Creed & Company
Creed & Company was a British telecommunications manufacturer and an early pioneer of teleprinter technology.
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Overview
Creed & Company was a British telecommunications company best known for developing and manufacturing teleprinter equipment. Its origins lay in the partnership between British inventor Frederick George Creed and Danish telegraph engineer Harald Bille. The business was incorporated in 1912 under the name Creed, Bille & Company Limited, reflecting the two founders’ collaboration. Following Bille’s death in a railway accident in 1916, the company adopted the shorter name Creed & Company. During the First World War, the company operated in a British manufacturing environment in which precision electrical and communications equipment was in short supply. It broadened its production beyond telegraph-related apparatus and made a range of military and aviation components. These included amplifiers, spark-gap transmitters, aircraft compasses, high-voltage generators, bomb-release apparatus, and fuses for artillery shells and bombs. This wartime work helped establish the company’s engineering and production capabilities, although the available reference material does not provide detailed financial or production figures. Creed entered the teleprinter market in 1924 with the Model 1P. The machine was followed by the improved Model 2P, as the company sought to make automated message transmission and reception more practical for telegraph networks. In 1925, Creed acquired the patents associated with Donald Murray’s Murray code, a rationalized form of the Baudot code. The technology was incorporated into the Model 3 Tape Teleprinter, introduced in 1927. The Model 3 printed received messages directly onto gummed paper tape at approximately 65 words per minute and became the company’s first combined start-stop transmitter-receiver teleprinter to reach mass production. The company subsequently developed a broad family of teleprinter and reperforator products. Notable examples included the Model 6S punched-paper-tape reader, the Model 7 page-printing teleprinter introduced in 1931, the 7B 50-baud page printer, the 7E version with an overlap cam and range finder, and the 7/TR non-printing teleprinter reperforator. Later products included the Model 54, introduced in 1954; the Model 75, introduced in 1958; the Model 85 printing reperforator, introduced in 1948; the Model 86, which used wider tape; and the Model 444 page-printing teleprinter, introduced in 1966 and associated with the British Post Office’s Type 15 designation. Creed also contributed to wartime communications technology during the Second World War. The company manufactured some British Typex machines, cipher devices designed for secure communications and broadly comparable in purpose to the German Enigma system. This activity placed Creed within the United Kingdom’s wartime communications and cryptographic manufacturing base. The company’s independent existence ended in July 1928, when Creed & Company was merged into the International Telephone and Telegraph Corporation, commonly known as ITT. The merger brought Creed into a larger international telecommunications group. Because the available sources focus primarily on the company’s founding, products, wartime manufacturing, and ITT merger, details about its later organizational structure, individual facilities, workforce, and post-merger brand usage are not established here.
History
Creed & Company emerged from the collaboration of Frederick George Creed and Harald Bille, a Danish engineer specializing in telegraph technology. The enterprise was incorporated in 1912 as Creed, Bille & Company Limited. The partnership changed after Bille died in a railway accident in 1916, after which his name was removed from the corporate title and the business became Creed & Company. The First World War created demand for specialized electrical, signaling, aviation, and military hardware. Creed used its engineering capacity to manufacture amplifiers, spark-gap transmitters, aircraft compasses, high-voltage generators, bomb-release mechanisms, and fuses for artillery shells and bombs. The company’s wartime output reflected the limited availability of advanced instrument manufacturing in Britain at the time and helped it develop experience in precision production. After the war, Creed concentrated increasingly on automated telegraphy. It entered the teleprinter market in 1924 with the Model 1P and soon replaced that design with the improved Model 2P. In 1925, the company acquired patents connected with Donald Murray’s rationalized version of the Baudot code. Creed applied the code to its Model 3 Tape Teleprinter, introduced in 1927. The Model 3 combined transmission and reception in a start-stop teleprinter intended for mass production. It could print incoming messages onto gummed paper tape at a reported rate of about 65 words per minute. Creed’s subsequent product range covered both tape-handling and page-printing equipment. The Model 6S served as a punched-paper-tape reader. The Model 7, introduced in 1931, expanded the company’s presence in page-printing teleprinters, while the 7B, 7E, and 7/TR represented related configurations for different network and processing requirements. The company also produced the Model 85 and Model 86 printing reperforators. Later generations included the Model 54, introduced in 1954, the Model 75, introduced in 1958, and the Model 444, introduced in 1966 and identified with the British Post Office’s Type 15 system. Creed’s engineering work also had a military communications dimension during the Second World War. The company manufactured some British Typex cipher machines. Typex was designed for encrypted communications and occupied a role comparable in broad purpose to the German Enigma machine, although the two systems were distinct technologies. In July 1928, Creed & Company was merged into the International Telephone and Telegraph Corporation. The transaction ended the company’s independence and integrated its activities into a larger international telecommunications organization. The available reference material does not establish the precise extent to which the Creed name, facilities, product designs, or management continued within ITT after the merger.
- 1966
Model 444 introduced
[1]The Model 444 page-printing teleprinter was introduced and associated with the British Post Office Type 15 designation.
- 1958
Model 75 introduced
[1]Creed introduced the Model 75 page-printing teleprinter.
- 1954
Model 54 introduced
[1]The company introduced the Model 54 page-printing teleprinter.
- 1948
Model 85 printing reperforator introduced
[1]Creed added the Model 85 printing reperforator to its teleprinter equipment range.
- 1931
Model 7 page-printing teleprinter introduced
[1]The Model 7 expanded Creed’s page-printing teleprinter range.
- 1928
Merger into ITT
[1]Creed & Company was merged into the International Telephone and Telegraph Corporation in July.
- 1927
Model 3 Tape Teleprinter reaches mass production
[1]Creed introduced the Model 3, a combined start-stop transmitter-receiver that printed received messages on gummed paper tape.
- 1925
Acquisition of Murray code patents
[1]The company acquired patents related to Donald Murray’s rationalized Baudot code for use in its teleprinter development.
- 1924
Entry into teleprinters
[1]Creed introduced its Model 1P teleprinter, followed soon afterward by the improved Model 2P.
- 1916
Company becomes Creed & Company
[1]After Harald Bille died in a railway accident, his name was removed from the company’s title.
Products and positioning
A British engineering and telecommunications manufacturer focused on practical, high-speed teleprinter, telegraph, and secure-communications equipment.
Teleprinter · 1924
Model 1P
Introduced in 1924, the Model 1P marked Creed’s entry into the teleprinter market. It was soon superseded by the improved Model 2P.
Tape teleprinter · 1927
Model 3 Tape Teleprinter
Introduced in 1927, the Model 3 used technology associated with Donald Murray’s rationalized Baudot code. It combined start-stop transmission and reception, printed incoming messages onto gummed paper tape, and became Creed’s first combined teleprinter to enter mass production.
Page-printing teleprinter · 1931
Model 7
Introduced in 1931, the Model 7 was a page-printing teleprinter and one of the principal designs in Creed’s expanding range of network message equipment.
Page-printing teleprinter
Model 7B
The Model 7B was a 50-baud variant of Creed’s page-printing teleprinter family.
Page-printing teleprinter
Model 7E
The Model 7E was a page-printing teleprinter configuration equipped with an overlap cam and range finder.
Teleprinter reperforator
Model 7/TR
The 7/TR was a non-printing teleprinter reperforator intended for handling and relaying punched-tape message traffic.
Page-printing teleprinter · 1954
Model 54
Introduced in 1954, the Model 54 continued Creed’s development of page-printing teleprinters for telecommunications networks.
Page-printing teleprinter · 1958
Model 75
Introduced in 1958, the Model 75 was a later Creed page-printing teleprinter.
Page-printing teleprinter · 1966
Model 444
Introduced in 1966, the Model 444 was a page-printing teleprinter associated with the British Post Office’s Type 15 designation.
Cipher machine
Typex machines
During the Second World War, Creed manufactured some British Typex cipher machines, which were used for encrypted communications and were broadly comparable in purpose to the German Enigma system.
Brand decisions
1928
Merger with International Telephone and Telegraph CorporationM&ABackground
Creed had developed a significant position in teleprinter and telegraph equipment before becoming part of a larger international telecommunications group.
Action taken
Creed & Company was merged into the International Telephone and Telegraph Corporation in July 1928.
Aftermath
The transaction ended Creed’s independent corporate existence and placed its operations within ITT. The available sources do not specify the detailed organizational or brand consequences.
Recent events
- 1928
Creed & Company merges into ITT[1]
M&A
Creed & Company was merged into the International Telephone and Telegraph Corporation in July 1928, ending its operation as an independent company.
Sources1 sources
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