Up: Hayward
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More patent rights, those for Messrs. Newton's
glazing bar, were absorbed at this time. The new acquisition embodied
a very simple principle, and its unusually low cost enabled the company
to gain many new orders. The first large order was received for the
extensive Daimler Works at Coventry and this was completed in the minimum
time without a single complaint. This experience established confidence
in accepting other large orders.
An echo of the time when the Hayward brothers
described themselves as Hot Water Engineers occurred in 1911 when a
Heating Engineer, W. S. P. Killick, was engaged. Until that date the
company had undertaken relatively small heating jobs, but reinforced by
this expert knowledge it created a new department devoted exclusively to
this specialised work. Large contracts were subsequently obtained from
public bodies and others.
Three years later, the country was at war.
Those, like H. T. Walker, who have recorded their impressions of the
bombshell which exploded in the heat of a summer's day, in August
1914, frankly confessed their belief that the struggle would be
averted by some last-minute intervention.
The normal scope of Haywards' manufacture did
not, of course, include anything that might be termed munitions. But
it was soon found that the company could contribute to the national
effort in other ways. Orders were carried out for the various Government
departments for such requirements as steel windows for Army huts, roof
glazing for munition factories and other buildings. With the development
in aircraft design, then in a most primitive state, the company was able
to supply thousands of wiring plates, engine beds, kite balloon valves,
pulleys and diverse other accessories.
As the war dragged on, the versatility of the
staff in adapting their skill to new tasks and types of work was proved.
The shell shortage and political upheaval led to many factories being
brought under Government control. This was applied to Haywards on New
Year's Day, 1916.
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