My main objective in contacting this STC New Southgate website is to find out :-

1. If Scientific & Projections Ltd became a subsidiary of S T C. The page by Jack McDonnell calls it a "shadow factory" and that "Wilkinson was put in charge"
2. When did it become associated with STC? (or even earlier with Western Electric?), for instance, before or after they were bombed out of their Farringdon Street premises
3. What did this "shadow factory" make as part of STC?, and
4. does anyone know what they made before the link to STC?"

I have interesting evidence that in the early 1900s, Scientific & Projections Ltd were active in researching the field of acoustics and audio transducers. This was a time when all sorts of strange ideas were being applied to microphone concepts. An extract from research in this field mentions Scientific & Projections Ltd as the abstract below shows and this must have been long before Western Electric UK Ltd (later Standard Telephones and Cables) became involved with the company.

"Soon after the invention of mechanical sound recording at the end of the 19th century and its reproduction via phonograph and gramophone, the wish for more sound intensity arose leading to the use of very large horns as acoustic amplifiers.

Before developing the electric amplifier and the loudspeaker, experiments included direct friction drive and compressed air systems - so called Strong Tone Machines such as the Fortophone, Toncyclop or Gigantophon. The enterprise Scientific & Projections' (London) experimented with a Flamephone, at which the gas supply for the burner was modulated by a membrane of the pick-up".

Here are a couple of images of the sort of clock that carried Scientific & Projections Ltd's name:

These clock movements were made for Scientific & Projections by H. Williamson Ltd to a very high standard. They incorporated a chain fuzee to provide constant force to the escapement and used a quite exceptional pendulum based on Gardner's patent for mercurial compensation. See attached images.

It is a puzzle what these clocks were made for. The clock's wheel train carries a bevel gear that must have driven a transmission rod to some sort of equipment external to the clock. My guess would be a chart recorder or inking chronograph. In any event these clocks clearly drove a scientific instrument of some sort rather than being a plain timekeeper.

It is unlikely however that these attached images will trigger any memories amongst post war STC people because these clock movements were made for Scientific & Projections before 1930. Nevertheless, any scrap of memory or knowledge concerning Scientific & Projections Ltd and also how STC came to be linked to this company would be of great help to me.

With best wishes, David Read
If you do have any information for David, please contact the webmaster