Navy, he spent much time with a friend who had a lathe in his garage, making things, and in particular looking for a simple and effective solution to the problem. Once he had the first clips made, he went to London every day attempting to sell them. His wife Emily had such faith in her husband that she suggested re-mortgaging their house to pay for the first lot of steel, but this was never necessary because the company became successful. Robinson collapsed and died while touring Grosnez Castle in Jersey on 20 August 1939, aged 62. His widow, Emily, died in 1985 at the age of 100. Company The UK declared war on Germany on 3 September 1939, just 14 days after Robinson's death. Before the end of the month, the War Ministry had realized the importance of Jubilee Clips for the war effort and men arrived from the ministry to take over the company. His widow, Emily, wasn't agreeable to the idea, however. She changed her surname by deed poll to Lumley-Robinson and ran the business herself throughout the war. After the end of the war, she continued to run the business until her youngest son, John Lumley-Robinson, took over. He, being under 21 when his mother changed her name, had been the only other member of the family to take the surname Lumley-Robinson. During and after the war, other hose clip manufacturers started to emerge all over Europe, but Jubilee continued to be successful. The business was finally incorporated on 1 April 1948 as L. Robinson & Co (Gillingham) Ltd. Subsequently, the group grew with Jubilee Components Ltd and Jubilee Clips Ltd being formed to take on the manufacturing processes, alongside L. Robinson & Co (Plating) Ltd, an electro-plating company established in 1968. In 1982, the group established a first overseas company when John Jennings (John Lumley-Robinson's son-in-law), founded Jubilee Clips Deutschland GmbH, in anticipation of Britain leaving the European Union under growing political pressure at that time. This company continued to be a success selling Jubilee products in Germany and mainland Europe. In 2007 to 2008, the group acquired a new site in Gillingham, Kent, where all of the UK-based manufacturing and distribution activities of the UK companies of the group were consolidated on one site. This was in the same town where the first Jubilee Clips were made by the original inventor, Lumley Robinson. See also