Inventor credited with first electric car featured in first of new TV series
An inventor from the Black Country credited with building the world’s first practical electric car in 1884 is one of the subjects of a new TV series featuring Midlands inventions.
The 'Invented in The Midlands' programme is due to be aired tonight (FRI) from 7.30pm on BBC1 and in its first episode, features Wolverhampton-based inventor Thomas Parker.
It has been produced by Midlands-based Television Production company, GOSH! after its creative director was inspired by Parker's story and achievements.
Creative Director, Paul Barnett of Kingswinford said: “The more I found out about Parker, the more I wanted to tell his amazing story. It felt incredible that so few people knew about him - he was a local genius who was commuting back and forth to work, over 130 years ago, through the streets of Wolverhampton in his electric car.”
Parker was born at Lincoln Hill in Coalbrookdale, Shropshire, son of Thomas Wheatley Parker and Ann Fletcher. He patented improvements in lead-acid batteries and dynamos, and was a pioneer of manufacturing equipment that powered electric tramways such as the London Underground and overhead tramways in Liverpool and Birmingham. He also invented the smokeless fuel Coalite.
He was a businessman too and in October 1882 Parker and his family moved to Wolverhampton to set up in business with Paul Bedford Elwell - setting up the Elwell-Parker Company.
The programme which features Parker is led by BBC Two’s Coast presenter, Professor Brendan Walker. Professor Walker said: "Thomas Parker was way ahead of his time, and it’s amazing to discover that this spirit of world-class innovation and panache continues to thrive in the heart of the Midlands.”
Brendan also filmed with other inventors, including John Parry in Cradley Heath, who invented the Parry People Mover. His company is the brains behind The Stourbridge Shuttle train, which uses an ingenious, eco-friendly, flywheel technology to whisk passengers between the town’s two stations.
Also featured in the programme is the proposed £25 million Very Light Rail Innovation centre being built in Dudley, which will be used to test the trains of the future and put the area at the forefront of environmentally friendly rail transportation.
Another surprising transport innovation is taking place at Westfield Sports Cars in Kingswinford, where Brendan met its CEO, Julian Tuner, who revealed the futuristic, autonomous vehicle technology, now being developed by the company.
Mr Barnett added: “People from outside the region seem to have forgotten that the Midlands has some extraordinary talent when it comes to TV and film production. Unfortunately, over the last five years or so, most of the shows I’ve worked on have been made out of London, but there is an unprecedented amount of local grown production skills, so it’s great to be back making programmes on home turf.”
