Birt Acres, Pioneer of the Cinema

I'm doing some story research (well, that's what I call the hours spent wilfing around the internet) into the early cinema pioneers. One of them is American-born British resident Birt Acres. Acres was an engineer, photographer, designer of the Birtac amateur camera, and plenty more besides.

I was immediately put in mind of Alan Burt Akers, the pseudonym used by Ken Bulmer for his series of Dray Prescott novels, and then intrigued when I heard that Birt Acres' grandson and biographer was one Alan Birt Acres.

I'm now wondering if there was a reason/connection behind Bulmer's choice of pen name. Ken's no longer with us, alas, and Google's found me nothing.

Bad Google. No biscuit.