Bristol Uniforms is a British clothing company that specializes in the manufacture of modern-day safety and fire protective clothing.

History

Wathen Gardiner & Co

Wathen Gardiner & Co, the parent company of Bristol Uniforms, was founded as ''Gardiner & Sons'' in the city of

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

, England in 1801 by John Gardiner, who served in 1819 and 1824 as

High Sheriff of Bristol This is a list of civic sheriffs and high sheriffs of the County of the City of Bristol, England. The office of high sheriff is over 1,000 years old, with its establishment before the Norman Conquest. The high sheriff remained first in precedence ...

. The firm operated initially as a wholesale clothing company that exported women’s clothing to the

West Indies The West Indies is an island subregion of the Americas, surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, which comprises 13 independent island country, island countries and 19 dependent territory, dependencies in thr ...

. When Bristol in the 19th century was considered a major player in the clothing industry, Wathen Gardiner & Co was reputed to be one of the oldest operating companies in the city.

Charles Wathen Sir Charles Wathen (19 March 1833 - 14 February 1893) was a prominent Victorian wool merchant who from 1865 to 1887 ran the well-known British clothing firm of Wathen Gardiner & Co, and served six times as Mayor of Bristol. He was knighted f ...

in 1862 joined the firm, and created a partnership in 1865 with John Gardiner's son, Henry Gardiner. The company name subsequently became Wathen Gardiner & Co. It grew and expanded its reach outside of Britain by exporting clothing to

Latin America Latin America is the cultural region of the Americas where Romance languages are predominantly spoken, primarily Spanish language, Spanish and Portuguese language, Portuguese. Latin America is defined according to cultural identity, not geogr ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

and

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

, often returning with

wool Wool is the textile fiber obtained from sheep and other mammals, especially goats, rabbits, and camelids. The term may also refer to inorganic materials, such as mineral wool and glass wool, that have some properties similar to animal w ...

that was used to make more clothing. Wathen retired in 1887 from the business and went on to become a six times

Mayor of Bristol The Mayor of Bristol was the political leader of Bristol City Council. The mayor was a directly elected politician who, along with the 70 members of Bristol City Council, was responsible for the strategic government of the city of Bristol, En ...

, being knighted in 1889 for his accomplishments. His business partner William Hill took over the company and served as the principal proprietor until the mid 1920s when he retired, being succeeded by his son William John Hill who took over ownership of the company. Wathen Gardiner & Co under the stewardship of the Hill family made uniforms in both world wars for the

armed forces A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. Militaries are typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with their members identifiable by a ...

, and started after the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

to supply uniforms to other organizations, including

HM Customs and Excise HM Customs and Excise (properly known as Her Majesty's Customs and Excise at the time of its dissolution) was a department of the British Government formed in 1909 by the merger of HM Customs and HM Excise; its primary responsibility was the ...

, hospitals and

water board A water board is a regional or national organisation that has very different functions from one country to another. The functions range from flood control and water resources management at the regional or local level (the Netherlands, Germany), ...

s. When William John Hill retired in 1964 as principal proprietor, uniforms represented a major part of the company business.

Bristol Uniforms

Bristol Uniforms was incorporated on 15 November 1961 as a subsidiary of Wathen Gardner & Co, under the stewardship of William John Hill's son Patrick Seager Hill, who in 1965 became the sole proprietor & managing director. The company ultimately specialized in the manufacture of

fire proximity suit A fire proximity suit (also, silvers, silver bunker suit, or asbestos suit) is a suit designed to protect a firefighter or volcanologist from extremely high temperatures. They were first designed and used in the 1930s. Originally made of asbest ...

s, and fire protective and safety clothing for the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

, the offshore oil industry, and

fire brigade A fire department (North American English) or fire brigade (Commonwealth English), also known as a fire company, fire authority, fire district, fire and rescue, or fire service in some areas, is an organization that provides fire prevention and ...

s. Wathen Gardiner & Co and Bristol Uniforms remained separate companies until Wathen Gardiner & Co dropped their name, and merged with Bristol Uniforms, which still trades today. As of February 22nd 2022, the company is now a subsidiary of MSA Safety.

Gallery

File:Wathen Gardiner Staple Hill Factory.jpg, Later 19th-century drawing of the Bristol factory of Wathen Gardiner & Co File:FARNSWORTH Fred Queen Mary.jpg, Fred Farnsworth, an employee, accompanying Queen Mary of Teck on a visit during WWII

References

External links

Bristol Uniforms Limited
{{Portal bar, Companies, Clothing Clothing companies of the United Kingdom