had been referred to by relatives as "dull but reliable." He paid high tribute to Mr. John Dennis and his brother, Sir Raymond Dennis, also to Mr. J. R. Downing, deputy managing director of the company, for his work, which was chiefly in connection with fire-engines.
The joint managing director, of the company, Mr. W. Fish, said he was not going to blow any trumpets, but for 50 years competitors of the company had tried to put it out of business, whilst the company's agents and friends had prevented this, and he thought that this condition would continue for another 50 years.
Every guest at the luncheon received a copy of the new Dennis Jubilee book, "Why Dennis—And How," whils1 Mr. Andrew was presented with a specially bound volume. The joint authors are Messrs. R. Twelvetrees, A.M.I.Mech.E., and Pepys Squire. It is a fine, wellprinted and well-illustrated record of all the history of the company, and can be obtained at 2s. 6d.
It tells the story of the growth of the Dennis organization from 'the original cycle shop started in High Street, Guildford, in 1885, to the present large concern with its up-to-date works, still in the town of its origin, and thousands of skilled employees.
Starting with cycles, the first step in the direction of a power vehicle was a motor tricycle; then came a quadricycle. the first four-wheeler. But this phase did not last very long and advanced to the single-cylindered car. As early as 1901 motorists had the choice of twoseater or four-seater vehicles, with De Dion single-cylindered engines.
In 1901 the famous Dennis wormdriven axle was introduced. First used on cars, this became a standard form of drive for many commercial vehicles. The first commercial vehicle appears to have been a 15-cwt. boxvan, which was shown at the Crystal Palace in 1904. About the same time, the first Dennis bus was put into service between Kingston and Richmond. The Dennis worm drive was tried out in a MilnesDaimler chassis in the Metropolis, also in 1904, where it was run by Thomas Tilling, Ltd.
The first Dennis fire-engine equipped with a turbine-type pump was bought by Bradford in 1908, the London Fill Brigade acquiring its first Dennis engine of this type some two years later. Dennis vehicles were early in the overseas market. There were prospects of many sales at home. Despite these. contacts were made with potential operators abroad, and between 1904 and 1906 singleand double-deck buses were shipped to Italy, Holland, South America, New Zealand and Australia. The Dennis double-decker weighed 3,1 tons and, under normal conditions with full load, the fuel-consumption figure was at the rate of 6 m.p.g. This can be compared with the much-reduced consumption of the modern oil-engined models.
The concern has always devoted much attention to special types of vehicle, such as a tower wagon, built in 1907, for tramway work, and a breakdown and recovery truck with winding gear and detachable ramp, built about the same time for what was then the General Motor Cab Co., Ltd. One of the most 'famous models was the War Office Subsidy A type, of which over 7,000 were in action from 1914 to 1919.
However, we cannot devote more space to this book, but would recommend our readers to purchase what is a most interesting record of industrial achievement.