Tag Archives: Willow Lane

Bryans Ltd.

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Factory that was in Willow Lane, which started trading as Bryans Aeroquipment Ltd. It changed its name to Bryans Ltd and later Bryans Southern Instruments.

There isn’t an entry in the 1938 directory, but a comment below suggests that the firm was established around 1939.

Timeline of events

1947 Fire at a rubber dump near the factory.

1955 Board Appointments

1957 Expansion

Name changed from Bryans Aeroquipment Ltd to Bryans Ltd. in 1963 according to Flight International, 29th August 1963.

1965 Luftwaffe contract

From Flight International, 13th January, 1966, page 72

Mr. J.R. Bryans is relinquishing his post as chairman and managing director of Bryans Ltd, of Mitcham, Surrey, and becomes a director of Seltronic Group Ltd. Mr Bowman Scott, managing director of Seltronic, has been appointed chairman of Bryans and Mr. David Ince managing director.

From Flight International, 4th June, 1970

Test equipment Merger

Bryans Ltd of Mitcham, Surrey, has sold its interest in aviation test equipment to Negretti and Zambra Ltd and will concentrate henceforth on the market for scientific instruments.

The Bryans product range will now be handled by Negretti & Zambra (Aviation) Ltd. which has a wide range of interests in the aviation field. The existing worldwide agency network established by Bryans will remain unchanged, but within the United Kingdom all enquiries should be addressed to the Bryans Aeroquipment Division of Negretti & Zambra (Aviation) Ltd, 73/77 Lansdowne Rood, Croydon CR9 2HP.

The 1973 Computer Users Yearbook said that the computer department had 5 staff, the D.P. manager was Miss S.M. Harrington. An NCR 500 C computer was used.

From Flight international, 5th October, 1979, page 1137

New formation team

The aerospace interests of Negretti & Zambra (73-77 Lansdowne Road, Croydon, Surrey; telephone 01-688 3426) have been brought together into a single entity. N & Z (Aviation) has absorbed the aviation activities of the Aero Engine Instrument Division and of the Bryans Aeroequipment part of associated company Visual Engineers. Design and manufacturing facilities operate at Aylesbury, Croydon and Southampton Airport.

1986
According to Advance Power Supplies (APS), Bryans Southern Instruments was bought in 1986, which was then bought by Low & Bonar Ltd in November that year.

1989 photo on Merton Memories showing a ‘TO LET’ sign.

Equipment ads

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1955 Bryans Aeroquipment Ltd Board Appointments

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From Flight magazine, 10th June 1955, page 818

Bryans Aeroquipment Board Appointments

THREE executives of Bryans Aeroquipment, Ltd., have been appointed to the Board. They are Messrs. Jack Austin, as design director, Victor Lawton, sales director, and H. D. Strawson, O.B.E., production director. All three previously held the posts of “special directors” of their respective departments.

Mr. Austin has been with the company since its early days, controlling the design and drawing-office sides of the business. Except for a short break during the war, when he was with M.A.P., Mr. Lawton has served successively as sales manager, general manager, and sales director since he joined the company in 1939. Mr. Strawson took over the production side of the business when he joined in 1952, following employment with Imperial Airways and B.O.A.C., in the latter case as chief engineer (operations).

Other directors of the firm are:

Mr. C. E. Stearns (chairman),
Mr. J. R. Bryans (managing),
Mr. M. C Bryans, and
Maj. P. W. S. Bulman, C.B.E., M.C., A.F.C., F.R.Ae.S.

Bryans Aeroquipment, Ltd., market test equipment covering the fields of gyroscopes, manometry, electrical temperature measurement (including jet-pipe thermocouples), oxygen breathing, cabin pressurization, sound recording, and artificial breathing and reaction testing for pilots. They have agents in over thirty countries throughout the world.

The company was based in Willow Lane, Mitcham.