Introduction

From its foundation in 2018 the AAAI has worked to increase the research use of aviation-related archives, by signposting them to academics and enthusiasts; to encourage archive owners to value and properly preserve the records they hold; and to increase collaboration within the aviation heritage sector. This has partly been achieved by undertaking a series of desk-based sectoral archive surveys of the surviving historical records of past and present aircraft manufacturers, aero-engine manufacturers and designers and airline operators. The findings of these three surveys, made available on this website, focus on the archives of relevant UK-based businesses, but also include the records of the professional, research and trade organisations which supported them and individual aviation designers who worked for them.

Scope of the surveys

The AAAI’s surveys explore all of the archives of the included UK companies and organisations, not just those directly relevant to aviation or to a specific aviation product or service. Consequently, the company histories are general and the record summaries cover all kinds of governance, accounting, legal, operational, property and personnel records, not just the records concerned with the theme of each survey. The AAAI hopes this will make the surveys of the widest possible relevance and use and also provide better context for each company’s contribution to the aviation sector. During the First and Second World Wars, in particular, many woodworking, engineering and car and motorcycle manufacturing businesses were drawn into manufacturing aircraft or aero-engines. The history and archives of these businesses are fully explored in the entries alongside those relating to businesses with a more long-term involvement in, and focus on, aviation products and services.

Browse all survey entries

Searching the survey entries

You can search the findings of all three surveys using the search box located on the homepage of this website.

The entries are headed up by the last or present operating name of each business or organisation or the full name of each individual. You can browse those names but, as the last business names are often not the names by which firms were best known or the names they had for the longest period, the search function can be used to search all the survey contents as every name under which a business traded will be included in the history sections.

Basic search

• Search all surveys at once or choose a specific survey by clicking on the ‘Content types’ dropdown menu and checking one or more surveys before searching.
• Enter your search term(s) and press return or click 'Search'.
• The search finds entries that include all of the search terms anywhere in the entry. To search by phrase or to limit the search use the advanced search option.
• On the search results page, you can see all results or, by clicking the survey tabs at the top, view the results survey by survey. You can also sort the results by organisation name, location, operating date or survey by using the sorting tool. Note that the sorting function ignores definite and indefinite articles.
• Click on a name to view the full details of each entry.
• Click on ‘Back’ to return to the results list or click on ‘New search’ to start again.

Advanced search

• Use the advanced search if you want to search certain specified fields or combine searches in specified fields.
• Search one or a combination of the surveys using the ‘Filter by content’ option.
• Search terms need not be entered in all of the available search fields. Do note that if a search term is inaccurate or the combinations of search terms entered in the different fields does not exist in any entry no records will be found.
• Search dates using a start and end year for a range of years or select 'date type' to search for an exact year date or a period of the latest years. Do note that this field only searches the operating dates of companies or life dates of individuals with their own entries.
• Click 'Search' to start the search. View, sort and filter the search results as above.

Accessing the historical records

Users of the surveys should be aware that the co-operation of archive holders in providing details of records does not imply that access to the records will necessarily be granted. Access to privately-owned records in particular is at the discretion of the owner. Researchers wishing to access archives referenced in the surveys should apply to the relevant record holder well before making a research expedition.

Adding to the surveys

These surveys are by no means complete - they are just a beginning. There are undoubtedly many archives of UK aircraft manufacturers, airline operators and aero-engine manufacturers and designers that are not yet included. We warmly invite all those interested in the heritage of the UK aircraft manufacturing sector, whether as archive holders or as aviation historians or enthusiasts, to contribute to the surveys by providing information on other relevant archive holdings known to them. In that way the surveys can both remain up-to-date and gradually become more comprehensive.

Whether you want to provide an entirely new entry, add information to an existing entry or correct an error we would like to hear from you. We would also welcome your feedback on the value and utility of the survey content that we have already put online. Please send any advice and additional content or feedback to the AAAI’s survey team at survey@aviationarchives.uk.

Copyright

Users of the surveys are very welcome to copy small parts of the text (up to 5% of each survey) for the purpose of personal research or to support the creation of archive catalogues/authority records. However, the prior written permission of AAAI and other relevant copyright owners should be sought before copying, reproducing or transmitting larger extracts from the surveys in any form or by any means. Contact AAAI on survey@aviationarchives.uk.

The three guides to records at The National Archives are Crown Copyright and may be used under the terms and conditions of the Open Government Licence, provided the content is reproduced accurately and not used in a misleading context.