Private company

Murphy Radio

Radio and television manufacturing company

Murphy Radio was a British manufacturer of radios and televisions based in Welwyn Garden City, England.2 Wikipedia text CC BY-SA 4.0

Last updated Oct 21, 2026.

Overview

1929Founded1
Radio Murphy U102
Photo: Jota, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons4

Murphy Radio was a British manufacturer of radios and televisions based in Welwyn Garden City, England.2

The story

1929: inception

Murphy Radio was founded in 1929 by Frank Murphy and E.J. Power as a volume manufacturer of home radio sets. Its factories were in the Hertfordshire town of Welwyn Garden City, England, starting with fewer than 100 employees. Murphy also had a manufacturing facility in Islandbridge, Dublin, Ireland.

1939+: expansion

The company played an important role during World War II, designing and manufacturing radio sets for British Armed Forces use, chiefly the Wireless Set No. 38. After the war, Murphy used its military experience to design and build sets for Naval use, principally the 'B40' series for the British Commonwealth Navies. The company also produced the Larkspur era A41 VHF manpack transceiver for the British Army during the 1950s.

Murphy himself left the company during 1937 and went on to found another company called, perhaps unwisely, 'FM Radio'. He died aged 65, in 1955.

1959 onward

The company became well known for the manufacture of television sets and was successful up until 1959 when it encountered trading difficulties, similar to others in the industry. In 1962, The Rank Organisation thought there might be advantages if they merged Murphy with their Bush Radio business. As part of the acquisition and reorganisation by Rank, Murphy acquired the undertaking and assets of Bush as well as Rank Cintel, Rank's electronic division.

From Wikipedia’s article on Murphy Radio, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.3

Timeline

  1. 1929Founded Founded1

Sources

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