1924 British Empire Exhibition
See also -
General
The British Empire Exhibition was a colonial exhibition held at Wembley, Middlesex in 1924 and 1925.
It was opened by King George V on St George’s Day, 23 April. The British Empire contained 58 countries at that time, and only Gambia and Gibraltar did not take part. It cost £12 million and was the largest exhibition ever staged anywhere in the world - it attracted 27 million visitors.
The three main buildings were the Palaces of Industry, Engineering and Arts. The Palace of Engineering was the world's largest reinforced concrete building, a building method that allowed quick construction. Among its exhibits was the now famous railway locomotive, LNER no. 4472 Flying Scotsman; this was joined in 1925 by GWR 4079 Pendennis Castle.
A special railway loop line and station were built, to connect the site to London Marylebone station. The various buildings of the site were linked by several 'light railways', including the screw-driven 'Never-Stop Railway'.
Most of the exhibition halls were intended to be temporary and demolished afterwards, but at least the Palace of Engineering and the British Government Pavilion survived into the 1970s, if only because of the high cost of demolition of the huge concrete structures. The Empire Pool became the Wembley Arena, and at the suggestion of the chair of the exhibition committee, Scotsman Sir James Stevenson, the Empire Stadium was kept; it became Wembley Stadium, the home of Football in England until 2002 when it was demolished to be replaced by a new stadium.
The management of the exhibition asked the Imperial Studies Committee of the Royal Colonial Institute to assist them with the educational aspect of the exhibition, which resulted in a 12-volume book "The British Empire: A survey" with Hugh Gunn as the General Editor, and which was published in London in 1924.
The Palace of Engineering
"The building in which the engineering exhibits are housed is an immense structure of ferro-concrete" and glass. Its exterior is very reserved, not to say austere, and its interior has no architectural charms beyond those associated with spaciousness. It is a little irregular in plan, with a maximum length of 950ft. and a maximum width of 725ft. It divided into eleven longitudinal bays, of which five, occupying the central portion of the area. are 75ft. wide, whilst the others are 50ft wide. There are no galleries and the height to the lower members of the roof principals of the big bays is about 4 1/2 ft. Railway tracks of standard gauge run the whole length of the five 75ft. bays, which are also served by 25-ton overhead cranes." From The Engineer 1924/04/25.
Exhibition Journal Series
The Engineer covered the British Empire Exhibition in great detail with a series of twenty-eight articles detailing the companies involved and their exhibits. The PDF files below cover every article in the series from The Engineer journals April - October 1924. Click on the links to open and read the PDFs.
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
Exhibits
The following list, details all the exhibiting companies covered in The Engineer's British Empire Exhibition series above. They are sorted into the categories they fell under during the exhibition.
- NB
Electrical Engineering Exhibits
- Electrical Development Association (EDA).
- Brookhirst Switchgear.
- Electric Lamp Manufacturers Association.
- Cable Makers' Association.
- Electrical Contractors' Association.
- GEC.
- A. Reyrolle and Co.
- BTH.
- Marconi's Wireless Telegraph Co.
- Marconi International Marine Communication Co.
- Marconiphone Co.
- Marconi Scientific Instrument Co.
- George Ellison.
- Crompton and Co.
- English Electric Co.
- Electromotors.
- Mather and Platt.
- British Electric Transformer Co.
- British Lighting and Ignition Co.
- C. A. Parsons and Co.
- Metropolitan-Vickers.
- Siemens Brothers and Co.
- The Model Colliery.
- Markham and Co.
- Callenders.
- Electric Control.
- Bruce Peebles.
- Johnson and Phillips.
- Cambridge and Paul Instrument Co.
- Allen West and Co.
- British Electric Plant Co.
- Nalder Brothers and Thompson.
- Ferguson Pailin.
- Whipp and Bourne.
- Erskine, Heap and Co.
- Switchgear and Cowans.
Electric Instruments
Food Production Plant
General Engineering Exhibits
- Mirrlees, Bickerton and Day.
- North British Diesel Engine Works.
- Swan, Hunter and Wigham Richardson.
- Petters.
- Yarrow and Co.
- North British Locomotive Co.
- G. and J. Weir.
- Ruston and Hornsby.
- William Beardmore and Co.
- Davidson and Co.
- Brown, Bayleys Steel Works.
- Drysdale and Co.
- George Kent.
- John Fowler and Co.
- National Gas Engine Co.
- English Electric Co.
- William Beardmore and Co.
- Priestman Brothers.
- Richard Johnson and Nephew.
- Hughes and Lancaster.
- Gwynnes Engineering Co.
- A. G. Mumford.
- Manlove, Alliott and Co.
- Brush Electrical Engineering Co.
- William Beardmore and Co.
- Ronald Trist and Co.
- Fraser and Chalmers.
- James Keith and Blackman Co.
- Wailes Dove Bitumastic.
- Davey, Paxman and Co.
- Armstrong Whitworth.
- Alfred Herbert.
- Manlove, Alliott and Co.
- R. and W. Hawthorn, Leslie and Co.
- Davidson and Co.
- British Oxygen Co.
- Parsons Marine Steam Turbine Co.
- G. Constatinesco.
- Mirrlees Watson Co.
- New Pelapone Engine Co.
- J. Blakeborough and Sons.
- Klinger Patents.
- Cole, Marchent and Moreley.
- John Brown and Co.
- W. H. Allen, Sons and Co.
- Belliss and Morcom.
- Galloways.
- Henry Simon.
- Cochran and Co.
- Greenwood and Batley.
- Crompton and Co.
- Ransomes and Rapier.
- Armstrong Whitworth.
- Dorman, Long and Co.
- Culley Expressors.
- Steam Fittings Co.
- Mather and Platt.
- Westinghouse Brake and Saxby Signal Co.
- Daniel Adamson and Co.
- Holden and Brooke.
- Norris, Henty and Gardners.
- J. and E. Hall.
- Hick, Hargreaves and Co.
- Metropolitan-Vickers.
- Richardsons, Westgarth and Co.
- Vickers.
- Taylor Brothers.
- Docker Brothers.
- Fusion Corporation.
- British Lighting and Ignition Co.
- Adam Hilger.
- Cook, Troughton and Simms.
- Gillett and Johnston.
- Worthington Simpson.
- Aiton and Co.
- British Electric Plant Co.
- Nobel Industries.
- Tangyes.
- North Eastern Marine Engineering Co.
- Browlett, Lindley and Co.
- Butterley Ironworks.
- Vickers-Petters.
- James Carmichael and Co.
- Alexander Turnbull and Co.
- Burdons.
- James Howden and Co.
- Philip and Son.
- North British Diesel Engine Works.
- Barclay, Curle and Co.
- Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders.
- Dorman, Long and Co.
- Frederick Braby and Co.
- Thornycroft.
- M. W. Swinburne and Sons.
- Robey and Co.
- Swan, Hunter and Wigham Richardson.
Model Paper-Making Plant
- Paper Makers' Association.
- Charles Walmsley and Co.
- Bentley and Jackson.
- Watford Engineering Works.
- GEC.
- Harland Engineering Co.
Railway Track, Signalling and Safety Appliances
Scientific Instruments
Textile Machinery in the Palace of Industry
- Arundel, Coulthard and Co.
- Elijah Ashworth.
- Atherton Brothers.
- Blackburn Loom and Weaving Machinery Manufacturing Co.
- Brooks and Doxey (1920).
- Cooper Brothers.
- William Dickinson and Sons.
- Dobson and Barlow.
- Goodbrand and Co.
- Gregson and Monk.
- Hacking and Co.
- J. Hetherington and Sons.
- James Hill and Son.
- George Hodgson.
- Asa Lees and Co.
- Henry Livesey.
- Lupton and Place.
- Pemberton and Sons.
- J. Pilling and Sons.
- Platt Brothers and Co.
- Richardson, Tuer and Co.
- D. Sowdon and Sons.
- Joseph Stubbs.
- William Tatham.
- Ward Brothers (Blackburn).
- W. B. White and Sons.
- Willan and Mills.
- Wilson and Co.
- Tweedales and Smalley.
- Robert Hall and Sons.
- Howard and Bullough.
- Robert Hall and Sons.
- John T. Hardaker.
- Mather and Platt.
- Robert Boby.
- Hughes and Lancaster.
- Greenwood and Batley.
- P. D. Mitchell.
- White, Child and Beney.
- Wilson Brothers Bobbin Co.
Wireless Apparatus
Wood-Working Machinery
- Matthew Wylie and Co.
- C. D. Monniger.
- Dominion Machinery Co.
- Drummond Brothers.
- Thomas W. Ward.
- Edgar Allen and Co.
- Thomas Firth and Co.
- Sanderson Brothers and Newbould.
- Spear and Jackson.
- The Machine Tool Trade Association.
See Also
Sources of Information
- [1] Wikipedia
- The Engineer Journals