MARCHI

Brimar is the valve brand associated with Standard Telephones and Cables, or STC. Its name recalls the phrase ‘British Made American Range’: valves made in Britain to offer a range of American-style types. This is a distinct commercial identity that must be distinguished from the manufacturing company. The history of Brimar packaging and markings must therefore be read alongside that of STC's factories and earlier names.

Before Brimar became established, STC used the names Standard and Micromesh. The Micromesh phase belongs to the early 1930s; Brimar came into use for radio valves around 1934. Foots Cray, in Kent, was an important production site. The proximity of these names in time does not make them merely different graphics: a Standard, Micromesh or Brimar tube belongs to a recognizable phase of the same industrial history, and its type and date help identify it more precisely.

Brimar's range was not limited to domestic receivers. Alongside radio valves were products for professional applications and special-quality versions, for which selection and reliability were especially important. Period catalogues, circuit diagrams and technical data make it possible to trace this extension of the range without assuming that every tube bearing the brand was intended for the same use or built in the same way.

In 1960 the Brimar business passed to the Thorn group. The change of ownership opened a new chapter in the name's history, but it does not retroactively change the identity of earlier STC valves. An accurate record distinguishes the Brimar brand, its manufacturer STC, the earlier Micromesh and Standard phases where relevant, and the later Thorn context.