E. Keil and Company Ltd originally made reproduction furniture. The company was founded by Edward Keil. He worked on the De Havilland Mosquito production line during World War II. His son, another Edward known as “Eddie”, got the idea of producing balsa wood models after a visit to America.
In 1954, in need of more space, the company moved from Hackney Road in London to Russell Gardens in Wickford, not far from the family home in Canvey. The company’s kits of rubber-band or small diesel motor powered model aircraft and boats became very popular with boys during the 1950s. The boxes they came in apparently had “Made in Wickford Essex” printed on them spreading the name of the town far and wide.
Aeromodelling was a major hobby in those days and kits sold in their tens of thousands through local model shops. Eddie was a member of the “Model Aircraft Traders Association” and the Wickford Chamber of Trade. Production continued into the 1970s. Eddie died in an accident on the A127 in 1968.
Ernie Webster, one of the design team, lived in Wickford with his family in a cottage called Ajax, next to one called Achilles, which the company built for employees. The Websters later moved to the Runwell Road. Ernie left the company in the 1960s and trained as a teacher of art and English. He taught in Wickford for a while but left the town to gain promotion. He moved back to Essex when he retired.
There is a “Factory Tour” film of the company available on the internet dating from the 1960s. Eddie Keil and many of his employees can be seen, as well as the factory building and the production processes. Warning: jaunty music can be heard and believers in “health and safety” may wish to avert their eyes at certain times. See https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nIhs0ltNwK8
The Keil Kraft company, “the greatest name in model kits”, no longer exists but a company known as “The Vintage Model Company” still produce replicas of the original balsa wood models.
This information has been gleaned from the following websites:
For pictures of the contents of balsa wood kits and models, the factory in Wickford, the company handbook, exhibition stands and members of the Keil family go to http://www.model-plans.co.uk/ernie%20webster.html
The Keil Family : Canvey Island.org:The Canvey Community Archive. http://www.canveyisland.org/page_id__1084.aspx
There is also a photographic list of KeilKraft Handbooks available if you are interested http://www.aeromodellerinfo.co.uk/Fullarticle%20KKH.pdf
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I worked there in the early 70s, I have very fond memories of the job. I lived opposite the son in South Woodham Ferrers. Happy times.
We found a Keil Kraft Short Seamew here in Fredrikstad, Norway. Its unmade, in its original box. Would someone appreciate this old thing? I’m originally from South Benfleet, been living in Norway since 2002.
Hi again. Further to my last comment, about my unofficial tour, and reading more, I wonder if I got the name right and it was someone whose Dad worked there? Seeing the bit about Dudley Webster.
I think he must have been ‘in the know’, as it were, in high places, at least as we were free to wander as he pleased.
I have just also watched the video of the factory and having spent twenty years teaching carpentry, am likewise amazed at what I then just thought was standard, and indeed was back then:
Jackets and ties to get caught up, and minimal guarding, all par for the course back then.
And how many of the workforce would have had a pay packet in today’s ‘press a button’ and a fully computer controlled machine, coughs out fully packed kits to the delivery lorry.
There was a lot to be said for semi ‘cottage’ industry style providing work for all.
Hi. Good to see this history.
Back in the late 60s, possibly 1970, I was at Billericay comprehensive school with, I think, Eddy’s son, or maybe grandson, with the surname Keil, and if he reads this I apologise for forgetting his forename after half a century.
However I was a mad aeromodeller and into control line and had made many of the Keilkraft flying scale series rubber models with varying degrees of success!
Telling him of this, he proudly told me his Dad/Granddad had started the factory and invited me over to see it.
Clearly he was well known as we walked around unchallenged, and he took me into a storeroom, and proceeded to say “Do you want one of these, or one of these….?”
I was a kid in candy land, and came away with a ‘handful’ of .049 Cobra engines, (their own brand challenger to the Cox 049 series, similar but NOT using Cox parts as some think and quite rare now) and an old ‘Mercury’ P38 control line twin kit that I think they made for, or possibly after buying the company?
I ‘wore out’ most of the engines but am happy to say I still have a couple of new ones, and the unmade P38 kit which is the pride and joy of my collection of vintage kits, of which I am still buying the old ‘Wickford made’ boxes, when I can, of those I remember making.
I flew one of the mercury 1/2A team racer models in our school playground, I seem to remember, grossly overweight and mostly staying on the ground until another hard landing knocked the heavy ‘own design’ undercarriage off and it finally used the last of the fuel flying at knee height!
Maybe that was how we met?
Anyway, good memories of a wonderful firm and ‘unofficial’ tour. If you remember me, please get in contact.
Steve Williams
Billericay comprehensive 1966- 1971
I can remember visiting the Keil Kraft factory with friends and being shown around. Considering that this was the early 1960s and we were only around 13 or so at the time, I still remember how well we were treated, without a hint of condescension – most unusual for those times.
I used to be mad keen on aeromodelling, and being especially pleased with their Gazelle control line kit – we must have driven the people of parts of Basildon mad with the noise of these being flown in combat. All a long time ago…
My dad, Arthur “Buck” Adams, was the printer at Keil Kraft. He appears in the movie mentioned above. He’s dressed in a brown ‘cow-gown’ and he’s seen taking to Eddie Keil. Later he’s happily showing a group of schoolkids how the printer works. He lived in one of the Russell Gardens bungalows owned by Keil Kraft.
When my dad, Les Cook, who used to work at KeilKraft, died we found bags n’ bags of it in the garage. You would have thought there had been a shortage at some point.
I have just got my balsa wood, battery powered, model ‘Otter’ tug boat out of the loft to get working for a trip to the local boating pond with my baby grandson. The ‘Otter’ was a Christmas present given to me by my grandfather in the early 1960s. He constructed it and posted it to me in a home-made wooden box but had cut out the front of the original cardboard box and stuck it on the lid. I decided to google E. Kiel & Co. Ltd, Wickford, and found this site, and something of the history of this fondly kept toy from my boyhood.
Hi
I’m in New Zealand, I’m 72 and retired. Years ago, I purchased a number of plastic model kits for my retirement, including a 1/72 scale B36 Bomber, it’s huge and hangs in our lounge.
I purchased 8 KeilKraft 1/72 scale plastic model kits of buses, steam trucks etc. Model No’s 303, 306, 307, 309, 312, 315, 323 & 325. I can’t remember whether I purchased these in NZ or when I visited Great Britain a couple of times.
A couple of imperfections in the moulded parts, but I will get around them.
Any idea when these models were manufactured?
My favourites are the two Routemaster buses, 1 red & 1 green (Country bus).
I hope your company prospers and doesn’t get taken over by an overseas company.
Regards
John Lee (johnflee@xtra.co.nz)(28/5/2020)
I worked on one of those presses as a summer holiday job. Brings back many memories.
Brilliant film.
Big thank you for posting the link to this film as it shows my dad, Jim Bloomfield, working on a saw.
Dad passed away this week and this is the only film I have of him. Good to know I can go on You Tube and see him any time I want.
Does anyone remember the shop in Hertford called WOODCRAFTS? As a youngster I gave a hand to Bill Freeman-Young who owned the same. Part of his shop was modelling. I went with him down to Eddie Keil’s factory to collect stock. I met Ed and remember the number of cigarettes he went through while we were talking with him. Also the chaos of balsa dust and bits of packaging and boxes on the factory floor. Also boxes upon boxes of made-up stock. Marvellous memories.
I think that Ernie Webster was a friend of my parents and he taught pottery at Beauchamps School in the 70’s.
I had a summer job here in the early ’70s. You are right about health and safety, after 10 minutes training I was operating a planing machine, that reduced balsa planks to a uniform thickness. A number of the older guys had missing fingers!
Remember them, they were still working there in 1976 when I had a look around the showrooms, with completed planes hanging from the ceiling.
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