Page 51 - Redditch People

Redditch People

important names in British industry and in stature stands alongside any of the people in
aviation at that time, people like Geoffrey de Havilland, Frederick Handley Page and Sir
Henry Royce. In many ways Devereux and HDA remain unsung heroes of World War Two.

Wallace Charles Devereux was born on 9 Mar 1893 in Manor Rd , Aston, Warwickshire,
United Kingdom. His father was William Charles Devereux and his mother was Eliza J
Devereux.

On the 3rd July 1913 at the age of 20 he married Ethel Mycock who was born Oct 1893
in Torquay, and was 19. They went on to have two children, John S Devereux born in
1914 and Joan Devereux born in 1916. Ethel died in Dec 1967 in Blackpool, Lancashire.

Wallace Devereux was educated at King Edward's Grammar School, Aston, Birmingham,
and subsequently studied engineering and metallurgy.

He was an apprentice at A. E. Wrightly & Co Limited, from 1909 to 1913 and then worked
as draughtsman at W. W. Greener who made guns, rifles and petrol engines.

After 6 months in the military from August 1914 to February 1915 he became Chief
Draughtsman , and later Shop Superintendent at Aublet, Harry and Co limited in
Peterborough until May 1917.

He then spent a year as a Toolroom Foreman at Hewlett and Blondean he was appointed
to the responsible position of superintendent of the National Aircraft Factory No. 1 until
1919.

In the 1920s he was engaged in work related to industrial reconstruction on the
Continent, and later founded High Duty Alloys, Ltd., at Slough, for research into and the
commercial production of high-strength alloys.

With the backing of John Siddeley, Devereux set up a factory in Slough on January 5,
1928 under the name of High Duty Alloys. As aluminium steadily replaced wood in aircraft
construction during the 1930s, the manufacture of cast and forged components quickly
expanded. Through strict laboratory control and inspection of products at each stage of
manufacture, Devereux introduced high standards of quality in the research,
development and production of light alloys. In fact prior to this, forging had been a black
art with no technical supervision whatsoever.

Within a year, Devereux had acquired the world rights to a series of Rolls-Royce alloys
which swiftly evolved into the Hiduminium RR range. In due course the slogan
“Hiduminium makes the most of Aluminium" became known world-wide.

Several times during the 1930s Devereux visited Germany with Roy Fedden, a famous
designer of aero engines, and became aware quicker than most in the UK of that country's
expansion and preparation for war. Their factories were so much bigger and busier than
those in Britain, but convincing the Government of the day of these warning signs proved
difficult, Devereux being described by one Cabinet Minister as "a bloody scaremonger'',
At very much the eleventh hour the need for rearmament was finally acknowledged and
huge orders for aircraft quickly followed. Indeed, had Devereux not installed some
important new plant at Slough before the Redditch factory was ready then the aero
engine programme outlined for the UK would certainly not have been completed for
another 9 months at least.

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