WARWICKSHIRE Industrial Archaeology Society NUMBER 61 September 2017 WIAS PUBLISHED QUARTERLY NEWSLETTER FROM THE CHAIRMAN to make a voluntary donation of and valuable collection of £2.50 for attending meetings. These photographs, plus the care with he start of a new season unchanged rates for subscriptions which he had prepared his material, of meetings finds the and guest contributions were made an enjoyable and effective TWarwickshire Industrial approved by the AGM. contribution to the evening. Archaeology Society in good heart. The Chairman placed consider- To finish the evening the Chairman Local industrial archaeology and able emphasis on the role played by took a reflective view on the past industrial history societies vary the committee and other volunteers year, some of which will appear considerably in size and activity, in ensuring the smooth running of in the next issue of the Newsletter, with WIAS making the monthly the Society. John Selby - after many but he did make a reference to the meeting a real focus of its efforts. years of service – has decided to latest edition of IA News, edited by Attendance figures at these take a well-earned rest from com- one of our members Chris Barney. meetings are the envy of many other mittee affairs, with the proviso that In it there was to be found two societies, and a high proportion he can be co-opted if necessary, articles written by members – John of those attending are members of whilst Colin Brookes is stepping Copping’s report on the ‘Heritage WIAS. Long may this continue! down for personal reasons. The of Industry’ visit to Holland, and These – and other issues – were remainder of the committee were John Willock’s report on the Whittle highlighted in the AGM held at willing to stand for re-election and Anniversary. It was good to see such the start of the September meeting, their election was unanimously ap- a strong WIAS representation in the which included the Treasurer’s proved by the meeting. list of authors! report on the new subscription After the formal business of the Listed below is the programme system introduced for the 2016- AGM, Chris Barney presented a of meetings for 2017-2018. I look 2017 season. With the adoption of short report on the AIA Conference forward to welcoming members and the new system, financial outcomes recently held at Moulton College, guests at these meetings and to the were very much in line with the Northampton. Judged to be a pleasure of sharing our interest in the previous year, despite rises in room very successful Conference, industrial heritage of Warwickshire hire and speaker fees, with the Chris illustrated his report with and beyond. total of Gift Aid benefit amounting photographs from a number to £228. An important feature of visits reflecting the diversity PROGRAMME the Society’s activities has been of the industrial heritage – the 14 September 2017: the Visits Programme organised Northampton Boot and Shoe quarter, AGM, Chairman’s Review, AIA by Alain Foote, and the Whittle Phipps’ Brewery, the Shuttleworth Conference Report and Members’ anniversary trip to GE Rugby and Collection, Jordan’s Cereal Mills Contributions. 12 October 2017: Nick Holmes Brownsover Hall (reported in this and the National Lift Tower. The Canals of Lapworth and Rowington. issue) and the visit to Kempton Conference is the focus of the AIA 9 November 2017: Joint Presentation Great Engines and the London year for its members, and the 2018 by WIAS and LHG Museum of Water and Steam were event will be exploring the far North of Ironfounders of Leamington. both very successful. The Society Scotland with a base at Wick. 14 December 2017: David Brown was also able to make a £250 Richard King has a wonderful Canal Reservoirs. donation to Warwickshire County collection of photographs and 11 January 2018: Robert Eyre Record Office in support of the personal experiences that reflect The Healey Archive. Healey Archive, fulfilling one of the 8 February 2018: Peter Stanworth his long interest in the history of Military Head Protection and other goals of the Society in supporting Warwickshire. He presented a members’ contributions. local industrial heritage projects. short talk on the Henley in Arden 8 March 2018 Tony Boughton Robert Eyre from WCRO will be to Lapworth Railway, illustrated The Stench of Victorian Indecision; speaking on the Healey Archive at with photographs taken in the engineering (and other) problems in the January 2018 meeting. In view 1960s. These focussed on the the development of England’s sewers. of these outcomes, the Treasurer fabric of the railway rather than 12 April 2018: John & Linda Burton was able to propose unchanged on the trains that used the line, The Exhall Colliery Disaster. subscription rates for the 2017-2018 claiming – controversially – that 10 May 2018: Roger Cragg Marc Isambard - The Other Brunel. season - £16 for an individual and “we see enough pictures of steam 14 June 2018: Stephen Wass £20 for a joint membership. Guests engines”! Much of the line has A Way with Water: water resources – averaging 7 per meeting in 2016- now disappeared completely and and the life of an 18th century 2017 – would continue to be invited Richard’s personal recollections, Warwickshire park (Farnborough). WIAS Meeting Reports January 2017: Peter Crowley A Working Life at Alvis and Beyond. eter Crowley has been involved with Alvis and the Grey Lady and finally as the TC21 100. Very up-to-date company’s products throughout his working life, and for the 1950s. Celebrity owners included Prince Philip and Pafter 56 years he is not yet finished as he continues Douglas Bader. to work with Red Triangle in Kenilworth where he has At the same time the aero engine business continued to been for the last 11 years. Who better then to give a most develop, notably with the 9-cylinder, 550hp radial Leonides personal view of Alvis and its very diverse products over which sold well for use in both fixed wing and especially the years. helicopter applications. Examples being the Bristol Alvis has been associated with three principle products; Sycamore and Percival Pembroke. cars, aero engines and military vehicles. Peter opened with The third leg of fighting vehicles also flourished with a pictorial review and reminded the audience of some the six-wheeled (all driven) Saracen with its armoured hull iconic names: Silver Eagle, Grey Lady, Leonides, Saracen, and good cross-country performance. Variants included the Scorpion and Stalwart. Saladin and Salamander fire crash tender for the RAF. Alvis was founded in 1919 by Thomas George John. Its After this overview of the Alvis history Peter’s first products were stationary engines, carburettors and presentation took on a more personal note as he recounted motor scooters. Production was moved to Holyhead Road his own working life with the company which he joined in in Coventry in 1922 when George Thomas Smith-Clarke 1960. With three job offers to choose from he decided that left Daimler and joined Alvis as Chief Engineer and Works the Alvis apprentice scheme looked the most interesting Manager. Smith-Clarke was accompanied by William M. and it was a choice which he never regretted. Dunn, who also left his job at Daimler to become Chief His wide-ranging experiences as an apprentice included Draughtsman at Alvis. This partnership lasted for nearly 28 once having to collect the founder, T G John, from the years and was responsible for some of the most successful station. Some difficulty with the crash gearbox led to him products in the company’s history. hitting a post but consequently a synchromesh gearbox was The cars incorporated many advanced features including developed! Alvis apprentices were given responsibilities front wheel drive, aluminium pistons and the first all too and at 19 Peter was building engines for the TC21 cars. synchromesh gearbox and they enjoyed a deserved Later, he joined the team that built the last 100 cars before reputation as a racing car where success always provided production stopped. good publicity. Peter then moved over to the fighting vehicle side and The exploits of Major Maurice Harvey in the 1920s his contemporary photographs gave a real flavour of the were recalled with photographs, press cuttings and some products and their production. Amongst these the story of fascinating video clips of racing at Brooklands and Le the Stalwart stands out. Started as a private venture, its 5 Mans. No health and safety regulations then! Sadly, Harvey ton payload and excellent cross country performance was suffered ill-health and later took his own life. However, the enhanced by its ability to float. Equipped with a water straight-eight, 1,500cc double overhead camshaft engined propulsion system by Dowty it was a most versatile vehicle front wheel drive race car that he drove so successfully and 1,500 saw service with the British army. survives and is currently undergoing a rebuild. A video showing a Stalwart soaring off a high bank into Unfortunately, attempts to create a production front wheel water and then manoeuvring like an armoured boat was a drive car were commercially unsuccessful. Nonetheless, highlight of the evening. The identity of the intrepid test the cars produced by Alvis during the inter-war years driver who made the first attempt was not revealed. were popular amongst a discerning, and wealthy, clientele. Alvis also developed some tracked vehicles and a fully Usually large engines in smaller cars were provided as a featured test track was built at Baginton after the use of the running chassis to specialist coachbuilders for bespoke Allesley by-pass for 20 to 40 mph acceleration timing was bodies. Popular builders were Charlesworth in Coventry, stopped following an incident with a dairy lorry! Van den Plas (a lovely short chassis 4.3 tourer from 1939 The design parameters for the Scorpion family of Jaguar- was shown, 12 survive from 14 built) and Bertelli (later powered tracked vehicles were interesting, in that they owned by Red Triangle).