Ailsa Craig Motor Company
Last Updated on Tuesday, 12 January 2010 08:42 Friday, 09 January 2009 00:00
Ailsa Craig Engines was a manufacturer of marine and specialist made to order engines from 1891 to 1972. Named after the island Ailsa Craig, the company began as a bicycle manufacturer in Glasgow in 1891, later moving to Putney, in London.
This website will be assembled over 2010 and is a window on to the material being scanned at Internal Fire Museum of Power in Wales
The company then set about building early vehicles, going on to produce the world's first V12 engine and even a petrol engined vacuum cleaner for Hubert Cecil Booth in 1904.
A little later, Ellis Kisch took over and the company moved to 46/47 Strand-on-the Green, Chiswick in West London.
There was a concentration on reliable marine engineering with a Royal Appointment being granted in 1926.
Following successful work for the Ministry of Munitions and Admiralty during the First World War there was a massive war commitment in 1939 when 5000 engines were to be supplied from an additional factory site in Twickenham. Harold Linford who was the Chief Designer and General Manager was killed when an aerial bomb exploded over the Factory at Strand-on-the-Green in 1941.
John Watson took over the running of the factory until the move to Ashford in 1949/1950. There, between 1958 and 1963/4, the company produced further high quality diesel engines with the help of Ricardo Engineering and under the direction of Robert Kisch — son of Ellis. When he was taken ill and moved ultimately to Jersey the company was sold to the Warsop's Fram Group in 1964.
(From Wikipedia)
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