35-583: Freight Rover was a British commercial vehicle manufacturer based in the Washwood Heath area of Birmingham , England. Freight Rover was created as a division of the Land Rover Group of British Leyland (BL) in 1981, creating a new single brand for BL's light commercial vehicle range, which had previously been sold under the Leyland and Austin-Morris brands - (although car derived vans such as those based on
70-591: A Vickers School of Flying was opened at Brooklands , Surrey on 20 January 1912. In 1919, the British Westinghouse electrical company was taken over as the Metropolitan Vickers Electrical Company ; Metrovick. At the same time they came into Metropolitan's railway interests. A reorganisation during 1926 led to the retention of the rolling stock group: Metropolitan Carriage Wagon and Finance Company and The Metropolitan -Vickers Company and
105-479: A decline in lucrative tool steel demand in the US during the first half of 1880s, the stockholders logically decided in spring 1887 to diversify into large-scale armaments production and approved £1.5 million (1887, equivalent to £172.83 million in 2023) capital increase. By the end of 1888 Vickers produced and tested both their first artillery piece and first armour plate . The time could have never been more fortunate, with
140-475: A major Irish community. The area is served by Washwood Heath Academy . For the younger population, there is a children's centre. The ward is represented on Birmingham City Council by three councillors: Mariam Khan, Ansar Ali Khan and Mohammed Idrees, all Labour . Project Champion was a project to install a £3m network of 169 Automatic Number Plate Recognition cameras to monitor vehicles entering and leaving Washwood Heath and Sparkbrook . Its implementation
175-644: A new site in Sheffield on the River Don in Brightside . The company went public in 1867 as Vickers, Sons & Company and gradually acquired more businesses, branching out into various sectors. In 1868 Vickers began to manufacture marine shafts, in 1872 they began casting marine propellers and in 1882 they set up a forging press. They were also supplying steel forgings for gun barrel manufacturers, including their future main competitor Armstrong, as early as 1870. After
210-654: A result of the purchase, car manufacturing was completely moved from the Adderley Park site, which became Morris Commercials , to the Ward End Works. Engines for the Morris Minor were also produced at the factory during the 1930s alongside the Wolseley production line. When World War II broke out in 1939 the factory became the production base for tanks and military vehicles as well as mines. In 1941, it also began to produce
245-545: Is to be constructed as part of the High Speed 2 project - to service and maintain the high speed trains. According to the 2001 Population Census , there were 27,822 people living in the ward with a population density of 5,335 people per km compared with 3,649 people per km for Birmingham. The area is 5.2 km . Washwood Heath is an ethnically diverse community with 57% (15,863) of the ward's population being of an ethnic minority compared with 29.6% for Birmingham. It had been
280-626: The Bristol , English Electric and Hunting Aircraft to form the British Aircraft Corporation (BAC). This was owned by Vickers, English Electric and Bristol (holding 40%, 40% and 20% respectively). BAC in turn owned 70% of Hunting. The Supermarine operation was closed in 1963 and the Vickers name for aircraft was dropped in 1965. Under the terms of the Aircraft and Shipbuilding Industries Act BAC
315-664: The Horsa glider . By the end of the war, £500,000 worth of damage had been inflicted on the plant by the Luftwaffe in raids in 1941 and 1942. In 1939 a new factory for the Morris Motors Pressing Branch was constructed on the Common Lane side of the Ward End Works. This was renamed Nuffield Metal Products in 1945. Production of Wolseley cars recommenced on 4 September 1945. In 1948 the works began to encounter new problems and it
350-748: The Morris Ital and Austin Metro continued to be sold under either the Austin or Morris brands). Essentially Freight Rovers were face-lifted, badge engineered 1st gen Leyland Sherpas . Under later company organisation changes, Freight Rover became part of the Leyland Trucks division of BL. In 1987, the Leyland Trucks division of, what was by then, the Rover Group (following the renaming of BL in 1986), merged with
385-702: The Naval Defence Act 1889 significantly increasing the domestic demand and the invention of nickel steel armour rendering obsolete and worthless the investments of established producers into compound armour . Vickers bought out the Barrow-in-Furness shipbuilder The Barrow Shipbuilding Company in 1897, acquiring its subsidiary the Maxim Nordenfelt Guns and Ammunition Company at the same time, to become Vickers, Sons & Maxim. Ordnance and ammunition made during this period, including World War I ,
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#1732858087969420-680: The Ward End area of Washwood Heath. The Ward End Works covered an area of 65 acres (26 ha) upon completion. A distinctive feature was the Bromford House administrative block, with its 400 ft (122 m) façade fronting onto Drews Lane. The factory was an assembly plant and before the outbreak of hostilities produced a light car called the Stellite . During its first four years, the factory also produced munitions fuses and shell cases for soldiers fighting in mainland Europe during World War I . When
455-433: The "Supermarine Aviation Works (Vickers) Ltd". In 1938, both companies were re-organised as Vickers-Armstrongs (Aircraft) Ltd, although the former Supermarine and Vickers works continued to brand their products under their former names. 1929 saw the merger of the acquired railway business with those of Cammell Laird to form Metropolitan Cammell Carriage & Wagon . In 1960, the aircraft interests were merged with those of
490-461: The Aviation Department changed its name to Vickers (Aviation) Ltd and shortly afterwards acquired Supermarine, which became 'Supermarine Aviation Works (Vickers) Ltd'. In 1938, the two companies were reorganised as Vickers-Armstrongs (Aircraft) Ltd, although the former Supermarine and Vickers works continued to brand their products under their former names. In 1929, the acquired railway business
525-502: The Dutch truck company DAF Trucks to form DAF NV (Which in the UK traded as Leyland DAF ), which was later floated on the Dutch stock market. The new company has three plants; two truck plants Eindhoven and Leyland , and a van plant in Washwood Heath . Following the collapse of DAF NV in 1993, the van plant was the subject of a management buyout and a new independent van company, LDV Group ,
560-605: The achievements of BAC, the Hawker Siddeley Group were also experiencing success with the likes of the Hawker Harrier 'Jump Jet' and Hawker Siddeley Trident passenger aircraft. The two companies competed side by side for contracts throughout the 1960s and early 1970s, until the British Government expressed a desire for the two entities to merge. Finally, on 29 April 1977, the two companies were finally nationalised and
595-488: The acquisition of a proposed business which was incorporated as The Wolseley Tool and Motor Car Company and in 1905 the goodwill and patent rights of the Siddeley car. In 1911 a controlling interest was acquired in torpedo manufacturer Whitehead & Company . In 1911 the company name was changed to Vickers Ltd and expanded its operations into aircraft manufacture by the formation of Vickers Ltd (Aviation Department) and
630-549: The company expanded into aircraft manufacture and opened a flying school. They expanded even further into electrical and railway manufacturing, and in 1928 acquired an interest in the Supermarine . Beginning in the 1960s, various parts of the company were nationalised, and in 1999 the rest of the company was acquired by Rolls-Royce plc , which sold the defence arm to Alvis plc . The Vickers name lived on in Alvis Vickers, until
665-647: The company's headquarters. The works have since been demolished. The former Metro-Cammell and Leyland DAF Vans sites are to be redeveloped as the Washwood Heath depot for High Speed 2 . Vickers#Vickers, Sons ⁘ Maxim Vickers was a British engineering company that existed from 1828 until 1999. It was formed in Sheffield as a steel foundry by Edward Vickers and his father-in-law, and soon became famous for casting church bells . The company went public in 1867, acquired more businesses, and began branching out into military hardware and shipbuilding. In 1911,
700-479: The company, based at Millsands and known as Naylor Vickers and Company. It began by making steel castings and quickly became famous for casting church bells . In 1854 Vickers' sons Thomas (a militia officer known familiarly as 'Colonel Tom') and Albert [ la ] joined the business and their considerable talents – Tom Vickers as a metallurgist and Albert as a team-builder and salesman – were key to its subsequent rapid development. "Its great architects,"
735-470: The disposal of: Vickers-Petters Limited, British Lighting and Ignition Company, the Plywood department at Crayford Creek, Canadian Vickers, William Beardmore and Co, and Wolseley Motors. In 1927, Vickers merged with Tyneside based engineering company Armstrong Whitworth to become Vickers-Armstrongs . Armstrong Whitworth had developed along similar lines to Vickers, expanding into various military sectors and
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#1732858087969770-404: The historian Clive Trebilcock writes, "Colonel T.E. (1833–1915) and Albert (1838–1919) Vickers... provided both inspired technical leadership... and equally astute commercial direction. Both men were autocrats by temperament, but neither shunned advice or avoided delegation; each, but particularly Albert, had a marked gift for the selection of talented subordinates." In 1863 the company moved to
805-403: The latter was acquired by BAE Systems in 2004 to form BAE Systems Land Systems . Vickers was formed in Sheffield as a steel foundry by Edward Vickers and his father-in-law George Naylor in 1828. Naylor was a partner in the foundry Naylor & Sanderson and Vickers' brother William owned a steel rolling operation. Edward's investments in the railway industry allowed him to gain control of
840-585: The plant being redesignated the Austin Morris division's Transmission Plant. 4,400 workers were employed on site. When the Adderley Park plant closed in 1972 all vehicle production was moved to the Common Lane works. During the mid-1980s there was a fire at the factory however no other problems surfaced. In 1989 Freight Rover became Leyland-DAF Vans , which then became the LDV Group in 1993. The site covered 85 acres (34 ha), with Bromford House being used as
875-530: The sale of Rolls-Royce Motors and Cosworth to Volkswagen Group for £430 million, beating out BMW 's offer of £340 million. In 1927, Vickers merged with the Tyneside-based engineering firm Armstrong Whitworth to form Vickers-Armstrongs. Armstrong Whitworth developed in a similar way to Vickers, expanding into various military fields and became famous for its artillery construction at Elswick and shipbuilding at its yard at High Walker upon Tyne. In 1928,
910-429: The south-western side and Ward End on the north-eastern side of Washwood Heath are the two areas that cover the entire ward, though some parts near Nechells and Hodge Hill do not come under either of these and are simply headed under "Washwood Heath". One of the area's major employers was the railway works owned by Metropolitan-Cammell (later Alstom ), but it closed in 2005. In the 2020s, Washwood Heath railway depot
945-412: The war was over, Vickers, the owners of Electric & Ordnance Accessories Company Ltd, put the factory under the ownership of another subsidiary Wolseley Motors on 30 September 1919. After the change in ownership, Wolseley replaced the small workshop sheds with a large assembly building. Wolseley began to encounter difficulties in the 1920s and it was saved after being purchased by William Morris . As
980-473: Was established. [REDACTED] Media related to Freight Rover vehicles at Wikimedia Commons Washwood Heath Washwood Heath is a ward in Birmingham , within the formal district of Hodge Hill , roughly two miles north-east of Birmingham city centre, England. Washwood Heath covers the areas of Birmingham that lie between Nechells , Bordesley Green , Stechford and Hodge Hill . Saltley on
1015-499: Was frozen in June 2010 amid allegations that the police deliberately misled councillors about its purpose, after it was revealed that it was being funded as an anti-terrorism initiative, rather than for 'reassurance and crime prevention'. In 1914 the Electric & Ordnance Accessories Company Ltd ( Vickers, Sons & Maxim ) constructed a large factory between Common Lane and Drews Lane in
1050-622: Was merged with that of Cammell Laird to form Metropolitan Cammell Carriage & Wagon. 1.6 Fifth change of the company After the Second World War Vickers-Armstrongs manufactured commercial aircraft. In 1959 it introduced the VC10 jet aircraft and in the same year the government forced a merger with Bristol Aeroplane Company, English Electric and Hunting Aircraft to form the British Aircraft Corporation (BAC). Alongside
1085-400: Was nationalised in 1977 to become part of British Aerospace , which exists today in the guise of BAE Systems . The Aircraft and Shipbuilding Industries Act also led to the nationalisation of Vickers' shipbuilding division as part of British Shipbuilders . These had been renamed Vickers Armstrong Shipbuilders in 1955, changing again to Vickers Limited Shipbuilding Group in 1968. This division
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1120-483: Was notable for their artillery manufacture at Elswick and shipbuilding at a yard at High Walker on the River Tyne . Armstrongs shipbuilding interests became the "Naval Yard", those of Vickers on the west coast the "Naval Construction Yard". Armstrong Whitworth Aircraft was not absorbed by the new company. In 1928, the Aviation Department became Vickers (Aviation) Ltd and soon after acquired Supermarine , which became
1155-629: Was privatised as Vickers Shipbuilding & Engineering in 1986, later part of GEC's Marconi Marine. It remains in operation to this day as BAE Systems Submarines . With their steelworking operations also nationalised into British Steel Corporation the remnants of Vickers became Vickers plc . In 1986, Vickers acquired the armaments manufacturer Royal Ordnance Factory , Leeds , which became Vickers Defence Systems. Other acquisitions included automotive engineers Cosworth in 1990, waterjet manufacturer Kamewa in 1986 and Norwegian marine propulsion and engineering company Ulstein in 1998. 1998 also saw
1190-548: Was seen to be more efficient for production of new Morrises to be moved to Cowley in Oxford . By the 1950s, production was centred at Cowley and the Ward End Works were used in the productions of Nuffield Group products. Following the formation of the British Motor Corporation in 1952, parts were also made there for Austin-Healey Sprite , and the Wolseley 1500/Riley 1.5 twins. The formation of British Leyland resulted in
1225-597: Was stamped V.S.M. The yard at Barrow became the "Construction Yard". With these acquisitions, Vickers could now produce a complete selection of products, from ships and marine fittings to armour plate and a whole suite of ordnance. In 1901 the Royal Navy 's first submarine, Holland 1 , was launched at the Naval Construction Yard. In 1902 Vickers took a half share in the famous Clyde shipyard John Brown & Company . Further diversification occurred in 1901 with
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