At Newark I chatted with a few people about Gremilin lanterns made by Hudswell Clarke in Leeds. This is summation of the information I have been able to gather from my collection and online sources. Progression of Gremlin Lantern design. 1951/2 Straighter longer bail Rectangular crown loop Plain cap ≈1954 Curved & shorter bail introduced Embossed cap introduced Embossed crown introduced 1954+ Rounded “Omega” crown loop introduced 1955+? “G” logo appears on font Embossed globe introduced ————————————————————— Mk. I Mk.II MK.III MK.IV 1951 1954 1954+ 1955+ This chronology seems be reflected in the tall globe versions which appear to have been produced in parallel. Mk.I Mk.II Mk.IV 1952 ≈1954 1955+ ————————————————————— Lanterns shown from my collection. ( Short Globe Mk.I ) 1951/2 Short plain globe. Simple long bail. Rectangular Crown Loop Plain filler cap. Gremlin Made in England Embossed on font back 1951 21/2778 { Broad Arrow} Embossed on the font, front left ————————————————————— ( Short Globe Mk.II ) ≈ 1954 Short plain globe. Rounded short bail Short plain globe Rectangular Crown Loop Embossed filler cap Gremlin Made in England Embossed on font back JA 12159 H.C.C.L. {Broad Arrow} 1954 Embossed on crown ————————————————————— ( Short Globe Mk.III ) 1954+ ? (No date mark) Short plain globe. Rounded shorter bail Embossed filler cap Rounded “Omega” crown loop Gremlin Made in England Embossed on crown Gremlin Made in England Embossed on font back ————————————————————— ( Short Globe Mk.IV ) 1955+ ? (No date mark) Civilian? Rounded shorter bail Embossed filler cap Rounded “Omega” crown loop Short Embossed globe Gremlin Made in England G Logo Gremlin Made in England Embossed on crown Gremlin Made in England Embossed on font back G logos on font, front left & right ————————————————————— ————————————————————— ( Tall Globe Mk.I ) 1951/2 Tall plain globe. Simple long bail. Rectangular Crown Loop Plain filler cap. Gremlin Made in England Embossed on font back 1952 H.C.C.L. G.R. {Crown} Embossed on font, front left. ————————————————————— ( Tall Globe Mk.II ) ≈1954 Tall plain globe Rounded Shorter Bail Rectangular Crown Loop Plain filler cap Gremlin Made in England Embossed on font back ————————————————————— ( Short Globe Mk.III ) { Theorised 1954+ } (No date mark) Short Tall globe. Rounded shorter bail Embossed filler cap Rounded crown loop Gremlin Made in England Embossed on crown Gremlin Made in England Embossed on font back ————————————————————— ( Tall Globe Mk.IV ) 1955+ ? (No date mark) Civilian? Rounded shorter bail Embossed filler cap Rounded crown loop Short Embossed globe Gremlin Made in England G Logo Gremlin Made in England Embossed on crown Gremlin Made in England Embossed on font back G logos on font, front left & right ————————————————————— ( From Wikipedia) Hudswell, Clarke and Co Ltd “During the Second World War the company diversified into armaments, as did so many other engineering companies. In the post-war period, Hudswell, Clarke and Co Ltd was closely involved in various secret programs, including the British nuclear weapon programs. The airframe for the first British nuclear bomb, Blue Danube was manufactured by Hudswell Clarke at its Roundhay Road, Leeds, plant. The air frame for Red Beard, the second generation tactical nuclear bomb, followed with that for Violet Club, the Interim Megaton Weapon; and there were many other projects. All the bombs detonated at the Christmas Island H-bomb tests were contained in air frames designed and built by Hudswell Clarke. The company were also major contributors to other military projects, e.g. the Centurion main battle tank conversion into an armored bridge layer, that served with the British Army for many years. The contraction of defense manufacturing in the mid-1960s contributed to the sale and demise of the company." Hudswell Clarke & Company It is no great secret that I think the Gremlins, made by Hudswell Clarke in Leeds are some of the best British lanterns made. They just ooze quality in the construction. One arrived recently with nice red paintwork that looks old if not original and an uncommon “Bat” globe. Now, the Bat logo turns up on a few different globes but many are German and most of them are larger than this one. This one is clearly marked “Made in England” and apparently the Bat trade mark was held by a bottle making company in Leeds that also produced embossed globes for Chalwyn lanterns. I have two of these globes now and they both arrived to me on Gremlin lanterns. The first time I thought was just by chance. Now, this second one makes me wonder if it is more than a coincidence. Was there a link between these Leeds based companies more than just geographic convenience? The later Gremins ( around 1955 ) had a globe embossed with their own logo, this one is marked 1954. There was also a link of some kind between the earlier Bat hot blast lanterns made around the second World War by Falk Stadelmann and the German Bat globes as well. Falk, more commonly known because of the 'Veritas' brand, apparently had a working relationship with Stübgen/Bat. Falk himself was German and emigrated to England in 1885. Veritas later went on the re-market Chalwyn cold blast lanterns with their own branding of course. The more I dig into the history of lanterns like this, the more intriguing the links seem to become. If anyone knows more about these lanterns or possible links with other makers, I would be very interested to find out more.
Sorry, the pictures of the different models did not appear in the text where I thought they would so here they are again.
There seems to be a lot of similarities with the Gremlin lanterns and the Chalwyn ones that I've collected.
@Wayland Extraordinary research and presentation Gary of a company and their products with inconceivable depth of involvement in MOD projects. It’ll make me seek out a Gremlin, hitherto passed over for the ubiquitous Chalwyns. John
Hi Gary, I have been researching Gremlin lanterns for many years, but unfortunately without coming to any concrete conclusion as to who actually manufactured them! I doubt that it was Hudswell, Clark & Co. Ltd. Why would a company that was involved in high-tech at the time manufacture something as trivial as storm lanterns? So far, three different Gremlin lanterns are known: Mod. P 35 = identical in construction to the Feuerhand No. 276 (until 1942) Mod. P ? = identical in construction to the Feuerhand No. 252 Mod. P ? = identical in construction to the Feuerhand No. 260 Falk & Stadelmann imported bat lanterns from Germany and sold them in England as early as the 1930s (see F&S catalog from 1933). The main importer of bat lanterns was George Wild. He had been working for the Stübgen company since at least 1925! After Stübgen sold its lamp division to Hugo Schneider AG in 1937, he also worked for this company until 1939. After the war, F&S also purchased its cold air lanterns from Chalwyn. When Chalwyn started manufacturing storm lanterns in 1946, George Wild was also back on board. It is also thanks to George Wild that glasses with the bat logo were manufactured again in England from 1954 onwards. These glasses must have been very popular in England! Gremlin lanterns have been around since at least 1949! They were also sold in Australia, among other places. Have also a look here: Early Chalwyn lanterns Chalwyn tropics - genuine? Chalwyn lantern. Kind regards Jörg Feuerhand No. 276 ca. 1937: Feuerhand 252 pre war: Feuerhand No. 260 (on the left a FH 252): Gremlin from 1949 with Governement marking: I also find this discussion quite interesting:
@Sammi Jane ‘Space, the final frontier’ - Star Trek … but lack of space is the collector’s final frontier.
Hi Jörg While I can see similarities to FH lanterns I can also see differences that , to me at least, indicate different tooling. Compare the air holes on the cowl below the chimney for example. Flat horizontal on the short globe Gremlin rather than sloped on the FH. As for the manufacturer, it is generally felt over here that the H.C.C.L. Markings on many of the early lanterns stood for Hudswel Clarke and Company Ltd. There is room for doubt perhaps but many companies in Britain had to diversify during and after WWII and they did not get the same level of support that German companies received to rebuild after the war.
Knowing that Fledermaus is German for 'bat' has always amused me, because going to an opera called The Bat just doesn't have the same ring as going to see one called Die Fledermaus.
Hello Gary, The company Nier KG in Hohenlockstedt was definitely not responsible for manufacturing the Gremlin lanterns! I showed you the plaque from 1949, when the Nier company was not yet ready for production. The FH 275 Atom Spezial was the first lantern to be manufactured again in July 1950. The Gremlin lanterns only look very similar to the lanterns from Nier! Based on the initials, HCCL fits perfectly with the company mentioned. Best regards, Jörg This leaflet I could buy on Ebay 12 years ago:
@Jörg Wekenmann Bernie Holmes (TW Sands, Melbourne, Australia) does not have any new information on Gremlin. Do you know what year that CJ Thomas brochure is from? Gremlins appear in the 1950s CJ Thomas brochures I’ve posted here: Australia Tony
Jörg And Tony, those ads are great. Do you mind if I copy them for reference? It is interesting that they seem to be marketed very early in Australia, I have not seen one over here dated before 1951 although perhaps some of the undated ones could be earlier. As for the similarities, it would seem that patents were routinely being ignored and companies were copying each others designs worldwide.
It’s not as incongruous a proposition as it may seem. In researching a history of a British manufacturer of paraffin stoves, William Hurlock Junior, the same sort of diversification was evident. Here’s the stove, a WWII product. The war years … … and post-war The AC Ace … … which American Carroll Shelby shoe-horned a big V8 engine into to become the Cobra. Meanwhile, the company also manufactured the Invacar, a three-wheeler for disbled drivers and the stock of wartime production Hurlock stoves was still being sold off, sometimes sprayed silver over the military livery and sold on the civilian market as the Pixie Picnic Stove.
Hello Tony, Unfortunately, my advertising leaflet does not have any printer's mark. However, I suspect that it dates from the 1950s. In the 1960s, flashlights and rechargeable lights became increasingly popular. Best regards, Jörg @ Wayland: Yes, you can do this.
@Jörg Wekenmann Thanks. I think (though can’t prove yet) that the Coleman-CJ Thomas arrangement wound up at the end of 1960 or sometime not far after. Tony
@Wayland I have no problem at all with you copying my posted brochures. I would ask for acknowledgement if appropriate. Cheers Tony
Well I managed to find a large Gremlin, although it needed quite a bit of work on it. Here it is next to it’s stablemates. Question for anyone that might know. The smallest one on the left is designated “P35”, does anybody know what the other two were designated?
Interesting detail in Tony’s catalogue. The model numbers differ from the public flyer. Here the 10” P35 is listed as a “HC 275” and the 12” model is listed as “HC 252” This may be a supplier’s code and the “HC” may support the Hudswell Clarke origin theory.
@Wayland The Coleman-Thomas model numbers would have been their terminology, so HC may indeed refer to the company from which they sourced or imported the stock. Tony
Hello Tony, I don't think these numbers have anything to do with the Coleman-Thomas model numbers. They were probably based on the Hermann Nier company. HC 252 = FH No. 252 HC 275 = FH No. 275 Gary's very large lantern probably has the number HC 280 = FH No. 280. Best regards, Jörg
