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Original Text (Annotation: EPW001696 / 717037)
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The distinctive saw-tooth roof ridges of the 'Old Drill Hall' at 31 Townshend Terrace.
In 1912-13 this building was used by aviation pioneer R. L. Howard-Flanders as a factory to build his Flanders monoplanes.
In 1915 it was taken over by Mr. J. A. Whitehead, to found the Whitehead Aircraft Company. As the company expanded to include new erecting shops and an aerodrome at Hanworth Park near Feltham, this building was referred to as 'the old works.'
In the 1920's it was used for manufacturing celluloid by Messrs. Greenhill & Sons Ltd.
In 1947 the building, then being used as a washing machine factory, was severely damaged by fire when tonnes of celluloid waste being stored by a scrap dealer in a building on the oppossite of Townshend Terrace spontaneously combusted. Six people in adjoining residential properties died of burns, leading to a public inquiry.
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