Wilfrid Thomas Reid
Encyclopedia
Wilfrid Thomas Reid is an English aircraft designer and considered one of the pioneers of the Canadian aircraft industry.
Reid was born on 4 March 1887 in Battersea
, Surrey
. He died in Newton Abbot
, Devon
on 5 April 1968 of heart failure. He was married with two children.
, England
. His father, James Reid, was a manager at the Works. Reid then worked as a marine engineer with the Fairfield Shipyards on the River Clyde
in Glasgow
, Scotland
. In the course of his work at the company, he travelled across the Atlantic several times.
During the initial stages of the First World War
, Reid worked at the Royal Aircraft Factory. In 1916, Reid started working for the Bristol Aeroplane Company
(then known as the British and Colonial Aeroplane Company). There he worked for Frank Barnwell
. He worked on the Bristol M.R.1
, a two-seater biplane and also worked with Barnwell on the Braemar bomber
, Jupiter
, Bloodhound
, Berkeley, M.1D
, Bristol Racer, Bristol Primary Trainer
, Bristol Ten-seater
, Bristol Tramp
and Bristol Lucifer
.
In 1921, Barnwell left the company (to emigrate to Australia). Reid took over the role as chief designer. Barnwell subsequently returned in 1923 and displaced Reid as chief designer. This caused Reid to leave the company.
hired Reid to be their chief aircraft designer. The company was located in Montreal
, Canada
. Reid was given the plans for an aircraft started by R. K. Pierson who worked for Vickers Limited
, the British parent company of Canadian Vickers Limited.
Reid, together with a man named Newall, developed the design into the aircraft known as the Vedette
. "The design and production of the Canadian Vickers Vedette marked the true beginning of the Canadian aircraft industry."
. The objective of the company was to design and produce a light training aircraft initially called the Reid Rambler. but subsequently became known as the Curtiss-Reid Rambler
bought the Reid Aircraft Company. The company was re-named to the Curtiss-Reid Aircraft Company. Curtiss-Reid went bankrupt in 1931 and was sold to a new company called Montreal Aircraft Industries. Reid was not part of the new company.
Reid was born on 4 March 1887 in Battersea
Battersea
Battersea is an area of the London Borough of Wandsworth, England. It is an inner-city district of South London, situated on the south side of the River Thames, 2.9 miles south-west of Charing Cross. Battersea spans from Fairfield in the west to Queenstown in the east...
, Surrey
Surrey
Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...
. He died in Newton Abbot
Newton Abbot
Newton Abbot is a market town and civil parish in the Teignbridge District of Devon, England on the River Teign, with a population of 23,580....
, Devon
Devon
Devon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...
on 5 April 1968 of heart failure. He was married with two children.
United Kingdom
Reid did his apprenticeship from 1 June 1903 to 1 June 1908 at the Queen's Engineering Works of W. H. Allen, Son & Co. Ltd located in Queens Park, BedfordQueens Park, Bedford
Queens Park is an electoral ward and area in Bedford, England. The areas borders are approximately Bromham Road and Beverley Crescent to the north, the Midland Main Line railway line to the east, and the River Great Ouse to the south....
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. His father, James Reid, was a manager at the Works. Reid then worked as a marine engineer with the Fairfield Shipyards on the River Clyde
Clyde River
- Australia :*Clyde River , a river on the south coast of New South Wales*Clyde River , a river in central Tasmania*Clyde River , a river in the Northern Territory- United States of America :*Clyde River...
in Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
. In the course of his work at the company, he travelled across the Atlantic several times.
During the initial stages of the First World War
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, Reid worked at the Royal Aircraft Factory. In 1916, Reid started working for the Bristol Aeroplane Company
Bristol Aeroplane Company
The Bristol Aeroplane Company, originally the British and Colonial Aeroplane Company, was both one of the first and one of the most important British aviation companies, designing and manufacturing both airframes and aero engines...
(then known as the British and Colonial Aeroplane Company). There he worked for Frank Barnwell
Frank Barnwell
Captain Frank Sowter Barnwell OBE AFC FRAeS BSc was an aeronautical engineer, who performed the first powered flight in Scotland and later went on to a career as an aircraft designer.-History:...
. He worked on the Bristol M.R.1
Bristol M.R.1
|-References:NotesBibliography...
, a two-seater biplane and also worked with Barnwell on the Braemar bomber
Bristol Braemar
|-See also:...
, Jupiter
Bristol Jupiter
The Bristol Jupiter was a British nine-cylinder single-row piston radial engine built by the Bristol Aeroplane Company. Originally designed late in World War I and known as the Cosmos Jupiter, a lengthy series of upgrades and developments turned it into one of the finest engines of its era.The...
, Bloodhound
Bristol Type 84 Bloodhound
-External links:* * *...
, Berkeley, M.1D
Bristol M.1
|-See also:-External links:* * * * *...
, Bristol Racer, Bristol Primary Trainer
Bristol Primary Trainer
-External links:*...
, Bristol Ten-seater
Bristol Ten-seater
|-See also:-External links:*...
, Bristol Tramp
Bristol Tramp
|-See also:-External links:*...
and Bristol Lucifer
Bristol Lucifer
-See also:-Bibliography:* Lumsden, Alec. British Piston Engines and their Aircraft. Marlborough, Wiltshire: Airlife Publishing, 2003. ISBN 1-85310-294-6....
.
In 1921, Barnwell left the company (to emigrate to Australia). Reid took over the role as chief designer. Barnwell subsequently returned in 1923 and displaced Reid as chief designer. This caused Reid to leave the company.
Canadian Vickers Limited
In 1924, Canadian Vickers LimitedCanadian Vickers Limited
Canadian Vickers Limited was an aircraft and shipbuilding company that operated in Canada during the early part of the 20th century until 1944. A subsidiary of the UK parent, it built its own aircraft designs as well as others under licence. Canadair absorbed the Canadian Vickers Ltd...
hired Reid to be their chief aircraft designer. The company was located in Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. Reid was given the plans for an aircraft started by R. K. Pierson who worked for Vickers Limited
Vickers Limited
Vickers Limited was a famous British engineering conglomerate that merged into Vickers-Armstrongs in 1927.-Early history:Vickers was formed in Sheffield as a steel foundry by the miller Edward Vickers and his father-in-law George Naylor in 1828. Naylor was a partner in the foundry Naylor &...
, the British parent company of Canadian Vickers Limited.
Reid, together with a man named Newall, developed the design into the aircraft known as the Vedette
Canadian Vickers Vedette
-References:NotesCitationsBibliography* Milberry, Larry. Aviation in Canada. Toronto: McGraw-Hill Ryerson Ltd., 1979. ISBN 0-07-082778-8.* Molsen, Kenneth M. "The Canadian Vickers Vedette." Canadian Aeronautics and Space Journal, October 1964....
. "The design and production of the Canadian Vickers Vedette marked the true beginning of the Canadian aircraft industry."
Reid Aircraft Company
Reid founded the Reid Aircraft Company in February 1928. The company was based at what was to become known as the Cartierville AirportCartierville Airport
Cartierville Airport was an airport in Saint-Laurent, Quebec, now a borough of Montreal. The airport was decommissioned and turned into the Bois-Franc neighbourhood. It was located next to Route 117, and the terminal buildings were accessed via Boul...
. The objective of the company was to design and produce a light training aircraft initially called the Reid Rambler. but subsequently became known as the Curtiss-Reid Rambler
Curtiss-Reid Rambler
|-References:NotesBibliography* Molson, Ken M. and Harold A. Taylor. Canadian Aircraft Since 1909. Stittsville, Ontario: Canada's Wings, Inc., 1982. ISBN 0-920002-11-0....
Curtiss-Reid Aircraft Company
In December 1928, the Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor CompanyCurtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company
Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company was an American aircraft manufacturer that went public in 1916 with Glenn Hammond Curtiss as president. Throughout the 1920s and 1930s, the company was the largest aircraft manufacturer in the United States...
bought the Reid Aircraft Company. The company was re-named to the Curtiss-Reid Aircraft Company. Curtiss-Reid went bankrupt in 1931 and was sold to a new company called Montreal Aircraft Industries. Reid was not part of the new company.
Crude Oil Engine and Engineering Co.
Several years after he sold Reid Aircraft, he bought a diesel engine sales agency, the Crude Oil Engine Co. (which he renamed the Crude Oil Engine and Engineering Co.). It supplied engines for marine use and other purposes.Honours
- Inducted into The Québec Air and Space Hall of Fame on 6 April 2006.
- Elected Associate Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical SocietyRoyal Aeronautical SocietyThe Royal Aeronautical Society, also known as the RAeS, is a multidisciplinary professional institution dedicated to the global aerospace community.-Function:...
on 19 April 1917, then to the rank of Fellow (FRAeS) on 10 November 1925. - Associate Member of the Institution of Mechanical EngineersInstitution of Mechanical EngineersThe Institution of Mechanical Engineers is the British engineering society based in central London, representing mechanical engineering. It is licensed by the Engineering Council UK to assess candidates for inclusion on ECUK's Register of professional Engineers...
. - In 1994, the Royal Canadian MintRoyal Canadian MintThe Royal Canadian Mint produces all of Canada's circulation coins, and manufactures circulation coins on behalf of other nations. The Mint also designs and manufactures: precious and base metal collector coins; gold, silver, palladium, and platinum bullion coins; medals, as well as medallions and...
issued a $20 coin honouring Wilfrid Reid and the Vickers VedetteCanadian Vickers Vedette-References:NotesCitationsBibliography* Milberry, Larry. Aviation in Canada. Toronto: McGraw-Hill Ryerson Ltd., 1979. ISBN 0-07-082778-8.* Molsen, Kenneth M. "The Canadian Vickers Vedette." Canadian Aeronautics and Space Journal, October 1964....
.
External links
- Curtiss-Reid Rambler The Canadian Historical Aircraft Association
- Canadian Vickers Vedette The Canadian Historical Aircraft Association