Alliot Verdon Roe | Oswald Mosley | Briton - Fascist - European. Books Alliot Verdon Roe Alliot Verdon Roe was born in 1877 in Patricroft, Manchester. His father was a Doctor and his mother was later famous for her work in organising and setting standards for day nurseries. His father had hoped that his son would follow in his profession but the boy was more keenly interested in engineering. When he was fourteen he set off to Canada to work in a civil engineering firm, but the job did not last long. The young Alliott then engaged in an apprenticeship in Portsmouth dockyard which he duly completed. After studying marine engineering at Kings College, London as well as the dockyard the young man joined the ship S.S.Inchanga as fifth engineer. It was during this time that Alliott first turned his mind to the possibility of actually building a flying machine. He began with small models and in this he was quite successful. When the Wright brothers made the very first flight in a heavier than air machine at Kittyhawk, U.S.A. he was almost immediately in correspondence with them. He applied for and took a job with the Royal Aero Club.

Then found a job in the U.S.A. with a firm trying to build a gyrocopter. The machine was a failure and Alliott was back in Britain. But not discouraged. It was in 1906 that he patented the first aircraft control column, as previously two levers were required. It was as well he patented the idea as many years later a Frenchman tried to claim copyright and £1,000,000 damages. When Lord Northcliffe of the Daily Mail offered a prize of £250 for a model capable of sustained flight Alliott took the prize. Thus encouraged he designed and built his own real aircraft. He set up shop at Brooklands, near Weybridge. On the 8th June, 1908 A.V. Roe actually flew for the first time, but his short flights were not registered officially by the Royal Aero Club and Lord Brabazon took the honour of registering first. Roe pressed on regardless. It was a challenging time as he had to learn so much. Designing, building and flying all at once! It was dangerous because things kept breaking. Controls were not correctly understood and engines were unreliable.

On the plus side the aircraft of those days could glide and crashes were often not fatal. After being evicted from Brooklands, and then Hackney Marshes Alliott Roe set up his flying operations at Wembley Park, Middlesex, as it then was. Alliott’s brother, Humphrey, who was later to marry Marie Stoppes, came into the business and on New Years Day 1910 A.V. Roe became the first company ever to be registered as an airplane manufacturer.. The learning curve was so fast, that hardly ever were two aircraft built that were exactly the same. Improvements came along at a breathtaking pace. Manufacturing moved to Manchester and with Brooklands under new management an Avro flying school was set up there, later moving to Shoreham. Other money-earning ventures were the founding of an aircraft spares warehouse and the invention and marketing of a turnbuckle for tightening the bracing wires used on aircraft in those days. With the coming of the First World War, A.V. Roe and Co. had a first rate aircraft for the forces. It was the Avro 504. A good basic design that leant itself to a variety of engines.

So good was it that it became a standard trainer after the war and soldiered on until 1940 during the Second World War. After the First World War military orders dried up to a trickle and even with new designs Avro Avianorders were small. The civil market was hotly contested and Avro’s most successful aircraft was the Avro Avian. Even before this a considerable financial investment had been made in the company by the Groves family of Groves and Whitnall Ltd. the Manchester brewers. In 1920 Crossley Motors bought three fifths of the shares in the company. In 1928 control of the company passed to the Armstrong Siddley Development Group. As a result both of the Avro brothers, Alliott and Humpfrey, left to join S.E. Saunders Limited of Cowes, Isle of Wight. Saunders were exponents of the flying boat. The company became known as Saunders Roe and they produced a series of well know aircraft culminating with the “Saro Princess”. They also produced the very successful “Skeeter” helicopter and the experimental rocket fighter, the SR-53.

Alliott was Knighted in the New Year Honours list of 1929. AV, as he was known, became a strong supporter of Oswald Mosley during the 1930’s, and continued his support after the war with Union Movement. He was a great believer in monetary reform and thought it was wrong that banks should be able to create money by “book entry” and charge interest on it when they lent it out. In this respect he shared the same enthusiasm for reform as the American poet Ezra Pound, who also wrote for the Mosley press. To sum up the attributes of this man, one can say that he was strong willed, brave, adventurous, inventive, enterprising and politically astute. In all, a very great Englishman. Keith Thompson Roe, Alliott Verdon Alliott Verdon Roe, after a varied career in surveying, tree-planting, fishing, post-office management and marine engineering began aircraft design in 1906. Spurred by winning £75 in a model aircraft contest held in London in 1907.

Roe built a full-size biplane, which made some tentative hops from the motor racing circuit at Brooklands in 1908. Moving to an abandoned railway arch on Lea Marshes in Essex, he built the Roe I Triplane which weighed less than 91 kg (200 lb) and was covered in brown wrapping paper. He called it the Bull’s-Eye Avroplane after the brand-name of men’s trouser braces whose manufacturer had supported him. In July 1909 the Roe I Triplane made the first official powered flights in Britain by an all-British aircraft. Alliott Roe subsequently developed three other triplane designs, one of which he flew (and crashed three times) at the great Boston-Harvard Aviation Meeting of 1910. A.V. Roe and Company was established at Brownsfield Mill, Great Ancoats Street, Manchester, by Alliott Verdon Roe and his brother Humphrey Verdon Roe on 1 January 1910. Humphrey's contribution was chiefly financial and organizational; funding it from the earnings of the family webbing business and acting as Managing Director until he joined the RFC in 1917.

Alliott Verdon-Roe - Graces Guide Grace's Guide British Industrial History Grace's Guide is the leading source of historical information on industry and manufacturing in Britain. This web publication contains 121,917 pages of information and 183,284 images on early companies, their products and the people who designed and built them. Alliott Verdon-Roe 1910. 1910. (Edwin) Alliott Verdon-Roe (1877-1958) was a pioneer British pilot and aircraft manufacturer, and founder in 1910 of A. V. Roe and Co . A. V. Roe was the first Englishman to make a powered flight (in 1908 at Brooklands) and the first Englishman to fly an all British machine a year later, on Hackney Marshes. 1877 April 26th. Born in Patricroft, now in Salford, the son of Edwin Hodgson Roe, a doctor, and his wife, (Annie) Sophia Verdon.

1881 Living at The Poplars, Liverpool Road, Barton upon Irwell: Edwin H. Roe (age 40 born Eccles), General Practioner, Surgeon. With his wife Annie Sophia Roe (age 33 born Salford) and their children Spencer Verdon Roe (age 7 born Patricroft); Elsie Verdon Roe (age 5 born Patricroft); Edwin Albert Verdon Roe (age 3 born Patricroft); Humphrey Verdon Roe (age 2 born Patricroft); and Everard Verdon Roe (age 1 born Patricroft). Also a visitor. Three servants. [1] Educated at Shepperton and St Paul's 1891 Left home when he was 14 to go to Canada where he spent a year working odd jobs, including assisting with getting out the drawings for a flying machine. [2] . Once he returned to Britain he served as an apprentice with the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway Went to study marine engineering at King's College London. He was a fitter at Portsmouth dockyard and tried but failed to join the Royal Navy as an engineer.

1899 Started work for the British and South African Royal Mail Co as an engineer, joining the SS Inchanga as fifth engineer; he stayed until 1902. It was during this time that he first turned his mind to the possibility of actually building a flying machine. When the Wright brothers had made the first flight in a heavier than air machine at Kittyhawk, he was almost immediately in correspondence with them. He cycled to Le Mans to meet them when they made their first European flights. From 1903 he spent 3 years as a draughtsman in a motor works. Gradually he developed his interest in birds and in flight, and began to construct flying models 1907 Won a Daily Mail competition with a prize of £75 for one of his designs, against fierce competition. With the prize money he was soon to build a full size aeroplane based on his winning model. He applied for and took a job with the Royal Aero Club . He then found a job in the U.S.A. with a firm trying to build a gyrocopter. The machine was a failure and Roe came back to Britain but not discouraged. 1908 June 8th.

Flew his machine for 100 feet for the first time at Brooklands, powered by an Antoinette 24 h.p. engine on loan. This was the first British-designed and British-built aeroplane to fly under its own power. He then moved to the stables in Putney leant to him by his brother, Dr S. Verdon Roe , where he built a triplane powered by a 9 h.p. JAP engine. 1909 July 13th. Flew his 'Avroplane' triplane taking off from Lea Marshes, Essex. Later attempts to build and fly his early aeroplanes were made at Walthamstow Marsh. Despite many failures, Roe continued his experiments and there is now a blue plaque commemorating his first successful flight there (in July 1909) on one of the railway arches where he worked. 1910 With another of his brothers, H. V. Roe , who was head of an engineering firm in Manchester, he founded A. V. Roe and Co. at Brownfield Mill, Manchester.

1910 (July-Sept) Married Mildred Elizabeth ( -1965), daughter of Samuel Kirk, of Derby, with whom he had four sons and five daughters. Two of his sons were killed on operational flying duties in the Second World War. Later they made their home at Long Meadow, Rowlands Castle, Hampshire 1910 July: gained his flying certificate at Brooklands, the aircraft was a Roe Triplane [3] 1910 Towards the end of the year he built a tractor biplane. This machine was soon after fitted with floats, the first English seaplane. The new facilities brought dramatic results from Roe, who showed an astonishing instinct for the right proportion and shape of aeroplanes. 1911 Designed the first enclosed cabin aeroplane, which flew in 1912 and was entered in the British military trials that year. In October 1912 it established a British flying record of seven and a half hours. 1911 Living at 57 Rusholme Road, Westhill, Putney, SW: Edwin Alliott Verdon Roe (age 33 born Manchester), Aeroplane Builder and Employer.

With his wife (married under one year) Elizabeth Roe (age 26 born Breaston, Derbyshire). Also three visitors including his wife's sister Francis Beatrice Kirk. One servant. [4] 1913 A. V. Roe built the first 504, his most successful model, using the tractor biplane format; this eventually sold more than 8,300 and became a basic trainer for the RAF up until 1932 1914 The Avro 504 was used as a bomber by the Royal Navy: three naval pilots carried out a raid on the Zeppelin sheds at Friedrichshafen on 21 November 1914, the first air raid in the history of warfare 1917 The 504 became the standard trainer for the Royal Flying Corps. For a quarter of a century, with very little change except for increased engine power, it was renowned for pilot training. Post War: business declined; Roe's attempts to diversify met with little success 1928, after Armstrong Siddeley acquired Avro , he sold his shares and bought an interest S. E.

Saunders Ltd, boat builders and flying boat constructors, which was renamed Saunders-Roe Ltd. 1928 (?) Knighted. c.1928 Predicted that aircraft would be flying at over 1000 mph at heights of over 12 miles, with passengers in warm, pressurized cabins. He believed firmly that speeds would increase with height above the earth and the times of long journeys be reduced substantially. 1933 Changed his name to Verdon-Roe, in honour of his mother. 1933 Wrote a letter to The Times making the case for protecting the plywood industry [5] 1958 January 4th. Sir Alliott Verdon-Roe died [6] 1958 Obituary [7] ON January 4, Sir Alliott Verdon-Roe died at the age of eighty. Born at Patricroft in 1877, Edwin Alliott Verdon-Roe was educated at Saint Paul's School, and at the age of fourteen and a half travelled to British Columbia to learn surveying with a civil engineer.

On his return he spent five years as an apprentice in the locomotive works of the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway , and subsequently sailed as an engineer for two years. He then entered the motor industry as a draughtsman and designer. In the model aeroplane competition held by the Daily Mail in 1907, he received the highest prize a warded. Verdon-Roe then built a full-size aeroplane with which he succeeded in making a flight at Brooklands in June, 1908. However, he shortly afterwards abandoned the pusher aircraft and constructed the famous tractor triplane, which was flown at Lea Marshes in 1909; from then on he held to the tractor principle, chiefly with biplanes, and saw it achieve preponderance in world aviation. The first machine had both main and tail surfaces in the triplane configuration, but in 1911 he built a biplane which was followed, in the next year, by the Avro "504," with an 80 h.p. Gnome engine. This machine was developed with conspicuous success, remaining in service for over fifteen years and being followed by others with a family likeness.

In 1912 also he built a cabin monoplane and then a cabin biplane, which was the first enclosed aeroplane to fly. A series of biplanes with 50 h.p. Gnome engines were the first aeroplanes designed and built in this country to be delivered to the Army. Other Avro biplanes bombed the Zeppelin sheds at Friedrichshafen in 1914, and one brought down a Zeppelin in aerial combat. During the first world war the "504," with 100 h.p. Gnome and other rotary engines, together with the "Gosport System" of flying instruction, satisfied an immense demand for pilot training, and, at least until instruction of crews for the second world war began in America, more pilots had been trained on Avros than any other machine. Training aircraft did not occupy the firm of A. V. Roe and Co., Ltd . exclusively, however, and in 1915 there was designed a two-seater fighter with a performance outstanding at that time.

In 1916 the twin-engined Avro "Pike " was evolved for the Royal Naval Air Service, a three-seater with two free gun mountings which was described as a fighter-bomber, and more powerful versions were the first Avro models to carry the name "Manchester." The "Spider" single-seat fighter, described then as "wireless," was a strut-braced sesquiplane, with the cockpit in between the spars of the main plane. In 1918, Verdon-Roe was appointed O.B.E., and in 1928 he was knighted. He sold his interest in the firm he and his brother had founded and associated himself with one of the few firms building flying boats for the Air Ministry, subsequently known as Saunders-Roe, Ltd . The Saro "Cloud" and "Cutty Sark" were amphibians but twin-engined flying boats, such as the "London," the wartime "Lerwick," and the "SR/A1" jet fighter, were the main product of the firm. The marine craft culminated w1th the great Princess flying boats that are still in existence.

One of Verdon-Roe's persistent interests was the application of aerodynamics to the motor-cycle, and in 1922 he produced a monocar, a single-track vehicle in which the rider had a bucket seat. The first model, with a Barr and Str0ud sleeve-valve engine, had small outrigger wheels for stability at low speeds. These were discarded in the later "Uno," which had much larger wheels with the springing actually inside that at the front. More recently he modified a "LE" Velocette to an open-frame design, giving the rider much increased weather protection. Another interest of his later years was monetary theory and the possibility of reform to reduce the burden of debt upon the economy and to establish the prerogative of the State over currency creation; be was a vice-president of the Economic Reform Institute.

See Also ↑ The Times, 6 January 1958 ↑ Ancestry ↑ The Times, 2 May 1933 ↑ The Times, 6 January 1958 The Pioneers : An Anthology : Sir Edwin Alliot Verdon Roe (1877 - 1970) Sir Edwin Alliot Verdon Roe (1877 - 1970) Sir Edwin Alliot Verdon Roe Sir Edwin Alliot Verdon Roe was born in 1877 in Manchester, England. The son of a doctor, he left home when was 14 to Canada where he spent a year working odd jobs. Once he returned to England, he became an apprentice at the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway Locomotive Works. During this time, he was a winning bicycle racer, a similar hobby of the Wright brothers. Soon he became bored and got another job in a boat yard. This led him to London University where he earned a degree in Marine Engineering. While at sea from 1899 to 1902, he became fascinated with the birds that hovered over the ship,s deck, and he began to experiment with flying models.

During one year, he helped a man in America named Davidson construct an experimental helicopter. Upon returning to London in 1907, one of Roe,s models won a 75 pound prize from the Daily Mail newspaper which often featured airplane model contests. He used this money to build a full sized biplane which he finished and tested at the Brooklands in September of 1907. The owner of the land was not very hospitable, and forced Roe to live in the hangar and spend only 5 shillings a week for food. His design endured many crashes, but its first hop airborn was on June 8, 1908. This could be considered the first flight in London, but was never officially recognized. He than began construction of a triplane, which never was finished and was auctioned off for financial reasons. In 1909 he completed another triplane which was completed under a railway arch, which served as his home as well. Roe was so impoverished that he covered the wings in packing paper since cloth was too expensive. This design flew well, and he steadily built more reliable aircraft and soon founded the A.V. Roe Aircraft Co. in 1910.

His most popular model, the 504, sold more than 8,300. In 1928, he sold his shares and bought S.E. Saunder,s Co. and formed SARO Aviation. Roe died in 1970, one of the few men lucky enough to witness first hand the birth of aviation and its evolution to spaceflight. Alliott Verdon Roe Alliott Verdon Roe was born in 1877 in Patricroft, Manchester. His father was a Doctor and his mother was later famous for her work in organising and setting standards for day nurseries. His father had hoped that his son would follow in his profession but the boy was more keenly interested in engineering. When he was fourteen he set off to Canada to work in a civil engineering firm, but the job did not last long. The young Alliott then engaged in an apprenticeship in Portsmouth dockyard which he duly completed. After studying marine engineering at Kings College, London as well as the dockyard the young man joined the ship S.S.Inchanga as fifth engineer. It was during this time that Alliott first turned his mind to the possibility of actually building a flying machine.

He began with small models and in this he was quite successful. When the Wright brothers made the very first flight in a heavier than air machine at Kittyhawk, U.S.A. he was almost immediately in correspondence with them. He applied for and took a job with the Royal Aero Club. Then found a job in the U.S.A. with a firm trying to build a gyrocopter. The machine was a failure and Alliott was back in Britain. But not discouraged. It was in 1906 that he patented the first aircraft control column, as previously two levers were required. It was as well he patented the idea as many years later a Frenchman tried to claim copyright and £1,000,000 damages. When Lord Northcliffe of the Daily Mail offered a prize of £250 for a model capable of sustained flight Alliott took the prize. Thus encouraged he designed and built his own real aircraft. He set up shop at Brooklands, near Weybridge. On the 8th June, 1908 A.V.

Roe actually flew for the first time, but his short flights were not registered officially by the Royal Aero Club and Lord Brabazon took the honour of registering first. Roe pressed on regardless. It was a challenging time as he had to learn so much. Designing, building and flying all at once! It was dangerous because things kept breaking. Controls were not correctly understood and engines were unreliable. On the plus side the aircraft of those days could glide and crashes were often not fatal. After being evicted from Brooklands, and then Hackney Marshes Alliott Roe set up his flying operations at Wembley Park, Middlesex, as it then was. Alliott's brother, Humphrey, who was later to marry Marie Stoppes, came into the business and on New Years Day 1910 A.V. Roe became the first company ever to be registered as an airplane manufacturer.. The learning curve was so fast, that hardly ever were two aircraft built that were exactly the same. Improvements came along at a breathtaking pace. Manufacturing moved to Manchester and with Brooklands under new management an AVRO flying school was set up there, later moving to Shoreham.

Other money-earning ventures were the founding of an aircraft spares warehouse and the invention and marketing of a turnbuckle for tightening the bracing wires used on aircraft in those days. With the coming of the First World War, A.V. Roe and Co. had a first rate aircraft for the forces. It was the AVRO 504. A good basic design that leant itself to a variety of engines. So good was it that it became a standard trainer after the war and soldiered on until 1940 during the Second World War. ...more A History of Aeronautics Another figure of the early days was A.V. Roe, who came from marine engineering to the motor industry and aviation in 1905. In 1906 he went out to Colorado, getting out drawings for the Davidson helicopter, and in 1907 having returned to England, he obtained highest award out of 200 entries in a model aeroplane flying competition.

From the design of this model he built a full-sized machine, and made a first flight on it, fitted with a 24 horse-power Antoinette engine, in June of 1908 Later, he fitted a 9 horsepower motor-cycle engine to a triplane of his own design, and with this made a number of short flights; he got his flying brevet on a triplane with a motor of 35 horse-power, which, together with a second triplane, was entered for the Blackpool aviation meeting of 1910 but was burnt in transport to the meeting. He was responsible for the building of the first seaplane to rise from English waters, and may be counted the pioneer of the tractor type of biplane. In 1913 he built a two-seater tractor biplane with 80 horse-power engine, a machine which for some considerable time ranked as a leader of design. Together with E. V. Roe and H. V. Roe, 'A. V.' controlled the AVRO works, which produced some of the most famous training machines of the war period in a modification of the original 80 horse-power tractor.

The first of the series of AVRO tractors to be adopted by the military authorities was the 1912 biplane, a two-seater fitted with 50 horsepower engine. It was the first tractor biplane with a closed fuselage to be used for military work, and became standard for the type. The AVRO seaplane, of I 100 horse-power (a fourteen-cylinder Gnome engine was used) was taken up by the British Admiralty in 1913. It had a length of 34 feet and a wing-span of 50 feet, and was of the twin-float type. Geoffrey de Havilland, though of later rank, counts high among designers of British machines. He qualified for his brevet as late as February, 1911, on a biplane of his own construction, and became responsible for the design of the BE2, the first successful British Government biplane. On this he made a British height record of 10,500 feet over Salisbury Plain, in August of 1912, when he took up Major Sykes as passenger.

In the war period he was one of the principal designers of fighting and reconnaissance machines. Roe, Alliot Verdon English aircraft designer, the first Briton to construct and fly an aeroplane, in 1908. He designed the AVRO series of aircraft from 1912. Roe was born in Patricroft, near Manchester, was apprenticed to a railway company, then entered the motor industry. He became interested in aircraft design, and his biplane flew a distance of 23 m/75 ft nearly a year before the first officially recognized flight in England by John Moore-Brabazon (1884-1964). In 1910 Roe founded the firm of A V Roe and Company, manufacturing aircraft, but in 1928 he left the firm and turned his attention to the design of flying boats. He founded the Saunders-Roe Company based on the Isle of Wight. The first aircraft from the Manchester works was the AVRO 500, one of the first machines to be ordered for use by the British army. Two of these formed the strength of the Central Flying School of the Royal Flying Corps.

In 1913 the company produced its first seaplane, a large biplane known as the AVRO 503. The AVRO 504, also 1913, was considerably in advance of its contemporaries, and would be used for decades of safe flying instruction. Although not basically a military aircraft, it was used extensively in World War I. Many modifications followed; the 504H was the first aircraft to be successfully launched by catapult. Sir Edwin Alliot Verdon Roe Born in Patricroft in Manchester in 1877, Sir Edwin Alliot Verdon Roe was to become a most celebrated aircraft designer. He served as an apprentice with the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railways and later went to study marine engineering at King's College, London. In 1899 he worked for the British & South African Royal Mail Company as an engineer. Gradually he developed an interest in birds and in flight, and began to construct flying models, winning a prize of £75 for one of his designs in 1907, against fierce competition. With the prize money he built a full size aeroplane based on his winning model.

He attempted a test flight at Brooklands, but unfortunately it would not lift off. In 1908, fitted with a more powerful engine, he succeeded in getting the plane airborne and making several short flights - the first British built plane to fly under its own power. With the help of his brother, Edwin founded the AVRO company (based on his own name and initials) in Manchester in 1910, and set up the AVRO Company in Oldham, before going on to design another aircraft with an enclosed cabin, which went on to establish a British flying record of 7 hours and 30 minutes. Upon this achievement he went on to build the famous AVRO 504 biplane in 1913, which was to serve as the most commonly used military aircraft in World War One, and its design was to be copied by others all over the world. The Armstrong Siddeley Company took over AVRO in 1928, Roe having sold his interest in the company, to move into boat design with the Saunders Company at Cowes in the Isle of Wight.

The result of this move was, predictably, the invention of the flying boat, for which Roe was knighted in 1929. Throughout his life, Roe's love of and interest in flying and aircraft continued, despite losing 2 of his sons in fighter planes during the Second World War. Roe, Alliot Verdon English aircraft designer, the first Briton to construct and fly an aeroplane, in 1908. He designed the AVRO series of aircraft from 1912. Roe was born in Patricroft, near Manchester, was apprenticed to a railway company, then entered the motor industry. He became interested in aircraft design, and his biplane flew a distance of 23 m/75 ft nearly a year before the first officially recognized flight in England by John Moore-Brabazon (1884-1964). In 1910 Roe founded the firm of A V Roe and Company, manufacturing aircraft, but in 1928 he left the firm and turned his attention to the design of flying boats. He founded the Saunders-Roe Company based on the Isle of Wight.

The first aircraft from the Manchester works was the AVRO 500, one of the first machines to be ordered for use by the British army. Two of these formed the strength of the Central Flying School of the Royal Flying Corps. In 1913 the company produced its first seaplane, a large biplane known as the AVRO 503. The AVRO 504, also 1913, was considerably in advance of its contemporaries, and would be used for decades of safe flying instruction. Although not basically a military aircraft, it was used extensively in World War I. Many modifications followed; the 504H was the first aircraft to be successfully launched by catapult. History of Flight : Alliot Verdon Roe In 1907, Alliot Verdon Roe entered a contest organised by the Daily Mail and built three models which he flew at the Agricultural Hall in March 1907 to capture the premier honours from over 200 contestants. With the £75 which he won he set about constructing his first full sized aircraft.

Roe obtained permission to build a shed at Brooklands where the motor racing authorities offered a prize of £2,500 to the first aviator to fly around the track before the end of 1907. His first machine was fitted with a 9hp J.A.P engine with which he made a number of towed hops but there was insufficient power to enable the craft to rise unaided. According to his book The World of Wings and Things A.V.Roe records that on the 8th June his aircraft left the ground under its own power aided with a new 24hp Antoinette engine from France albeit the time had expired for the prize offered. In 1908, Roe, encouraged by the Wright brothers flight constructed his own full sized aircraft based on the most succesful of his models which were inspired by the flight of Albatrosses that he observed on his travels overseas. In 1910, Roe and Reginald J.

Parrot commenced an association which led to the formation of the company A.V.Roe & co which was registered on the 1st of January, 1910 and used the basement of Humphrey Verdon Roe's Mill on Great Ancoats Street Manchester as a workshop. In June 1910, A young mechanic, Howard Pixton joined Roe working without pay for the privilage of having flying lessons which gained him Aero club Certificate No 50 on 24th January 1911 and subsequently winning the 1913 Schneider Tropy race. In 1911, throughout the year both the flying training and manufacturing sides of A.V.Roe & co continued to develop. The flying school at Brooklands and The Aviator's storehouse at Brownsfield Mill became succesful with many trainees becoming famous as pilots and many designs of aircraft such as a Farman type biplane and a Curtis type aircraft being built. In 1912, the worlds first aircraft with a totally enclosed cabin, the type F was flown by Lieutenant Wilfrid Parke and reached 1,000 ft using a 35hp Viale engine.

In June 1912, The 3rd Central Flying school aircraft which was a new design known as the AVRO 500 and powered by a 50hp Gnome engine was taken to Eccles Cricket ground and tested by Lieutenant Parke. In 1913, Additional finance from the Groves family of Manchester Brewers enabled the transfer of the works to new premises in Clifton Street, Miles Platting where staff included a brilliant young draughtsman named Roy Chadwick who was to achieve undying fame as the designer of the Lancaster and many other aircraft. On the 21st of November 1914, possibly the first air raid by powered aircrcraft. Four AVRO 504's powered by 80hp Gnome engines were assembled at Manchester Aerodrome and along with two pilots and eleven air mechanics formed a squadron. After being transported to Belfort in Eastern France the aircraft were, on the morning of 21st November, each fitted with 4x20 lb bombs and prepared for the 125 miles round trip. Three aircraft took off successfully but No 179 failed to become airborne.

After crossing the Black forest mountains they attacked an airship base damaging a Zeppelin works and setting a gasworks on fire. Flight Commander J.T.Babington and Flight Lieutenant S.V.Sippe returned safely but Squadron Commander E.F.Briggs was shot down and captured only to escape from enemy hands subsequently commanding the experimental station at Eastchurch. In 1928, Roe and John Lord sell out their interest in A.V.Roe and together took over the firm of S.E.Saunders Ltd and formed Saunders-Roe Ltd. Sir Alliott Verdon Roe Sir Alliott Verdon Roe (Born Patricroft, England April 27, 1877 - d. January 4, 1958) entered into the design of airplanes in 1907 through the development of flying model planes and the development of his designs to full size machines. In 1908 he became one of the first in Great Britain to fly a powered aircraft. His struggle against adversity and ridicule was overcome through his undefeatable optimism.

Progressing from short flights in delicate and under-powered machines, he became a leading producer of combat aircraft in World War I, and the managing director of a premier British aircraft manufacturing company. The great AVRO Company, which bore his name, was incorporated in 1910. Today it continues in the traditions he established as the Manchester Division of British Aerospace. Among his advanced concepts and innovations were the world's first enclosed cabin aircraft, the first British hydroplane, and the combining of separate flight controls into a single steering column. Although initially plagued by the adversities of fire, shortage of capital, and inadequate engines, his perseverance prevailed and the AVRO trademark was to be seen throughout the Empire on civil and military aircraft of every type. None was more famed and of greater impact than the rugged training plane of the First World War, the Model 504, which served Britain and the Allies so valiantly. A distinguished aviation career of 45 years was most appropriately recognized in 1929 when a grateful Government conferred knighthood upon him for service to aviation. The Mastery of The Air by William J. Claxton A young British marine engineer, A. V.

Roe, started aeronautical experiments in 1906. By 1907 he had constructed a machine which made short hops but was not a successful flyer. Early in 1909 he completed a small triplane powered with a 9 h.p. J. A. P. motor driving a tractor propeller. Heavy paper was used for covering the wings of this airplane. In it Roe made several straightaway flights. He then redesigned the machine, and the 1910 version with a 35 h. p. Green engine, flew quite well. Roe flew this machine in the Blackpool meet of that year. The next Roe design was a biplane with a 35 h.p. Green engine. It performed nicely and even carried a passenger. This staunch little ship was the first to hear the now famous trade-name "AVRO." Among the many design innovations introduced by AVRO were a cabin monoplane and biplane built in 1912. (Charles H.

Hubbell) FlightDeck Milestones : AVRO 504 The original AVRO 504 had been designed in 1913 by Sir Alliot Verdon Roe, and entered the British Royal Flying Corps as a standard Service machine. The aircraft had a top speed of 82 mph. (132 km/h), could climb to 10,000 feet in 19 minutes and could stay aloft for three hours. Early in the war the 504 strafed the enemy and bombed the zeppelin sheds at Freidrichshafen, but it soon became clear it wasn't destined to compete with the faster, meaner planes then being rolled out, such as the Fokker E.III. Because of its ability to operate at the "extreme height" of 13,000 ft (3960 m) it was relegated to the role of anti-zeppelin patrol plane. It did, however, make an admirable trainer airplane and was developed in this way by Major R.R. Smith-Barry, along with his personal instruction method.

In this incarnation it made a significant impact all over the world, and laid the foundations for formal flyer training that would last another 30 years. Ultimately, the AVRO 504 was built in Australia, Belgium, Canada, Japan and the USSR, with production continuing until 1933. Estimates vary as to how many were made, ranging from 6,350 to over 10,000. The advantages that the 504 had over previous trainers were numerous. The Curtiss JN-4, envisaged as a trainer, was difficult to fit with a rotary engine. This was seen as vital to familiarize flying students. To deal with this problem the 504K ...was introduced in 1917, and sported a new type of universal engine mount which consisted of two bearer plates that could accommodate any sort of engine. The 504K was variously fitted with the 100 hp Gnome B Monosoupape, the 110 hp Le Rhône 9J, and the 130 hp Clerget 9B engine.

Another advantage was the ease with which students and instructors could communicate in the cockpit, thanks to the "Gosport Speaking Tube". It was more robust than the delicate Farman trainer, and more manoueverable than the heavy BE2c. The 504's relatively light weight in comparison to its wing size prevented the plane from dropping dramatically when power was reduced, and the "forgiving" quality of its controls were ideal for training. So too was the skid that could be outfitted under the nose, designed to prevent tipping during landing. The 504 had the distinction of quite a few "firsts". It was the first airplane to strafe troops on the ground, and the first to run a bombing raid over Germany. It also had the dubious honour of being the first Allied airplane to be downed by enemy ground fire. It was the first airplane to run a commercial bush flight in Canada when it ferried two passengers from Winnipeg to Le Pas, Manitoba in 1920, and the first to make a winter flight to James Bay in 1922. The Turnbull variable pitch propeller ...played a great role in the advancement of aviation world-wide, and was a uniquely Canadian invention.

It was the handicraft of Wallace Rupert Turnbull of Rothesay, New Brunswick, who had built an early wind tunnel in an abandoned barn near his home. To increase lateral stability Turnbull had early advocated the inclination of each wing tip upward from its center section to its tip, creating the dihedral angle that was to greatly influence later design. His controllable pitch propeller allowed the pilot to control the pitch or angle of the blades at all times during flight, enabling variation in the amount of thrust pushed back over the wings. In particular, this made take-offs much easier, and was used widely around the world. AVRO 504 One of the most important aircraft in the early RAF. The AVRO 504 began development in late 1912, and first flew in July 1913, and was in service at the start of first world war, serving with both the RFC and the RNAS. The RFC used the 504 for reconnaissance and gun spotting, and rarely had more than one or two of the type with any squadron, and none after mid-1915.

The RNAS used the 504 as a strategic bomber early in the war, starting with a raid on the Zeppelin sheds at Friedrichshafen on Lake Constance (21 November 1914), where a lucky strike on the gas plant caused most damage, but later raids did little damage. The true value of the 504 was as a pilot trainer. It's design made it safe to fly, but hard to fly with skill, the ideal balance for a trainer, and from 1916 both the RFC and RNAS used it as their standard training craft. The 504 was adopted in the same role by the RAF, and after the end of the war it's use spread to most commonwealth airforces, as well as Russia and Japan. The last model, the 504N was produced from 1927 until 1933, and during the twenty years of it's manufacture nearly 9,000 were produced, some of which were still in use at the start of the second world war. Gallery download a 500 pixel image John R.

Duigan flying the AVRO-Duigan Biplane, 1911 Penrose, Harold. British Aviation : The Pioneer Years 1903-1914,1st Published by Putnam and Revised edition by Cassell, London. download a 500 pixel or 750 pixel image A Visit to the AVRO Works The Aeroplane, December 7, 1911, Duigan Family Archives download a 750 pixel or 1000 pixel image For more information about the AVRO-Duigan (incl. scale plans), visit Derek Buckmaster's Design Bureau website AVRO E, Two-seat biplane, precursor of the AVRO 500, 1912, Crew: 2, Engine: 45kW E.N.V. Speed: 80km/h AVRO 500 Development of the AVRO E. 21 built.

1912, Crew: 2, Engine: 33kW Gnome AVRO 500, Lawrence Hall, Hendon, 1913 AVRO 500, 1913 AVRO 501 Two-seat biplane. One built. Engine: 75kW Gnome AVRO 503 Two-seat biplane. Four built. Engine: 75kW Gnome AVRO F, 1912 AVRO G at Lark Hill, August 1912 AVRO G, 1912, 2View AVRO 504 Standard RAF biplane trainer of WWI, the British equivalent of the Curtiss JN. Also used briefly as fighter and bomber, and postwar by air shows. The 504 was also built in Belgium, Australia, Japan, Canada and the USSR. 8340 were built, with the production continuing until 1933.

Type : AVRO 504K, Function: trainer, Year: 1916, Crew: 2, Engine: 110hp Le Rhone, Wing Span: 10.97m, Length: 8.97m, Height: 3.17m, Wing Area: 30.66m2, Empty Weight: 558kg, Max.Weight: 830kg, Speed: 153km/h, Ceiling: 4875m, Range: 402km AVRO 504 AVRO 504 John Shupeck AVRO 521 Two-seat fighter, built with a number of AVRO 504 components. One built, an order for 25 was cancelled.

Type: 521, Function: fighter, Year: 1916, Crew: 2, Engine: 110hp Clerget 9Z, Wing Span: 9.14m Length: 8.58m, Height: Wing Area: 24.71m2, Empty Weight: 522kg, Max.Weight: 905kg, Speed: 145km/h, Ceiling: Range: 4.5hrs, Armament: 2*mg7.7mm AVRO 527 Fighter derivative of the AVRO 504. The 527 had a modified fuselage and a liquid-cooled engine. One built. Type: 527, Function: fighter, Year: 1916, Crew: 2, Engine: 150hp Sunbeam Nubian, Wing Span: 10.97m, Length:, Height:, Wing Area:, Empty Weight:, Max.Weight:, Speed: 166km/h, Ceiling:, Range:, Armament: 1*mg7.7mm AVRO 529 Twin-engined bomber of 1917.

No production. AVRO 530 Two-seat fighter, competing with the Bristol F.2A for orders. The 530 had a deep rectangular fuselage, and a remarkable ducted propeller for the cooling system. Performance was good, but not good enough to justify production, and the engine was in short supply. Two built. Type: 530, Function: fighter, Year: 1917, Crew: 2, Engine: 200hp Hispano-Suiza 8Bd, Wing Span: 10.97m, Length: 8.69m, Height: 2.92m, Wing Area: 30.23m2, Empty Weight: 769kh, Max.Weight: 1216kg, Speed: 183km/h, Ceiling: 18000ft Range: 4hrs, Armament: 2*mg7.7mm AVRO 531 Spider Biplane fighter. The Spider had a complex arrangement of V-struts, without bracing wires, between the wings. It was a good fighter, but the Sopwith Camel was already in production.

Type: Spider, Function: fighter, Year: 1918, Crew: 1, Engine: 130hp Clerget 9B, Wing Span: 8.68m, Length: 6.25m, Height: 2.38m, Wing Area: 17.55m2, Empty Weight: 437kg, Max.Weight: 688kg, Speed: 193km/h, Ceiling: 5970m, Range: 400km, Armament: 1*mg7.7mm AV Roe & Company | BAE Systems | United Kingdom AV Roe & Company Our Company Heritage Heritage - Company- AV Roe The first commercial aircraft manufacturers the United Kingdom and the forefathers of an industry. Edwin Alliott Verdon-Roe (AV) was already known in the early part of the 20th century for his aeroplane experiments at Brooklands and at Lee Marshes, where he finally achieved his first controlled successful flight in July 1909.

On 1st January 1910, along with his brother Humphrey, he established one of the world’s first aircraft manufacturers, A.V. Roe & Company on the basement floor of the Everards Elastic Webbing Company at Brownsfield Mill in Manchester. At the same time a shed was rented at Brooklands Flying Grounds to which Alliott moved his flyable machines which he then offered for sale at £450. Design and development work continued at a pace in Manchester and by the end of 1912 the business had proved itself to be such a viable concern that on 11th January 1913 it became a full limited company. Avro Female workers at Brownsfield The first 'AVRO' type to be built in any real quantity was the Avro E (or Avro 500) of which 18 were manufactured and saw service with No.3, No.4 and No.5 Squadrons of the Royal Flying Corps in 1913. The Avro 504 was developed from the Avro 500, which appeared in September 1913 and was clearly an advanced design.

At the Official Trials at Farnborough it gave such an impressive demonstration that the governement placed orders for the aircraft in November of the same year. Soon after, orders for machines were such that larger premises were needed and on 17th March 1913 all of the materials and the 75 personnel were moved to Clifton Street, Miles Platting in Manchester. In 1914 and having totally outgrown the Clifton Street site, Avro 504’s were being produced in an extension to the Mather & Platt Works at Newton Heath and although some adjacent land was already acquired, the full development of the site was not completed until 1919. The Avro 504 was to keep the company busy throughout the First World War and beyond, primarily as a pilot trainer and was an instant success with the Royal Flying Corps and the Royal Naval Air Service with nearly 9,000 aircraft being built. By November 1914, the aircraft had assumed many other roles and the RNAS used Avro 504’s to carry out a hugely successful raid over the Zeppelin Works on the shores of Lake Constance.

With production escalating and general lack of flying facilities close to the Manchester Factories, AV Roe selected The Hamble, on the South Coast near Portsmouth, as a suitable site for the creation of a new ‘Garden City’ and a place where both aeroplanes and flying boats could be built with employees living locally in the 450 newly-built houses. Sadly, the project faltered when wartime shortages halted the development of the 300 acre site although the attraction of the South Coast was to prove instrumental in future of the of Roe himself. Roy Chadwick In 1924, Alexandra Park closed and the operation moved to New Hall Farm, Woodford, Cheshire which was later to become better known as Woodford Aerodrome. Meanwhile, other production continued at Newton Heath with aircraft final assembly and testing being carried out at Woodford. Avro Manufacturing at Woodfood During 1928, Alliott Verdon-Roe sold his stakeholding in the company and with the proceeds purchased the S.E. Saunders Company to create Saunders-Roe Limited (SARO), based at the Hamble. With the sale of his shares to JD Siddeley, A.V.

Roe & Company became part of the Armstrong Siddeley Development Company, a sister company of Armstrong Whitworth and with AV's departure from the company, his 'Personal Assistant' Roy Chadwick returned to Newton Heath to take on the role of Avro's Chief Designer. In 1935, J.D. Siddeley merged his interests with Hawker and ownership of the 'Avro' brand passed on once more, this time to Hawker Siddeley Aircraft Limited. Surprisingly however, it still continued to trade under the Avro banner. With tensions growing in Europe in 1938, Avro opened a new 750,000 sq ft factory at Greengate, Middleton, now better known as Chadderton. Over 3,000 Lancaster bombers were produced at Chadderton before being shipped by road to Woodford for final assembly. A year later, an Experimental Department was established at the newly opened RAF Ringway (now Manchester Airport) with the addition of yet another factory at Yeadon Aerodrome (now Leeds Bradford Airport) for the production of over 5,500 aircraft (Anson, Lancaster, York and Lincoln).

As in the first World War, Avro played a significant role providing over 7,500 Lancaster, Manchester and York aircraft to the RAF and Bomber Command. After the war, Chadwick turned his attention to civil aircraft designed the Avro Tudor which was to be Britain’s first pressurised airliner. However, with the development of the new jet airliners by De Havilland in the UK and at Boeing in the USA, very few Tudors were ever built. Avro answered the Air Ministry call in for a 'peace-time maritime reconnaissance patrol aircraft' wheit produced the Avro Shackleton which flew for the first time in April 1951. The Shackleton went on to serve the RAF for over 40 years before retiring as recently as 1991. Avro Shackleton Manufacturing Sadly, Roy Chadwick died on 23rd August 1947, ironically a victim of an accident involving a prototype of his own design (Avro Tudor 2). His death was a major blow to the company although rather poignantly it was not before he had overseen the design of what was probably one of Avro's most famous aircraft - The Avro Vulcan. Sir A.

Verdon-Roe To Non-Java ALLSTAR Network Website Please let me remind all of you--this material is copyrighted. Though partially funded by NASA, it is still a private site. Therefore, before using our materials in any form, electronic or otherwise, you need to ask permission. There are two ways to browse the site: (1) use the search button above to find specific materials using keywords; or, (2) go to specific headings like history, principles or careers at specific levels above and click on the button. Teachers may go directly to the Teachers' Guide from the For Teachers button above or site browse as in (1) and (2). Sir A. Verdon-Roe April 27, 1877January 4, 1958 Sir Alliott Verdon-Roe entered into the design of airplanes in 1907 through the development of flying model planes and the development of his designs to full size machines. In 1908 he became one of the first in Great Britain to fly a powered aircraft. His struggle against adversity and ridicule was overcome through his undefeatable optimism.

Progressing from short flights in delicate and under-powered machines, he became a leading producer of combat aircraft in World War I, and the managing director of a premier British aircraft manufacturing company. The great Avro Company, which bore his name, was incorporated in 1910. Today it continues in the traditions he established as the Manchester Division of British Aerospace. Among his advanced concepts and innovations were the world's first enclosed cabin aircraft, the first British hydroplane, and the combining of separate flight controls into a single steering column. Although initially plagued by the adversities of fire, shortage of capital, and inadequate engines, his perseverance prevailed and the Avro trademark was to be seen throughout the Empire on civil and military aircraft of every type. None was more famed and of greater impact than the rugged training plane of the First World War, the Model 504, which served Britain and the Allies so valiantly. A distinguished aviation career of 45 years was most appropriately recognized in 1929 when a grateful Government conferred knighthood upon him for service to aviation.

Invested 1980 in the International Aerospace Hall of Fame From "These We Honor," The International Hall of Fame; The San Diego Aerospace Museum, San Diego, CA. 1984 Send all comments to ï¿½ 1995-2017 ALLSTAR Network. All rights reserved worldwide. Funded in part by AV Roe & Company | BAE Systems | International AV Roe & Company Our Company Heritage Heritage - Company- AV Roe The first commercial aircraft manufacturers the United Kingdom and the forefathers of an industry. Edwin Alliott Verdon-Roe (AV) was already known in the early part of the 20th century for his aeroplane experiments at Brooklands and at Lee Marshes, where he finally achieved his first controlled successful flight in July 1909. On 1st January 1910, along with his brother Humphrey, he established one of the world’s first aircraft manufacturers, A.V. Roe & Company on the basement floor of the Everards Elastic Webbing Company at Brownsfield Mill in Manchester.

At the same time a shed was rented at Brooklands Flying Grounds to which Alliott moved his flyable machines which he then offered for sale at £450. Design and development work continued at a pace in Manchester and by the end of 1912 the business had proved itself to be such a viable concern that on 11th January 1913 it became a full limited company. Avro Female workers at Brownsfield The first 'AVRO' type to be built in any real quantity was the Avro E (or Avro 500) of which 18 were manufactured and saw service with No.3, No.4 and No.5 Squadrons of the Royal Flying Corps in 1913. The Avro 504 was developed from the Avro 500, which appeared in September 1913 and was clearly an advanced design. At the Official Trials at Farnborough it gave such an impressive demonstration that the governement placed orders for the aircraft in November of the same year.

Soon after, orders for machines were such that larger premises were needed and on 17th March 1913 all of the materials and the 75 personnel were moved to Clifton Street, Miles Platting in Manchester. In 1914 and having totally outgrown the Clifton Street site, Avro 504’s were being produced in an extension to the Mather & Platt Works at Newton Heath and although some adjacent land was already acquired, the full development of the site was not completed until 1919. The Avro 504 was to keep the company busy throughout the First World War and beyond, primarily as a pilot trainer and was an instant success with the Royal Flying Corps and the Royal Naval Air Service with nearly 9,000 aircraft being built. By November 1914, the aircraft had assumed many other roles and the RNAS used Avro 504’s to carry out a hugely successful raid over the Zeppelin Works on the shores of Lake Constance.

With production escalating and general lack of flying facilities close to the Manchester Factories, AV Roe selected The Hamble, on the South Coast near Portsmouth, as a suitable site for the creation of a new ‘Garden City’ and a place where both aeroplanes and flying boats could be built with employees living locally in the 450 newly-built houses. Sadly, the project faltered when wartime shortages halted the development of the 300 acre site although the attraction of the South Coast was to prove instrumental in future of the of Roe himself. Roy Chadwick In 1924, Alexandra Park closed and the operation moved to New Hall Farm, Woodford, Cheshire which was later to become better known as Woodford Aerodrome. Meanwhile, other production continued at Newton Heath with aircraft final assembly and testing being carried out at Woodford. Avro Manufacturing at Woodfood During 1928, Alliott Verdon-Roe sold his stakeholding in the company and with the proceeds purchased the S.E. Saunders Company to create Saunders-Roe Limited (SARO), based at the Hamble. With the sale of his shares to JD Siddeley, A.V.

Roe & Company became part of the Armstrong Siddeley Development Company, a sister company of Armstrong Whitworth and with AV's departure from the company, his 'Personal Assistant' Roy Chadwick returned to Newton Heath to take on the role of Avro's Chief Designer. In 1935, J.D. Siddeley merged his interests with Hawker and ownership of the 'Avro' brand passed on once more, this time to Hawker Siddeley Aircraft Limited. Surprisingly however, it still continued to trade under the Avro banner. With tensions growing in Europe in 1938, Avro opened a new 750,000 sq ft factory at Greengate, Middleton, now better known as Chadderton. Over 3,000 Lancaster bombers were produced at Chadderton before being shipped by road to Woodford for final assembly. A year later, an Experimental Department was established at the newly opened RAF Ringway (now Manchester Airport) with the addition of yet another factory at Yeadon Aerodrome (now Leeds Bradford Airport) for the production of over 5,500 aircraft (Anson, Lancaster, York and Lincoln).

As in the first World War, Avro played a significant role providing over 7,500 Lancaster, Manchester and York aircraft to the RAF and Bomber Command. After the war, Chadwick turned his attention to civil aircraft designed the Avro Tudor which was to be Britain’s first pressurised airliner. However, with the development of the new jet airliners by De Havilland in the UK and at Boeing in the USA, very few Tudors were ever built. Avro answered the Air Ministry call in for a 'peace-time maritime reconnaissance patrol aircraft' wheit produced the Avro Shackleton which flew for the first time in April 1951. The Shackleton went on to serve the RAF for over 40 years before retiring as recently as 1991. Avro Shackleton Manufacturing Sadly, Roy Chadwick died on 23rd August 1947, ironically a victim of an accident involving a prototype of his own design (Avro Tudor 2). His death was a major blow to the company although rather poignantly it was not before he had overseen the design of what was probably one of Avro's most famous aircraft - The Avro Vulcan.

Alliott Verdon Roe & G&W | The Groves & Whitnall's Globe Works The Groves & Whitnall's Globe Works Remembering Manchesters Greatest Brewery & Mineral Water Works. Menu Alliott Verdon Roe & G&W Alliott Verdon Roe, The Groves & Whitnall Connection... Long ago, goes the story, a young Horwich Loco Works apprentice, famed, among other things, for his madcap escapades, rode a bicycle up the steps of Bolton Town Hall and also of the Mechanics' Institute, Horwich. The legend is not quite correct. Actually the young man, whose name was Alliott Verdon-Roe, sat on the cycle and jumped sideways up the steps, but he always rode down steps rather than carry his beloved cycle. "That young man will fly yet," commented those who knew him and admired his spirit -- and they were right. A. V. Roe did more than fly. He rose from his apprenticeship at Horwich to build a mighty aircraft company which bore his name, and produced such aircraft as the Avro Vulcan delta jet bomber.

Alliott was born in 1877, the fourth child of Edwin Hodgson Roe and Annie Sophia Verdon in Patricroft. When only 14 he went out to British Columbia to learn surveying, but returned to England a year later and began his apprenticeship at the L&Y Railway Locomotive works, Horwich. He later recalled: "Apprentices at the works at that time received 5s (25p) a week for the first year, rising to 15s (75p) for the fifth year. Work started at 6am and finished at 5.30pm. When the starting buzzer ceased blowing a shutter would go down, and those still outside would have to wait 15 minutes before starting work - but an hour's wages was deducted from their wage packets." He wasn't an outstanding apprentice, either. In fact, when his apprenticeship was almost complete he received an offer from Bolton Electric Tramways, who were just laying down their lines, but a bad reference from his Works Manager, Mr Hoy, lost him the job. Below: Taken From The Book: The World of Wings and Things!

By Alliott Verdon-Roe The reference read: "Mr Roe served three years in the Fitting Shop and two years in the Erecting Shop. I know nothing against his general conduct." When A.V.'s father wrote asking why Mr Hoy had given such a poor reference, the manager replied: "I hardly know what to say about your son; he seemed more interested in cycle racing than in engineering, and I think he would make a better professional racing cyclist than an engineer." Sir Alliott commented later: "I felt it was a great injustice. I had worked on and had gained certificates in all subjects I had taken at the Institute." However, the testimonial was a fitting tribute to his cycle prowess for, besides riding up and down steps, he could lap the track of the old Horwich racecourse, now covered by the Old Lord's housing estate, at a speed which left most of his competitors standing.

One of his friends of those earlier cycling days, Tom Green, who became a surveyor to Horwich Council, later recalled of how, on June 8, 1908, he and his wife were at Blackpool and met Alliot (who had left the Works many years previously and moved away from the area) outside his hotel, widely excited after flying 100ft in the plane he had built himself, basing the design on his model plane which, the year before, had won top award in a Daily Mail competition. He had become the first British subject to make a flight over English soil in an English-built aeroplane, even though it consisted of travelling at a height of only two feet above the ground. However, his short flights were not registered officially by the Royal Aero Club, and Lord Brabazon took the honour of registering first. After Alliot's flight, Mr Robert Blakemore, father of a principal of Horwich Technical College, rushed into the test shop of the Horwich Loco Works - where the apprentice had worked - and shouted: "He's done it; he's flown 100ft." Mr Blakemore senior had definite views on his apprentices.

"They were all mad, but young Roe was the maddest of the lot," he used to say. While he was still at Horwich, "young Roe" was always inventing things, and the general impression was that he would either do something brilliant, or kill himself. There was no end to his talents, it seemed. Soon after starting at the Works he joined Horwich Harriers and thoroughly enjoyed cross country running; amateur dramatics also interested him and in 1892 he played the princess in the Horwich Mechanics' Institute production of Dick Whittington. Above: The Avro 504 Aircraft It was in 1910 that he and his brother Humphrey, who died in 1949, founded the firm of A.V. Roe and Co Ltd, which produced in 1912 the first all-enclosed aeroplane in the world. Avro planes were used to bomb the Zeppelins at Friedrichshafen in a famous raid just after the outbreak of the First World War, and Commander Bigsworth was flying an Avro when he brought down the first Zeppelin.

The plane was so good that it became a standard trainer after the war, and soldered on until 1940. However, after the First World War, military orders dried up to a trickle, and even with new designs orders were small. The civil market was hotly contested, and Avro's most successful aircraft was the "Avro Avian". Even before this a considerable financial investment had been made in the company by the Groves family of Groves and Whitnall Ltd, the Manchester brewers. In 1920 Crossley Motors bought three fifth of the shares in the company, and in 1928 control passed to the Armstrong Siddley Development Group. As a result, both of the Avro brothers, Alliot and Humphrey, joined the flying-boat company of SE Saunders, forming the firm to be known as Saunders-Roe Ltd, which produced a series of well know aircraft culminating with the "Saro Princess" (a Flying Boat). They also built the very successful "Skeeter" helicopter and the experimental rocket fighter the SR-53. Alliot was knighted in 1929.

Even towards the end of his life, when he retired to Hampshire, he continued inventing, and at the age of 79 he was experimenting with the "bicar" - a 192cc twin cylinder, water cooled, low-sitting, 60mph form of transport, which he believed had many advantages over the popular "scooter". He died two years later in 1958, having left the advice for trainees: "Those who have not won prizes should not be downhearted; one never knows what one can do until one tries. Great opportunities lie ahead for those who persevere." Perhaps it can be said also for those who get a poor testimonial from their bosses. Strange to think that, had he not been given such a bad reference at Horwich, Alliot might have spent his life as a Bolton Council employee! Source: Bolton Evening News Archives

Question: Which company did Alliott Verdon Roe establish in Manchester in 1910?
Answer: AVRO