HOW IT ALL STARTED
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John Thomas Gent started the business in 1872 after serving an apprenticeship in Halifax.
It is said that G.T.Gent & Co. were one of the first to produce electric bells in the UK.
During the first years Gent was interested in developing electrical equipment, including telephones, fire alarms, electric lightning and other devices.
In 1884 I.H.Parsons was apprenticed to Mr Gent, later followed by A.W.Stavely.
Mr Gent retired from Gent & Co in 1894, leaving Parsons and Stavely as joint partners.
In 1903 the firm was registred as a limited company known as Gent & Co.
Shortly after that A.E.J Ball joined the company and they started to produce an electric clock system, known eventually as the “Pul-syn-etic”, followed in 1907 by the famous Waiting Train system.
One might say that Parsons, Stavely and Ball were ingenious inventors who together produced an enormous variety of superb horological products.
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SOURCES:
Gent catalogues,
History:
Horological Journal
vol 115, February 1973,
author not mentioned.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS:
I owe many thanks to all those and who showed me their collections, enabling me to build this site and who were willing to share with me their knowledge about the Gent Company.
Colin Reynolds in particular was a great source of very detailed and interesting information to me.
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