Richard Thomas (5 December 1837 – 28 September 1916) was an English

tin plate Tinplate consists of sheets of steel coated with a thin layer of tin to impede rusting. Before the advent of cheap mild steel, the backing metal (known as "") was wrought iron. While once more widely used, the primary use of tinplate now is the ...

manufacturer. He was the founder of Richard Thomas & Co., which later merged with Baldwins Ltd to become

Richard Thomas and Baldwins Richard Thomas and Baldwins Ltd (RTB) was a major iron, steel and tinplate producer, primarily based in Wales and formed in 1948 by the merger of Richard Thomas & Co Ltd with Baldwins Ltd. It was absorbed into British Steel Corporation in 1967. The ...

, which in turn was absorbed into

British Steel Corporation British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and cultur ...

in the 1960s.

Biography

Richard Thomas was born 5 Dec 1837 in

Bridgwater Bridgwater is a historic market town and civil parish in Somerset, England. The town had a population of 41,276 at the 2021 census. Bridgwater is at the edge of the Somerset Levels, in level and well-wooded country. The town lies along both sid ...

Somerset Somerset ( , ), Archaism, archaically Somersetshire ( , , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east ...

. He was the eldest son of Richard Thomas (25 Dec 1814-31 Jan 1895), a Somerset shipowner and merchant. The younger Richard Thomas attended the Wesleyan Collegiate Institute in

Taunton Taunton () is the county town of Somerset, England. It is a market town and has a Minster (church), minster church. Its population in 2011 was 64,621. Its thousand-year history includes a 10th-century priory, monastic foundation, owned by the ...

before starting work as a clerk in his uncle's

draper Draper was originally a term for a retailer or wholesaler of cloth that was mainly for clothing. A draper may additionally operate as a cloth merchant or a haberdasher. History Drapers were an important trade guild during the medieval period ...

's shop in

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

. He then worked at various jobs in the

coal mining Coal mining is the process of resource extraction, extracting coal from the ground or from a mine. Coal is valued for its Energy value of coal, energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to Electricity generation, generate electr ...

industry in Wales, including as a coal exporter, a commission agent, a works manager and an accountant. In 1863, he moved into the tin plate industry when he became accountant and sub-manager of an iron and tin plate works in

Neath Neath (; ) is a market town and Community (Wales), community situated in the Neath Port Talbot, Neath Port Talbot County Borough, Wales. The town had a population of 50,658 in 2011. The community of the parish of Neath had a population of 19,2 ...

. In 1871, he founded his own company: Richard Thomas & Co. He acquired tin plate works at

Lydbrook Lydbrook is a civil parish in the Forest of Dean, a local government district in the English county of Gloucestershire and is located in the Wye Valley. It is on the north west edge of the Forest of Dean's present legal boundary proper. It c ...

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( , ; abbreviated Glos.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Herefordshire to the north-west, Worcestershire to the north, Warwickshire to the north-east, Oxfordshire ...

and

Lydney Lydney is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in Gloucestershire, England. It is on the west bank of the River Severn in the Forest of Dean District, and is 16 miles (25 km) southwest of Gloucester. The town has been Bypass ( ...

, and then the

colliery Coal mining is the process of extracting coal from the ground or from a mine. Coal is valued for its energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extra ...

at Lydbrook. Financial problems caused directly by the flooding of

Colliery led Richard Thomas to

liquidate Liquidation is the process in accounting by which a company is brought to an end. The assets and property of the business are redistributed. When a firm has been liquidated, it is sometimes referred to as wound-up or dissolved, although di ...

his company in 1883, but it was relaunched as Richard Thomas & Co. Ltd in 1884, with the financial backing of the Barrow Hematite Steel Company. Thomas married Anne Loveluck (06 Feb 1837–04 Apr 1914) daughter of John Loveluck of Hafod Talog, Margam in

Cardiff Cardiff (; ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. Cardiff had a population of in and forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area officially known as the City and County of Ca ...

on 18 February 1859. Anne bore thirteen children, a number of whom did not survive to adulthood. His eldest son, Richard Beaumont Thomas, succeeded him as managing director of Richard Thomas & Co. Ltd. Three of his other surviving sons namely Harold Massey-Thomas of Moor Hall, Hubert Spence-Thomas of Cae Pwcella and Wyndham Partridge Thomas of Caxton House held prominent positions within Richard Thomas and Co. Ltd. Richard Thomas died in

Bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...

on 28 September 1916. His will was proved at £92,140 at Bristol Registry Office on 11 Apr 1917. By this time, Richard Thomas & Co. Ltd and its associated companies employed over 11,000 in South Wales.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thomas, Richard 1837 births 1916 deaths People from Somerset People educated at Queen's College, Taunton