Rushden Research Group: Strong & Fisher Jubilee 1982

"Leather" September 1982, Jubilee Celebrations

Strong & Fisher Jubilee 1932-1982


The factory in Irchester Road - (yellow on 1926 map) - was formerly Radburne & Bennett's who moved close by (marked pink)

Fifty years on-Strong & Fisher work from secure raw material base.
The first major existing tanning company to be founded in the UK since the First World War, Strong & Fisher, is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year.

It was founded in Rushden in 1932 by John P Strong (the current president), the late Harold Fisher and Tom Tate.

The Strong & Fisher Group actually emerged from the bankruptcy of Shaw's Tanneries, Grantham, in 1930. John Strong, having decided not to follow his elder brother Walter into the family fellmongery business of Strong, Rawle & Strong, in Bermondsey, had begun at Shaws as General Manager in 1928, having previously gained a First Class Diploma at the Leathersellers College and worked for two years in various tanneries. At the time of the bankruptcy he formed an arrangement with Ernest Hollingworth, a Leicester merchant, to buy Shaw's stock which had been put up for tender.

Move to Rushden
They won the tender and 'JP' continued manufacturing at Grantham for a few months before coming to Rushden (there were five empty tanneries in the district) to secure premises. In September 1931, a partnership was formed with Harold Fisher, a departmental manager, and the business moved to Rushden along with 30 of Shaw's most experienced staff—among them the late Tom Tate, who also joined the partnership and died in July 1978 aged 104.

The four key managers running the business were Fred Hancock, Clifford Tattersall, Arthur Greasley and Eric Pidd. Harold Fisher had been an original director of Gazelda and had gone to Shaws with Clifford Tattersall and Fred Hancock when this partnership broke up.

Initially, tanning was done on contract by Russells of Hitchin. From the beginning, clothing and gloving leathers were the main production.

In 1938 the Wellington Tannery, Raunds, was purchased and managed by O B Strong, brother of the president, and the necessity to have tanning done on contract ceased. Oswald B Strong had been involved in doeskin and chamois tanning with Dr Henry Booth at Abingdon. He decided to sell his interest there and invest in the new company, becoming director and manager at Wellington. In the same year extensions were made to the main Rushden factory.

World War II activities
During the Second World War the Strong & Fisher tanneries produced clothing and glove leathers for use by the armed forces and they agreed to run Lewis & Sons, Newtown, Wales, fellmongers and tanners of roller leather and crust basils. Peter Lewis, who had been called up, was a friend of 'OB'. At the conclusion of the war Lewis & Sons was purchased and continued to be managed by Peter Lewis. All manufacturing at this time was directed towards the war effort and Strong & Fisher made leathers for flying helmets and jerkins and chamois linings for these types of clothing.

In 1947 Wellington Tannery was amalgamated with Strong & Fisher and O B Strong joined the Strong & Fisher board of directors.

In 1951 Bernard Kean joined the Group and it was his tremendous hard work and enthusiasm over the coming years which helped promote Strong & Fisher clothing leather all over the world.

In 1958 the opportunity occurred of buying the Monmouth hide and skin market and the wisdom of establishing a strong raw material supply base became even more apparent in the early 60s.

In 1959 'JPY second eldest son Richard started working at Lewis & Sons, Newtown, Montgomeryshire, where a new fellmongery had just been built. He joined the Group after his military service and training at the National Leathersellers College. Richard Strong is currently group managing director.

1961 is an important year
In 1961 Strong & Fisher Holdings was formed to become the controlling company of the group with Strong & Fisher Ltd, the working company based at Rushden. 'JP' remained the chairman and managing director of both, with 'OB' and J T Tate as directors of the holding company. Fred Hancock was appointed director of the holding company in 1966. Also in 1961, Richard started working at Strong & Fisher, Rushden factory.

In 1963 Strong & Fisher bought the Rhondda, Pontypridd and Bridgend hide and skin companies, together with the fellmongery at Caerphilly, which had been run as one group in South Wales. They also, in this year, bought the Gazelda business at Watford; after two years it was decided to move it into a factory adjacent to their original Irchester Road factory at Rushden, which had become vacant.

In 1966, 'JP's fourth son, Christopher, having studied at the Ecole De Tannerie at Lyon in France, before going to the National Leathersellers College, joined the Wellington tannery.

In 1967, Richard Strong and Bernard Kean were appointed joint managing directors of Strong & Fisher Ltd.

The receiver of Ovenden's fellmongery at Bury approached 'JP' in 1967 to see if he was interested in buying the plant. There was a connection between this company and Llangollen Hide and Skin Co. and thus Strong & Fisher were able to buy both plants. They bought Caernarvon Hide and Skin Co in 1964 and therefore they re-opened the fellmongery at Bury and closed the Caernarvon plant.

Going 'public'
In 1968 it was decided that the group should become a Public Company and 'JP' was advised that an outside director, well known in the city, should be appointed. Thus the Hon. Edward Davies, son of Lord Davies, whose estate is near Newtown, and who was known to Peter Lewis and Richard Strong, was invited and agreed to join the board. He become chairman of the group when 'JP' became president in 1977.

Mr Douglas Ramsay, sales director of Strong & Fisher, who makes many overseas trips each year, joined the firm in 1968, after considerable experience in other English tanneries. He joined the company from Bevingtons to take over 'JP's remaining sales responsibility for Italy.

Financial problems suffered by Peltzer of Verviers, Belgium, a woollen textile firm which had gone into tanning originally to obtain the best slipe wools, caused them to approach Strong & Fisher at the 1969 Semaine du Cuir. Although a derelict business, the prospect that the_ UK might not enter the EEC persuaded them to form a 50:50 partnership backed by a loan from the Belgian Government Bank.

Within a short time of the factory's re-organisation, clothing suedes fron NZ pelts were being produced and the production advanced to 2,000 dozen a week. Suede declined as a fashion at the same time that Britain entered the EEC. The fact that no duty was required eventually on leather entering the EEC prompted the company to close the Verviers plant.

Richard Strong - group managing director with a portrait of his father J P Strong - president

The family and other members of the 1982 board
The family and other members of the 1982 board	Sir Ian Morrow chairman	O B Strong	Christopher Strong

Directors at a recent factory fashion show: S Booth, J W Harrison, D H Ramsay, J Mitchell and J A Booth.		J T Drage chief executive (raw skins)	J P Hawksfield financial director

Staking Machine in operation

Family involvement
By now two of 'JP's sons were participating fully in the growth of the group which was split into two divisions in 1971. Richard Strong was appointed chairman of the Tannery Division and 'OB' became chairman of the Fellmongery Division. Growth in fellmongering and tanning activities has increased impressively since this time.

In 1971 they acquired Cheltenham Hide & Skin Co and Michael Tupper, son of the owner, became the fellmongering manager. In order to sell to small manufacturers in the London area, the company bought Simpson & Kay in 1972. Then they acquired a warehouse in Gordon Street, Rushden, and the tannery at Cullompton, Devon, which produced grain clothing leathers from domestic and hair sheep. Culm Leather was closed in January 1982.

Also in 1972 G L Bowron & Co Ltd. of Christchurch, New Zealand, became an associated company of Strong & Fisher Ltd. The increased use of NZ skins led to the link with G L Bowron. 'JP' spent three weeks there in 1973 to finalise the agreement which gave Strong & Fisher a 24% share, along with Bowron, and two large NZ freezer works in South Island in this business.

Although the bulk of the trade has been in Bowron's rugskins, an output of sueded shearlings was developed and marketed in Europe through Strong & Fisher. During the last year this holding has been sold for around £1,000,000.

Richard Strong became a director of the holdings company in 1970, and was appointed Group Managing Director in 1972.

Woolskin division expansion
In 1974 the Victoria Leather Company at Rushden was bought and converted to dyeing and finishing shearlings tanned at Bury to cater for the increased demand and production of this line. It became the centre of the woolskin division expansion.

Christopher Strong joined the holdings company in 1975. Under his direction the production of suede shearlings grew considerably. J P Hawksfield, the group financial director, joined the holdings company board in 1974 and has been taking an increasingly important role in management.

James Roberts, Worcester, together with Llandeilo fellmongery were bought into the Group in 1974. W B Walker & Co fellmongers in Bermondsey, was acquired in 1976. In the same year, Strong, Rawle & Strong with plants in Bermondsey, Tiverton and Merseyside, came into the Group.

After the collapse of British Chrome, DeClermont & Donner Ltd, leather brokers and merchants, were purchased in 1976. They have interests both in India and the UK.


Finished warehouse sorting	Setting out	Vaccuum drying section	Staking department

Chairmen of the board
In 1977 J P Strong resigned as chairman and his position was taken by the Hon. E D G Davies, who had been a member of the board since 1968. He retired in 1981 and this position was taken over by Sir Ian Morrow, a director of Hambros Bank. J T (Terry) Drage, chief executive of the fellmongery division, was appointed to the board of Strong & Fisher (Holdings) Ltd, the same year.

Group senior executive
In 1978 the Group Senior Executive was formed to control and manage the day to day running of the business. To-day that executive is chaired by the Group Managing Director—Richard Strong, with John Hawksfield—Financial Director, Terry Drage responsible for the Fellmongery Division, John Harrison —Director responsible for suede and leather tanning division, Jim Hannam—chairman of woolskin tannery, John Mitchell—Director responsible for group leather sales, Dr Chas Martin—production and technical director, woolskin tannery division, Trevor Body—group company secretary is secretary to this executive.

Although not members of the Senior Executive, John and Stuart Booth are directors of Strong & Fisher, and are the backbone of the Group's high technical performance. Michael Roberts, after the closure of James Roberts, Worcester, moved to Rushden to become home leather sales director.

Also in 1978 Mullens of Dudley, a fellmongery with its own hide market at Luton, was acquired.

In September 1980 Strong & Fisher signed a contract to purchase 40% holding in Colyer Watson, New Zealand, a hide, skin and tallow broking business based in Wellington, and quoted on the New Zealand stock exchange. The purchase of this business will enable the group to have long term security of raw material. It also, as previously recorded, meant that Strong & Fisher's large investment in G L Bowron of Christchurch was no longer of strategic importance. Richard Strong and John Hawksfield are directors of Colyer Watson.

In September 1981 the Minister of State for Wales opened the new large fellmongery in Mid Wales which enabled further rationalisation of the various fellmongery activities of the group.

J P Strong, president of Strong & Fisher Group since his retirement from full participation in management, told LEATHER in 1979 that 'The company has been my business life'. In addition he had been a member of the BLF Council before the time when the heavy leather tanners joined. He co-operated with Dr Dorothy Jordan-Lloyd and Dr Henry Booth in formulating the constitution of the BLMRA before its move to Milton Park, Egham. He has also been president of the LHTBI.

Both 'OB' and Fred Hancock, although retired from executive work, are consultants to the group, and 'OB' continues as a non executive director to the Holding company.

In 1980 Strong & Fisher's leather export sales reached a record £18,631,000, and the total Group throughput including hides, skins, wool and other by-products was £39,000,000 for the year. Harrold Leather Manufacturing Co Ltd, tanners of shoe upper leathers, was purchased the same year.

The last two years have seen very difficult trading for all tanners throughout the world, and the Strong & Fisher Group has been no exception. However, with certain internal rationalisation and determined management, the group has ridden the storm and believes it is now in an excellent position to take full advantage of any upturn in the leather trade cycle.


Samples of fashionwear produced from Strong & Fisher leathers.

Norris Industries advert of congratulations for the Jubliee

Other companies advertising with 'Congratulations to Strong & Fisher on their Jubilee' were:
Mercier (UK) Ltd Delapre Works Estate, Nunn Mills Road Northampton	Machinery for Splitting, Staking & Ironing Leather Machinery for Tanning Leather
Beauvais-Transit (UK) Ltd Manchester, Birmingham, London & Beauvais	Transport
Borthwicks London, Tokyo, Mazamet, New York, Toronto, Melbourne, Wellington.	Dry and Drum Salted Sheep & Lambskins Hides, Calf, Goatskins and Wet-blue Crust Leather, Pickled Pelts – From Australia & New Zealand
Sandoz Products Ltd Calverley Lane, Horsforth Leeds	“and thank them for all they have contributed to a happy and productive association.”



A paperweight to commemorate "Fifty Years of Tanning Fashion Leathers for Export" was issued in 1982; a large coin in an acrylic plastic block and boxed for presentation.

Since the late 1990s Strong & Fisher has ceased manufacture and now trades as a holding company.

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