Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge o ...

Thomas ('Tom') Edward Vickers V.D. (9 July 1833 – 19 October 1915) was Chairman of

Vickers Limited Vickers Limited was a British engineering conglomerate. The business began in Sheffield in 1828 as a steel foundry and became known for its church bells, going on to make shafts and propellers for ships, armour plate and then artillery. Entir ...

Career

The second son of

Edward Vickers Edward Vickers (1804-1897) was the founder of Naylor Vickers & Co. which became Vickers Limited. Career Vickers was a successful miller who invested his money in the railway industry. In 1828 he gained control of his father-in-law's steel foundry ...

and Anne Naylor, Tom Vickers was born on 9 July 1833. He was educated at

Sheffield Collegiate School Sheffield Collegiate School began in 1836 in new buildings on the corner of Ecclesall Road and Collegiate Crescent (now Grade II listed and part of Sheffield Hallam University). The school enjoyed academic success but lacked sound finances and ...

and at

Neuwied Neuwied () is a town in the north of the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, capital of the District of Neuwied. Neuwied lies on the east bank of the Rhine, 12 km northwest of Koblenz, on the railway from Frankfurt am Main to Cologne. Th ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

.Biography of Colonel Thomas Edward Vickers
Institute of Civil Engineers, 1 January 1916 He worked in the family business of Naylor Vickers & Co. Tom Vickers, together with his brother

Albert Albert may refer to: Companies * Albert (supermarket), a supermarket chain in the Czech Republic * Albert Heijn, a supermarket chain in the Netherlands * Albert Market, a street market in The Gambia * Albert Productions, a record label * Alber ...

, took over the business in the 1850s.Thomas and Albert Vickers
Tom developed the firm into a leading steel casting business using the German Riepe process and in 1867 it was incorporated as Vickers, Sons & Co Limited with himself as Chairman. Tom Vickers lived at Bolsover Hill and became Commanding Officer of the Hallamshire Rifles in 1871 and

Master Cutler The Master Cutler is the head of the Company of Cutlers in Hallamshire established in 1624. Their role is to act as an ambassador of industry in Sheffield, England. The Master Cutler is elected by the freemen of the company on the first Monday of ...

in 1872. He continued to serve in the battalion as a volunteer and honorary colonel, being awarded the

Volunteer Officers' Decoration The Volunteer Officers' Decoration, post-nominal letters VD, was instituted in 1892 as an award for long and meritorious service by officers of the United Kingdom's Volunteer Force. Award of the decoration was discontinued in the United Kingdom ...

when it was instated in 1892. He handed over the chairmanship of the company to Albert Vickers in 1909 and died in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, 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 dow ...

in 1915.

Family

In 1860 he married Frances Mary Douglas; they had two sons ( Douglas Vickers and Ronald Vickers) and four daughters.

Gallery

File:Mrs. Albert Vickers.jpg, Mrs. Albert Vickers (Edith Foster), John Singer Sargent, 1884 File:The Misses Vickers.jpg, The Misses Vickers (Florence Evelyn, Mabel Frances, Clara Mildred), John Singer Sargent, 1884 File:Portrait of Frances Mary Vickers.jpg, Portrait of Frances Mary Vickers, John Singer Sargent, 1884 File:Portrait of Miss Dorothy Vickers.jpg, Portrait of Miss Dorothy Vickers, John Singer Sargent, c. 1884 File:Garden Study of the Vickers Children.jpg, Garden Study of the Vickers Children, John Singer Sargent, 1884 File:John Singer Sargent - Le verre de porto (A Dinner Table at Night) - Google Art Project.jpg, The Dinner Table (Mr. and Mrs. Albert Vickers), 1884 File:Edward Vickers.jpg, Edward Vickers, John Singer Sargent, c. 1884 File:Douglas Vickers.jpg, Douglas Vickers, John Singer Sargent, 1914

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vickers, Thomas Master Cutlers British civil engineers 1833 births 1915 deaths York and Lancaster Regiment officers People educated at Sheffield Collegiate School 19th-century English businesspeople