Parker Hale
 |
|
| Industry | Gun manufacturer |
|---|---|
| Fate | sold to Modular Industries UK |
| Founded | Birmingham, England (1910) |
| Founder | Alfred Gray Parker (1842–1915) |
| Defunct | 1992 |
| Headquarters | Birmingham, England |
|
Area served
|
Australia, Canada, England |
|
Key people
|
Alfred Gray Parker, John Le Breton |
| Products | Rifles, Clothing, Accessories |
|
Number of employees
|
80 |
Parker Hale Ltd. was a United Kingdom firearms, air rifle and firearms accessory manufacturer, located in the Gun Quarter of the city of Birmingham, England. It was founded by Alfred Gray Parker and Arthur Hale.
A.G. Parker founded a rifle manufacturing company in 1890 and in 1910 invited his nephew Alfred Thomas Corbyn Hale to become a partner in the limited liability company with the shares being taken up by members of both the Parker and Hale families. A first catalogue was issued of arms and shooting accessories and, though limited in its range, clearly showed the company's growing trend for the development of accessories.
By 1914 the company's small manufacturing plant was well established and the Ministry of Munitions ordered training equipment from Parker-Hale. The Parkerifling process, coupled with the Hiscock-Parker magazine, enabled service rifles to be converted to .22 calibre for use as training rifles, and demand was such that the Parker-Hale factory was soon working to full capacity.
In 1924, Hale's son, Arthur, joined the business and in 1926 a family record was set up when Hale and his two eldest sons took part in the "King's Hundred" at Bisley. This event was eclipsed two years later when Arthur Hale succeeded in winning the coveted prize itself. He was appointed Director of the Company in 1928.
With the outbreak of World War II, the available resources of the gun trade had been mobilised to recondition a reserve of P14 rifles, and in 1940 the Parker-Hale Arms Company was founded. Additional premises were acquired "for the duration" and, under the management of Arthur Hale, a large reconditioning programme was rapidly carried through. A wide range of additional war contract work followed, principally with the manufacture of .300in and .303in drill cartridges in large quantities.
After the close of hostilities, with a fall in production contracts and no permanent premises, the company had little choice but to invest in a small factory unit, erected under the Government's emergency programme to re-house bombed-out manufacturers. Meanwhile, the Parker-Hale Arms Company was transferred to the Birmingham Proof House, where it continued with the reconditioning of .22 calibre weapons for junior training organisations. The company ceased to exist upon completion of the contracts.
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Wikipedia