Richard Thomas

Richard Thomas (1837–1916), tin plate manufacturer of Richard Thomas and Co

1837 He was born at Bridgwater, Somerset, on 5 December 1837, the son of Richard Thomas, shipowner and merchant, of Bridgwater.

He was educated at Wesleyan (now Queen's) College, Taunton, until the age of eleven.

During his early working life he was employed as a clerk, as an assistant to an uncle who ran a draper's business in Oxford (later becoming a partner in the business), and as a coal exporter and commission agent in Cardiff.

1859 Married at Cardiff to Anne Loveluck (1836/7–1914), daughter of John Loveluck, a farmer, of Ffald, Llangynog; they had five sons and a daughter.

His subsequent employment as works manager and accountant of a colliery and firebrick business at Briton Ferry, Glamorgan, in which his father was a partner, was to provide a springboard for his future career.

1860 Birth of son Richard Beaumont Thomas

1863 his appointment as accountant and sub-manager in charge of overseeing the construction of a new iron plate and tin plate works at Melyn, Neath, Glamorgan, brought him into direct contact for the first time with the industry in which he was to become an important figure. During his four years at Melyn he studied the processes, working methods, and ways of financing the tin plate trade, and he made contacts with important ironmasters and coal owners.

c.1866 Birth of son Francis Treherne Thomas

c.1868 Birth of son Harold Massey Thomas (died 1956 in Florida)

1871 Aged 34 he formed Richard Thomas and Co

1871 Became associated with the Lydbrook Tin-plate Works

1875 Associated with the Lydbrook Colliery

1881 Birth of son Stanley Randel Thomas (died 1901 in Rome)

1890 Associated with the Melingriffiih Tin-plate Works

1895 Associated with Abercarn

Aged 79 he died on 28 September 1916 at 31 Henrietta Street, Bath, and was buried at Lydbrook churchyard, Gloucestershire, on 30 September. His wife had predeceased him, dying in 1914.

See Also

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Sources of Information

• [1] DNB