Editing Yiewsley (section)

==History==
===Stone Age===
====Lower and Middle Palaeolithic====
Within the brickearth and gravels deposited by the Thames significant quantities of early human tools were found when commercial excavations began in Yiewsley on an industrial scale in the 19th century. The first person to start collecting artifacts from Yiewsley was John Allen Brown (1833-1903) a Fellow of the Geological Society who collected between 1889 and 1901.<ref name="Early Man in West Middlesex" /> The principle collector was Robert Galloway Rice (1852-1933), a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries who recorded over 2600 items from the Yiewsley area between approximately 1905 and 1929.<ref name="Early Man in West Middlesex" /> In 1937 his collection of [[Lower Palaeolithic]] and [[Middle Palaeolithic]] artifacts was donated to the [[Museum of London]].<ref name="Museum of London">{{cite web |title=Prehistoric Collections |url=https://www.museumoflondon.org.uk/collections/about-our-collections/what-we-collect/prehistoric |website=museumoflondon.org.uk |access-date=8 June 2020}}</ref>

In his 1978 Archaeological Report, ''Early Man in West Middlesex, The Yiewsley Palaeolithic sites'', Palaeontologist Desmond Collins states the following with regard to the archaeological significance of the Yiewsley sites:

“..the Yiewsley pits have yielded one of the largest series of [[Lower Paleolithic|Lower Palaeolithic]] stone hand tools in Europe and the area remains one of the richest Palaeolithic sites in Britain.”<ref name="Early Man in West Middlesex" />

“A feature unique to Yiewsley is the presence in a higher level of stone tools of a [[Middle Paleolithic|Middle palaeolithic]] ([[Mousterian]]) date, isolated for the first time, and indicating occupation during the Neanderthal period some 70,000 years ago – a period of man's development otherwise poorly represented in the archaeology of Britain”<ref name="Early Man in West Middlesex" />

===Bronze Age===
In 1913–1914,<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Barrett |first1=J.C. |title=Four Bronze Age Cremation Cemeteries from Middlesex |journal=Transactions of the London & Middlesex Archaeological Society |date=1973 |volume=24 |pages=118–124}}</ref> there was the discovery of a [[Bronze Age]] [[Urnfield culture|urnfield]] cemetery with the excavation of 14 [[Deverel-Rimbury culture|Deverel-Rimbury]] cinerary urns.<ref name="British History Online">{{cite web |title=Archaeology: The Bronze Age |url=https://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/middx/vol1/pp42-50 |website=british-history.ac.uk |access-date=8 June 2020}}</ref>  These and other Bronze Age items have been cataloged at the [[British Museum]].<ref name="British Museum">{{cite web |title=Yiewsley, Boyer's Gravel Pit |url=https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/term/x42064 |website=britishmuseum.org |access-date=8 June 2020}}</ref>

===The Anglo-Saxon and Viking Age===
====The besieged Danes of Thorney Island 893 AD====
[[File:England Grosses Heer 892.jpg|right|thumb|250px|Map in German showing the 893 Battle of Farnham and siege of Thorney Island]]
In the spring of 893, after overwintering at [[Appledore, Kent|Appledore]] and then plundering through [[Kent]] and [[Sussex]], a [[Viking]] raiding army turned to head for the [[Danes (Germanic tribe)|Danish]] controlled lands in the east (later known as the [[Danelaw]]). However they were intercepted by [[Alfred the Great|Alfred the Great's]] son [[Edward the Elder|Edward]] with his [[Wessex|West Saxon]] [[Fyrd]] at [[Farnham]] in Surry. The Danes were routed, fleeing over the [[River Thames]] into [[Mercia]] with the West Saxon army in pursuit. Having reached the [[Colne, Hertfordshire|River Colne]] the Danes mounted a defence on what was known as Thorney Island, believed to be land between the Colne and an offshoot channel of the river between Thorney and [[Iver]], approximately half a mile west from Yiewsley High Street today. Edward began a siege of the island and was joined by [[Æthelred, Lord of the Mercians|Æthelred of Mercia]] with soldiers from the Mercian garrison in London. After a prolonged stalemate which may have lasted up to six months, an agreement was reached for the Danes to leave peacefully. Hostages were taken as collateral and vows made by the Danes that they would leave the Anglo-Saxon lands and go directly to the lands under Danish control which they duly did, without any of their plundered spoils.<ref name="Through the centuries">{{cite book |last1=Cox |first1=A.H. |title=West Drayton & Yiewsley through the centuries |date=1983 |publisher=Hillingdon Borough Libraries |isbn=0907869033 |pages=9}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Merkle |first1=Benjamin |title=The White Horse King, The life of Alfred the Great |date=2009 |publisher=Thomas Nelson, Nashville |isbn=9781595552525 |pages=210–221}}</ref>
[[File:Kingdom of Mercia.PNG|right|thumb|250px|Land of the Middle Saxons within Mercia]]
Yiewsley (or ''Wifeleslēah'') and the land of the [[Middle Saxons]] had been part of the [[Kingdom of Essex]] but came under Mercian control in the reign of [[King Æthelbald]] (716-757AD). By the time of the siege of Thorney Island in 893, eastern Mercia had conquered by the Danes and with his power diminished Æthelred had been forced to cede overlordship to King Alfred the Great of Wessex. When Æthelred died in 911, Middlesex was annexed by Wessex under Alfred's son, now King Edward (899-924AD). Edward would go on to take control of all of Mercia, both [[Angles (tribe)|Angle]] and Danish, advancing the progression of England being united into a single kingdom.

===The Norman Conquest 1066 until 1794===
====The Parish of Hillingdon and Colham Manor====
For the majority of its existence Yiewsley was a hamlet in the Parish of St John the Baptist Church, [[Hillingdon]], with a tenurial relationship with Colham Manor. Before the Norman Conquest, Colham Manor had belonged to Wigot of Wallingford. By the time of [[Domesday Book]] in 1086 it was the property of one of William the Conqueror's principle advisors, [[Roger de Montgomery]].<ref name="VCH Middlesex Vol 4 p69-75" />

In Colham Manor's fertile arable fields in the late 14th century, wheat was the predominant crop grown, but also rye and oats were farmed.<ref name="VCH Volume 4 p75-82">{{cite web |title=History of the County of Middlesex Volume 4 |url=https://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/middx/vol4/pp75-82 |website=british-history.ac.uk |publisher=Victoria County History |access-date=10 June 2020 |pages=75–82 |date=1971}}</ref> Surplus [[grain]] was sold in [[London]] or [[Uxbridge]].<ref name="VCH Volume 4 p75-82" /> By the 12th Century Uxbridge had become the market town for the Parish of Hillingdon<ref name="The London Encyclopaedia p933">{{cite book |last1=Hibbert |first1=Christopher |title=The London Encyclopaedia |date=1993 |publisher=MacMillan |isbn=0333576888 |pages=933}}</ref> and it is thought by the 14th Century the town's population had exceeded that of the rest of the Parish, and this remained the case until the 1821 [[census]].<ref name="VCH Volume 4 p75-82" /> By 1600 Uxbridge was the principle Corn market for West Middlesex and much of south Buckinghamshire.<ref name="The London Encyclopaedia p933" />

The plentiful and consistent supplies of water from the [[Colne, Hertfordshire|River Colne]] had played an important role in Hillingdon Parish becoming a flour milling centre.<ref name="VCH Volume 4 p75-82" /> The [[Frays River|Fray's River]] is believed to have been cut or modified from the Colne for the use of [[Watermill|water mills]] by [[John Fray]] in the 15th century. A map of 1842 shows the River Colne and Frays River powering eight corn mills in the Parish.<ref name="VCH Volume 4 p75-82" /> The nearest mills to Yiewsley were Colham Mill (called Lower Colham Mill from around 1746) in the south of the Parish and Yiewsley Mill which was situated on the northern side of Yiewsley Moor on the north side today's Little Britain Lake.

The oldest buildings in Yiewsley today date from the late 16th century or early 17th century and are situated at either end of Yiewsley High Street. At the northern end of the High Street is Yiewsley Grange (''Also known as Brookside'') which overlooks the [[River Pinn]] and is Hillingdon Manor School today.<ref>{{cite web |title=Yiewsley Grange |url=https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1180724 |website=historicengland.org.uk |access-date=11 June 2020}}</ref> Next to Yiewsley Grange is the Six-bay Barn at Philpot's Yard (Formally Philpot's Farm).<ref>{{cite web |title=Philpot's Barn |url=https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1080176 |website=historicengland.org.uk |access-date=11 June 2020}}</ref> At the southern end of the High Street is the De Burgh Arms Public house, named in honour of the De Burgh family who became the Lords of Colham Manor from 1787.<ref>{{cite web |title=The De Burgh Arms |url=https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1080122 |website=historicengland.org.uk |access-date=10 June 2020}}</ref><ref name="VCH Middlesex Vol 4 p69-75">{{cite web |title=Hillingdon, including Uxbridge: Manors and other estates |url=https://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/middx/vol4/pp69-75 |website=www.british-history.ac.uk |access-date=2 September 2020 |pages=69–75 |date=1971}}</ref>

===The Industrial Age===
====The Opening of Grand Junction Canal 1794====
Yiewsley's agrarian way of life started to change with the opening of the [[Grand Junction Canal]]. Construction began with cuttings on Uxbridge Moor on 1 May 1793 and in early May at [[Brentford]] and [[Braunston]].<ref name="Faulker 1972" /> From the Thames at Brentford to [[Hanwell]], the canal was engineered from the [[River Brent]]. At Hanwell the canal parted from the Brent and was routed west, following the natural 100 foot contour to avoid the building of expensive and time consuming [[Lock (water navigation)|locks]].<ref name="BBS" /> It was cut through Yiewsley, turning north to follow the route of the [[Colne, Hertfordshire|River Colne]], crossing over the [[Fray's River]] in an aqueduct at [[Cowley, London|Cowley]] Lock.<ref name="Faulker 1972" />

[[File:Yiewsley Colham Wharf 1.jpg|thumb|The Foundation Stone of Colham Wharf incorporated in the wall of Waterways House]]
On Monday 3 November 1794 the canal was opened between the [[River Thames]] and [[Uxbridge]]. However toll collectors weren't appointed at Uxbridge and Brentford until May 1795. It is likely the aqueduct over the Fray's River at Cowley Lock wasn't completed until the Autumn of 1795 with measures undertaken there to allow traffic to pass through.<ref name="Faulker 1972" /> In the next year 1796, Yiewsley's first dock, Colham [[wharf]] was opened next to Colham Bridge. In 1801 the [[Paddington Arm]] of the canal opened from Bulls Bridge near Hayes and would be of national importance as a trade route into and from the Capital.<ref name="Faulker 1972">{{cite book |last1=Faulker |first1=Alan H. |title=The Grand Junction Canal |date=1972 |publisher=David and Charles (Publishers) Limited Newton Abbot |isbn=0715357506}}</ref>

====Yiewsley's brick Industry====
[[File:Yiewsley Colham Avenue 1.jpg|thumb|upright|Trees line Colham Avenue, formally part of the southern section of the [[Otter Dock]]]]

The building of the canal enabled the bulk transportation of what became known as [[London stock brick|Cowley (or London) stock bricks]], made from Yiewsley's rich deposits of brick-earth. The first record of the sale of significant numbers of bricks in Yiewsley is shown in the ''Public Ledger and Daily Advertiser'' of the 24 March 1809, advertising an auction of upwards of one million bricks owned by W.M Pope situated at a site adjoining the canal.<ref>{{cite news |title=Public Ledger and Daily Advertiser |date=24 Mar 1809}}</ref> In 1820 a branch of the canal known as [[Otter Dock]] was opened. It would become the longest of nine arms and docks that were constructed in Yiewsley to service the outgoing transportation of bricks and the importing of coal from the Midlands to fire Yiewsley's clamp [[kiln]]s. The finished bricks were then transported mainly along the Grand Junction Canal to South Wharf in the [[Paddington Basin]] and to wharves along the [[Regent's Canal]], but also to other locations along the canal and River Thames.<ref name="BBS" /> 

Although figures for Yiewsley's brick production in the nineteenth century are not available, in July 1879 brickmaker Samuel Pocock stated at a committee of the House of Commons discussing the proposed [[Slough Arm|Langley and Slough Branch of the Grand Junction canal]] that he had purchased his West Drayton brickfields (south of his existing Hillingdon Parish brickfields at Starveall) in March 1874 and had been making 15-20 million bricks per year.<ref>{{cite news |title=The Proposed Langley and Slough branch of the Grand Junction Canal |publisher=Buckinghamshire Advertiser, Uxbridge and Watford Journal |date=12 July 1879 |pages=3}}</ref> By the 1890s it is estimated 100 million bricks per year were being produced in West Middlesex supplying the demand for building materials of [[Victorian era|Victorian]] [[19th-century London|London]].<ref name="BBS">{{cite journal |last1=Hounsell |first1=Peter |title=Up the Cut to Paddington: The West Middlesex brick industry and the Grand Junction Canal |journal=The British Brick Society |date=February 2004 |volume=93 |pages=11–16 |issn=0960-7870}}</ref> With this high production rate the deposits of brick-earth began to become depleted around the turn of the century. Brick-earth was still being extracted from Hide Field to the east of Yiewsley in 1913 but by 1930 the Stockley brickworks were producing only 2 million bricks a year. The brickworks were closed in 1935,<ref name="VCH Volume 4 p75-82" /> but the underlying gravels and sands continued to be extracted until the 1970s.

====The Great Western Railway and West Drayton Station (''West Drayton and Yiewsley Station'')====
The construction of the [[Great Western Railway]] (GWR) began in 1835 and the line between [[London Paddington station|Paddington]] and [[Maidenhead]] was opened on 4 June 1838 with [[West Drayton railway station|West Drayton]] being its first station.<ref name="Dublin Evening Post">{{cite news |title=Opening of The Great Western Railway |publisher=The Dublin Evening Post |date=5 June 1838 |page=7}}</ref><ref name="Disused Stations">{{cite web |last1=Catford |first1=Nick |title=Disused Stations |url=http://www.disused-stations.org.uk/w/west_drayton/ |website=disused-stations.org.uk |access-date=16 June 2020}}</ref> The locomotive ''Vulcan'' had become the first to run on the Great Western Railway on 28 December 1837 when it completed a successful mile and a half test run down the line from Yiewsley to Iver. Having been constructed in [[Newton-le-Willows]] by [[GWR Charles Tayleur locomotives|Charles Tayleur & Co.]], the locomotive, together with another engine called ''Premier'' had been taken by barge from the London docks and unloaded between Horton Bridge and West Drayton Station.<ref name="Images West Drayton and Yiewsley" /> On 9 April 1839 the world's first commercial telegraph was inaugurated between Paddington and West Drayton Station by [[Cooke and Wheatstone telegraph|William Fothergill Cooke and Charles Wheatstone]].<ref name="Disused Stations" /> A GWR branch line to [[Uxbridge (Vine Street) branch line|Uxbridge Vine Street]] was opened on 8 September 1856.<ref name="Gloucester Journal">{{cite news |title=Railways |publisher=Gloucester Journal |date=13 September 1856 |page=4}}</ref> 
[[File:An early Great Western broad gauge engine Vulcan.jpg|thumb|upright|Vulcan, the first locomotive on the Great Western Railway]]
On the afternoon of 6 February 1874 a double collision occurred in thick fog  on the mainline by Horton Bridge. The 10.25am Exeter Express drawn by the locomotive ''Prometheus'' traveling at around 60mph towards Paddington collided with the rear of a stationary Bristol goods train ladened with timber and blocks of Bath stone which was in the process of being moved into sidings. The trains were rammed together piling up to a considerable height six or seven of the vans and store trucks of the goods train, scattering some of the wreckage, blocks of Bath stone and logs of timber and other goods over the railway, completely blocking both up and down line. The 2.15pm locomotive No. 583 from Paddington then ran into the debris throwing it off the line and derailing several of the carriages, which however were not overturned. The engine driver and fireman of the locomotive were saved by jumping clear before the impact. The guard of the Exeter Express was a fatality in the accident, but there were no serious injuries inflicted on any of the passengers.<ref>{{cite news |title=The West Drayton Railway Accident |publisher=The Berkshire Chronicle |date=14 February 1874 |page=6}}</ref>          

West Drayton station was relocated east to its present position on Station Approach from Tavistock Road on the 9 April 1884, four months before a second branch line, operated by the [[Staines and West Drayton Railway]] (S&WDR) was opened on the 9 August 1884.<ref name="Disused Stations" /> In 1895 the station was renamed ''West Drayton and Yiewsley station''.<ref name="Directory of Railway Stations">{{cite book |last1=Butt |first1=R.V.J. |title=The Directory of Railway Stations |date=1995 |publisher=Patrick Stephens Limited, Sparkford |isbn=1852605081 |page=245}}</ref>

====Diversification of industry from the mid-1800s====
By the middle of the 19th Century brick production and flour milling were Yiewsley's main industries; However new industry was beginning to develop. The Victoria oil mills near Colham Wharf was established before 1855.<ref name="VCH Volume 4 p75-82" /> In 1865 it was owned by Walter Graham & Co and was producing linseed cake.<ref>{{cite news |title=Bucks Herald-Uxbridge Advertiser-Windsor and Eton Journal |date=4 Nov 1865}}</ref> A chemical works owned by Alfred White and Sons in 1890 was established by 1864 in the south of the Parish.<ref name="VCH Volume 4 p75-82" /> The Hillingdon Varnish works, situated to the west of Iron Bridge Road had been established by 1868.<ref name="VCH Volume 4 p75-82" />  In June 1890 it was owned by Messrs Wilkinson, Heyward and Clark.<ref>{{cite news |title=Uxbridge and West Drayton Gazette |date=7 Jun 1890}}</ref> In 1874 W. Gillespie & Co were manufacturing engines and boilers at the Foundry and Engineering Works<ref>{{cite news |title=W. Gillespie & Co |publisher=Buckinghamshire Advertiser (Late Broadwater's) Uxbridge and Middlesex Journal, and Herts, Berks, Beds and Oxon Gazette |date=15 August 1874 |page=1}}</ref> and in 1875 Horizontal Condensing Engines were being made by Edwin Philip Bastin & Company at the Alliance Engine Works.<ref>{{cite web |title=E.P. Bastin and Company |url=https://www.gracesguide.co.uk/E._P._Bastin_and_Co |website=gracesguide.co.uk |access-date=18 June 2020}}</ref> In 1880 Edward Stewart & Co operated the West Drayton cement works<ref>{{cite news |title=Uxbridge and West Drayton Gazette |date=6 Mar 1880}}</ref> and in 1890 the Electrical Engineering Corporation was making electrical equipment and Dynamos.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Grace Guides |title=Electrical Engineering Corporation |url=https://www.gracesguide.co.uk/Electrical_Engineering_Corporation |website=gracesguide.co.uk |access-date=18 June 2020}}</ref> An Indian rubber mill had been established by 1894 on Trout Road, in 1900 it was owned J.E Hopkinson & Co.<ref>{{cite web |title=J.E. Hopkinson & Company |url=https://www.gracesguide.co.uk/J._E._Hopkinson_and_Co |website=gracesguide.co.uk |access-date=18 June 2020}}</ref> In 1898 the Padcroft Saw Mills were being operated by John A. Holland.<ref>{{cite news |title=Middlesex and Buckinghamshire Advertiser |date=29 Jan 1898}}</ref> By 1900 the Rotary Photographic Company was established opposite Lower Colham Mill<ref name="Images West Drayton and Yiewsley">{{cite book |last1=Skinner |first1=James |title=Images of England West Drayton and Yiewsley |date=2003 |publisher=The History Press, Brimscombe Port |isbn=9780752428413}}</ref> and in 1903 the Power Plant Co was established producing Helical Gears and couplings. In the First World War they supplied steam turbines for the Royal Navy.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Grace Guides |title=The Power Plant Company |url=https://www.gracesguide.co.uk/Power_Plant_Co |website=gracesguide.co.uk |access-date=18 June 2020}}</ref><ref name="Yiewsley during WW1">{{cite book |last1=Britton |first1=Tanya |title=Yiewsley, West Drayton and Harmondsworth during World War One 1914-1918 |date=2013 |publisher=lulu.com |isbn=978-0-9571807-8-9}}</ref> In 1913 the Steam Fittings Company Limited in Horton Road was producing ‘Steam traps’ to be used in Navy vessels.<ref name="Yiewsley during WW1" /> The company changed its name to the Drayton Regulator and Instrument Company in 1926.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Grace Guides |title=The Steam Fittings Company |url=https://www.gracesguide.co.uk/Steam_Fittings_Co |website=gracesguide.co.uk |access-date=18 June 2020}}</ref> Also by 1913 printing works had been established on Tavistock Road and Horton Bridge Road. In 1916 C.J. Culliford & Co operated the Lithographic Printing Works.<ref>{{cite news |title=Uxbridge and West Drayton Gazette |date=7 Jul 1916}}</ref> Also in 1916 the Onslow Cotton Mill was established on Trout Road.<ref name="Yiewsley during WW1" /> In late 1917 The West Drayton Glass Works was founded on Horton Road.<ref name="Yiewsley during WW1" /> In 1918 Frederick Bird & Co of the West Drayton Engineering Works also on Horton Road had been manufacturing engineering products to the Army and Navy as part of the war effort.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Grice Guides |title=Bird, Frederick & Co |url=https://www.gracesguide.co.uk/1918_Directory_of_Manufacturers_in_Engineering_and_Allied_Trades:_Company_B |website=gracesguide.co.uk |access-date=18 June 2020}}</ref><ref name="Yiewsley during WW1" /> Government contracts were also given to Squire & Son to produce glycerine and Messrs Sabey for the supply of gravel.<ref name="Yiewsley during WW1" /> In 1919 The Anglo-Swiss Screw Company was established on Trout Road,<ref>{{cite web |last1=Grace Guides |title=Anglo-Swiss Screw Company |url=https://www.gracesguide.co.uk/Anglo-Swiss_Screw_Co |website=gracesguide.co.uk |access-date=18 June 2020}}</ref> the same year as the S.C. Johnson & Son wax company opened their factory on the site of Colham Wharf.<ref name="Images West Drayton and Yiewsley" />

[[File:RO034-16.jpg|right|thumb|250px|Romanian stamp showing the Romanian-born engineer [[George Constantinescu]]]]
In 1920 the [[Admiralty Engineering Laboratory]] was operational in the south of the Yiewsley Urban District, specializing in experimental work for the Royal Navy. During the war the Sonic laboratory had been established in the building to develop the engineering inventions of [[George Constantinescu|George (Gogu) Constantinescu]]. Constantinescu had begun the development the Constantinesco-Colley [[Synchronization gear|Fire Control Timing Gear]] (C.C. Gear)<ref name="C.C. Gear" /> for synchronizing machine gun fire through aircraft propellers at his laboratory at the Haddon Engineering Works in [[Alperton]].<ref name="The Sketch">{{cite journal |title=Crowns Coronets Covrtiers |journal=The Sketch |date=9 April 1919 |pages=40}}</ref> His system worked by using wave pulses which were generated and transmitted from a column of fluid (90% paraffin to 10% of B.B. Mobiloil or P.924 (anti-freezing) oil)<ref name="C.C. Gear">{{cite web |title=Hand Book of C.C. Gear |url=https://archive.org/details/1918ukhandbookofc.cinterruptergear |website=archive.org|date=March 1918 }}</ref> instead of a system of mechanical linkages which had been used in aircraft up until then. Once initial operational issues were overcome the C.C. Gear was not only more reliable than a mechanical linkage system, but also allowed a higher rate of fire and was readily adaptable to any type of engine and airframe. The first working C.C. gear was successfully air-tested on a [[Royal Aircraft Factory B.E.2|B.E.2c]] aircraft in August 1916 and was fitted to [[No. 55 Squadron RAF|No.55 Squadron's]] [[Airco DH.4|DH.4's]] before their arrival in France on 6 March 1917.<ref name="Harry Woodman" /> In the following days they were joined by [[Bristol F.2 Fighter|Bristol Fighters]] of [[No. 48 Squadron RAF|No 48 Squadron]] and [[Royal Aircraft Factory S.E.5|SE5's]] of [[No. 56 Squadron RAF|No 56 Squadron]].<ref name="Harry Woodman">{{cite book |last1=Woodman |first1=Harry |title=Early Aircraft Armament The Aeroplane and the Gun up to 1918 |date=1989 |publisher=Arms & Armour Press Ltd |isbn=0-85368-990-3 |page=196}}</ref> During the period March to December 1917 a total of 6,000 C.C. gears were issued.<ref name="Harry Woodman" />  From November 1917 the C.C. Gear was fitted to all new British-made aircraft with synchronized guns.<ref>{{cite web |author1=Aviation and Astronautics |title=George Constantinescu |url=https://inginerie.aero/index.php/en/2017/11/13/george-constantinescu/ |website=inginerie.aero |access-date=27 Nov 2024 |date=13 November 2017}}</ref> Between January and October 1918, 20,000 C.C. Gears were delivered and it is considered to have played a significant role in achieving final air superiority over the [[Luftstreitkrafte]].<ref name="Harry Woodman" /><ref>{{cite news |last1=Maitland |first1=Air Vice-Marshal Sir John |title=The Globe |date=27 Mar 1920}}</ref> On 25 March 1919 [[Mary of Teck|Queen Mary]] and [[Marie of Romania|Queen Marie of Romania]] visited the Sonic laboratory. Constantinescu was warmly congratulated by the two queens for his work.<ref>{{cite news |title=The Middlesex Advertiser and County Gazette |date=28 Mar 1919 |pages=5}}</ref>

In the 1920s Trout road developed as a centre for companies involved in oils and chemical production. In 1921 K.B Mavlankar was producing Essential Oils at the British Aromatic Chemical Works on Trout Road.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Grace Guides |title=K.B. Mavlankar |url=https://www.gracesguide.co.uk/K._B._Mavlankar |website=gracesguide.co.uk |access-date=18 June 2020}}</ref> From 1928 the Kenilworth Chemical Manufacturing Company and the English Metal Powder Company operated factories in Trout Road. Their factory was transferred after 1935 to the Middlesex Oil and Chemical Works Ltd, manufacturing oils, petroleum jellies, and resins. The Kenilworth Chemical and English Metal Powder companies then moved to an adjoining site in Trout Road. From the 1930s a number of smaller companies engaged in manufacturing chemicals, plastics, and engineering components were established on and around Trout Road, this would develop to being more than forty companies in the area.<ref name="VCH Volume 4 p75-82" />

Two firms began production of motor vehicles in Yiewsley after the Second World War. Road Machines of Horton Parade employed 250 people manufacturing a range of contractors' plant including weight batching equipment, dumpers and Mono-Rail transporters.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Grace Guides |title=Road Machines |url=https://www.gracesguide.co.uk/Road_Machines |website=gracesguide.co.uk |access-date=18 June 2020}}</ref> An adaption of their modular-track [[monorail]] system was used at [[Pinewood Studios]] in the 1967 James Bond film ''You Only Live Twice''.<ref>{{cite web |title=Road Machines monorail in You only Live Twice |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bW4B94kMEFo |website=www.youtube.com}}</ref> In 1952 James Whitson & Co. moved from [[Sipson]] and began manufacturing coaches and fire engines in Yiewsley High Street.<ref>{{cite web |title=Commercial Motor Archive |url=https://archive.commercialmotor.com/article/28th-march-1952/53/whitson-expands-400000-orders-n-contracts-worth-40 |website=archive.commercialmotor.com |page=53}}</ref> At its peak the company employed 350 people.<ref name="VCH Volume 4 p75-82" /> They would later manufacture glass-fibre components for commercial vehicles.<ref>{{cite web |title=Whitson |url=https://en.wheelsage.org/whitson |website=wheelsage.org}}</ref>  

It would seem to be a curiosity why most of the early companies in Yiewsley chose to have West Drayton as their business address, as they were neither in West Drayton nor in the Parish of West Drayton. West Drayton remained a largely rural village until into the 20th Century and then developed into a mostly residential area. A possible answer to this is that railway station had been called West Drayton station since its opening in 1838 and only changed to West Drayton and Yiewsley in 1895. With the Railways becoming the principal form of transportation in the latter half of the 19th century, it would appear businesses believed it was commercially advantageous to adopt West Drayton as their address.

====Decline in railway usage====
By the 1960s the demand for rail travel was falling. The branch line to Uxbridge Vine St was particularly affected by competition from the town's [[London Underground]] lines. Passenger services to Uxbridge were stopped in 1962, however a short section of line (approximately 745 yards) to the Middlesex Oil and Chemical Works on Trout Road continued in use for freight services until 8 January 1979.<ref name="Disused Stations" /> The [[Staines-upon-Thames|Staines]] line was closed to passengers in 1965 as a consequence of 1963 report ‘The Reshaping of British Railways’ by Dr Richard Beeching, Chairman of the [[British Railways Board]] (BRB).<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Beeching |first1=Dr Richard |title=The Reshaping of British Railways |journal=The British Railways Board |date=1963 |volume=Part I: Report |publisher=Her Majesty's Stationery Office |location=London}}</ref> The line continues to be used for freight services as far as Colnbrook.<ref name="Disused Stations" />

Another consequence of the [[Beeching cuts|Beeching report]] was the closure of over 2000 railway stations across Great Britain. From 1968 until 1980 a policy was adopted by the British Railways Board to shorten the remaining stations' names where possible. This policy resulted in ''Yiewsley'' being removed from the station name after 79 years on the 6 May 1974.<ref name="Directory of Railway Stations" />

===Political development===
[[File:Yiewsley Key House 1.jpg|thumb|Key House, formerly the Town Hall of the Yiewsley and West Drayton Urban District between 1930 and 1952]]
{{seemain|Yiewsley and West Drayton Urban District}}

===Yiewsley today===
[[File:Yiewsley Colham Bridge 1.jpg|thumb|The Grand Union Canal at Colham Bridge]]
Yiewsley today is a growing community with both residential housing and commercial businesses. With the establishment of the [[Elizabeth line]] and as a consequence of the [[London Plan]] and Hillingdon Local Plan<ref>{{cite web |author1=Hillingdon Council |title=Local Plan documents |url=https://www.hillingdon.gov.uk/local-plan |website=www.hillingdon.gov.uk |access-date=17 January 2022}}</ref> there has been significant construction of residential apartments on former industrial and manufacturing sites. Yiewsley has an active High Street with national retail outlets Tesco, Iceland, B&M Stores, Home Bargains, Aldi and Savers situated on it. Together with local businesses in Yiewsley and Uxbridge, Heathrow airport is a major source of employment in the area.