Royal Albert

Wild (Thomas C. Wild (& Co.)) (1896–1917)

Thomas Clarke Wild joined his father, Thomas Wild, in the purchase of the Albert Works, Longton in 1895, and the partnership manufactured bone china tea ware as Thomas C. Wild & Co. Wild became sole proprietor on the death of his father in 1898 and from 1905 to 1917 the business traded simply as ‘Thomas C. Wild’. The St Mary’s Works, Longton, was purchased from Bernard Moore in 1905 and used initially for decoration of the products manufactured at the nearby Albert Works. As Wild’s business prospered he acquired other factories and pottery businesses, the Park Place Works was acquired in about 1910, followed by the Royal Albert China Works in 1917, the Shore & Coggins Ltd business (and Edensor Works) in 1918 and that of William Lowe in 1919. By the early 1920s Wild owned or had controlling interests in about 15 North Staffordshire potteries.

Thomas Wild's sons Thomas E. Wild and Frederick C. Wild joined the business in the early years of the 20th century and were admitted into partnership with their father in 1917, the business then trading as Thomas C. Wild & Sons. Wild retired from active management in 1932 and the business was incorporated as Thomas C. Wild & Sons Ltd with Thomas and Frederick Wild as the permanent directors. In the course of the 1930's the sons rationalised the business closing or selling off some of their father’s many acquisitions and, beginning in 1937, undertaking the modernisation and expansion of the St. Mary’s Works.

As a major exporter, the business remained in production during the Second World War and in 1946 the decision was made to again expand the St Mary’s Works. To fund the expansion the company was one of the first UK pottery businesses to list on the London Stock Exchange. The share issue, on 8th July 1947, closed five times oversubscribed only five minutes after opening. Control of the business, and its three remaining subsidiaries Roslyn China Ltd, Chapmans (Longton) Ltd, and Shore & Coggins Ltd, remained, however, firmly in the hands of the Wild brothers and their sons. The company acquired Paragon China Ltd in 1960 greatly expanding its manufacturing base.

Only four years later, in 1964, the Pearson Group through its subsidiary Lawleys Ltd made a cash and share offer for the whole share capital of T. C. Wild & Sons Ltd and the Wild family members accepted the offer. The new acquisition was merged by Pearson’s into their Lawley Group to form a new company Allied English Potteries Ltd although Wild and the other member companies continued to trade under their own, well-known, names. Thomas E. Wild was appointed as life president of Thomas C. Wild & Sons Ltd and sons Kenneth and Peter Wild joined the Board of the newly formed Allied English Potteries Ltd. The Wild businesses initially operated independently within Allied English Potteries, but in 1966 AEP closed the Shore & Coggins Ltd business, leading to the resignation of Peter Wild—ironically the closure was to free the Edensor Works to allow increased production of the Wilds’ own iconic Royal Albert china. In 1969 Kenneth Wild, managing director of T. C. Wild & Sons Ltd, and David Wild, managing director of Paragon China Ltd, (also an AEP Board member) resigned from their positions severing the last family links to the company founded by their grandfather.
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