LETTER OF THE WEEK
Page 15
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Sir WG Armstrong Whitworth... who?
RE: CONTINENTAL Drift. I read this article (CM 5 January) with great interest and found it very informative and helpful. I must, however, correct the following point.
There was no such person as Sir WG Armstrong Whitworth of Vickers in the 1920s or at any other time. Sir WG Armstrong Whitworth Ltd was a company name formed in the late 19th century by the merger of Sir WG Armstrong (famous for artillery earlier in the century) with Whitworth (famous for many 19th century engineering achievements, including standard sizes like spanners and bolts).
It was a major arms manufacturer during the First World War and naturally sought to diversify during the 1920s. It collapsed and was bought by Vickers around 1926. The rest, as they say, is history. John N Caton John Caton Associates