Claim of gifted inventor and chocolatier

The modern-day descendants of a Frenchman who served in the British Army during the First World War and later settled in Bristol claim an unusual distinction. Eugene Byrne bites into the story - but takes the walnut off the top first...

- 

BRISTOL'S current Lord Mayor, Councillor Henry Michallat, has two claims to fame. First, it’s believed that, at 27, he is the youngest ever Lord Mayor of Bristol.

To be honest, we haven't actually checked the age of every single Lord Mayor since the office was created in 1899, but it’s hard to imagine many of them being that young. Until more recent decades, this was a role reserved for old men - and the occasional old lady.

The second claim is that his great-grandfather invented the Walnut Whip.

Now, this would be a proud achievement for any family. It must be admitted that the details are sketchy, and others might come forward to contest the distinction. But until someone can provide incontrovertible proof to the contrary, it appears that it was the creation of François Joseph Michallat, born in France in 1884 and later a resident of Bristol.

He moved to the UK in the early 20th century and was living in Bradford when he married Mary Elizabeth Brown at St Jude's Church in 1907.

Nine years later, he and Mary were living in Glasgow with their three children when he became a naturalised British citizen.

This was in 1916, and during the First World War he was training in wireless telegraphy with the Post Office not long before being called up.

We're fairly sure he served with the Royal Engineers, most likely working with radio and/or telephones.

It’s certainly the case that Michallat was technically minded. Before, during and after the war, he filed several patents in Britain and at least one in the United States - all relating to machinery for decorating chocolates, sweets, and biscuits.