Title
Papers of Evershed and Vignoles Ltd
Reference
UK0108 NAEST 102
Date
1877-1983
Creator
Scope and Content
This collection mainly consists of Records related to Evershed & Vignoles operating as a single company. There are parts of the collection that relate to Easton, Goolden and Anderson and the management buy-out of the Instrument Division of Easton, Goolden and Anderson to form Evershed & Vignoles in 1895. There are other parts of the collection that comprise Records relating to the group of companies that E&V became part of (Kent in 1965 and Thorn in 1971). It is likely that most of the records relating to the Thorn Group of companies are from other companies within the Thorn Group (Bendix, Nash & Thompson, Ferguson) and not specifically to do with E&V. From the small amount of information available it would appear that Tinsley Industrial Instruments (TII) was based in West Twyford, London until it dissolved/relocated and became part of Eversheds in the late 1950s. The Companies No. is 00377238 and was incorporated on 14/11/1942. TII is associated with the development of the Polarograph.
Management of E&V
Sidney Evershed - Founder (1895 - )
Ernest Blacker Vignoles - Founder Chairman (1895 - )
Adolph Vines (Schneider) - Managing Director (Started in 1895 with Founders, MD ~1914 to ~1930)
Colonel Vignoles
Murray Vines - MD 1950s
Tom Tuley - Accountant to the Company
Mr Sparrow - Chief Foreman, Machine Shop (1898-1954) (BEM 1944)
Mr Childs - Head of Meggar Test Room (1954)
Mr D M Everett - Northern Area Officer (1955)
Mr W H M Hoyle - Northern Representative (1955)
Dr. G F Tagg - Chief Research Engineer
Also, see in the E&V collection, NAEST 102/4/1/1/13. This is a technical reprint titled 'How the "Megger" Instruments Originated'.
A large part of the archive consists of photographs (NAEST 102/5), mostly of equipment but also there are many photographs of people and other items of interest. The location of the photographs and other items of interest are detailed in the contents section of NAEST 102/5 and with the Photograph Books.
Language
English.
Admin. history/Biography
Ernest Blacker Vignoles started working for Easton, Anderson and Goolden in 1889. He was employed to work for Sydney Evershed on research connected with investigations into problems concerning magnetic induction in iron. In 1895 Evershed and Vignoles Ltd (E&V) was founded by Sydney Evershed (1858-1939) and Ernest Blacker Vignoles(1865-1948.) at Westbourne Park when they bought out the Instruments Division of Easton and Goolden.
Sydney Evershed was an inventor who in 1889 invented the testing set which was the forerunner of the “MEGGER” tester and in 1896 invented the Evershed Helm Indicator which was adopted by the Navy in 1896. The MEGaohm metER was renamed as "MEGGER" ( a name originated by Ernest Vignoles) and the word became a trademark name registered on 25 May 1903. The first "Megger Earth Tester" was sold in 1905.
In 1903 E&V moved to Acton Lane, near Acton Green, from the original site at Westbourne Park and by 1914 was employing between 350 to 400 employees manufacturing electrical instruments, portable instruments for measuring resistance, signalling systems for ships (especially men-of-war). During WWI E&V made steering and target equipment for the Royal Navy. After WWI the site at Acton Lane was extended and by the late 1920s E&V employed approximately 500 people.
In January 1920 E&V was at the Physical and Optical Societies Exhibition exhibiting electrical instruments and the Dionic water tester. E&V was also a Listed Exhibitor at the 1937 British Industries Fair and were sole manufacturers of "Megger" Insulation Testers, Earth Resistance Tester, Capacity Meters, and Dionic Water Testers. Electrical Indicating and Recording Instruments. Remote Indication and Control Apparatus, Electrical Tachometers, and Marine Instruments
After WWII E&V had over 1000 employees when aircraft instruments were also made and by the early 1960s the number of employees peaked at 1,870. In 1965 Evershed & Vignoles Ltd. became a part of the George Kent Group and in 1971 the company (and other members of the George Kent Group) became part of Thorn Electrical Industries., E&V then concentrated on the making of defence electronic equipment at Acton Lane. In 1972 the Megger Division moved to AVOs Dover site and by 1980 only 450 employees were left at Acton Lane. In 1986 Evershed and Vignoles were taken over by Avo Ltd, of Avocet House, 92-96 Vauxhall Bridge Road, London, SW1. AVO was a member of the Metal Industries Group of companies. Though known for their Avometer general purpose multimeter, they made a wide range of test gear including valve testers. The Acton Lane works closed down at about that time.
In 1991, due to the popularity of the AVO products the company changed the name to AVO Megger Instruments Limited. In 2000 the company became known as AVO International Holdings Limited and in 2002 as AVO International Limited. Finally, again in 2002, the whole Megger group changed its name to Megger Group Limited , as it is known today.
The firm Megger Group Ltd. (formerly AVO) is now (2013) based at: Archcliffe Road, Dover, Kent, CT17 9EN.
Persons keyword
Conditions governing access
Please refer to IEE Archivist
Level of description
sub-fonds
Closed until
1983
