Did You Know?

Did you know that…

• Sir George Dowty once represented England at Curling and was one of four players to win a Gold Medal?

• Dowty equipped Gloucester Prison with a Machine Workshop to enable prisoners learn a trade?

• The locks at Gloucester Docks were converted from manual to hydraulic operation in the 1960’s using Dowty equipment?

• A pipe-laying machine used in the North Sea Gas Fields was equipped with Dowty Hydraulics?

• Lansing Bagnall and other fork-lift truck suppliers had Dowty hydraulic equipment fitted to their trucks?

• Dowty Boulton Paul Engineers designed and developed a specialised hydraulic press, used for high quality presswork, such as aircraft panels and aluminium body parts for Aston Martin?

• During World War 2 over 1500 women were employed at Dowty factories?

• Dowty hydraulic equipment was fitted to JCB machines?

• In 1935 George Dowty paid £6000 for Arle Court Estate, including the mansion, eight cottages and 100 acres?

• Dowty supplied the propellers, gearboxes and fan lifts for the Vickers VA-1, VA-2 and VA-3 Hovercraft?

• 26,000 Dowty Wagon Retarders were installed at the Tinsley Marshalling Yard in 1961?

• In 1931 when times were hard and aircraft orders few, to keep his business afloat, George Dowty made photographic print glazing presses and metal garden labels?

• Dowty even had its own Housing Association to assist employees build their own houses?

• That in 1956 Dowty Mining used 15 miles of steel tube every week in their production of pit props!

• In May 1961 Sir George and Lady Dowty presented 5 chairs of the Regency period for use in the Mayor’s Parlour

• That Max Bygraves bought a Dowty Turbocraft after seeing one at the Boat Show in London

• That the landing gear on the Andover transport aircraft could “kneel” to make it easier to load and unload cargo!

• Dowty Seals Ashchurch, had a end use product range of more than 9.5 million items!

• That after WW2, Dowty had at its disposal one of the largest moulding facilities and produced toy soldiers, plastic dolls, shoes and golf club grips… Dowty even produced metal suit cases and plastic braces!

• That Dowty Pit Props were used to support the Grand Hall at Olympia after the wooden supports gave way!

• That moulded football studs were invented in 1981, covered in a top layer of rubber, the studs were tested by the Gloucester 1st XV and the Welsh National Squad, they were favoured because they they did not wear down to a sharp edge. The British Standard Specification was written around the Dowty stud… development and production were handed over to a footwear manufacturer.