The company was founded by Joseph Hudson, around 1868, and was initially based in his house. In 1883 it was a Hudson whistle that replaced the policeman's whistle. In 1884 he then invented a whistle that was taken up by football referees as a replacement for the previously used handkerchief, the whistle he designed was the Acme Thunder Whistle. Acme Whistles is the one and only trademark product of the J. Hudson Co. Ltd