Joan Jones

In 1885, the firm appointed a very talented analytical chemist called Jason Hall Worrell, and he started experimenting with the by-products of coal because they had their own coke ovens for their furnaces.

And the story is that workers at the coke ovens were getting some of the tar on their hands and arms and they noticed that their cuts and abrasions were healing very quickly.

The chemist, Mr Worrell, did all sorts of experiments and he discovered that this by-product had germicidal, i.e.

antiseptic qualities.

Legend has it that it was the anagram of the name of Worrell's favourite sister, who was Liza.

And then they started a fantastic advertising campaign.

They had a full page in The Times in 1893 telling the nation that if they used ISIL, disease would be kept at bay.