William Walter Britain Jr. (b. 14 Dec 1859 in Islington, Middlesex - d. 24 Nov 1933 in Kent), of Rowantree Road, Enfield, who declared himself to be a sculptor and toy maker, was granted Patent No. 21952 in 1908. Goodall and Tagg [1] refer to a machine designed by Mr. Henry Britain and tested successfully by B. Seamer on 30 August 1909 at Middleton (or Myddelton) House, Forty Hill, Enfield, Middlesex, but it would seem most likely that the designer was the aforementioned William Britain.

The Seamer Brothers, Rayfield Malby Seamer (b. March 1876 in Hornsey, Middlesex- d. 25 Jan 1940 in Middlesex) and Thomas Burberry Seamer (b. 1877 in Islington, London - d. Dec 1957 in London) were both engineers who, in 1909, ran a bicycle shop in Enfield, Middlesex. It seems more than likely that they were the actual builders of Britain’s machine.

1. British Aircraft Before The Great War, Michael H. Goodall and Albert E. Tagg (Schiffer Publishing Ltd., 2001)