Sira began life as the British Scientific Instrument Research Association (BSIRA). It was founded in 1918 by a Committee of the
Privy Council for the promotion of scientific and industrial research and supported by the
DSIR.[1] The first members of the association were representatives of the
optical industry, but these were joined in the same year by the electrical
scientific instrument, electromedical, and
X-ray industries. Its first director of research was
Sir Herbert Jackson (1863–1936).[2]
BSIRA's London headquarters were destroyed in the
Second World War and, in 1947, the association moved to a site in South Hill,
Chislehurst, a
Grade II Listed former private house called 'Sitka'[3][4] By the 1960s, the association had become better-known as 'Sira',.[5] It evolved into a group of British
engineering companies, based in south London, that designed test equipment and provided calibration services.
Fate
In 2006, Sira Test and Certification Ltd, Sira Defence and Security, and Sira Environmental were owned by
Volveré plc. In July 2009, Volvere sold Sira Test and Certification Ltd, Sira Certification Service and Sira Environmental Ltd to
CSA International.