Mildred then passed the running of the business to her eldest son, H. J. Deacon, known to his friends as Jack who had been trained at Butt's of Chester. Mildred's younger son, Guy, took over the china side of the business. Jack Deacon was a very successful businessman and skilfully managed the business through the difficult war years. Jack was joined in the business by his son Michael in 1958.

Michael, having succeeded his father in 1970, inherited the entrepreneurial ability of his great grand father and presided over a dramatic expansion of the business. Between 1971 and 1981 Michael opened four branch shops, Highworth in 1971, Wootton Bassett in 1974, Faringdon in 1976 and Tetbury in 1981. Michael had a passionate interest in clocks and watches and produced limited edition enamel carriage clocks for the American market during the 1970s. During the 1990s Michael also invested in the company's main Wood Street premises, completely rebuilding the company's workshops and refurbishing the clock, jewellery and china departments. By 1998 Michael's dream of a super shop had finally been realised and he was able to join in the celebration of the company's 150th anniversary shortly before his death in September 1998. Michael's wife, Joy, continued to play an active role in the business as Director in charge of China and Crystal.

Michael has now been succeeded by his son Richard as Managing Director, with his wife Joy, and his daughter, Sara, also Directors. Richard and Sara represent the 6th generation of the Deacon family, ensuring the name continues well beyond the millennium when it is hoped more milestones may be reached.

The Regulator clock which stands to this day in the jewellery, clock and watch department was made by Deacon & Son Ltd around 1865 when the company held one of the timing contracts for the Great Western Railway on the line between Paddington and Swansea. Before radio and the telephone gave universally available timing, accurate time keeping had to be maintained locally and this was usually done by the means of the regulator clock. The dead beat escapement in this movement causes less friction and dampens vibration, giving greater accuracy. The self regulating mercury pendulum, which changes volume equally with the changes in temperature, keeps the clock on a constant steady beat giving better time keeping. This clock was used extensively in our workshops for clock timing and regulation for many years, until its retirement in the 1960s. In 1998 the same task is performed by radio controlled timing from the nuclear caesium clock at the National Physics Laboratory at Rugby.

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