 Ransomes & Rapier was formed in 1869 when four engineers, James Allen Ransome (1806–1875), his elder son, Robert James Ransome (c.1831–1891), Richard Christopher Rapier (1836–1897) and Arthur Alec Bennett (1842–1916), left the parent firm by agreement to establish a new firm on a site on the River Orwell to continue the business of manufacturing railway equipment and other heavy works.The year before J.A.