Barr & Stroud Ltd (optical instrument engineers: 1912-1977: Glasgow, Scotland)

Archibald Barr ( 1855-1931 ) and William Stroud became associated as early as 1888 when the two men were professors of, respectively, engineering and physics at the Yorkshire College, Leeds, England (now the University of Leeds). In that year, they responded to an advertisement in the magazine Engineering to design a short-base rangefinder for infantry use. Although the resulting design was not successful at the time, the Admiralty approached them in 1891 and invited them to submit a further design for trial.

By this time, Barr, returned to the University of Glasgow, Scotland, where he had been a student, as the Regius Professor of Civil Engineering & Mechanics. He continued to keep in close touch with Stroud and, in 1892 , the Admiralty gave them a contract for an initial six instruments adopting their competitive design for a rangefinder. The mechanical parts of this rangefinder, known as NRF No 1, were constructed in the workshops of the instrument makers, James White in Cambridge Street, Glasgow, later known as Kelvin & Hughes Ltd, scientific instrument makers, Glasgow. Optical parts, calibrated and designed by Barr & Stroud as the partnership had become known, were actually made up by Adam Hilges of London, England, initially at the expense of the inventors. Stroud even set about raising funds for the project by giving popular magic lantern shows around Leeds.

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