At Pets Perfect we were thinking the other day that sometimes we are all guilty of looking at a name of a company and taking it and its history for granted – ASDA for example.  Only two of us knew what that stood for - Associated Dairies - which is not a very catchy name for a chain of supermarkets! Nor for that matter is Waite, Rose & Taylor so it is perhaps as well that David Taylor left in 1908 and – you’ve guessed it – the name Waitrose was adopted.

Acme whistles is another interesting company.  It started when Joseph Hudson moved from the countryside in Derbyshire to Birmingham – just like many other British people did during the Industrial Revolution.  It was there that he trained as a toolmaker, living in a back to back end terrace house. 

In an effort to increase the household income, he converted his wash house into a workshop, making cork screws, snuff boxes and whistles. The whistle part of the business was very small. 

Then in 1883 Joseph saw an advert.  The London Metropolitan Police wanted a replacement for the rattle – this was their usual method of alerting people when a policeman had trouble on his beat and meant that a policeman had to run and rattle at the same time.  Quite a feat!

A whistle was Joseph’s answer but what sound?  He soon worked that out when he accidentally dropped his violin and heard the awful jarring noise which was caused when the violin broke. 

The noise that Joseph Hudson put into his whistle delighted the police when they tested it on Clapham Common – it could be heard over a mile away.

But what does Acme mean, we can hear some of you asking – well it comes from the Greek and it means the best.  I think that you will all agree that Acme Whistles are the best!

But which one should you buy?  Let’s take a look at them - the Acme Field Trialler 212 gives a constant high pitch and is the professional gundog whistle.  It holds the tone over a distance and has no pea.  Available in black or orange.

The Acme 210.5 comes in a range of colours – pale blue, purple, black, orange, yellow, lime green, brown - and it has an ultra high pitch with a solid tune; easy blowing and no pea!

The Acme 211.5 again has no pea and is a standard pitch.  Also available in many colours – purple, black, brown, orange, pale blue, lime green, yellow – so you could have a different coloured whistle for each day of the week!