Royals visit old firm on a shrill whistlestop tour of the Midlands
DATING FROM 1870 and claiming to be the world’s most famous producer of such items, the Acme Whistle Company can also finally boast royal patronage.
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge dropped in to its factory in Barr Street, Birmingham, yesterday on what wags were calling a whistle-stop tour of the West Midlands.
The company, originally known as J Hudson and Co, exports to 119 countries and is said to have turned out around 500m whistles, including the £9.48 Thunderer Titanic, a replica of the one used on the illfated liner in 1912.
The chief executive, Simon Topman, said: “It’s nice to have had a royal visit. It’s taken us nearly 150 years but for us it’s a very memorable landmark.
“We were able to show Their Royal Highnesses every aspect of whistle-making from the beginnings of the sports whistle, invented here in 1884, the silent dog whistle, invented here in 1935, to the very first police whistle from 1883.”
William could easily tell one whistle from another, Mr Topman said. “When his Royal Highness came into our showroom, I showed him a Labrador whistle and said ‘This wouldn’t do for your spaniels’.
“He said ‘no, we use a 212’. I said I was shocked - ‘You even know our model numbers’.”
Earlier, the royals paid a visit to Aston Villa football club, to support its sports coaching initiative. The Coach Core scheme was designed by the Royal Foundation of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry, aimed at taking young people from deprived areas and turning them into the next generation of sports coaches.
William and Kate were earlier given a lesson in off-roading during a tour of Land Rover’s flagship plant in Solihull.