BRITISH CHEVY

After the end of WW1, General Motors acquired a former aircraft factory on Edgware Road at The Hyde, between Hendon and Colindale in North London, for lorry assembly. The factory had previously been used by Airco, or The Aircraft Manufacturing Company Ltd., to build fighter aircraft, from the DH2 to DH10, the initials being those of its chief designer, Geoffrey De Havilland. He, of course, went on to found his own aircraft company.

However with the war over, demand for military aircraft largely evaporated, leaving the large, clear buildings available for other uses. Airco was sold to Birmingham Small Arms (BSA) in 1920 and liquidated in 1921, with De Havilland purchasing the aviation-related assets. The largest redundant factory building was the one acquired by General Motors.

GM began shipping Chevrolet trucks over in component form for assembly in the