In their fifty-year existence as aircraft manufacturers, Vickers had just two designers, Rex Pierson and George Edwards. Pierson’s first major success was with the Vickers Vimy, which was used in 1919 by Alcock and Brown to be the first men to cross the Atlantic. In 1935 George Edwards joined Vickers as a draughtsman. Pierson designed the Wellington bomber, which entered service with the RAF in 1938 and was finally retired in 1953.

George Edwards became Chief Designer of Vickers in 1945 and was responsible for the development of the Valiant ‘V’ bomber, along with the Viking, Viscount and Vanguard range of airliners. His last Vickers project was the VC-10. Vickers played a major part in British aviation history, their influence starting with airships and ending with Concorde.