Ernest and Percival Waddams Petter (1873–1955) were
identical twins born on 26 May 1873 in High Street,
Yeovil, Somerset. They were the third and fourth of the fifteen children born to James Bazeley Petter, an
ironmonger and
iron founder, of Yeovil, and his wife, Charlotte Waddams. The twins initially attended school in
Sherborne, then went to
Yeovil Grammar School before being sent off to
Mount Radford School, Exeter, at age 14. They left school in 1890 and began apprenticing with their father. The vehicle weighed 9
cwt (457 kg) including the 120 lb (55 kg) of the Petter engine with its flywheel and side bars. The brothers co-founded the Yeovil Motor Car Co. Ltd. in 1895 with their father, making two-person motor carriages. However, the venture was not commercially viable, and the company transitioned to making engines for industrial and agricultural customers. Ernest and Percy then proceeded to purchase the company from their father in 1901, and restructured it into
James B Petter & Sons, both serving as managing directors. After visiting relatives in
Comox Valley on the east coast of
Vancouver Island,
British Columbia, Canada, he decided to build a large manor house (named "The Fort") in the town of
Comox, which was completed in 1938. He then lived for a while in
Saanich (just outside the provincial capital of
Victoria) before moving back to the UK in 1954. He died at
New Milton,
Hampshire later that year at the age of 81. His son
William Edward Willoughby 'Teddy' Petter was an aircraft designer. His grandson
Andrew Petter represented the
electoral district of
Saanich South in the
Legislative Assembly of British Columbia from 1991 to 2001 and served in several cabinet posts during that time, including as
Attorney General of British Columbia. == Political career ==