George Edwards was born at Highams Park, England on July
9th, 1908. On completion of his studies at London University
he joined Vickers-Armstrong. After government service during
World War II, he rejoined Vickers-Armstrong and in September
1945, was appointed Chief Designer of the team which produced
the Viking, Valetta, Varsity, Viscount and Valiant.
Edwards was later instrumental in the design of the Vanguard,
VC-10 and TSR 2 and was knighted in 1957. In May, 1961, Sir
George, as Executive Director-Aircraft, British Aircraft
Corporation, initiated the BAC One Eleven jet airliner, the
first in a series of international ventures which eventually
included the Concorde.
In large measure, the survival and ultimate successes of the
British aviation industry in the post-World War II era are
attributable to Sir George Edwards. His design innovation and
pioneering multi-national projects were responsible for the
introduction of a multitude of advances in the aerospace
sciences.
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