Richard Beaumont Thomas
Richard Beaumont Thomas (1860-1917) of Richard Thomas and Co
1917 Obituary [1]
RICHARD BEAUMONT THOMAS was born at Oxford on 25th May 1860, being the eldest surviving son of the late Mr. Richard Thomas, of Lydbrook.
On completing his education at Clifton College, and being destined by his father for a business career, he spent some years in the great manufacturing centres in the north of England, and then went for a short time to the Ebbw Vale Steel Works.
This was followed by his joining the firm of which his father was the founder, namely, Richard Thomas and Co., Ltd., Lydney, to which was subsequently added the tin-plate works at Llanelly, Swansea, and elsewhere, thus making the firm the supreme one in the tin-plate industry in Wales.
He was keenly interested in elementary and secondary education, and aided with generous contributions the Technical College at Llanelly, the University College at Cardiff, and the Swansea Technical College.
On the outbreak of the War, he realized the magnitude of the contest, and on the demand for more munitions he quickly placed all the resources of his Company at the disposal of the Government. He also busied himself in schemes for inducing his workmen to subscribe to the War Loan.
His death took place at his residence at Englefield Green, Surrey, on 14th February 1917, in his fifty- seventh year.
He was elected a Member of this Institution at the Cardiff Meeting in 1906, when he presented a Paper on "The Manufacture of Tin-Plates."
He was a Justice of the Peace for the County of Gloucester.