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The company had several mentions in Model Engineer & Electrician magazine in the period 1920 through 1926 as well
as in the 1924 edition of Machinery Magazine. Adverts also
appeared in related hobby magazines such as Wireless World in 1921 where the address was given as
Cheltenham Lathe Works, 86 Acre Lane. The Super Relm was even mentioned in the 1920 edition of
Harmsworth's Household Encyclopedia. Judging by the tone in the 1922 Model Engineer article the company were well known
and quite popular. Indeed, many of the magazine's regular contributors apprear to have had either a RelMac or a SuperRelm
and several modification articles appeared in the magazine.
The company continued to expand during the early 1920's although times were hard. A report in the Estates Gazette gives substance to this expansion,
reporting that they went to court to recover parts of the premises at 90-92 Acre Lane that had been
leased to the Victoria Press Manufacturing Co Ltd.
In 1922 it is known that the General Manager was a Mr R D Gifford and the Works Manager a Mr G Blake. The ME article cited before states Mr Gifford
was a Doctor of Science and Technology. Research has identified a potential candidate in an R. D. Gifford
who, in 1915, was part of the faculty of the University of Birmingham
and, between 1910 and 1915 had published a number of papers in 'Electrician' magazine and other journals including
'Factory and Industrial Management' but after 1916 published nothing again until after 1926.
Indeed, after 1926 there is no further mention of the Cheltenham Works in contemporary literature and the
company went into voluntary liquidation at an Extraordinary General Meeting on Feb 19, 1927 at the order
of the the Company Secretary, a Mr A G Vaughan. Strangely the EGM was held in Birmingham which
suggests the company had already ceased to trade by that date.
It is now known that the patterns and remaining spares for the lathes were taken over by Breeds (Lathes) Ltd, run by
Thomas Breed, at Providence Works, Swinnow Lane, Bramley near Leeds. It is interesting to note that Patrick lathes
had been manufactured, by F Patrick Ltd, at the same site since at least 1915. Since the Acre Lane site did not, as far as can be ascertained, have a large
scale foundry it is possible that Breeds was manufacturing the beds for both Patrick and Relm lathes. Indeed
there are many similarities in the bed between the Relms and the contemporary Patrick lathes. F Patrick Ltd and Breed's (Lathe) Ltd were, like the Cheltenham Works Ltd, also casualties of the post WW1
depression and closed in 1928 and 1931 respectively.
Many of the mentions in Model Engineering magazine after this date are from people trying to find a source of parts
or spares for lathes that were less than 15 years old at the time.
In 1925, Arrel Manufacturing (company #203057) came into being, based in Letchworth, Herts. They
manufactured 'universal spanners' and 'tyre fitting and removal equipment' for the motor trade
and advertised the Arrel lathe which is identical to the later SuperRelm design, so had obviously contracted
to 'badge engineer' it. It is questionable whether they sold any however as none are known to exist. Arrel themselves
were wound up on May 15, 1933 a few weeks after moving from Letchworth into premises at Digswell Road, off Holloway Road, N17.
A picture of a SuperRelm doing a 'continuous cut under self-act' from the 1922 Model Engineer magazine
A picture of the Arrel from an article in Vol 1 #5 of Engineering in Miniature. Note the similarity to the SuperRelm above
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