by Mike Dewey

Wallace Charles Devereux was born on March 31,1893 in Aston, Birmingham. After primary school he attended Erdington High School. He then studied for three years at Birmingham School of Arts, the subjects including machine design and metallurgy. As a child he had an attack of rheumatic fever which affected his heart.

Early Career

At the age of 16 he entered into an apprenticeship with the local engineering company E A Wrigley Ltd. When this was com-pleted he moved to another local company WW Greener as a draughtsman. Immediately after the outbreak of the Great War in 1914, Wallace enlisted in the King’s Royal Rifles Corps. He was discharged on February 5,1915 as his heart condition meant that he was unfit for long marches. Wallace then moved to Peterborough, where he was employed, initially as Chief Draughtsman, at Aublet, Harry & Co, which manufactured laundry and clothing machinery. He was promoted to Design Shop Superintendent, before leaving in May 1917 to join Hewlett & Blondeau as Tool Room Foreman.

This move was to shape the remainder of his life, as it provided his first contact with the emerging aircraft industry. The company was located near Luton and was a major supplier of aircraft to the newly formed Royal Flying Corps (RFC). After only eleven months he was assigned to the National Aircraft Factory No. 1 as Tool Room Superintendent. This factory was located near Croydon and was one of four commissioned by the Ministry of Munitions under Winston Churchill to boost aircraft production. It manufactured the De Havilland DH9 for the RFC, and the first aircraft were completed in January 1918. He remained at the factory in Croydon until August 1919. Whilst there Wallace had ample opportunities to study airframe and engine design. This convinced him of the possibilities of using aluminium alloys rather than wood or ferrous alloys for their construction. After the Croydon factory closed in January 1919 he was employed as an Engineer at W A Walter & Co in Westminster. Sometime in the early 1920s Wallace made another move that was to have the second major influence on his career. He became General Manager at the aero-engine builder Peter Hooker Limited situated in Walthamstow. It was the first company to be able to forge a new aluminium alloy known as Y alloy, which could be used for pistons in aero-engines. Hooker was absorbed into the BSA group of companies, but was liquidated in 1927 and its factory and premises sold.

Becomes a leading Industrialist

About the time that Hooker was liquidated a large order had been received from Armstrong Siddeley for thousands of pistons. Wallace Devereux then made the third decision which would profoundly affect his life and career. With backing from John Siddeley he established his own company, which he named High Duty Alloys (HDA). The Slough Trading Estate was chosen for its location, and John Siddley loaned the money to re-purchase the necessary equipment and re-employ some of the staff from Hooker. Operations started there early in 1928. Uniquely the factory also included a well-equipped laboratory for research, development and technical supervision of the production processes. Its first order was for the pistons for the Armstrong Siddeley Jaguar engine.

Because of his earlier experience in the engineering industry the technical standards set by Devereux were high, so he quickly gained the confidence of the evolving aircraft industry, both in this country and on the Continent. Because of this, he was able to visit factories which were normally not easy to gain access to. This included factories in the United States of America, and also Germany. After a visit there in the late 1930s he sent a report to the British Government which foretold of an enormous expansion of the German war-effort.

In March 1938, Wallace Charles Devereux was appointed an Honorary Colonel in 56th (1st London) Divisional Engineers, of the Royal Engineers. This meant that Wallace was able to title himself as Colonel, giving himself additional status, particularly in military circles.

As a result of what Devereux had seen in Germany he expanded his own facilities by establishing another HDA factory in Redditch in the Midlands. In 1939 he installed there a new forging hammer from the United States, which was the largest in Europe. The output of the HDA factories doubled in the space of twelve months.

With Rolls Royce, HDA also engaged in developing the Y alloy into a series of high strength aluminium alloys which they marketed as Hiduminium. The name derived from High Duty Aluminium.

Devereux also saw opportunities in the aircraft industry for another light metal, magnesium. In early 1939 he announced plans to manufacture up to 2,000 tons of this metal in a plant in Cardiff. The company International Alloys Ltd was established, with capital of £350,000 (£23m in today’s money).

When the Second World War broke out Devereux became the Managing Director of British Aircraft Production, with responsibility for light alloy castings and forgings. He also reorganised the arrangements throughout Great Britain for the repair of aircraft and aero- engines. He was now living with senior colleagues from HDA at his house, Meads in Stoke Park, Stoke Poges, while his wife and children remained in their main home in Lt Kimble.

In the summer of 1941, he was appointed Controller of North American Aircraft Supplies responsible for the assembly of American aircraft and engines. A short-term Government appointment, this took him away from HDA for seven months, returning to Slough in February 1942

It was during a trip to the United States in 1945 that he began to firm up his post-war plans for developing the light metal industry in the UK. These plans would have recognised the importance of metallurgical research and development (R&D) to the embryonic industry. It is known that he was very impressed by the American system whereby industry contracted out their research and development (R&D) to specialist laboratories, such as the Battelle Memorial Institute in Columbus, Ohio.

So on his return he established the Fulmer Research Institute, the first contract R&D laboratory in the UK. At first it occupied a small unit at 2 Buckingham Ave on the Slough Trading Estate, before Devereux purchased in October 1945 a country house standing in 40 acres of ground in Stoke Poges.

Two weeks later he incorporated a new company Aluminium Light Metal Industries (Almin Ltd) in order to implement his plans for developing new applications for light metals and their alloys. Within two or three years through acquisitions he had made Almin into one of the leading companies in the light metal industry.

In the course of his career Devereux contributed many scientific papers on industrial research generally and light metals research in particular to various learned journals. He was greatly interested after WWII in industrial reconstruction and development in this country. Two reports which he prepared dealt in considerable detail with the post-war reconstruction of industry in South Wales, and an industrial plan for Cumberland.

In the late 1930s he was a major contributor to the Slough Social fund, with both personal donations and company donations via High Duty Alloys. Following the formation of the Slough Social Centre in 1937, he joined their Executive Committee under Sir Noel Mobbs as Chairman. He personally contributed £1,500 towards the £50,000 building costs of the centre on Farnham Road, and also trophies to be awarded to the many sports competitions held at the centre.

Colonel Devereux was a Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society and a member of the Institution of Naval Architects. He was awarded the C.B.E.in 1949 in recognition of his services to research and industry.

Wallace Charles Devereux was taken ill at Ascot Racecourse on June 21,1952 and died the same day at his home, Meads at Stoke Park, Stoke Poges. He was only 59 years of age. His funeral was at Stoke Poges parish church on June 26 and a memorial service was held at Christ Church, Down Street, London W1 on July 4, 1952.

May 2020

FRHG Ref: V134

Please also see Wikipedia article Wallace Charles Devereux