| Company type | Limited company |
|---|---|
| Industry | Aerial photography |
| Founded | May 9, 1919 in Edgware, Greater London, UK |
| Founders | Francis Wills Claude Graham White |
| Successor | Simmons Aerofilms Ltd (2001-2005) Blom Aerofilms / Blom UK (2005) |
| Parent | Aircraft Operating Company (1925) Simmons Mapping (UK) Ltd (1997) |
| Divisions | Allied Photographic Interpretation Unit |
| Subsidiaries | Hunting Group of Companies |
Aerofilms Ltd was the UK's first commercial aerial photography company, founded in 1919 by Francis Wills and Claude Graham White.[1] Wills had served as an Observer with the Royal Naval Air Service during World War I, and was the driving force behind the expansion of the company from an office and a bathroom (for developing films) in Hendon to a business with major contracts in Africa and Asia as well as in the UK. Co-founder Graham-White was a pioneer aviator who had achieved fame by making the first night flight in 1910.