Jack Bowthorpe (8 July 1905 – 24 July 1978) was the founder of

Spirent Spirent Communications plc is a British-American multinational telecommunications testing company headquartered in Crawley, West Sussex, in the United Kingdom. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Ind ...

plc, one of the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

's largest

telecommunications Telecommunication, often used in its plural form or abbreviated as telecom, is the transmission of information over a distance using electronic means, typically through cables, radio waves, or other communication technologies. These means of ...

businesses.

Early life

Orphaned, he started working at the General Electric Co. in London, aged 16, as a ledger clerk, before moving into the sales and finally the export department."Early Life", Jack Bowthorpe's autobiography, "The Sky's The Limit", The Gatwick Press Ltd. January 1966 In 1926, he left GEC to join the Electrical Equipment & Carbon Co. in New Oxford Street. He was a keen amateur footballer, playing with the Christ Church Athletic Club for many years, which is where he met Ray Parsons. In 1934 he married Norah Beatrice Davies and they had two children, Peter (21 May 1935 – 27 September 2016) and Sonia (born 1937). In 1938, Jack Bowthorpe exhibited at the Leipzig Fair.

Career

Borrowing £2,000 from a relative, Jack Bowthorpe started his own business in 1936 originally trading as ''Goodlife Electrical Supplies'' although, on repayment of the loan in 1938, ''Bowthorpe Electric Ltd'' was established with the help of Park Trust Ltd (Lord Doverdale's family trust).Live wire in search of a bright spark
Industrial Management & Data Systems, 1972 He operated his business from a garage in 8, Eagle Street, London, W.C.1., cutting up electrical wiring into standard lengths and selling it to the aircraft industry. He was one of the first people to realise that the purpose of different cables needed to be identified by the colour of their sleevings. He initially employed one person, Ray Parsons, to assist him and together they built the Company into one of the UK's largest electrical businesses. He was awarded the

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

for services to British Industry in 1978. He died later that year.

Works

References

1905 births 1978 deaths Commanders of the Order of the British Empire 20th-century English businesspeople {{UK-business-bio-1900s-stub