• Sopwith Aviation & Engineering Co Ltd

Sopwith Aviation Co was founded in 1912 at Brooklands flying ground by Thomas Sopwith, a wealthy sportsman interested in aviation, yachting and motor racing who was one of Britain's pioneer pilots. The company's first factory was a disused skating rink in Kingston-upon-Thames, Surrey, where it built one of its first aircraft, the Sopwith three-seater for the newly-formed Royal Flying Corps. Subsequently the firm collaborated with S E Saunders Ltd, East Cowes, Isle of Wight, to build the Sopwith Bat Boat for the Royal Naval Air Service. However, it was victory in the Schneider Trophy Contest of 1914 that brought Sopwith real success and resulted in orders for the production of Sopwith Tabloids and Schneider Float Plane variants. During the First World War the company and its sub-contractors made over 16,000 aircraft. In 1917 it took a lease on National Aircraft Factory 2 at nearby Ham, allowing a substantial increase in production. After the war, the company produced aircraft for the civil market based on their wartime designs, but the wide availability of war-surplus aircraft at low prices meant that this did not prove economical. In 1919 the company was renamed Sopwith Aviation & Engineering Co Ltd and the factory was re-organised to produce ABC motorcycles under licence. In 1920, when it had 1,400 employees, the company went into voluntary liquidation. This was partly precipitated by a large claim from the Treasury for excess war profits duty. Four Sopwith colleagues, Harry Hawker, Bill Eyre, Thomas Sopwith and Fred Sigrist, subsequently formed H G Hawker Engineering Co Ltd to acquire the company's assets.