The Vickers story begins in 1828 with the establishment of Naylor Vickers and Company, a steel foundry in Sheffield, formed by the miller Edward Vickers and his father-in-law George Naylor. It began producing steel castings and soon built a reputation for casting high quality church bells. In 1854 Vickers’ sons, Thomas and Albert joined the business. In 1863 the company moved to new premises in Sheffield at Brightside on the River Don. Four years later the company went public as Vickers, Sons and Company and they gradually expanded the company through acquiring new business and branching out into new sectors.
In 1868, Vickers began manufacturing marine shafts and four years later began casting marine propellers. The Vickers company produced their first armour plate in 1888 and their first artillery piece two years later. In 1897 they purchased The Barrow Shipbuilding Company and with it, its subsidiary the Maxim Nordenfelt Guns and Ammunition Company and the new company was renamed Vickers, Sons and Maxim. The shipyard at Barrow became known as the Naval Construction Yard, and it was here in 1901 that Vickers built and launched the Royal Navy’s first submarine, Holland 1. A year later, the company brought a half share in the famous Clyde shipyard, John Brown and Company.
Further diversification occurred in 1905 with the purchase of the car building activities of the Wolseley Sheep-Shearing Machine Company. Following a re-organisation in 1911, the company’s name changed again to Vickers Limited and they expanded into the new world of aeroplane manufacturing by forming Vickers Limited (Aviation Department) in the same year.
In 1927 Vickers Limited merged with the Tyneside engineering company Armstrong Whitworth, and so became Vickers-Armstrong’s, Limited. The two companies had developed along very similar lines and therefore the integration of the two businesses was relatively easy. A year later the Aviation Department became Vickers (Aviation) Limited and very soon after that, they acquired Supermarine Aviation Works Limited. A further re-organisation occurred in 1938 and this saw the company being renamed again as Vickers-Armstrong’s (Aircraft) Limited.
In 1960, Vickers-Armstrong’s (Aircraft) Limited was merged with The Bristol Aeroplane Company, English Electric and Hunting Aircraft to form the British Aircraft Corporation (BAC). Under the 1977 Aircraft and Shipbuilding Industries Act, BAC was nationalised and became part of British Aerospace. Under the same Act, Vickers Limited Shipbuilding Group were also nationalised as part of the British Shipbuilders Group. The company was eventually privatised in 1986 as Vickers Shipbuilding and Engineering Limited (VSEL). VSEL was acquired by GEC’s Marconi Marine Division in 1995.
In 1986 Vickers purchased the Royal Ordnance Factory in Leeds, this also included the Challenger 1 tank production line, and formed Vickers Defence Systems. Vickers remained independent until 1999 when the company was brought by Rolls Royce, however, Rolls didn’t require Vickers Defence Systems and this was sold to Alvis plc.
