A MANX ROYAL TALE
A personal message from Dr John C Taylor OBE
I was very sad to learn of the passing of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, Lord of Mann. I had enjoyed the great honour of meeting Her Majesty twice.
Strix Ltd is the Manx company I set up in 1981 to manufacture the domestic electric kettle controls that I invented. With encouragement from the Manx Government, the company slowly became established, supplying famous UK brand names such as Swan, Morphy Richards, Philips and Russell Hobbs; initially, with controls that switched the kettle off when the water boiled and then later with my new Strix cordless system that replaced the difficult-to-use plug cord.
From its foundation in 1981, Strix manufactured 100 million kettle controls by 1995. That year Strix, a Manx company won the United Kingdom Manufacturing Excellence Award and also a Queen’s Award for Export Achievement.
Strix was invited to send three representatives to the Awards reception in Buckingham Palace, to be attended by Her Majesty the Queen, recognising the contribution to the UK economy all the award-winning companies had made. So, to join me at Buckingham Palace, I invited Sandra Killier, our Quality Production Supervisor and Mike Bowyer, our Export Sales Manager who went round the World teaching companies how to produce electric kettles using our Strix controls.
I clearly remember to this day the fun in saying to the London Taxi driver, “Buckingham Palace please.”
“Certainly Sir, which entrance would you like?”
“The Main entrance.”
“Certainly Sir, it will be my pleasure.”
On arrival, the well-oiled Palace machine clicked into gear. Guests were slowly corralled to move through to the Reception Rooms to be introduced to the members of the Royal party, with Her Majesty the Queen first in line and HRH Prince Philip at the end.
Strix Ltd was the first company from the Isle of Man to receive a Queen’s Award. Because of this, Her Majesty specifically asked to meet us to hear how this had come about. I explained that I designed, and Strix manufactured, domestic electric kettle controls. Her Majesty was fascinated, explaining that she often used just such an electric kettle and had never really thought about how such items were designed and made. She also explained that she slightly envied our roles as on her world tours she never saw any tangible end results of her visits. We all joined together agreeing that Her Majesty’s top-level contacts were vital to open up new markets.
My second meeting with Her Majesty on 6th May 2011 was at Windsor Castle to receive my OBE ‘for services to Business and Horology’. Her Majesty asked me about these services and I told her that I had recently retired from a Manx Company – Strix Ltd. Strix had won four Queen’s Awards and had now manufactured almost two billion of my kettle controls. Recognition lit up Her Majesty’s face into a beaming smile and she said she remembered our first meeting as the first Manx company to receive a Queen’s Award. Furthermore, her husband had told her of his visit to see the Corpus Chronophage clock made and presented to the college by ‘the kettle man.’
Having met Their Majesties, Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, what struck me most about them both was their genuine interest and curiosity, but particularly their memory for details about individuals out of the hundreds of thousands of people they had met over so many years.
I feel deeply honoured to have met both Their Majesties and I join with the millions of other loyal subjects of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II around the globe in sending my sincere condolences to the Royal Family at this difficult time.
Dr John C Taylor OBE
