Hewlett & Blondeau
Encyclopedia
Hewlett & Blondeau was a manufacturer of aeroplanes and other equipment based in Leagrave
Leagrave
For other uses see Leagrave Leagrave is a former village and now a suburb of Luton in Bedfordshire in the northwest of the town. Connected by train from Leagrave station into London and Bedford by First Capital Connect...

, Luton
Luton
Luton is a large town and unitary authority of Bedfordshire, England, 30 miles north of London. Luton and its near neighbours, Dunstable and Houghton Regis, form the Luton/Dunstable Urban Area with a population of about 250,000....

, England which produced more than 800 aeroplanes and employed up to 700 people.

History

The company was formed by Hilda Hewlett
Hilda Hewlett
Hilda Beatrice Hewlett was the first British aviatrix to earn a pilot's licence. She was also a successful early aviation entrepreneur. She created and ran the first flying school in the United Kingdom. She also created and managed a successful aircraft manufacturing business which produced more...

 and Gustav Blondeau
Gustav Blondeau
Gustav Jules Eugene Blondeau was an early pilot and went on to form Hewlett & Blondeau Limited, an aircraft manufacturer in the United Kindgdom. He was born on 8 March 1871 in Tregnier, France, and graduated from Farman Aircraft at Mourmelon in France on July 10, 1910 then joining the Gnome engine...

. The two met at Brooklands
Brooklands
Brooklands was a motor racing circuit and aerodrome built near Weybridge in Surrey, England. It opened in 1907, and was the world's first purpose-built motorsport venue, as well as one of Britain's first airfields...

, Surrey where Blondeau had opened his own flying school. Together they formed "Hewlett and Blondeau" and built Farman
Farman
Farman Aviation Works was an aeronautic enterprise founded and run by the brothers; Richard, Henri, and Maurice Farman. They designed and constructed aircraft and engines from 1908 until 1936; during the French nationalization and rationalization of its aerospace industry, Farman's assets were...

, Avro
Avro
Avro was a British aircraft manufacturer, with numerous landmark designs such as the Avro 504 trainer in the First World War, the Avro Lancaster, one of the pre-eminent bombers of the Second World War, and the delta wing Avro Vulcan, a stalwart of the Cold War.-Early history:One of the world's...

, Caudron
Caudron
The Caudron Airplane Company was a French aircraft company founded in 1909 by brothers Gaston Caudron and René Caudron . It was one of the earliest aircraft manufacturers in France and produced planes for the military in both World War I and World War II...

 and Hanriot
Hanriot
The Hanriot company was a French aircraft manufacturer.Following pioneering work, mainly with monoplanes, René Hanriot established a new company, Aeroplanes Hanriot et Cie in 1914...

 aircraft under licence, they were the first company to build Caudron in Britain. The first factory was a disused ice-skating rink in Clapham
Clapham
Clapham is a district in south London, England, within the London Borough of Lambeth.Clapham covers the postcodes of SW4 and parts of SW9, SW8 and SW12. Clapham Common is shared with the London Borough of Wandsworth, although Lambeth has responsibility for running the common as a whole. According...

, London, called The Omnia where eventually they produced ten different types of aircraft.

In May 1914, Hewlett & Blondeau purchased a field in Leagrave
Leagrave
For other uses see Leagrave Leagrave is a former village and now a suburb of Luton in Bedfordshire in the northwest of the town. Connected by train from Leagrave station into London and Bedford by First Capital Connect...

, Bedfordshire, specifically to build Farman aircraft. In order to retain links with its former base in Clapham, the firm kept the old telegraphic address 'Aeromnia', and named the factory The Omnia Works. When the First World War started in August 1914, the factory was able to meet government orders for planes towards the war effort.

The factory employed around 700 people at its peak, but by 1919 despite a full order book, the firm encountered difficulties. The Air Ministry
Air Ministry
The Air Ministry was a department of the British Government with the responsibility of managing the affairs of the Royal Air Force, that existed from 1918 to 1964...

 appointed Ashley Pope to oversee the factory because one of the aircraft in production at the time had a large 90 hp engine which was vital to the war effort. Pope noted that Hewlett worked tirelessly nearly 24 hours per day barely stopping for breaks or meals.

A reporter from Implement and Machinery Review was invited to look around the site in September 1919. He reported the following
"Having made a notable contribution to the war efforts of the nation by manufacturing large numbers of aeroplanes, Messrs. Hewlett & Blondeau Ltd., of The Omnia Works, Leagrave, Beds. have, for some time now, directed their attention to agricultural engineering. There are adequate reasons why their venture should be highly successful. In the first place, on the ten acres of freehold land which form the works site has been built a series of up-to-date substantial shops, fitted with the latest type of machinery and replete in every way with labour saving devices.

The whole of the 120000 sq ft (11,148.4 m²) of buildings is commodious, airy and thoroughly modern, for the works were of 'mushroom growth' so common during the war, albeit it cannot be too strongly emphasised that they are solidly and well constructed. "In addition to the usual offices, stores, etc., the works comprise machine, fitting, inspection, woodworking, erecting and smithing shops, a sheetmetal works, hardening & annealing rooms, an iron foundry and an acetylene welding department. Over three hundred 'hands' are today employed and the promising outlook makes the prospect of an increase in this number very probable."

Post WWI

Adverts for Hewlett and Blondeau engines and sawbenches appeared in the Luton News during late 1919 with the last advertisement being on the 12 February 1920. A decision was made to close the works and Fuller, Horley and Son & Cassell of London arranged a six day sale of the site and contents of the factory starting on Tuesday 19 October 1920. The 8 acres (32,374.9 m²) site with 110000 square feet (10,219.3 m²) of buildings failed to reach the second asking bid of £50,000 and went for private treaty, eventually being sold to Electrolux
Electrolux
The Electrolux Group is a Swedish appliance maker.As of 2010 the 2nd largest home appliance manufacturer in the world after Whirlpool, its products sell under a variety of brand names including its own and are primarily major appliances and vacuum cleaners...

 and forming part of the then new Electrolux factory where some of the original buildings remain to this day. Much of the site was redeveloped in the 1990s and early 2000s into residential housing.

The plant, machinery, stock and effects sold well to a large number of businesses including Vauxhall Motors and Hayward Tyler, the latter still having a factory in Luton. Mrs Hewlett, having separated from her husband in 1914, eventually emigrated with her family to New Zealand where she died in 1943. She is commemorated by a street name, Hewlett Road, in Leagrave
Leagrave
For other uses see Leagrave Leagrave is a former village and now a suburb of Luton in Bedfordshire in the northwest of the town. Connected by train from Leagrave station into London and Bedford by First Capital Connect...

. Gustav Blondeau died on 3 March 1965 at 176 Old Bedford Road Luton.

Aircraft

Planes built by Hewlett & Blondeau include:
  • AD Scout
    AD Scout
    |-See also:-References:NotesBibliography*Bruce, J.M. War Planes of the First World War: Volume One Fighters. London:Macdonald, 1965.*Lewis, Peter. The British Fighter since 1912. London:Putnam, Fourth edition, 1979. ISBN 0-370-10049-2....

  • Armstrong Whitworth F.K.3
    Armstrong Whitworth F.K.3
    -See also:...

    , 350 were built by Hewlett & Blondeau.
  • Avro 504
    Avro 504
    The Avro 504 was a World War I biplane aircraft made by the Avro aircraft company and under licence by others. Production during the War totalled 8,970 and continued for almost 20 years, making it the most-produced aircraft of any kind that served in World War I, in any military capacity, during...

  • Dyott monoplane
    Dyott monoplane
    The Dyott monoplane was a single-engined, single-seat mid-wing monoplane designed by G.M. Dyott for his own use as a sports and touring aircraft. It proved successful, making a six month tour of the USA soon after its first flight in 1913.-Design:...

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