Museum of Science and Industry

Fact 1

 

During the Second World War, workers at Ferranti Ltd raised £5,000 to buy a Spitfire aeroplane for the war effort. The cheque was presented to the Ministry of Aircraft Production on 27 April 1941 at a charity concert at the Empire Theatre in Oldham. The Spitfire was flown by the Polish Airforce, as part of the Allied Forces.

 

Fact 2

Workers at the Scottish Division of Ferranti Ltd had their own football team, Ferranti Thistle. In 1974 the team won a place in the Scottish Second Division, the first time that a works team had ever been in British senior football. The Football Association demanded that the team drop 'Ferranti' from the name because it suggested sponsorship. The team became Meadowbank Thistle, named after its Edinburgh stadium.

 

Fact 3

Ferranti Ltd fitted electrical supply equipment to two transatlantic Cunard Liners, the Mauretania and the Lusitania in 1907-08. The Lusitania was torpedoed by a German submarine in 1915 and sank, drowning 1,198 people. This led to American involvement in the First World War.

 

Fact 4

Sebastian Ziani de Ferranti loved motor cars. He liked to drive at top speed, but was frustrated by constant punctures. He invented a nail-catching device that fitted over each tyre. The nail catcher trapped sharp objects before they could get embedded and cause punctures.