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Coalite, a School, and a Plaque
Thomas invented the smokeless fuel 'Coalite' in 1904,
it was one of his most important inventions. Large quantities were
sold, and the Low Temperature Carbonisation Company, which produced
'Coalite', was run by Thomas's son, Charles. On 14th January, 1936
Thomas was posthumously awarded a gold medal by the Smoke Abatement
Society for his invention. The medal was presented to Charles, on
his father's behalf, by Dr. H.A. des Voeux, president of the
society, at a luncheon in London.
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Thomas's posthumous medal.
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The medal has now been lost, it was stolen from
Thomas's daughter, Jessie, many years ago.
Although Thomas never made a penny from his invention,
because it was ahead of its time, the Low Temperature Carbonisation
Company was extremely successful after his death.
In 1936 the company built a large factory at Bolsover,
Derbyshire, which employed 1,000 men in the production of 'Coalite'.
The plant occupied 17 acres, had two miles of railway sidings and
288 retorts. The company signed a contract for 1,000,000 tons of
coal for the new plant. Each ton of coal produced four gallons of
petrol, 18 gallons of oil and 14cwt. of smokeless fuel. 12 squadrons
of the Royal Air Force exclusively used petrol that was produced by
the company and the Royal Navy purchased large quantities of oil.
The company also produced a wide range of speciality chemicals and
recycling solutions for waste.
Unfortunately in 2004 the company was in receivership
and the production of Coalite ceased on June 10th.
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On 10th October, 1972 a new school opened at
Telford. It was called the Thomas Parker school in honour of
Thomas. When opened, the school catered for 40 children with
special needs.
Members of the Parker family attended the opening ceremony
and a large framed photograph of Thomas Parker, complete
with a list of his achievements, was presented to the
school.
The school still exists today and is now called the Bridge
School. |
| At long last Thomas is getting some well-deserved
recognition in Wolverhampton. On 26th February, 2007 a
new exhibition opened at Bantock House, featuring a
number of important historical figures from the City's
past. One of them is Thomas Parker. In May 2007 a new
plaque, in several parts, has been erected in Riches
Street, celebrating Thomas and his works. |
Part of the new plaque. Courtesy
of John McKenna. |
| The new plaque was designed and cast in bronze
by John McKenna, who has several other sculptures in
the area. His works are designed and manufactured in
his studio at Turnberry, Ayrshire, Scotland. |
John McKenna and part of
the new plaque. Courtesy of John McKenna. |
John was involved in the plaques at St.
John's Retail Park in Wolverhampton that
celebrate car makers Sunbeam and Star, and the
Boulton Paul Defiant relief sculpture at
Pendeford. John's many local works include the
'Child At Play' steel railings features at
Wednesbury, the Green Man Sculpture relief for
the Green Man Passage in Dudley, way markers for
the Midland Metro tram line along the length of
a cycle path at West Bromwich, the 'Lucas Lion'
stainless steel relief sculpture on the former
Lucas Car parts production site at Newtown in
Aston, Birmingham, the 'Genie of Industry'
stainless steel artwork at Longbridge,
Birmingham, the Colossus of Brownhills, the 12
metre high stainless steel statue of a coal
miner that stands at Brownhills to celebrate the
areas' former coal mining industry, the
'Needles' Canopy at Butlers Passage, Walsall,
and the Palfrey Horse, which stands in Palfrey
Park, Walsall. Visit John's
website:
www.a4a.com/ |
| The top plaque shows an early tram, similar
to the ones used on the Blackpool Tramway and
the South Staffordshire Tramway. The text reads
as follows: 1843 - 1915
Engineer & Scientist
Lived close to this site and worked on
many of his inventions here in Wolverhampton,
some of which are described on this plaque.
1881
Responsible for the first electric tramway
in the world at Portrush, Northern Ireland,
powered by the first hydro electric generator.
1882
Founded the first company in the Midlands
to manufacture electrical equipment such as
dynamos, motors, switchboards and transformers. |
Another view of the
plaque. Courtesy of John McKenna. |
| The middle plaque on the left shows the
Wednesfield furnace and the text reads as
follows: 1887
Wednesfield Furnace. Invented the method
of producing phosphorus and chlorate of soda by
electricity.
The middle plaque on the right shows a Parker
dynamo and one of his early cars. The text is as
follows:
Thomas Parker designed and built cars.
Possibly the first motorist in Wolverhampton as
he had an electrically operated vehicle as early
as 1884.
The bottom but one plaque on the left shows a
Parker alternator and the text reads as follows:
Designed and built multi-phase alternators
with stationary armatures and revolving fields,
a very successful design for many years. He used
the principal in alternating current furnaces
for purifying metals and establishing a more
efficient method of electrical distribution.
The bottom plaque on the right shows a Kyrle
grate and the text is as follows:
Awarded two gold medals by the smoke
abatement society for perhaps his most important
work against air pollution. One for his
invention of the Kyrle fire grate and one for
his invention of distillation of coal by low
temperature method to produce a smokeless fuel -
"Coalite".
John McKenna holding
"Tom". Courtesy of
John McKenna. |
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An Elwell-Parker dynamo
and a Parker car from about 1895. |
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The Kyrle grate produced
by the Coalbrookdale Company from about 1880. |
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A Wednesfield furnace. |
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An early Parker type of
tram. |
A final view of the plaques. Courtesy
of John McKenna.
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the Funeral |
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T.H. Parker |
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