Cosby Smallpeice

Cosby Donald Philipps Smallpeice (23 March 1896 – 1977) was an English engineer involved in design of precision and production lathes, and pneumatic tools and hoists. He created the company Martonair, and on its flotation in 1966 he founded The Smallpeice Trust to provide opportunities for engineering students. Much of the history of Cosby Smallpeice is covered in a publication by The Smallpeice Trust titled "A Smallpeice of History", which documents the history of the founder, the trust, and its ongoing training programmes.

Born the son of William and Cicely Smallpeice on 23 March 1896 in London he grew up in Felsted where he attended Felsted School. At the outbreak of War in 1914 he enlisted in the Royal Army Service Corps and attained the rank of captain by the time he was severely gassed in 1917. In the year he spent recovering he taught himself technical drawing and in 1919 entered the profession as C Smallpeice, General Engineer, having rented a corrugated iron shed in Sawbridgeworth with a 14-year-old lad as assistant. including a Ward Leonard drive system to allow precise control of speed. A total of 350 of these precision lathes were produced by J Evans up to about 1955, and J Evans were also involved in the production of some post-war Multicut lathes.

Martonair continued very successfully with pneumatic systems, and built a new factory in Feltham, Middlesex. In 1966 the company was floated on the stock market, allowing Cosby to found The Smallpeice Trust, and to retire and enjoy his sailing yacht.