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 milled steel, the backing metal was wrought iron. While once more widely used, the primary use of tinplate now is the manufacture ...

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. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

in the 1960s.

Biography

Richard Thomas was born 5 Dec 1837 in

Bridgwater Bridgwater is a large historic market town and civil parish in Somerset, England. Its population currently stands at around 41,276 as of 2022. Bridgwater is at the edge of the Somerset Levels, in level and well-wooded country. The town lies alon ...

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

. 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, with a 2011 population of 69,570. Its thousand-year history includes a 10th-century monastic foundation, Taunton Castle, which later became a priory. The Normans built a castle 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 in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

. He then worked at various jobs in the

coal mining Coal mining is the process of extracting coal from the ground. 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 extraction of iron from ...

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 (; cy, Castell-nedd) 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 po ...

. 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 compri ...

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean. The county town is the city of Gl ...

and

Lydney Lydney is a town and 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 bypassed by the A48 road since 1995 ...

, and then the

colliery Coal mining is the process of extracting coal from the ground. 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 extraction of iron from ...

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 in Canada, United Kingdom, United States, Ireland, Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign coun ...

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 (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...

on 18 February 1859. Anne bore thirteen children, a number of whom did not survive to adulthood. His eldest son,

Richard Beaumont Thomas Richard Beaumont-Thomas (25 May 1860 – 14 February 1917) was the managing director of a major South Wales iron, steel and tinplate manufacturing company named Richard Thomas and Co Ltd, which eventually merged with Baldwins to become Richard Thom ...

, 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