EKCO: The Story of Eric Kirkham Cole The Radio Pioneer of Television, Radar and Guided Missiles

Having finished college in 1922, 21-year-old Eric Kirkham Cole scratch-built a cat’s whiskers radio on his parents’ kitchen table in Essex. He found that this rudimentary system was popular among his neighbours, and so started building radios in a workshop behind the house. Two years later, one of his customers suggested he make his radios work from the lighting mains rather than running them off accumulators. From there, Cole went on to establish a company that, in time, would become the biggest employer in Southend-on-Sea. That company was called E. K. Cole Ltd, or EKCO. ECKO developed into a electronics manufacturer on the global market, particularly in televisions and radios, many of which, like the A22 Round Radio, were incorporated in the famous Bakelite cabinets and casings. EKCO was also a leader in both medical and military electronics. The company helped develop tactical radar for V-bombers and created the technology behind Britain’s de Havilland Firestreak and Fairey Fireflash infrared beam riding air-to-air missiles. It also developed a ground-controlled approach airport radar system and the instrumentation system for the world’s first atomic reactors. _EKCO: The Story of Eric Kirkham Cole_ examines the man behind the company, and how an interest in radios led to what for many decades was one of Britain’s most famous and recognisable brands.