Barr and Stroud Barr & Stroud Limited was a pioneering Scottish optical engineering firm , based in Glasgow , that played a leading role in the development of modern optics , including rangefinder s , for the Royal Navy and for other branches of British Armed Forces during the 20th century . There was a non - military arm of the company which made medical equipment , like photocoagulators and electronic filters , some of which were used by the BBC . The company and its intellectual property passed through Pilkington group to Thales Optronics . The Barr and Stroud name was sold on to an importer of optical equipment who use the trademarked name . Barr and Stroud was founded by Archibald Barr and William Stroud as a limited company in 1913 , but they began development work as early as 1888 . Barr and Stroud rangefinders were sold world wide and were used almost universally in the Royal Navy during World War II . Barr & Stroud also produced fire control instruments and a range of commercial products , such as binoculars . History . The original Barr & Stroud company was founded in 1913 . Archibald Barr and William Stroud had been associated from as early as 1888 when the two men were professors of , respectively , engineering and physics at the Yorkshire College ( now the University of Leeds ) . In 1891 they were approached by the Admiralty to submit a design for a short - base rangefinder for trial . By this time , Barr had returned to Scotland and taken the post of Regius Professor of Civil Engineering and Mechanics at the University of Glasgow . Although now apart Barr and Stroud kept in close touch and in 1892 they were awarded with a contract for six of their rangefinders . In 1895 , Barr & Stroud ' s Patents Ltd was renting workshop space near the university , at 250 Byres Road , Glasgow , but demand for the product soon necessitated a move to larger premises in Ashton Lane , Glasgow . By 1904 , 100 men were working for the company in a new purpose - built factory in Anniesland , Glasgow . Shortly thereafter , in 1909 , Stroud resigned his chair at University of Leeds and moved to Glasgow to work for the company full - time . Barr , in spite of a distinguished teaching career at Glasgow University , followed his example in 1913 . Together they formed Barr & Stroud Ltd . In 1914 they began extensions to the Anniesland works in order to meet the sharp increase in demand for their rangefinders that followed on the outbreak of the First World War . The war years saw the development of other products , including a torpedo depth recorder , a periscope rangefinder , fire - control system s and a dome sight for aircraft . During World War I there was a problem with the supply of binoculars to the armed forces and apart from the British makers , binoculars were bought in from various sources . So it was only natural that the military would be looking to rectify this problem . At the time Zeiss was probably the leading makers and the military thought this may cause a problem in the future . It was c . 1919 when the company started producing their first binoculars which were supplied to the British Navy and from then on the company continued to operate independently until c . 1977 when they were taken over by the Pilkington Group . In 1992 operations moved from the original factory in Anniesland to a new plant in Linthouse on the site of the former Alexander Stephen and Sons shipyard . In 2000 the company became a subsidiary of the French company , Thales Group , and in 2001 Barr & Stroud Ltd became Thales Optronics Ltd . The Barr and Stroud brand name was then bought by Eastleigh - based Optical Distribution Services Ltd who re - registered as Barr and Stroud Ltd in 2008 . The new company has developed a new range of binoculars and telescopes . The new range of Barr & Stroud binoculars are currently made in China ( Nov . 2011 ) and distributed by Optical Vision Ltd .