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Sir George Edwards The last of the great engineers that pioneered the development of post-war British aircraft, Sir George Edwards, OM, CBE, died on March 2, 2003, aged 94. Identified by his distinctive trilby, Edwards cut an unmistakable figure around the industry as well as at the prestigious annual Famborough shows where Britain presented a shop-window of its aviation products, many of which he had initiated. His urbanity and dry sense of humour endeared him to many, while his gifted engineering and business skills gave the UK a lead in many areas of aeronautical design and ensures he will remain a revered name in the aviation hall of fame. George Edwards was born at Chingford, Essex, on July 9, 1908. Trained in practical engineering, he joined Vickers-Armstrongs at Weybridge in 1935 and early in the war one of his first tasks was to assist the design of an aerial minesweeping system for RAF Coastal Command Wellingtons. Later, he was involved in the prototype construction of the Warwick and Windsor bombers and the high-altitude Type 432. Post-war, Edwards or GRE as he was widely known worked on the Viking and with the death of his mentor, chief designer Rex Pierson, he was the logical successor for the post. Under his guidance, Vickers developed the Valetta and Varsity, together with the famous Viscount prop-jet airliner, a type unmatched by any other manufacturer. His proposal to meet the urgent RAF requirement for a high-altitude, long-range jet bomber, resulted in the Valiant, an ‘unfunny’ aircraft, to use his own description, produced in the shortest possible time. It worked and for a decade helped provide the UK’s nuclear deterrent. On the commercial front, a personal set-back for Edwards was the Government’s refusal, in 1955 to support the V1000 transatlantic jet airliner project. Had the design gone ahead, the UK would have been well in advance of the American Boeing 707 which eventually scooped the market for four-jet airliners. Despite this ill-judged decision, Edwards turned his attention to the 130-seat Vanguard which entered service in 1961, followed three years later by the four-jet, rear-engined VC1O and the stretched Super VC10. In 1955, the UK Government ‘encouraged’ the various aircraft companies into two major groups of which Vickers joined with English Electric, Bristol and Hunting to form the British Aircraft Corporation. The main aim was to develop the TSR.2 replacement for the V-Bomber force. Knighted in 1957, Sir George became BAC’s managing director. The cancellation of TSR.2 on April 6, 1965, prompted a strong defence of the programme by Edwards and others in the industry, but to no avail. Back on the commercial front, the BAC One-Eleven was another success story for Edwards with 234 built and it was his easy manner and lack of pomposity with the French that helped guide the Concorde project to airline service. He was also instrumental in getting the Anglo-French Jaguar into production for the RAF and before retiring in 1975, he oversaw work on the Tornado. He will be sadly missed by those who knew him at the many clubs and societies which he supported. —BCW
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[George Edwards] [Welcome] [Obituaries] [Painting Gallery] [Links] [About GRE] [Offers] [Memorial Service] [Events] |