Chalwyn began as Chalwyn Lamps Limited, with an initial focus on producing high‑quality hurricane lanterns. Early production was outsourced to James Croll Limited, but following World War II, the company set up its own manufacturing site in Parkstone, England.

Sales were managed by Chalwyn Wild Limited in London.

In 1952, skilled toolmaker Nigel Page‑Roberts, Hewitt’s nephew, discovered an ideal factory site in Poole—formerly Mass Products, a wartime producer of Sten Guns. The existing industrial presses provided a perfect foundation for large‑scale lantern manufacturing. Under Managing Director Jack Drewett, Chalwyn soon became one of Poole’s largest employers.

By the late 1940s, Chalwyn released its early lantern models, including the Tropic, Far East, and Pilot.

After the war, demand surged—partly due to the temporary decline in German lantern production. During the 1950s and 1960s, Chalwyn reached peak efficiency:

• Up to 50,000 hurricane lanterns produced per day
• Around 30 million lanterns manufactured over 20 years
• Strong markets across Africa, French colonies, and the Middle East

Popular models included the Chalwyn Tropic, Chalwyn Far East, Chalwyn Tempest, and Chalwyn Pilot. Chalwyn also introduced the Lynx and Tornado models; notably, the Lynx lantern was used by the Dutch military under the Kero mark.

Although highly successful, Chalwyn faced strong competition—most notably from German manufacturer Feuerhand, whose advanced machinery (funded through the U.S. Lend‑Lease program) enabled cheaper mass production. Feuerhand eventually dominated much of the global market.

In the 1960s, Chalwyn opened a subsidiary production facility in South Africa, later sold to local shareholders in 1970. Due to increasing competition, the company broadened its product range beyond hurricane lanterns and was renamed Chalwyn Limited.

Hurricane lantern output gradually declined and officially ended at the Chalwyn works in April 1970. However, the company continued to produce Road Danger Lamps into the early 1980s and maintained strong sales of glass globes (chimneys) into East and West Africa.

Even after ending in‑house lantern production, Chalwyn continued the brand through international partnerships:

• 1970s–1980s: Lanterns produced by VEB Sturmlaternenwerk Beierfeld in East Germany. These “Flag” lanterns resembled the Bat 158 (itself a copy of the Feuerhand 275) and were marked “FOREIGN” on the fount.
• Late 1980s: Chalwyn distributed Feuerhand lanterns in the UK.
• 1990s: Production moved to the Czech Republic, likely through the Meva concern in Prague and Roudnice. Meva-built lanterns were marketed under Chalwyn’s historic Tropic name, painted in silver and various colors. Original Tropic models had been hot‑nickel‑plated steel, a process later restricted in the UK.
• Later 1990s–2000s: Additional production occurred in China, though eventually discontinued due to quality and logistics issues.

Chalwyn products—both hurricane lanterns and their well‑known roadwork lamps—remain widely used as decorative items in gardens and homes worldwide.

The primary source of information on the Chalwyn history was the website roaddangerlamps.webs.com, which is unfortunately no longer available online.