A.C. Cossor
Encyclopedia
A.C. Cossor Ltd. was a British electronics
company founded in 1859. The company's products included valves
, radio
s, televisions and military
electronics.
, London
to manufacture scientific glassware. His eldest son, also called Alfred Charles Cossor joined the company in 1875, and it was he who founded the A.C. Cossor electronics company. The company's expertise in the manufacture of electrical glassware, such as early cathode ray tubes and X-Ray
tubes, led the company to diversify into electronics. The younger son Frank Cossor joined the company in 1885, and eventually took over the running of the original scientific glassware company which remains to this day as Accoson, a manufacturer of sphygmomanometers.
Cossor, a go-ahead electronics firm, designed, and manufactured electronic thermionic valves, domestic radio sets and television receivers both before, and after World War II
. During the War, their work on the Chain Home
RADAR
alongside Pye and EMI
brought great prestige to the company. By the late 1950s, Cossor had sold its consumer electronics interests to the Philips
electronics giant. Later, a merger with American Raytheon
was to come, and today, Cossor is still part of the American group.
Electronics
Electronics is the branch of science, engineering and technology that deals with electrical circuits involving active electrical components such as vacuum tubes, transistors, diodes and integrated circuits, and associated passive interconnection technologies...
company founded in 1859. The company's products included valves
Vacuum tube
In electronics, a vacuum tube, electron tube , or thermionic valve , reduced to simply "tube" or "valve" in everyday parlance, is a device that relies on the flow of electric current through a vacuum...
, radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
s, televisions and military
Military
A military is an organization authorized by its greater society to use lethal force, usually including use of weapons, in defending its country by combating actual or perceived threats. The military may have additional functions of use to its greater society, such as advancing a political agenda e.g...
electronics.
Early history
The story of A.C. Cossor Ltd. began in 1859 when the company was established by Alfred Charles Cossor in ClerkenwellClerkenwell
Clerkenwell is an area of central London in the London Borough of Islington. From 1900 to 1965 it was part of the Metropolitan Borough of Finsbury. The well after which it was named was rediscovered in 1924. The watchmaking and watch repairing trades were once of great importance...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
to manufacture scientific glassware. His eldest son, also called Alfred Charles Cossor joined the company in 1875, and it was he who founded the A.C. Cossor electronics company. The company's expertise in the manufacture of electrical glassware, such as early cathode ray tubes and X-Ray
X-ray
X-radiation is a form of electromagnetic radiation. X-rays have a wavelength in the range of 0.01 to 10 nanometers, corresponding to frequencies in the range 30 petahertz to 30 exahertz and energies in the range 120 eV to 120 keV. They are shorter in wavelength than UV rays and longer than gamma...
tubes, led the company to diversify into electronics. The younger son Frank Cossor joined the company in 1885, and eventually took over the running of the original scientific glassware company which remains to this day as Accoson, a manufacturer of sphygmomanometers.
Cossor, a go-ahead electronics firm, designed, and manufactured electronic thermionic valves, domestic radio sets and television receivers both before, and after World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. During the War, their work on the Chain Home
Chain Home
Chain Home was the codename for the ring of coastal Early Warning radar stations built by the British before and during the Second World War. The system otherwise known as AMES Type 1 consisted of radar fixed on top of a radio tower mast, called a 'station' to provide long-range detection of...
RADAR
Radar
Radar is an object-detection system which uses radio waves to determine the range, altitude, direction, or speed of objects. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, weather formations, and terrain. The radar dish or antenna transmits pulses of radio...
alongside Pye and EMI
EMI
The EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...
brought great prestige to the company. By the late 1950s, Cossor had sold its consumer electronics interests to the Philips
Philips
Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. , more commonly known as Philips, is a multinational Dutch electronics company....
electronics giant. Later, a merger with American Raytheon
Raytheon
Raytheon Company is a major American defense contractor and industrial corporation with core manufacturing concentrations in weapons and military and commercial electronics. It was previously involved in corporate and special-mission aircraft until early 2007...
was to come, and today, Cossor is still part of the American group.
Company timeline
- Early examples of X-ray tubes are produced for the scientists William CrookesWilliam CrookesSir William Crookes, OM, FRS was a British chemist and physicist who attended the Royal College of Chemistry, London, and worked on spectroscopy...
and Oliver Lodge. - In 1902 the company produces the first British-made Braun tube.
- 1904 Experimental valves are produced by Cossor for Ambrose Fleming.
- 1908 A.C. Cossor leaves his father's business to found his own company.
- William Richard Bullimore, an Australian-born electrical engineer who emigrated to the UK as a child, joins Cossor. Bullimore was responsible for the introduction of new valve types, and would eventually become managing director of the company, a post he held until his death at the age of 50, on 27 July 1937.
- During the first world war the company produces valves for the war effort including large numbers of Type R valves, a generic valve design produced by several companies.
- In 1918 the company moves to HighburyHighbury- Early Highbury :The area now known as Islington was part of the larger manor of Tolentone, which is mentioned in the Domesday Book. Tolentone was owned by Ranulf brother of Ilger and included all the areas north and east of Canonbury and Holloway Road. The manor house was situated by what is now...
, London, to a factory called the "Aberdeen Works". (The office building which was called Cossor House is still extant, having been renamed Ladbroke House and now forms part of the London Metropolitan UniversityLondon Metropolitan UniversityLondon Metropolitan University , located in London, England, was formed on 1 August 2002 by the amalgamation of the University of North London and the London Guildhall University . The University has campuses in the City of London and in the London Borough of Islington.The University operates its...
campus. Many of the building's interior art decoArt DecoArt deco , or deco, is an eclectic artistic and design style that began in Paris in the 1920s and flourished internationally throughout the 1930s, into the World War II era. The style influenced all areas of design, including architecture and interior design, industrial design, fashion and...
furnishings remain untouched.) - After World War I the company produces its first radio sets in kit form.
- 1924 Cossor introduces the first British valves to incorporate an oxide-coated filament.
- 1927 The company launches its famous "Melody Maker" radio set.
- 1930 First British RFRadio frequencyRadio frequency is a rate of oscillation in the range of about 3 kHz to 300 GHz, which corresponds to the frequency of radio waves, and the alternating currents which carry radio signals...
pentodePentodeA pentode is an electronic device having five active electrodes. The term most commonly applies to a three-grid vacuum tube , which was invented by the Dutchman Bernhard D.H. Tellegen in 1926...
valve made by Cossor. - 1932 The company introduces its first cathode ray oscilloscopeOscilloscopeAn oscilloscope is a type of electronic test instrument that allows observation of constantly varying signal voltages, usually as a two-dimensional graph of one or more electrical potential differences using the vertical or 'Y' axis, plotted as a function of time,...
. - 1935 A Cossor cathode ray tubeCathode ray tubeThe cathode ray tube is a vacuum tube containing an electron gun and a fluorescent screen used to view images. It has a means to accelerate and deflect the electron beam onto the fluorescent screen to create the images. The image may represent electrical waveforms , pictures , radar targets and...
is used in the receiver of the Daventry Experiment for radarRadarRadar is an object-detection system which uses radio waves to determine the range, altitude, direction, or speed of objects. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, weather formations, and terrain. The radar dish or antenna transmits pulses of radio...
research, conducted to investigate the signals produced by reflections off a HeyfordHandley Page HeyfordThe Handley Page Heyford was a twin-engine British biplane bomber of the 1930s. Although it had a short service life, it equipped several squadrons of the RAF as one of the most important British bombers of the mid-1930s, and was the last biplane heavy bomber to serve with the RAF.-Design and...
bomber of the output of the BBCBBCThe British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
transmitterTransmitterIn electronics and telecommunications a transmitter or radio transmitter is an electronic device which, with the aid of an antenna, produces radio waves. The transmitter itself generates a radio frequency alternating current, which is applied to the antenna. When excited by this alternating...
at DaventryDaventryDaventry is a market town in Northamptonshire, England, with a population of 22,367 .-Geography:The town is also the administrative centre of the larger Daventry district, which has a population of 71,838. The town is 77 miles north-northwest of London, 13.9 miles west of Northampton and 10.2...
. - 1936 The company sells its first television receiverReceiver (radio)A radio receiver converts signals from a radio antenna to a usable form. It uses electronic filters to separate a wanted radio frequency signal from all other signals, the electronic amplifier increases the level suitable for further processing, and finally recovers the desired information through...
. - 1937 Receivers for the Chain HomeChain HomeChain Home was the codename for the ring of coastal Early Warning radar stations built by the British before and during the Second World War. The system otherwise known as AMES Type 1 consisted of radar fixed on top of a radio tower mast, called a 'station' to provide long-range detection of...
primary radar system, the world's first radar air defence system, are built by Cossor. - Cossor remains pre-eminent in the development of the cathode ray oscilloscope with the introduction of a dual-beam version of the instrument.
- 1938 Cossor becomes a public limited companyPublic limited companyA public limited company is a limited liability company that sells shares to the public in United Kingdom company law, in the Republic of Ireland and Commonwealth jurisdictions....
. - 1938 In co-operation with the Army Cell at the Bawdsey Research Station, the company begins production development of the receiver for the GL1, the first British heavy anti-aircraft gun-laying radar.
- 1939 The company switches to war production.
- Cossor becomes involved in the early development of airborne IFF radar. The development team includes spy Arthur WynnArthur WynnArthur Henry Ashford Wynn , was a British civil servant, social researcher, and recruiter of Soviet spies.Recruited by Edith Tudor-Hart in 1936, Wynn was the well known Soviet spy "Agent Scott" of the KGB...
. - 1945 Secondary radar for air traffic control becomes a key area of development for Cossor.
- 1945 The company moves its valve and CRT business into a new wholly owned subsidiary Electronic Tubes Ltd (ETEL) based at High Wycombe.
- 1949 EMIEMIThe EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...
purchases ordinary (voting) shares in ETEL, and takes management control. Cossor retains an investment in ETEL, purchasing its valve requirements from EMI and from MOV, which was jointly owned by EMI and GEC. - 1956 Cossor disposes of its holding in ETEL sometime after 1956, and withdraws from valve and CRT manufacture.
- 1958 Cossor sells its radio and television business to PhilipsPhilipsKoninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. , more commonly known as Philips, is a multinational Dutch electronics company....
- 1958 Company moves to HarlowHarlowHarlow is a new town and local government district in Essex, England. It is located in the west of the county and on the border with Hertfordshire, on the Stort Valley, The town is near the M11 motorway and forms part of the London commuter belt.The district has a current population of 78,889...
, EssexEssexEssex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west... - 1961 Cossor is acquired by RaytheonRaytheonRaytheon Company is a major American defense contractor and industrial corporation with core manufacturing concentrations in weapons and military and commercial electronics. It was previously involved in corporate and special-mission aircraft until early 2007...
, after making trading losses in 1959/60 had depressed the share price. These losses were reputed to be following disputes over costs of the Fylingdales BMEWSRAF FylingdalesRAF Fylingdales is a Royal Air Force station on Snod Hill in the North York Moors, England. Its motto is "Vigilamus" . It is a radar base and part of the United States-controlled Ballistic Missile Early Warning System...
contract.
External link
- Cossor Airfield Surveillance Radar a 1954 advertisement for Cossor radar in FlightFlight InternationalFlight International is a global aerospace weekly publication produced in the UK. Founded in 1909, it is the world's oldest continuously published aviation news magazine...
magazine