J. Hudson and Co. (Whistles) Ltd. (ACME)

Way back in the 1860s, Joseph Hudson, who was a Birmingham trained toolmaker, converted his humble washroom at St. Marks Square, which he rented for 1s. 6d. (one shilling and six pence per week) into a workshop. Here he did anything he could to supplement the family income from watch repairing to cobbling shoes.

His whistle business was very small until in 1883 The London Metropolitan Police advertised for an idea to replace the policeman’s rattle a cumbersome means of communication for the bobby on his “beat” (the name given to his patrol).
Joseph Hudson invented a novel whistle for the purpose. It could be held in the mouth leaving the hands free a clear advantage over the rattle. Joseph Hudson’s dilemma was in finding a distinctive and far carrying sound. Pondering on this problem as he played his violin he failed to place his instrument down firmly on the table when he had finished playing and it fell to the ground and broke.
He noticed what a jarring and discordant sound it made as it broke and sensed that this was the type of sound he needed for his new whistle.
The police tested his whistle on Clapham Common and were delighted when it was clearly heard just over a mile (1.6Km) distance.
Over the next 135 years Acme developed and patented over 40 different whistle designs. Here are just a few of these world firsts:
  • The Metropolitan Police Whistle
  • The Acme Thunderer
  • The Acme Siren
  • Silent Dog Whistle
  • Scout Whistle
  • Life Jacket Watersafe Whistle
  • The Tornado
By the year 2000 sales had reached big numbers. The Acme Thunderer alone had sold over 200 million with the many other whistles of the range adding dramatically to its total.Today Acme whistles are recognized as some of the finest whistles manufactured in the world today.

http://www.acmewhistles.co.uk/

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