For a quarter of a century from 1950, George Edwards was the dominant figure in British aviation, both civil and military. His name is synonymous with the Vickers Viscount, the world's first turboprop airliner, and the Concorde, for which he led the British team throughout its formative period to customer delivery. During the Second World War, Edwards worked closely with Barnes Wallis and was responsible for making the dam busters' famous bouncing bomb bounce. After the war he was appointed chief designer at Vickers and designed Britain's first V-bomber, the Valiant, which was delivered to the RAF in just four years. Edwards then took the lead in the most ambitious military aircraft programme of the period, TSR2, until it was controversially cancelled in 1965. Against this setback, his successes included the VC10 airliner (still in service today with the RAF) and the legendary Anglo-French Concorde. Edwards's patience and perseverance when dealing with politicians and with his counterparts across the Channel were critical to the success of the Concorde project.
For a quarter of a century, George Edwards was the dominant figure in British aviation, both civil and military. His name is synonymous with the Vickers Viscount, the world's first turboprop airliner; the ambitious and controversial TRS2 project; and the legendary Anglo-French Concorde. During the Second World War, Edwards was responsible for making the dam busters' famous bouncing bomb bounce.
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George Edwards' name is synonymous with the Vickers Viscount, the world's first turboprop airliner; the controversial TSR2 project and the legendary Anglo-French Concorde.
| Foreword |
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vii | |
| Acknowledgements |
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ix | |
| Author's Note |
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xi | |
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1 | (7) |
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8 | (9) |
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17 | (7) |
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24 | (8) |
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5 Working for Beaverbrook |
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32 | (8) |
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40 | (10) |
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50 | (10) |
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60 | (10) |
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9 'The Heat and Burden of the Viscount' |
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70 | (10) |
| 10 'Falling in Love with the Viscount' |
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80 | (8) |
| 11 Britain's First V-bomber |
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88 | (10) |
| 12 Managing Director |
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98 | (10) |
| 13 Ethel Merman, Bob Six, but Mostly Howard Hughes |
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108 | (8) |
| 14 'The Biggest Blunder of All' |
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116 | (6) |
| 15 Accolades, Worries and the Vanguard |
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122 | (10) |
| 16 The VC10 – A Sorry Story' |
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132 | (7) |
| 17 Rationalisation |
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139 | (6) |
| 18 TSR.2 and a New Partner |
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145 | (8) |
| 19 British Aircraft Corporation |
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153 | (8) |
| 20 TSR.2 – the Beginning of the End |
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161 | (10) |
| 21 TSR.2 – the End |
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171 | (10) |
| 22 Life After Death, but Only Just |
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181 | (9) |
| 23 Concorde – the Beginnings |
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190 | (9) |
| 24 'She Flies' |
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199 | (13) |
| 25 Trouble with the French |
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212 | (7) |
| 26 Guided Weapons and Defence Contracts |
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219 | (9) |
| 27 His Last Aircraft |
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228 | (11) |
| 28 Enter the Wide-Bodies |
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239 | (8) |
| 29 Changes at the Top |
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247 | (9) |
| 30 'Merger-itis' and Nationalisation |
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256 | (9) |
| 31 Into Retirement |
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265 | (6) |
| 32 Pastimes, Painting and 'Cricket, Lovely Cricket' |
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271 | (10) |
| 33 The University of Surrey and a Personal Crusade |
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281 | (8) |
| 34 'A Man of Absolute Rectitude' |
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289 | (8) |
| 35 Last Overs |
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297 | (8) |
| Envoi |
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305 | (4) |
| Appendix One: Abbreviations |
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309 | (2) |
| Appendix Two: Chronology |
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311 | (5) |
| Bibliography |
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316 | (6) |
| Index |
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322 | |
ROBERT GARDNER MBE worked as a journalist before moving into public relations. In 1969 he joined BAC's Public Relations department and rose to become the head of PR for the company. He later became Vice-President of Promotions for British Aerospace. He is now retired and lives in Leatherhead, Surrey.
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