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John James CBE | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 25 July 1906 Bedminster, Bristol, England |
| Died | 31 January 1996 Clifton, Bristol, England |
| Spouse | Mollie Stevens (married 1932-1971) Margaret Parkes (married 1972-1991) |
| Children | 4 |
John James CBE (25 July 1906 – 31 January 1996) was an English businessman and philanthropist.
Early Life
John James was born at 96 Philip Street, Bedminster, Bristol (now the site of Windmill Hill City Farm). His father Jack originally was a miner and then a docker at Avonmouth docks. In 1918, he won a scholarship to study at the Merchant Venturers’ Technical College (now known as Cotham School – other notable alumni include Paul Dirac and Peter Higgs) where he excelled academically. In the same year his mother, Emily, died in the great influenza epidemic.
Career
In 1923, he lied about his age to join the RAF and was posted to Malta where he developed his skills as a wireless operator.
He had a brief spell as a salesman before he joined the Royal Aircraft Establishment in 1938 and became a Squadron Leader working on the development of radar at Farnborough during World War II.
On demob in 1946, he bought his first shop in Broadmead, Bristol and went on to develop the Broadmead Wireless Company.
The company expanded rapidly and by 1952 there were 115 shops and 750 employees, having branched into television as well.
In 1957 John James bought the John Murdoch chain of 90 shops and his company was confirmed as the “biggest single ownership retail radio TV business in the world”. In December 1959, he sold the business to Charles Hayward’s Firth Cleveland Industrial Holdings for £5.8 million.
His management skills and shrewd business acumen in achieving such substantial growth without the benefit of capital was commented on in Harry Miller’s analysis of 21 post war British firms written for the Institute of Economic Affairs, The Way of Enterprise.
After a brief spell in the Caribbean, John James started in business again setting up a chain of radio and TV shops. He set up John James (Industrial) Ltd as a holding company for small ambitious companies in the South West, Midlands and South Wales and appointed Sir Ted Leather as Managing Director between 1965 and 1967.
He was also a leading member of Harlech Television which made a successful bid for Independent Television’s contract for Wales and West in 1968.
The John James Group, a publicly quoted company, was set up in 1965 and concentrated on West Country light engineering and manufacturing. This was sold in 1979 to Wolseley Hughes for £23.7 million.