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Partnership

Leslie Bidmead, five years older than Harry Roberts, had been actively interested in radio since his schooldays. One night in September 1923, using a home-built two-valve receiver ("detector and note-magnifier"), he scanned the broadcast waveband after European transmitters had closed down, and picked up an American station, WGY. Reception was loud enough to be audible 40 feet from the loudspeaker, and clear enough to enable him to send a detailed account of the programs to the General Electric Company in Schenectady so that they could confirm the feat and confound his doubting friends, which they duly did. In about 1926 he designed a battery eliminator, interested a radio shop in Praed Street, Paddington in handling it, and took a job with them.

A year later, in partnership with one Vincent Vittles, he established a receiver manufacturing company, Lonsdale Radio, in Lonsdale Road, Kilburn. Bidmead produced the sets while Vittles looked after the commercial side, and initially the company prospered, building up to a workforce of around ten. But then two circumstances arose that were together to destroy it. One was a succession of substantial orders from an entrepreneur (later to become rich and famous) who systematically withheld payment, though with such skill that the company never quite found it worth while to cut its losses.The other was an illicit sideline by Vittles, which Bidmead discovered only when it was too late. Valve manufacturers supplied set-makers at prices well below wholesale, and Vittles devoted more effort to supplying unscrupulous retailers with cut-price valves than he did to selling Lonsdale receivers.

Their landlord was a Major Barnett — a tall, military-looking gentleman who lived in The Boltons, Kensington, owned a good deal of property, and ran The Electrical Devices Company, whose mainstay was clips for connecting ignition leads to sparking plugs. On learning of the failure of the Lonsdale venture, he asked Bidmead what he proposed to do next and, more specifically, how he proposed to pay off his arrears of rent. Bidmead said that he knew a man called Harry Roberts who had a flair for selling and would, he thought, come into partnership with him; he was aware that Roberts was disillusioned with Richard R. Bennett, who was leaving him to do most of the work while himself spending much of the day in public houses. Seeing a business opportunity, Barnett offered to write off the rent arrears and provide Bidmead and Roberts with the necessary capital and accommodation, at his premises off Theobald's Road, if they would produce receivers for his own company and sell them on commission under its trade mark "Eldeco". The two young men decided to accept the offer. The commission was not over-generous, but they calculated that if they worked hard it would yield a living wage. And work they did, to such good effect that within a year or two they were earning more than Major Barnett thought proper.

He told Roberts that he proposed to change their remuneration. "Would that be upwards or downwards, Major Barnett?" Roberts asked innocently. "Don't be silly!" was the reply. "In that case, we shall be leaving today", he said, and left the office. An hour later, Barnett was ready to negotiate. "I'm sorry", he began, "I've made a mistake". "Yes, you have", Roberts agreed.

Roberts and Bidmead were in fact too prudent to carry out their threat immediately; it was 1932, and no time to drop out of work. Instead they negotiated with Barnett but spent their spare time looking for premises where they could set up on their own, with capital of about £50. At that time rentals were low enough to allow them to stay in central London, and they soon found two rooms in Hills Place, near Oxford Circus, which they set about converting into a very basic factory, some of the money coming from the sale of Bidmead's motor bike. Any doubts that they were doing the right thing by leaving were dispelled by the realisation, as negotiations continued, that Barnett saw them simply as wage-earners. And that was certainly not how they saw themselves.

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