Old School 'Wessex Fireworks' Poster

James Pain and Son Ltd set up in Brixton in 1850 for firework manufacture. They were one of the most successful fireworks businesses of the day and the business continued to grow and they moved to Wiltshire in an effort to exploit the possibility of military applications for the domestic firework.

In 1965 they merged with Wessex Aircraft Engineering Company (AKA WAECO) to form Pains Wessex.

The business developed exponentially and they had clear divisions between the fireworks part of their business and the marine pyrotechnic division which was to later become the mainstay.

In 1981, the business sold the domestic firework arm of the business to a former director and established Pains Fireworks Ltd which continues to operate as one of the foremost firework display specialists in the World.