Bamford, Joseph Cyril (1916–2001), engineer and businessman, was born on 21 June 1916 at The Parks, New Road, Uttoxeter, Staffordshire, the son of Cyril Joseph Bamford, agricultural engineer, and his wife, Dolores Alice, née Turner. His family controlled and managed a long-established farm machinery business. The company, which manufactured balers and other equipment, had been started by his great-great-grandfather in 1812. He was brought up a Roman Catholic. After education at ...
Article
Bamford, Joseph Cyril (1916–2001), engineer and businessman
Geoffrey Owen
Article
Bentley, Walter Owen (1888–1971), designer and racer of motor cars
H. G. Pitt
revised
Bentley, Walter Owen (1888–1971), designer and racer of motor cars, was born on 16 September 1888 at 78 Avenue Road, Hampstead, London, the youngest in the family of six sons and three daughters of Alfred Bentley, retired businessman of London, and his wife, ...
Article
Chapman, (Anthony) Colin Bruce (1928–1982), racing car designer and motor manufacturer
Colin Dryden
revised
Chapman, (Anthony) Colin Bruce (1928–1982), racing car designer and motor manufacturer, was born at Richmond, Surrey, on 19 May 1928, the only son of Stanley Frank Kennedy-Chapman, licensed caterer, of Muswell Hill, and his wife, (Lillian) Mary Bruce. Having been educated at the ...
Article
Denly, Albert William [Bert] (1900–1989), motorcycle racer and motor engineer
Roger Bird
Denly, Albert William [Bert] (1900–1989), motorcycle racer and motor engineer, was born in Wisley, Surrey, on 1 June 1900, the only son of James Denly (d. 1918), a bricklayer's labourer on the Wisley estate, and his wife, Ellen, née Woolger (1865/6–1920). Aged fourteen he left the local village school to become an apprentice to the butcher in ...
Article
Dunlop, John Boyd (1840–1921), inventor of the pneumatic tyre
B. W. Best
revised by Trevor I. Williams
Dunlop, John Boyd (1840–1921), inventor of the pneumatic tyre, was born on 5 February 1840 at Dreghorn, Ayrshire, the son of a farmer, John Dunlop, and his wife, Agnes, née Boyd. As a boy he attended the local parish school and, being considered too delicate for farm work, was allowed to continue his studies at ...
Article
Durrant, Albert Arthur Molteno [Bill] (1898–1984), mechanical engineer and vehicle designer
Philip Carter
Durrant, Albert Arthur Molteno [Bill] (1898–1984), mechanical engineer and vehicle designer, was born at Wellington Lodge, Gowlett Road, East Dulwich, London, on 11 September 1898, the only child of Arthur Isaac Durrant (1864–1939), staff clerk in the Office of Works, and his wife, ...
Article
Hancock, Walter (1799–1852), engineer and inventor of steam carriages
R. B. Prosser
revised by Ralph Harrington
Hancock, Walter (1799–1852), engineer and inventor of steam carriages, was born on 16 June 1799, the sixth son of James Hancock, a timber merchant and cabinet-maker at Marlborough, Wiltshire. Thomas Hancock (1786–1865), who developed the manufacture of rubber, was his brother. After serving an apprenticeship to a watchmaker and jeweller in ...
Article
Issigonis, Sir Alexander Arnold Constantine (1906–1988), motor engineer and designer
Gillian Bardsley
revised
Issigonis, Sir Alexander Arnold Constantine (1906–1988), motor engineer and designer, was born on 18 November 1906 in Smyrna, Turkey, the only child of Constantine Issigonis (1872–1923), a marine engineer resident in Smyrna who was of Greek origin but had British citizenship, and his wife, ...
Article
King, Charles Spencer [Spen] (1925–2010), automotive engineer
James Randle
King, Charles Spencer [Spen] (1925–2010), automotive engineer, was born on 26 March 1925 at Home Farm House, Shackleford, Surrey, the only son of Charles Francis King, solicitor, and his wife, Muriel Amy, née Wilks. He was educated at Haileybury School, Hertfordshire. In 1942 he entered an apprenticeship with ...
Article
Kinneir, (Richard) Jock (1917–1994), typographer and graphic designer
Jonathan Woodham
Kinneir, (Richard) Jock (1917–1994), typographer and graphic designer, was born at the Louise Margaret Hospital, Aldershot, Hampshire, on 11 February 1917, the son of Guy Kinneir (1892–1964), a second lieutenant in the Manchester regiment and later a medical practitioner, and his wife, Helen Elizabeth Margaret, ...
Article
Lanchester, George Herbert (1874–1970), engineer and car designer
C. S. Clark
Lanchester, George Herbert (1874–1970), engineer and car designer, was born on 11 December 1874 at 1 St John's Terrace, Hove, Sussex, the youngest of eight children of Henry Jones Lanchester (1834–1914), architect, surveyor, and part-time inventor, and his wife, Octavia, née Ward (1834–1916)...
Article
Lord, Leonard Percy [Len], Baron Lambury (1896–1967), engineer and motor vehicle manufacturer
Gillian Bardsley
Lord, Leonard Percy [Len], Baron Lambury (1896–1967), engineer and motor vehicle manufacturer, was born at the Public Baths, Priory Street, Coventry, on 15 November 1896, the youngest of the two children of William Lord (1867–1911) and his wife, Emma, née Swain (1863–1938). His father originally followed the trade of carpenter but at the time of ...
Article
Royce, Sir (Frederick) Henry, baronet (1863–1933), engineer and motor car designer
David J. Jeremy
Royce, Sir (Frederick) Henry, baronet (1863–1933), engineer and motor car designer, was born on 27 March 1863 at Alwalton, near Peterborough, youngest of the two boys and three girls of James Royce (1830–1872), flour miller, and his wife, Mary (d. 1904), third daughter of ...
Article
Shaw, Percy (1890–1976), manufacturer and inventor of the catseye road stud
John A. Hargreaves
Shaw, Percy (1890–1976), manufacturer and inventor of the catseye road stud, was born on 15 April 1890 at Heginbottom Fold, 32 Ovenden Road, Halifax, the second son of James Shaw (1843–1929), a Halifax dyer's labourer, and his second wife, Esther Hannah Morrell (1856–1922)...
Article
Sinclair, Donald McIntyre (1901–1971), passenger transport engineer and manager
Peter Vince
Sinclair, Donald McIntyre (1901–1971), passenger transport engineer and manager, was born at 10 Carlton Terrace, Maryhill, Glasgow, on 18 December 1901, the third son in the family of at least four sons and two daughters of John Sinclair, mercantile cashier, and his wife, ...
Article
Zborowski, Louis Vorow (1895–1924), motor racing driver and creator of aero-engined cars
Roger Bird
Zborowski, Louis Vorow (1895–1924), motor racing driver and creator of aero-engined cars, was born at 4 Chesterfield Gardens, Mayfair, London, on 20 February 1895, the only surviving son (an elder son had died in infancy) of (William) Elliott Morris Zborowski (1855–1903) and his wife, ...
