Records of Aerofilms Ltd, aerial photographers, Bristol, England

Description Records of Aerofilms Ltd, aerial photographers, Bristol, England

Collection Records of Aerofilms Ltd, aerial photographers, Bristol, England

Catalogue Number 551 10

Category All Other

Archive History In June 2007, the Aerofilm Ltd.'s library of historic oblique photos were sold to English Heritage in partnership with The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland (RCAHMS) and The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales (RCAHMW).

Administrative History Aerofilms Ltd. was the UK's first commercial air survey company set up in 1919 by First World War veterans Francis Lewis Wills and Claude Grahame-White. Although their earliest work focused on oblique photography, from 1921 the company focused primarily on vertical photography for survey and mapping purposes, and they were instrumental in pioneering photogrammetry in the 1930s. In 1925 the company was taken over by the Aircraft Operating Company, allowing it to significantly expand its operations. During the second world war, the staff and equipment of Aerofilms Ltd. were co-opted by the Allied Photographic Interpretation Unit at Medmenham. Within this period, the company caught the interest of Sir Percy Hunting and became members of the Hunting Group of Companies in 1942. Following the end of the war, Aerofilms Ltd. once again became focused on oblique photography whilst Hunting Aerosurveys undertook vertical photography for mapping and survey purposes. In 1997, Aerofilms Ltd. was aquired by Simmons Mapping (UK), which was then taken over by the Norwegian technology firm, Blom.

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