A.N.E.C.

History

Norbert Antoine Chereau (b. 1863 - d. 29 September 1939) came to England in 1893, where he became interested in the Blériot motor lamp business (made his fortune manufacturing automotive accessories), subsequently becoming the London Manager. Having taken the keenest interest in the early flying experiments of M. Blériot, he naturally took charge of the arrangements for the crossing of the Channel in July, 1909. After this he relinquished the lamp business to devote himself entirely to aeronautics. A Blériot School was established at Hendon on 1 October 1910, and in 1914 sheds were taken at Brooklands and enlarged to provide offices and manufacturing facilities.

Realising that a British company would have more chance to sell his models to the British government, in 1915, Blériot set up the Blériot Manufacturing Aircraft Company Ltd. The hoped for orders did not follow, as the Blériot design was seen as outdated. Following an unresolved conflict over control of the company, it was wound up on 24 July 1916. Even before the closure of this company Blériot was planning a new venture in the UK. Initially named Blériot and SPAD Ltd and based in Addlestone, that company gained contracts for 150 Avro 504As from 1915. In order to better "anglicise" the company, Blériot and SPAD was wound up and reconstituted under Norbert Chereau as the Air Navigation Co. Ltd. in January 1917, adding more British nationals as minority shareholders. The company continued involvement in wartime aircraft production, with contracts for 360⁽¹⁾ S.E.5a's through 1918.

Like most aircraft companies, ANEC suffered from a considerable downturn in work following the end of WWI, so to seek a broader customer base, the company was renamed the Air Navigation and Engineering Company (ANEC) in August 1919. The French parent company having diversified into motorcycles and motor cars, in February 1920 ANEC began production of the Blériot Whippet, an anglicised version of the Blériot cyclecar, and which became the main commercial activity of the company, remaining in production until the final demise of the company.

Hubert Blundell (b. 17 September 1874 in Luton – d. 6 June 1952), later a director of the Luton Aircraft Co., and nephew Alison Blundell (b. 8 May 1896 – d. 25 March 1990 in Martinstown, Dorset, the son of Hubert’s brother Percy) had been to see the 1922 Itford gliding competitions in Sussex, following which they made enquiries of who would build them a glider. They drove down to Addlestone in May 1923 to visit the ANEC company, where their young designer, Australian W.S. Shackleton (later of Beardmores), was enthusiastic, and the company was commissioned by the Blundells to build a glider. Almost immediately, in June that year the first Light Aircraft Trials at Lympne were announced, and it was then agreed to build it as a powered aircraft. They had high hopes of winning the competition, although there was some concern about their chances when the Addlestone Aeronautical Association decided to order a similar aircraft for themselves. Both aircraft first flew in August 1923 and participated in the Lympne Light Aeroplane Trials that September.

Shackleton followed the ANEC I with the ANEC II, a slightly larger two seat development, aimed at the Two-Seater Dual Control Light Aeroplane Competition in 1924.

Meanwhile, in 1922, following a requirement for a passenger and mail carrier for the Australian Larkin Aircraft Supply Company Limited, the company built a 10-seat biplane airliner, the Handasyde H.2, originally designed by G. H. Handasyde, who had no production facilities for his own Handasyde Aircraft Co. Ltd. The aircraft was not a success, but was redesigned by John Bewsher, late of the Sopwith company, in 1926 into the ANEC III. Three ANEC III’s were produced to the original requirement of the Larkin Company, and contributed to the development of aviation in Australia, two being converted to Larkin Lascowls, one of which was not retired until June 1932.

The company’s last design, the ANEC IV biplane, also by John Bewsher, was for the 1926 Daily Mail competition for two seaters fitted with engines of less than 170lb.

ANEC survived in a difficult aviation climate until late 1926 by continued production of the Blériot Whippet cars, in addition to the Eric Longden light car and further production for Handasyde, but eventually receivers were appointed on 10 November 1926. Following Norbert Chereau's retirement, the company went into liquidation in 1928. The factory later housed the British manufacture of fabric bodied Weymann coachwork and later Metro Cammell Weymann bus bodies, this business continuing until 1965.

Company References

1. British Light Aeroplanes 1920-1940, Arthur W.J.G. Ord-Hume (GMS Enterprises, 2000)
2. Flight 22 May 1914
3. Blériot in Britain 1899-1927, Ray Sanger (Air-Britain (Historians), 2008)
4. E-mail communication with Mark Ornish, great-nephew of Hubert Blundell

Company Notes

1. Internet references to a production total of 560 are incorrect.