Patrick Seager Hill, T.D. (16 January 1915 – 17 December 2010) was a British clothing manufacturer, who was a pioneer and developer of safety and fire protective clothing.

Early life and military service

Hill was born on 16 January 1915 in Bristol, England to clothing manufacturer William John Hill and Nora Kathleen Gough of

Clifton, Bristol Clifton is both a suburb of Bristol, England, and the name of one of the city's thirty-five council wards. The Clifton ward also includes the areas of Cliftonwood and Hotwells. The eastern part of the suburb lies within the ward of Clifton Do ...

. His uncle was noted

Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

Texas architect Bertram Charles Hill. Another uncle Stanley Frederick Hill was awarded the

Military Cross The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level pre-1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth countries. The MC i ...

& Bar in

WWI World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. Patrick upon completion of his education at

Clifton College ''The spirit nourishes within'' , established = 160 years ago , closed = , type = Public schoolIndependent boarding and day school , religion = Christian , president = , head_label = Head of College , head ...

in Bristol, served with the

Honourable Artillery Company The Honourable Artillery Company (HAC) is a reserve regiment in the British Army. Incorporated by royal charter in 1537 by King Henry VIII, it is the oldest regiment in the British Army and is considered the second-oldest military unit in the w ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, and received a commission in 1934 in the Territorial Army. He also served in the

Royal Horse Artillery The Royal Horse Artillery (RHA) was formed in 1793 as a distinct arm of the Royal Regiment of Artillery (commonly termed Royal Artillery) to provide horse artillery support to the cavalry units of the British Army. (Although the cavalry link ...

. He was reassigned during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

to the Field Artillery, and after receiving a promotion in 1942 to the rank of major, he was stationed in

Basra Basra ( ar, ٱلْبَصْرَة, al-Baṣrah) is an Iraqi city located on the Shatt al-Arab. It had an estimated population of 1.4 million in 2018. Basra is also Iraq's main port, although it does not have deep water access, which is hand ...

, Iraq. He then volunteered for the Raiding Support Regiment (RSR), and was given command in 1943 of an RSR unit stationed in

Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...

. There he was part of a commando force that liberated the port of

Sarandë Sarandë (; sq-definite, Saranda; el, Άγιοι Σαράντα, Ágioi Saránta) is a city in the Republic of Albania and seat of Sarandë Municipality. Geographically, the city is located on an open sea gulf of the Ionian Sea within the Medit ...

(Surandi) on the Albanian Coast. He was awarded the

Territorial Decoration __NOTOC__ The Territorial Decoration (TD) was a military medal of the United Kingdom awarded for long service in the Territorial Force and its successor, the Territorial Army. This award superseded the Volunteer Officer's Decoration when the Te ...

for his bravery and leadership in the war.

Business career

When Hill completed his military service in 1946, he joined the family clothing business of Wathen Gardiner & Co, being promoted in 1954 to a senior partner in the firm. He then founded Bristol Uniforms in 1964 as a subsidiary to Wathen Gardiner, and became managing director of Bristol Uniforms the following year, when it was registered in the United Kingdom as a

limited company In a limited company, the liability of members or subscribers of the company is limited to what they have invested or guaranteed to the company. Limited companies may be limited by Share (finance), shares or by guarantee. In a company limited by ...

. Bristol Uniforms under his guidance pioneered the development of modern-day safety and fire protective clothing, and he was instrumental in particular in the design and development of the

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 ...

, which was made for organizations such as 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 ...

offshore oil industry Offshore drilling is a mechanical process where a wellbore is drilled below the seabed. It is typically carried out in order to explore for and subsequently extract petroleum that lies in rock formations beneath the seabed. Most commonly, the te ...

and the

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

. Although the company initially traded as Wathen Gardiner & Co. / Bristol Uniforms, today it trades solely as Bristol Uniforms. The Bristol Uniforms brand was soon recognized as one of the foremost manufacturers of fire protective clothing in the world, and remains so today.

Community involvement and final years

Hill in addition to his corporate responsibilities served several times in the 1960s as chairman of the Clothing Federation, and he was president in 1977 of the

Anchor Society The Anchor Society CIO is a Charitable Incorporated Organisation based in Bristol, England which supports older people in need in the Bristol and Bath region (BS, BA and GL Postcodes). Its work primarily centres around grants to individuals, ho ...

, a charitable organization in Bristol. He was also a member of the

Special Forces Club The Special Forces Club (SFC) is a private members' club located at 8 Herbert Crescent in Knightsbridge, London. Initially established in 1945 for former personnel of the Special Operations Executive, members of wartime resistance organisations, ...

, & the Royal Lymington Yacht Club. He retired in 1989 to "Stone Cross", his residence in North Stoke, near

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 ...

to spend his final years. He died on 17 December 2010 at Stone Cross, and is interred at St. Martin's Church in North Stoke.

References

External links

Patent for one of Patrick Seager Hill's inventions
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hill, Patrick Seager 1915 births 2010 deaths Businesspeople from Bristol British Army personnel of World War II 20th-century British businesspeople