Alfred De Courcy

A De Courcy & Co.(Alfred De Courcy Died 1931) was a Birmingham whistle maker from 1888 to 1927. He was the largest whistle maker beside J.Hudson & Co. from 1906 until 1927 when Hudson bought out the whistle making part of the company .

Adress ; Frankfort Street , Birmingham .

Whistle Maker

De Courcy made whistles for over 40 years starting as foreman for J Hudson & Co. in the early 1880s and leaving to form his own whistle making brass foundry at 1888 . Being an engineer decourcy was very creative in making new designs and registering new patents for whistle construction . He was in fact the only whistle maker beside Hudson to succesfuly cross the heights of Victorian era into World war I and onward. His personal connections with whole sellers - Distributors all over the globe are well reflected in body stamps found on his whistles . The British whistle scholar Martin Gilchrist who wrote the three important books about whistles was still able to meet the family descandants but unfortunately Alfred's widow had at some point burnt all the papers & catalogs that have remained.

Patents & Registered Designs

Patent	Number	Year	Tittle
Patent	# 9499	1905	Call combined with a penknife
Patent	# 26019	1905	4 Piece + top fitting london style escargot-type
Patent	# 3725	1906	Diaphragm & Partition
Patent	# 924	1907	4 piece Glasgow style escargot-type
Patent	# 8452	1908	Internal strengthening pieces
Patent	#553181	1909	Top cap shaped as a scout's hat
Patent	# 10035	1909	bosun whistle construction
Patent	# 17165	1913	Diaphragm & partition
Patent	# 20	1915	Diagphragm, stop-blank
Patent	#101303	1916	Two-piece top
Patent	#122572	1918	Escargot-type Body edges fold over barrel sides
Patent	#700191	1923	Compass mounted on the call's side

Registered Designs

1. 158176
2. 553181 1909
3. 700191 1923

Models & Whistle Types

De Courcy made most of the proffesional types whistles with hundreds of models and designs .

Alfred De Courcy whistle catalog shows numerous types of whistles .

Body Stamps

De Courcy Did not stamp whistles with his company name prior to 1906 but prior to this year supplied many orders to railway, police, army, navy,asylums,fire Brigades, arm distributors & hardware stores as well as for other makers orders as W.Dowler & Sons, B. Lily & Sons. Many of his whistles prior to 1906 are easilly identified by shape and construction characteristics designs .

While his Buisness and reputation grew his firsdt stamps are Alfred Decoursy & Co. Frankfort Street Birmingham .

It would be beyond the scope of this page to list all while some are still being discovered by collectors , here are some samples ; Stampsd on GSWs Edinburg Police , Liverpool city police (Also marked with a crest ot back )Leeds Police ,Wallasall Police , Westmorland Constabulary, W.R.C., Derby Borough Police , Westmorland Constabulary, Lancshire County Constabulary GPO General Post Office) The City Patent Whistle The City Police The City Police or Fire Whistle Boy Scouts whistles (GSW Type) The Scout, Girl Guide , The Boy Scouts , Bukta

Stamps on Escargot type whistles; Abbey Cyclone , The Thunderer ,The Thunderer Patent, LYR , L&NWR ,LMS,GNR , army ordnance mark 1916 , 1917 . 1918

Stamps on Round whistles for B Lily & Sons The assistance

Distributors & wholesellers

T Dyke & Co. London, E. Milns & Co., Millard Bros. London, Ellis Bros Hong Kong, Marvie & Cooke Shanghai, L E Trent & Co. London, Bate & Co. B'ham, Gammage London, Henry Riely Constitution Hill Birmingham (escargot-type). Samuel Parks & Co. (Railway escargot-type)

After 1927

De Courcy stock of whistles purchased by hudson at 1927 was restamped and so rare whistles made by De Courcy and stamped by Hudson exsist .

External links

Early De Courcy Escargot-type whistle at the whistle museum |