Web Page 3105 23rd February 2024 First Picture: Ever Ready bell battery

Second Picture; Ever Ready Torch

Third Picture: Ever Ready Radio

Fourth Picture; Ever Ready cycle lamp and battery

Batteries When we were young there were only three companies that supplied us with batteries for torches etc so I thought I would look at the most popular. The British Ever Ready Electrical Company (BEREC) was a British firm formed in 1906 as the export branch of the American Eveready Battery Company. In 1914 it became independent of its American parent company and functioned independently. For decades the firm dominated the UK battery market and had several factories in the UK, the largest of which at Tanfield Lea, County Durham, in 1968. Other factories included Dawley, Four Ashes, Maldon, Newburn, London (Victoria Works, Forest Road and from 1936, the St Ann's Works in Harringay) and Park Lane, Wolverhampton. The company's research was centred upon the Central Laboratories in St. Ann's Road, Harringay. The company's head office was Ever Ready House in Whetstone, London. Overseas manufacturing sites included South Africa, Nigeria, Sri Lanka and Jamaica. The company was the subject of a hostile takeover by Hanson Trust in 1981. Upon acquiring the company the Hanson Trust closed factories, cut jobs and sold the German and Italian subsidiaries to Duracell. Shortly before this the British Ever Ready Electrical Company changed its name to Berec Group. From the 1950s the BEREC name was only used for exports of batteries and radio sets (as British Ever Ready Export Company). One of Hanson's first decisions was to revert from BEREC to Ever Ready as the UK brand. In 1992, the company was sold by Hanson Trust to Ralston Purina, owners of the American Eveready company, and is now a part of Energizer Holdings. The company closed its Tanfield Lea centre, it was last UK factory, this was in 1996. Production of some Ever Ready batteries (PP6, PP7 and PP9) continued in the UK until 1999 by Univercell Battery Company, near the old Dawley factory, using the original Ever Ready machinery. The company was also a producer of torches and bicycle lamps. They manufactured radios from 1934 up until 1964. With the 1922 founder of Lissen forming Vidor in 1934, Ever Ready took over Lissen completely. Many models of radio set were manufactured in both Lissen and Ever Ready versions until 1941, when the Blitz ended production. From 1942 until 1945 only one Ever Ready radio model was produced. In 1981 three "offshore" models were produced, one from Hong Kong and two from Malaysia. Tanfield Lea. wis a small village with a large factory, where batteries were made, the factory employed 1,500 people and produced more than 3 million batteries a day. Now it employs 200, makes half a million units a day, and is Ever Ready's last outpost. Stay in touch Peter gsseditor@gmailcom