Thomas Noah Cole was the founder in 1922 of Lissen in London apparently using his wife's money as Rebecca was the main shareholder. Thomas Noah Cole was born in 1891 in Llanllwni, near Lampeter (Wales), and grew up in Cardiff. He was very interested in football and a dedicated supporter of the Cardiff football team He had started in business in Wales selling bananas from a barrow. His father was a Naval Engineer. Although he continued as M.D. of Lissen after Ever Ready (UK) purchased control for about £1M in 1928 he wanted more control so Vidor was formed by "proxy" by T. N. Cole in 1934 with Mr. R.P. Richardson as Managing Director. To aid growth they initially purchased the Burndept Radio Co. The combined company was called Vidor-Burndept. Vidor name is supposed to be from part of the name of initials of the names of Thomas's two daughters, Valerie and Denise, and his wife Rebecca. Vidor was initially based in a former Vickers-Armstrong munitions factory at Erith, Kent.

However his 1928 agreement may have forbidden home to compete with Ever Ready. In 1935 Thomas brought an action appealing against the agreement and engaged Sir Stafford Cripps, and two other eminent lawyers. On the eve of the action, an out of court settlement was made (no details known) and from that time on, relations between Ever Ready and Vidor were strained. This wasn't helped by the fact that Vidor batteries were popular with radio dealers, because the company offered a 25 percent discount and the batteries sold at a very competitive price. See also the history of Lissen and Ever Ready UK.

In April 1941 the Erith factory was almost completely destroyed by a German incendiary raid, forcing the company to relocate production to a former jute mill at Dundee, Scotland. The company also opened other factories at South Shields and Brechin. A Vidor slogan from the 1950s was "They do say a Vidor battery lasts a month longer!". Vidor's later battery ventures were with Hawker-Siddley-Crompton. There was also a factory in Ireland.

T.N. Cole retired in 1962 selling Vidor-Burndept to Royston Industries. Following the collapse of Royston Industries in 1968, the Vidor brand was acquired by Crompton Parkinson. The Vidor brand was later sold to Ray-O-Vac (still active selling batteries and related items) in 1989 and is now dormant. Crompton Parkinson was a British electrical manufacturing company formed in 1927 by the merger of Crompton & Co., and F & A. Parkinson Ltd. Crompton Parkinson was taken over by the Hawker Siddeley aerospace group in 1968. The subsequent history is complex but it appears that Crompton Lighting is now owned by Gerard Lighting, while Crompton Parkinson is now owned by Brook Crompton. (2010)