MarketPeter Corby
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Peter Corby

Peter John Siddons Corby was a British inventor. He joined the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve after leaving school and served as a flight engineer with No. 78 Squadron RAF in the last weeks of the Second World War. Corby remained with the RAF after the war serving in teaching and maintenance roles as well as with No. 15 Squadron RAF. He retired in 1951 to join his father's business making valet stands. Corby was inspired by a meeting with an aeronautical engineer who had developed electrical heating systems for the Concorde supersonic aircraft. Corby utilised these systems in the Corby trouser press, which was sold widely to hotel chains. Corby sold his company in 1977 and retired to the Isle of Wight. He entered the insurance industry as an underwriter at Lloyd's of London but lost much of his wealth during an insurance crisis in the 1990s.

Early life and military career
Corby was born in Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, on 8 July 1924. He was the youngest son of John Siddons Corby and Helen, née Ratray. The family middle name came from the surname of Peter Corby's great-great-great grandfather William, husband of Sarah Siddons. He resigned his commission on 4 June 1951. Corby married Gail Clifford-Marshall in 1950 but the marriage was dissolved in 1959; they had two sons. == Trouser press ==
Trouser press
Corby left the RAF to help his sick father run the family business. Corby's father died in 1955. The business was inherited by the company's works manager but Corby spent the next ten years gradually buying it from him. Corby married Ines Mandow in 1960; they had one son, John, who became a yacht designer and town councillor. John Corby Ltd had for some time sold a non-electrical trouser press, designed to press creases out of men's suit trousers. Corby by chance met an aeronautical engineer involved in the design of the supersonic Concorde passenger aircraft. He had devised a means of electrically heating the aircraft's moveable nose cone to prevent freezing at high altitudes. Corby realised that this could be incorporated into the trouser press to improve its performance. The new Corby trouser press featured two leg-length electrically-heated pads capable of reaching which would press the trousers overnight to remove creases. Corby negotiated with a number of hotel chains to lease the product which was commercially successful. Corby also developed an electric tie-press but this enjoyed less success. == Later life ==
Later life
Corby sold John Corby Ltd in 1977 to Thomas Jourdan plc, which owned the Mary Quant fashion brand. The company was sold a number of times and is now known as Corby of Windsor. He was also a non-executive director of a number of companies. He retired to Cowes on the Isle of Wight in 1980. His house there contained several of his inventions, including a model train layout that lowered from his garage roof. He died on 5 August 2021, leaving an estate of just £204,454. == References ==
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