Thomas Lake Aveling
From GracesGuide
Thomas Lake Aveling (1856–1931) was born on 25 August 1856 at Ruckinge, Kent. From the time he left school he was immersed in the work of his father's engineering firm. Control of Aveling and Porter was handed over to him in 1881, and under his direction the firm expanded until the 1920s.
In 1872, about 400 had been employed at the works; in the mid-1890s there were nearly 1000, and at its peak the firm had about 1500 employees. In 1895 the firm was converted into a limited liability company, with capital of £100,000. Thomas Lake Aveling was to serve as chairman and managing director until he retired in 1928.
In 1890, Aveling married Rosita Marion Porter (d. 1904), and they had two sons. Among his local interests, he was chairman of the Medway conservancy, a member of the bridgewardens' board of Rochester, and served as a justice of the peace for Kent. He was a member of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, as well as of the Institution of Civil Engineers. A member of the council of the Smithfield Club, he acted as its president in 1929. He also served on the council of the Royal Agricultural Society of England and was president of the Agricultural Engineers' Association. Other business interests included a directorship of Jesse Ellis Ltd, Maidstone, manufacturers of steam wagons.
Under Aveling's direction, Aveling and Porter concentrated most of its efforts on the production of steamrollers. There was an expanding market, both in Britain and overseas, as roads were being remade to suit modern needs, especially after the advent of motor transport. The success of this policy was that Aveling and Porter met about 70 per cent of the British market for road rollers in the early twentieth century. The firm continued to make various products such as traction engines, ploughing engines, steam wagons, and tramway locomotives, but many others were contracted out. Aveling and Porter threshing machines, for example, were made by Nalder and Nalder of Wantage.
After the First World War, Aveling and Archibald Maconochie, a friend and neighbour in Kent, promoted the formation of Agricultural and General Engineers. This was a publicly quoted holding company which took over the businesses of Aveling and Porter, James and Frederick Howard, and twelve other firms engaged in agricultural and related engineering.
The intention was to rationalize the industry through the merger, but this was not fulfilled. The holding company's central overhead costs tended to outweigh savings from the limited amount of integration between the constituent companies. Aveling and Porter's business began to suffer, and by 1928, when Aveling retired, the number of employees had declined and short-time working had been implemented for many of those that remained. Agricultural and General Engineers collapsed in 1932, and in the aftermath Aveling and Porter merged with Barford and Perkins. The new firm, Aveling Barford, closed the works at Rochester, transferring its operations to Grantham.
Thomas Lake Aveling did not live to see the demise of his business. He suffered a heart attack on 5 October 1931, and died that day at his home, Pettings Court, Ash, near Wrotham, Kent.
[edit] Sources of Information
- [1] Oxford DNB
