Thomas Abraham Bayliss (c1862-1915), chairman and managing director of the Kings Norton Metal Co
son of Thomas Richard Bayliss
1915 Obituary [1]
THOMAS ABRAHAM BAYLISS died on April 21, 1915, at the age of fifty-three.
He was the chairman and managing director of the King's Norton Metal Company, Birmingham, which, in conjunction with his father, the late Mr. T. R. Bayliss, he founded in 1889. The father and son together perfected a machine designed to improve the methods of casting, rolling, and general working of metals for ammunition, and they manufactured the first six-pounder case for the Nordenfeldt gun, which was adopted by the Government.
He took a keen interest in local affairs, and sat on various councils and committees in Birmingham and Worcestershire. Throughout his public career he displayed considerable ability, and studied the interests of the community with that care which had always characterised him in his private affairs and business.
He was elected a member of the Iron and Steel Institute in 1896, and was a frequent attendant at its meetings both at home and abroad.
1915 Obituary [2]
THOMAS ABRAHAM BAYLISS, Treasurer of the Institute of Metals and Chairman and Managing Director of the King's Norton Metal Company, died suddenly at St. Leonards-on-Sea on April 21, 1915.
Mr. Bayliss, who resided at St. John's, Warwick, was well known and respected in the public and commercial life of Birmingham and the neighbourhood. He was the son of Mr. Thomas Richard Bayliss (who died in July last and in conjunction with his father founded the firm of King's Norton Metal Company in 1889, the business being converted into a limited company shortly afterwards. Together they perfected a machine designed to improve the methods of casting, rolling, and general working of metals for ammunition, and they manufactured the first six-pounder case for the Nordenfeldt gun which was adopted by the British Government.
The success of the business at King's Norton coincided with a period of military activity, and of late the firm have been busily employed in the, execution of orders for the War Office. Moreover, they have also executed orders for foreign governments, and under the direction of Mr. Bayliss a plant was laid down for the manufacture of coinage in its entirety.
Like his father, Mr. Bayliss took great interest in local affairs in Birmingham and Worcestershire. For some years he was the representative of King's Norton Ward on the Worcestershire County Council at the time his father was an alderman. When the district of King's Norton was absorbed into Birmingham in 1911, and the New Birmingham Union formed, Mr. Bayliss became a member of the Board of Guardians for the enlarged city. He was elected chairman of the Finance Committee, an important position which he had held ever since.
Mr. Bayliss was also a member of the Monyhull Joint Committee from its formation, and he was a Justice of the Peace for Worcestershire and Warwickshire, and a director of the Sharpness New Docks and Gloucester and Birmingham Navigation Company, while in November last he was elected a member of the Warwick Town Council, Mr. Bayliss was elected Honorary Treasurer of the Institute of Metals in July 1915, and had been associated with the Institute since its inception, acting first on the Interim Council in 1908, and thenceforward on the Council and on the Finance Committee.