Phoenix Dynamo Manufacturing Company

Phoenix Dynamo Manufacturing Company Limited
Company type	Private company (limited liability)
Industry	Electrical engineering, manufacturing, aircraft components
Founded	1895; 131 years ago
Founder	Charles Brooke Crawshaw, Herbert Alexander Jones
Defunct	June 11, 1923
Fate	Assets transferred to English Electric
Headquarters	Bradford (headquarters also in London), England, United Kingdom
Area served	United Kingdom
Key people	Charles Brooke Crawshaw, Herbert Alexander Jones, Robert Pohl, John Pybus, W.O. Manning
Products	Electric motors, alternators, generators, aircraft components, munitions supplies
Number of employees	4,000 (1917)

Phoenix Dynamo Manufacturing Company Limited, based on Hubert Street, Leeds Road in Bradford, Yorkshire, specialized in producing both small and large-scale motors, alternators, and generators at their facility in Thornbury. During the latter stages of World War I, the company briefly shifted focus to manufacture significant aircraft components. Their London headquarters were situated at 17 Victoria Street, Westminster SW.

By late 1895, Phoenix Dynamo was operating from Hubert Street, Bradford, initially focusing on arc lamps and electrical instruments. By the turn of the century, their production expanded to include small rotating electric machines tailored to the textile industry. In June 1903, a limited liability company was established under the same name to take ownership of the business. The company voluntarily ceased operations on 11 June 1923 after transferring all assets in 1921 to the post-1918 proprietor English Electric, under which the manufacturing activities persisted.

History

The Phoenix dynamo originated from a design by W B Esson during his tenure as manager at Paterson & Cooper, electrical engineers based in Glasgow and Dalston. After Paterson & Cooper closed in 1895, their enterprise was revived by Paterson Cooper & Co Limited with locations in London and Paisley.

By 1895, Phoenix Dynamo Manufacturing Company—then an unincorporated entity—was engaged in producing arc lamps and electrical instruments at Hubert Street. By 1900, they had diversified into manufacturing small motors and dynamos for textile machinery and lighting applications but soon further expanded their portfolio to include large motors, turbines, turbo-generators, as well as contracts for the Admiralty and War Office.

In February 1903, Phoenix Dynamo acquired the premises, business operations, and patent rights of Rosling & Fynn Limited of Bradford (which was undergoing liquidation), centralizing production at Thornbury following facility expansions.

June 1903 saw the incorporation of Phoenix Dynamo Manufacturing Company Limited with a capital of £60,000 to acquire the electrical engineering business managed by Charles Brooke Crawshaw and Herbert Alexander Jones at Thornbury Works in Bradford.

Limited documentation regarding the company's activities likely stems from its involvement in confidential Admiralty and War Office contracts prior to World War I. A 1917 report indicated that Phoenix Dynamo employed approximately 4,000 personnel and had broadened its manufacturing scope to include various munitions supplies. Throughout World War I, the firm fulfilled Admiralty contracts for Short seaplane construction and produced millions of shells, machine tools, as well as some of the fastest seaplanes and flying boats.

After the Armistice in November 1918, Phoenix Dynamo merged with four other companies to establish English Electric, becoming that company’s principal hub for electric motor and generator design.

Products

Electric motors (small and large), alternators, and generators

Wartime

Phoenix P.5 Cork, a twin-engine biplane flying boat developed internally by William Oke Manning and manufactured by Phoenix towards the end of the First World War. Manning continued its development in 1922 under the designation English Electric P.5 Kingston

Aircraft produced under license:

Noteworthy personnel

Robert Pohl (1879–1956) emigrated from Germany in 1904 and held the position of Chief Engineer between 1907 and 1919 before returning to work at AEG Turbine Works in Berlin. Subsequently, he became a lecturer at Birmingham University and was an early proponent of alternating current traction alongside the development of the Interpole.
John Pybus (1880–1935) began his career at Phoenix Dynamo in 1906, rising to managing director during the First World War. He subsequently served as chairman of English Electric, held directorships across various firms, and was Minister of Transport from 1931 to 1933. In 1929, he was elected as the Liberal Member of Parliament for Harwich.
W.O. Manning (1879–1958) served as chief designer for aircraft from 1916 through 1926.

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