Aerofilms was the UK's first commercial aerial photography company, founded in 1919 by Francis Wills, an air photographer with the Royal Flying Corps and Claude Graham White. In its early period it had links with pioneer cinematographer Claude Friese-Greene and pilot/entrepreneur Sir Alan Cobham. In the 1930’s Major. H. Hemming A.F.C. , F.R. Ae. S, managing director of the Aircraft Operating Company (The Aircraft Operating Co. of Africa Ltd. , Johannesburg, and H.

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  • Aerofilms was the UK's first commercial aerial photography company, founded in 1919 by Francis Wills, an air photographer with the Royal Flying Corps and Claude Graham White. In its early period it had links with pioneer cinematographer Claude Friese-Greene and pilot/entrepreneur Sir Alan Cobham. In the 1930’s Major. H. Hemming A.F.C. , F.R. Ae. S, managing director of the Aircraft Operating Company (The Aircraft Operating Co. of Africa Ltd. , Johannesburg, and H. Hemming and Partners) acquired Aerofilms, Ltd. In World War Two the company's staff formed the nucleus of the R.A.F. Photographic Unit, which Hemming commanded, with the rank of acting wing commander (RAF Reserve). The company pioneered the science of photogrammetry (mapping from aerial photographs). Aerofilms photographs have been extensively used in books relating to geography, topography and travel, and have featured in books such as The Aerofilms Book of England from the Air (1988) and Coastlines from the Air (1996). In addition its photographs have been used in the long-running series Football Grounds from the Air, updated on an annual basis. Perhaps the best known example of the company's work is the title-sequence mosaic of east London used for the BBC soap EastEnders. Unlike other photographic libraries, a significant percentage of Aerofilms photos is already in the public domain, albeit protected by copyright. The company would send out batches of photos to public libraries, and many remain there today. In addition, key images were reproduced as postcards from the 1920 through to the 1980s. In 1997 Simmons Mapping (UK) Ltd. and Aerofilms Limited merged to form Simmons Aerofilms Ltd, the company had operations in Romania and Ukraine, with its head office in Cheddar, England. In 2005 Simmons Aerofilms was taken over by Norwegian based geographical information and offshore technology company Blom and is now known as Blom Aerofilms. In June 2007 Blom Aerofilms sold their historic oblique library to the English Heritage and its partners in Scotland and Wales. However, the vertical historic library is still available through Blom Aerofilms. Photographs from the archive feature in the 2008 book British Seaside Piers by Richard Riding and Chris Mawson, former Aerofilms librarian.
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  • Aerofilms was the UK's first commercial aerial photography company, founded in 1919 by Francis Wills, an air photographer with the Royal Flying Corps and Claude Graham White. In its early period it had links with pioneer cinematographer Claude Friese-Greene and pilot/entrepreneur Sir Alan Cobham. In the 1930’s Major. H. Hemming A.F.C. , F.R. Ae. S, managing director of the Aircraft Operating Company (The Aircraft Operating Co. of Africa Ltd. , Johannesburg, and H.
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  • Aerofilms
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