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PP3 Designer Remembered
Dr. Alexander “Lex” Gilmour, whose
many contributions to the battery industry included
developing the groundbreaking rectangular design
for the 9 volt PP3 battery, died of a heart attack
on March 13. He was 76.
Born in County Antrim, Northern Ireland in 1930,
he demonstrated an inquisitive and strong interest
in the physical sciences from an early age and
later attended Queen’s University, Belfast,
and received B.Sc., M.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees in
chemistry. In 1956, he accepted a position at
the Belfast-based Short Bros. where he developed
technology used in black box flight recorders.
During this time, he met his future wife Miriam
through mutual friends. A move to the British
Oxygen Corp. in 1961 led to a transfer to their
Perivale offices in Middlesex, England, in 1962,
when he and Miriam were married.
In 1966, he became the European engineering manager
at the rapidly expanding manufacturers of Duracell
batteries, Mallory Batteries Inc. He spent four
years at the U.S. headquarters in Tarrytown, New
York, conveying his eclectic mix of U.K. patented
technology that later created hundreds of new
jobs at a battery manufacturing facility in South
Carolina.
In the early 1970s, he developed the design of
the rectangular shaped, 9V PP3 battery that is
widely used in cameras, radios and smoke detectors.
During his 15 years with the company, his pre-eminent
battery work on heart pacemaker cells, Concorde
flight deck systems and electrical power equipment
for Apollo spacecraft modules were also among
his achievements.
In 1980, Dr. Gilmour moved to British Ever Ready
Electric Co. (BEREC) and when Hanson Trust bought
BEREC, Dr. Gilmour helped to lead a management
buyout of the Oxfordshire operation that was later
renamed Venture Technology Ltd. In 1987, Dowty
Aerospace bought Venture Technology and Dr. Gilmour
set up his own battery consultancy, Lexcel Technology
Ltd. For 19 years he consulted with the U.K. Ministry
of Defence, Department of Trade and Industry,
the E.C. and numerous U.K. university and commercial
partners. His friend, Andrew Ritchie, said they
had recently been to Reading University to discuss
setting up a new battery program.
His survivors include his wife, two daughters,
Susan and Debbie, and a son, Robin.
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