It had become far roomier with a thick sole and rounded toe. In the Netherlands, forces were working in flooded conditions which demanded Wellingtons and tight boots in vast supplies.īy the end of the war, the Wellington had become popular among men, women and children for wear in wet weather. Eighty percent of production was for war materials - from ground sheets to life belts and gas masks. įor World War II, the company was again called upon to supply vast quantities of Wellington and thigh boots. The Wellington boot was envied by German soldiers during World War I and its dependability was seen to contribute to the British army's success. In total, 1,185,036 pairs were made to cope with the Army's demands. The mills ran day and night to produce immense quantities of these trench boots. Production of Wellington boots was dramatically boosted with the advent of World War I, when the company was asked by the War Office to construct a sturdy boot suitable for the conditions in flooded trenches. The company had offices in Edinburgh, London and New York. In the beginning, there were only four people working for the company by 1875, the team had grown to 600. The company made not only rubber boots but also tyres, conveyors, combs, golf balls, hot water bottles and rubber flooring. It is estimated that, today, the patent would be worth more than US$200,000,000. Around 1907, the fledgling British Dunlop tyre company bought the 'Bartlett' patent from the North British Rubber Company for US$973,000, in order to acquire the rights to manufacture and distribute tyres under the same name. Norris was eventually succeeded at the company by William Erskine Bartlett, who arguably invented what is considered to be the accepted type of car tyre today. The North British Rubber Company (which much later became known as Hunter Boot Limited) was registered as a limited liability company in September 1857. Originally, the company was named Norris & Co., which existed until the first limited liability act was introduced to Great Britain. The pair were ready to begin operations in the midsummer of 1856. A fine pair of condensing steam engines and boilers were included in the lease, which they were able to take up almost immediately due to the mill's partial occupation at the time. They arrived in Glasgow and began by searching for a suitable factory, which they eventually found at the Castle Mill in Edinburgh. ![]() In early January 1856, Henry Lee Norris, an American entrepreneur from Jersey City, New Jersey, and his friend and partner Spencer Thomas Parmelee of New Haven, Connecticut, landed in Scotland to work a patent of Charles Goodyear for the manufacture of India-rubber overshoes and boots.
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