Sir William Beilby Avery, 1st Baronet (26 April 1854 – 28 October 1908"Death of Sir W.B. Avery, Bart." in ''

The London Philatelist ''The London Philatelist'' was first published in January 1892
by

philatelist Philately (; ) is the study of postage stamps and postal history. It also refers to the collection and appreciation of stamps and other philatelic products. Philately involves more than just stamp collecting or the study of postage; it is possi ...

who was entered on the

Roll of Distinguished Philatelists The Roll of Distinguished Philatelists (RDP) is a Philately, philatelic award of international scale, created by the Philatelic Congress of Great Britain in 1921. The Roll consists of five pieces of parchment to which the signatories add their n ...

in 1921 as one of the ''fathers of philately''. His grandfather was the elder brother in W. & T. Avery,

weighing machine A scale or balance is a device used to measure weight or mass. These are also known as mass scales, weight scales, mass balances, and weight balances. The traditional scale consists of two plates or bowls suspended at equal distances from a ...

makers of

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1. ...

Who Was Who in British Philately

Association of British Philatelic Societies The Association of British Philatelic Societies, commonly known as the ''ABPS'', is the British national association of philatelic societies, regional philatelic federations, and specialist philatelic societies.scale makers and third son of William Henry Avery (1812-1874)Anita McConnell, ''Avery, Thomas (1813–1894)'', Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, May 2005 of Edgbaston, was created a

baronet A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14t ...

in 1905. He married twice, firstly to the daughter of Mr. Francis Bell, of London, from which marriage he had a son, William Eric Thomas Avery, who succeeded to his title, and secondly to a daughter of M. Pierre Crets, of Paris. He resided in BirminghamObituary. ''The Times'', Friday, Oct 30, 1908; pg. 13; Issue 38791 but of late maintained a house,

Oakley Court Oakley Court is a Victorian Gothic country house set in overlooking the River Thames at Water Oakley in the civil parish of Bray in the English county of Berkshire. It was built in 1859 and is currently a hotel. It is a Grade II* listed bu ...

, at Bray, Windsor, and a house in town in Portland Place, where he died.

W & T Avery

When a mercer and draper, Sir William's grandfather, William Avery who died in 1843 inherited from within his and his wife's family a long established weighing machine business which had begun in the early 18th century with the manufacture of steelyards. With his brother, Thomas who died in 1824, William Avery continued the business under their own names,

W & T Avery W & T Avery Ltd. (later GEC Avery) was a British manufacturer of weighing machines. The company was founded in the early 18th century and took the name W & T Avery in 1818. Having been taken over by GEC in 1979 the company was later renamed int ...

. In 1843 two of William's sons took over the business: Sir William's father, William Henry Avery and his younger brother Thomas Avery. Thomas withdrew his capital from the business in 1866 and devoted his energies to improving poor local government. Management of the scale manufacturing business devolved on William Henry and his son (Sir) William Beilby Avery. Father and son proved good managers and the business prospered sending its products throughout the world. From the start of the 21st century it has been known as Avery Weigh-Tronix. In 1895 W & T Avery purchased the historic

Soho Foundry Soho Foundry is a factory created in 1775 by Matthew Boulton and James Watt and their sons Matthew Robinson Boulton and James Watt Jr. at Smethwick, West Midlands, England (), for the manufacture of steam engines. Now owned by Avery Weigh-Tr ...

and that site remains the centre of Avery's business. Its own advertisements describe it as one of the world's leading suppliers of weighing scales, systems and equipment. Sir William was a director of United Rhodesian Goldfields and of several important British companies. Uncle Thomas Avery (1813-1894) was three times Mayor of Birmingham. Mauritius - Post Office Stamps

Philately

Avery acquired the Bullock collection of Australia, which included many fine Sydney Views, and collections of West Indies and Western Australia from Charles Phillips. He also owned a unique large unused block of the Swiss Double Geneva and had fine holdings of Moldavia and Nevis. With extensive buying in England and Europe, Avery built one of the finest collections of his day. The London stamp dealer W. H. Peckitt, bought Avery's collection in 1909 for £24,500. Avery's most important pieces were unused one penny and two pence Post Office Mauritius stamps which he acquired in 1893.Avery, Sir William Beilby (1854 - 1908).
Blue Mauritius Research Companion, 2009. Retrieved 10 July 2011. In organised philately, Avery was President of the Birmingham Philatelic Society.

Birmingham University

He was a life governor of

Birmingham University , mottoeng = Through efforts to heights , established = 1825 – Birmingham School of Medicine and Surgery1836 – Birmingham Royal School of Medicine and Surgery1843 – Queen's College1875 – Mason Science College1898 – Mason Univers ...

W & T Avery

Philately

Birmingham University

References

Further reading