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Aviation History
1919
1919 - 0452.PDF
APRIL 3, 1919 THE NEW HOME OF THE A.B.C.'S— AND OTHER THINGS IT is now some time since it was first announced that the Selsdon Engineering Co., Ltd., of 1, Albemarle Street, W. 1, had been appointed sole British manufacturers of the A.B.C. aero engines, and had been authorised to sell engines and obtain orders on behalf of the designers of these engines, Messrs. Walton Motors, Ltd. As both the " Gnat " and " Wasp " engines are of such type and power as to appeal to constructors of post-War aeroplanes for sporting, in structional and similar purposes, this announcement has been received with general interest as indicating that these famous aero engines will be available commercially as soon as circumstances permit. It may be taken for granted that Mr. Granville Bradshaw, the designer of the A.B.C. engines, is guarding carefully the reputation and future of his designs, and that he would naturally use discrimination in his selection of the firm that is to be responsible for their commercial production under peace conditions. That the manner in which the engines are built and marketed will have a decided influence upon the success or otherwise of the under taking is too obvious to need enlarging upon here, and, knowing the Selsdon firm, we need only say that so far as we can see, there can be no doubt about the wisdom of the choice made. The policy persistently pursued by the Selsdon Engineer ing Co., Ltd., during the War has been to tackle any job that came along, no matter how intricate, when it would often have been so much easier to take the line of least resistance and select work that offered better prospects in the way of larger output and greater profits. This, how ever, is not the way of Mr. G. Campling, managing director of the Selsdon firm, who had his reputation to make, and chose to make it as a thoroughly sound engineer rather than as a—financially—successful producer of articles that re quired little engineering skill. Incidentally, Mr. Campling has, by concentrating on the former, and succeeding, also made a success of the financial aspect, as the growth of the firm amply proves. Furthermore, by following this policy the Selsdon firm has built up an excellent reputation for good workmanship and general engineering excellence, which will establish them solidly in the aircraft industry where another and less strenuous policy might easily have resulted in the coincidence of the end of the firm and the termination of hostilities. When the War broke out in 1914 the Selsdon Engineering Co., Ltd., had just started in quite a small way as a garage at No. 1, Brighton Road, Croydon, and as this was Mr. Campling's first independent venture the general unrest which naturally followed the outbreak of hostilities threatened for a time to put a quick stop to his enterprise. However, he soon saw that this was to be an engineer's War, and in this opinion he was supported by his colleague, Mr. R. Brown, an engineer of many years' standing, who is now, by the way, in charge of aero engine sales. The result was that the firm decided to " carry on." It was not long before the garage side of the business began to decrease, but this was more than made up for by the other classes of work coming in. Thus there were contracts from the Government in connection with submarine engines, followed later by a quantity of fuse work. All the time those responsible for the management of the firm realised that aviation was going to play an im portant part in determining the issue of the World-War, and the opportunity to enter the aircraft industry came AT THE SELSDON WORKS, CROYDON.—-The photograph in the top left-hand corner shows part of one of the main shops. On the right is a view in the assembly shop where the " Gnats '' and " Wasps " are erected. The two bottom views show respectively the planning shop and some of the new hardening furnaces being installed - 452
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