ABSTRACT
The growth of firms which formed the backbone of the British aircraft industry has been virtually ignored by business historians. Responsibility for this neglect must, however, be borne by the companies which have shown such a great reluctance to allow scholars access to their company records. Indeed the only material available for inspection is contained in the archives of Sir Frederick Handley Page whose firm went into liquidation in 1970. 1 These documents, which include correspondence with the Air Ministry in the inter-war years, Minutes of the Board of Directors for 1920-26 and 1937-46, and the company accounts for 1919-37, form the basis of this paper. Unfortunately, as the records are far from complete, a very detailed picture of the business cannot be painted. For example, there is little information on the size of the labour force and, as is often the case, the Board Meetings were not minuted in detail. However, additional material on Handley Page has been gained from the Air Ministry files in the Public Record Office, London, and these go some way towards filling in the gaps in our knowledge. 2
