W.H.Tildesley is a well-known producer of forged components for the war effort and worked with The Bristol Aeroplane Company Ltd from 1940 to 1942.

As with many manufacturers of critical vehicles for the war, shadow factories were deployed to safeguard our deterrent, and thus very limited records were held as a result.

During the war, The Bristol Aeroplane Company was producing many types of aircraft including the Blenheim, Beaufort, Beaufighter, Brigand, Buckmaster, and Buckingham amongst several prototype variants.

Some records are available online and detail the production dates of aircraft, one of which, the Beaufighter, corresponds to the drawing dates of several components produced at WHT for Bristol.
Large orders were placed for the Beaufighter around the infancy of the Second World War and were available in different configurations such as heavy fighter, aerial reconnaissance, and torpedo bomber.

The Beaufighter also used the now legendary Merlin engine from Rolls Royce, another key heritage brand that WHT supplied critical forged components including those found within the Merlin engine's construction.

For more information on the Bristol Beaufighter please visit the dedicated BAE Systems Heritage page here: https://www.baesystems.com/en-uk/heritage/bristol-156-beaufighter