Full name of 'A. N. Works' at Wolverhampton?

[Errol Martyn]

According to a 1918 New Zealand newspaper report, a New Zealander with the Aeronautical Inspection Department/Directorate (AID) in 1917 'was second examiner in the A.N. Works, Wolverhampton'. Anyone here happen to know what the 'A. N.' might stand for?

TIA,

Errol

[DavidOwen]

Have you tried Graces Guide https://www.gracesguide.co.uk/Main_Page

[davidbohl]

Could the A.N. be A.W. - Armstrong Whitworth ?

Dave

 

Edit:

Only scraps on this one..

From staffspasttrack.org.uk

During World War One, John North, the chief engineer had helped the company to pioneer several developments in aircraft aerodynamic engineering, such as, the P.6 two seater biplane and the P.7 Bourges, the first effective twin-engined fighter bomber. He had also invented the concept of a fully enclosed power operated gun turret, which was fitted to the Overstrand aircraft, making it the first aircraft in the world to have such a turret.

Edited 25 September , 2021 by davidbohl
John North

[Knotty]

8 hours ago, davidbohl said:

He had also invented the concept of a fully enclosed power operated gun turret, which was fitted to the Overstrand aircraft, making it the first aircraft in the world to have such a turret.

Hi David

As you say struggling we are, the Boulton & Paul link you suggest can probably be ruled out as they didn’t move to the Wolverhampton area until ‘36. North did some work with Austin before moving across but that was Birmingham Longbridge. The remaining aero industry candidates from the area, without taken  anything away from them, were mainly small players overall.Ive gone through Kelly’s 1914 & 1918, Graces, and various other locations directories without any joy…..yet 😁, so back to the OP for some more information.

John

Edited 25 September , 2021 by Knotty

[Knotty]

 

13 hours ago, Errol Martyn said:

'was second examiner in the A.N. Works, Wolverhampton'.

 

Hi Errol

As you can see we are trying to find out any information that we can, is it possible for you to give us a name, we might be able to track him down maybe with newspaper articles at this end. A sight of the newspaper article might also shed some light on who the firm in question is.

John

[michaelpi]

52890 Cedric Alfred Hunter RFC, DOD 2 JANUARY 1918

[Alan24]

I have no local knowledge whatsoever but could A N be A M for Air Ministry?

There was also an airfield on what became RAF Perton?

[davidbohl]

This snippet might give us a bite at something

From the BNA 1919

 

[quemerford]

1 hour ago, Alan24 said:

I have no local knowledge whatsoever but could A N be A M for Air Ministry?

There was also an airfield on what became RAF Perton?

The Air Ministry didn't exist in 1917. 

 

I do have records of airmen attending manufacturer's courses at Sunbeam in Wolverhampton but that still doesn't resolve the 'AN' issue.

[Errol Martyn]

Gents,

I can see that a lot of 'thinking cap' work has been applied to my innocent little query! I took up David Owen's tip about Graces Guide but although this did not provide the answer it led me to email the Wolverhampton Archives, so they may yet come up with an answer. I had wondered about A. N. being a typo for A. W. (Armstrong Whitworth) but could not find evidence that the firm had a branch in Wolverhampton.

Cedric Hunter ". . . On arriving at England he went at once into the aeronautical works in Birmingham, got quick promotion, and at the time of his fatal illness was second examiner in the A.N. Works, Wolverhampton, with the rank of Lieutenant in the Flying Corps." Interestingly, surviving documentation only refers to him as an Air Mechanic 2nd Class with the RFC - but did such examiners have some sort of (honorary?) officer status on the AID workfront in order to enhance their authority? That he was an AID examiner is confirmed by his number which falls within the 52801 - 52950 grouping allocated specifically to them.

It may be that the 'A. N. Works' was a relatively small player in the manufacturing business whose identity has long since disappeared. It's not a life or death issue to know the answer, just a nice to know if there was an obvious answer known on the forum (if you don't ask . . .). Hunter had been discharged from the RFC for nearly three months when, sadly, he died from a combination of TB and heart failure on 2 Jan 18 at No 2 NZ General Hospital at Walton-on-Thames.

Cheers,

Errol

[quemerford]

Errol, the only other 'AN' I know of with an aviation connection is the AN-series of fasteners. AN (Army-Navy) I think originated in the USA but the scenario may fit. If your man was inspecting 'just' nuts and bolts for aircraft manufacture then I can easily imagine a lowly rank being allotted to the task.

 

AN threads are ubiquitous in many industries nowadays but the only missing piece is whether they were in use (and what for) in WW1.

[Alan24]

8 hours ago, Errol Martyn said:

the aeronautical works in Birmingham,

the A.N. Works, Wolverhampton

Could it just be short hand for Aeronautical?

[Errol Martyn]

Gents,

I've received the following response from Wolverhampton Archives. It tends to support Alan24's suggestion that the A. N. might simply stand for Aeronautical. Hunter was an engineer who worked his passage from New Zealand to England as fifth engineer on the Ruahine in 1915, so examining items such as H. M. Hobson's carburettors could be a logical use of his expertise?

Cheers,

Errol

Dear Mr Martyn

Thank you for your email which has been forwarded to us from Wolverhampton Art Gallery.

 

I have searched our catalogue and trade directories but unfortunately cannot find any mention of a business called A.N. Works. Given the context my colleagues and I are of the opinion that the A N refers to Aero Nautical. It may be that the man concerned worked in the Aero Nautical department or “works” of a company such as H. M. Hobson which was making carburettors for aircraft in WW1.

This is part of the administrative history of Hobson’s taken from our catalogue entry.

H. M. Hobson Ltd., was founded in 1903 by Hamilton McArthur Hobson, George Cheeseman and Edward A. H. de Poorter.  They were originally based in London producing spark plugs and carburettors (in collusion with French manufacturers), and fitting them in British cars to replace the British inferior ones.  They also imported cars from abroad (mainly through one of the founders Edward A. H. de Poorter), and altered their designs for the British market.  1909 marked their entry into aircraft carburettor production, when they produced a French inspired carburretor for a Wright biplane.  The connection with Wolverhampton came in 1909 when motor car producers Sunbeam took over a small factory in Cousins Street to make carburettors for a new engine of theirs that used Hobson's carburettors.  The fact that Hobson's themselves could not supply the quantites Sunbeam required, was the reason for why the premises were set up.  The new premises were named Accuracy Works on May 9th, 1911.  During the First World War (1914-1918), they expanded greatly by making carburretors for Sunbeam and Rolls Royce engines.  Hobson's were also involved in many car and aeroplane speed and endurance records.  They produced carburettors for Alcock and Brown's Vickers Vimy aircraft that completed the first trans-atlantic air crossing.  During the post-war period, many technological advances were made including the Hobson Master Control System - the first automatic carburettor.  By 1935, Hobson's were turned into a public company and were named H. M. Hobson (Aircraft & Motor) Components Ltd.  They were effectively a holding company for H. M. Hobson Ltd.,  Floats Ltd., who made window regulators, and Accuracy Works.  It was also around this time that  Hobson's moved to a new Stafford Road site at Fordhouses.

 

The company is still operating and is now owned by the Goodrich Corporation.

 

I hope you find the information useful.

Sincerely

Christine Joy Brown

Archive Assistant

Tel. Office: 01902 552480

 

City of Wolverhampton Council

[Michael Hobson]

Hello - I'm the Grandson of Hamilton McArthur Hobson ( HM Hobson Ltd). This link may be of interest to you Aircraft Component Manufacturers (historywebsite.co.uk)

I believe that AN Works may simply have been Accuracy Works (?)

Hope this is useful

Best wishes

Michael.

[Errol Martyn]

Thank you Michael. Just unfortunate that we don's have access to a copy of Hunter's original letter in order to check if the newspaper's 'N' was in fact a "W'.

Hunter in pre-war life, incidentally, trained as a marine engineer.

Cheers,

Errol

[Michael Hobson]

Indeed. I suspect that it was either Aeronautical or Accuracy Works and the N was in fact a W ( easy to mis-read that if scrawled in a letter).......but then again he'd have been repeating the word " Works " in writing " A.N. Works ". Having said all this, I can't imagine there were too many Aeronautical works in Wolverhampton then !  Btw, my own father was the product of my Grandfather's second marriage to the nurse ( half his age!) who was attending his mortally wounded son from the battle of Arras in 1919. He's buried in the military cemetery in Etaples ( Geoffrey Hamilton Hobson).

I am in the middle of collecting various memorabilia around my Grandfather's firm - H.M. Hobson and managed to find an original Claudel-Hobson carburettor on e-bay that came out of an Armstrong Siddeley car in 1935 - the year before Hamilton McArthur died. I'm having it fully restored.

[Errol Martyn]

Michael,

Interesting to learn about the nurse/Mrs H. M. Hobson! It is surprsing just how many interesting connections pop up during one's research. New Zealand's contribution to the aviation side of the The Great War was tiny, as you might imagine from a country populated by only a million souls at the time. Among them are two Hyde brothers along with a Hyde cousin. One of the brothers was shot down and made PoW of the Germans in 1918. In the next war a nephew of his was shot down in 1942 and made a PoW of the Germans!

Cheers, Errol

[Michael Hobson]

How interesting, thank you. Btw, not sure if you've read the novel " Birdsong " by Sebastian Faulks but I believe it's very true to the horrors these young men experienced. Nice to e-meet you. thanks