Venture put Bristol at top of industry
IN July 1910, a Bristol Boxkite, built by the newly-formed British & Colonial Aeroplane Company at Filton, took off from the firm's flying school in Wiltshire.
That historic flight marked the beginning of a remarkable business venture – backed by Bristol entrepreneur George White – that would put the city at the heart of the UK's aircraft industry.
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Clockwise, from top left: The offices of Bristol Aeroplane Company, built in 1936; the Bulldog single-seater fighter, which was the RAF's main frontline fighter in the early 1930s; the company's new canteen block, built off the A38 in the 1930s; Bristol Flying School, Gloucester Road; Frenchman Maurice Tetard and co-pilot CW Briginshaw take off in a Bristol Boxkite from the Durdham Downs; al Boxkite at Filton in 1910
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Sir Roy Fedden
By the end of the First World War, George White's successors were employing more than 3,000 people and in 1920 the firm took the name Bristol Aeroplane Company Ltd.
As well as the famous Second World War planes – the Beaufort, the Blenheim and the Beaufighter – BAC, as it was known to generations of workers, was responsible for those remarkable miracles of post-war engineering, the Britannia and Concorde.
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And let's not forget Sir Roy Fedden's marvellous engines, the Jupiter, Mercury and Hercules.
Later came the Proteus, the mighty Olympus (used in Concorde) and the Pegasus, used in the Harrier jump jet.
In 1956 the company was split into two divisions – Bristol Aircraft and Bristol Aero Engines.
Three year later, after merging with several major British aircraft companies, British Aircraft became the British Aircraft Corporation (BAC).
At the same time Bristol Aero Engines merged with Armstrong Siddeley to become Bristol Siddeley.
Many more historic old picture postcards can be found in Filton, Patchway and Stoke Gifford on Old Postcards by Janet and Derek Fisher, priced £5.50.
Part of the Bygone Bristol series the book is on sale at both M shed and Queen's Road museums, or from Derek Fisher on 0117 942 3177 or email: bygonebristol@sky.
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