Kenneth Wood (4 October 1916 – 19 October 1997) was an English engineer, entrepreneur and businessman. He is best known as the founder of the Kenwood Manufacturing Company and for the development of the eponymous

Kenwood Chef The Kenwood Chef is a food mixer developed by Ken Wood in Britain. It is a single machine with a number of attachments that allow it to perform many functions. The Chef, based on the earlier A200, was introduced in 1950. Kenwood mixers, along ...

food mixer.

Life and career

Grandson of confectionery manufacturer

Charles Riley Maynard Maynards was a British confectionery manufacturer best known for manufacturing wine gums. It was acquired by Cadbury in the 1990s, which in turn was acquired by Mondelez International (originally Kraft Foods Inc, Kraft Foods) in 2010. In 2016, ...

, founder of

Maynards Maynards was a British confectionery manufacturer best known for manufacturing wine gums. It was acquired by Cadbury in the 1990s, which in turn was acquired by Mondelez International (originally Kraft Foods) in 2010. In 2016, the brand was j ...

, Kenneth Wood was born on 4 October 1916 in

Lewisham Lewisham () is an area of southeast London, England, south of Charing Cross. It is the principal area of the London Borough of Lewisham, and was within the Historic counties of England, historic county of Kent until 1889. It is identified i ...

in London.Wood, Kenneth Maynard, 1916-1997, London Science Museum.
/ref> He was brought up in

Chelsfield Chelsfield is an area in south-east London, England, within the London Borough of Bromley and the historic county of Kent. It lies south of Goddington, west of Well Hill, north of Pratt's Bottom and east of Green Street Green. The area is ...

in Kent and was educated at Bromley County School before leaving home in 1930, aged fourteen to join the merchant navy for five years, after which, he studied electrical engineering and accountancy at night school. A year later, in 1936, he set up his own company, Dickson & Wood, selling, installing and repairing radios and televisions. In 1939, he sold the company and joined the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

where he worked as an engineer at the

Admiralty Admiralty most often refers to: *Admiralty, Hong Kong *Admiralty (United Kingdom), military department in command of the Royal Navy from 1707 to 1964 *The rank of admiral *Admiralty law Admiralty can also refer to: Buildings * Admiralty, Traf ...

developing radar and electronic controls. After the war, he founded Woodlau Industries, with wartime colleague Roger Laurence, starting production in 1947 in

Woking Woking ( ) is a town and borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in northwest Surrey, England, around from central London. It appears in Domesday Book as ''Wochinges'' and its name probably derives from that of a Anglo-Saxon settlement o ...

with the A100 turnover toaster, an appliance that was uncommon in the UK at that time, and then the A200 food mixer - the predecessor of the

which was launched in 1950. When Roger Laurence left the company, Wood changed the name to Kenwood Manufacturing Company Ltd. The company moved to

Havant Havant ( ) is a town in the south-east corner of Hampshire, England between Portsmouth and Chichester. Its borough (population: 125,000) comprises the town (45,826) and its suburbs including the resort of Hayling Island as well as Rowland's Cast ...

in Hampshire in 1961, then employing a workforce of 700. Kenwood's products were successful because Wood identified household tasks that gave housewives most work and developed machines to do those jobs. Within a few years of setting up the company, he was one of Britain's youngest millionaires. However, in 1968, Wood parted company with Kenwood Manufacturing after a hostile takeover by

Thorn Electrical Industries Thorn Electrical Industries Limited was a British electrical engineering company. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange, but merged with EMI Group to form Thorn EMI in 1979. It was de-merged in 1996 and became a constituent of the FTSE 100 ...

although he maintained an interest in the company until his death. On 31 May 1972, he was granted the

Freedom of the City of London The Freedom of the City of London started around 1237 as the status of a 'free man' or 'citizen', protected by the charter of the City of London and not under the jurisdiction of a feudal lord. In the Middle Ages, this developed into a freedom o ...

as a result of his membership of the

Worshipful Company of Farriers The Worshipful Company of Farriers is one of the Livery Companies of the City of London. The Farriers, or horseshoe makers, organised in 1356. It received a Royal Charter of incorporation in 1674. Over the years, the Company has evolved from ...

. Between 1972–80, Wood was chairman and managing director of the Dawson-Keith Group of Companies, mostly a maker of generators. In 1984, he was appointed Fellow of the Institute of

Ophthalmology Ophthalmology ( ) is a surgical subspecialty within medicine that deals with the diagnosis and treatment of eye disorders. An ophthalmologist is a physician who undergoes subspecialty training in medical and surgical eye care. Following a medic ...

. He founded Forest Mere Health Farm (now

Champneys Champneys is an English country house and its associated estate near Tring, Hertfordshire. The mansion is run as a destination spa by a business using "Champneys" as the brand name for a group of spa resorts and day spas. History The earlies ...

Forest Mere) and the keen golfer invested in

Old Thorns Manor Hotel The Old Thorns Hotel and Resort is a hotel and leisure resort in Hampshire, England, close to Liphook and the A3 trunk road. The Old Thorns estate (which later become a hotel, golf and leisure resort) was previously the property of Ken Wood, in ...

, his then-Hampshire home, with television commentator

Peter Alliss Peter Alliss (28 February 1931 – 5 December 2020) was an English professional golfer, television presenter, commentator, author and golf course designer. Following the death of Henry Longhurst in 1978, he was regarded by many as the "Voice of ...

, both in

Liphook Liphook is a large village in the East Hampshire district of Hampshire, England. It is 4.1 miles (6.6 km) west of Haslemere, bypassed by the A3 road, and lies on the Hampshire/West Sussex/Surrey borders. It is in the civil parish of Bramsh ...

and was also chairman of the governors of

Wispers School Wispers School was a British independent boarding school for girls aged between 11 and 18 which was founded in 1947 and which closed in 2008 after 61 years' operation. For the first part of its life it was based at Wispers, a large country house n ...

Haslemere The town of Haslemere () and the villages of Shottermill and Grayswood are in south west Surrey, England, around south west of London. Together with the settlements of Hindhead and Beacon Hill, they comprise the civil parish of Haslemere i ...

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...

(which closed in 2008).Liphook Herald: Lunch marks women's day, 21 March 2013

(Retrieved 2013-03-31.) He was managing director of Hydrotech Systems between 1984–87. Wood died on 19 October 1997 in Liphook, Hampshire after a short illness. He left a widow, Patricia, two sons and two daughters by his previous marriage, and three stepsons. On 7 Sept 2017, a blue plaque in memory of Kenneth Wood was unveiled in Goldsworth Road, Woking at the site where the company first started in 1947.

References

External links

Ken Wood listed in Woking's Hall of Fame.

Official site in memory of Kenneth Maynard Wood.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wood, Ken 1916 births 1997 deaths People from Woking English inventors Product designers English industrial designers 20th-century British businesspeople English philanthropists 20th-century British philanthropists People from the London Borough of Bromley People from Liphook People from Lewisham