John James Henry Sturmey (1857–1930), known as Henry Sturmey, is best remembered as the inventor with James Archer of the Sturmey-Archer three-speed hub for bicycles, but he was a technical editor and journalist heavily involved as a pioneer of the cycling and automotive industries. Born at Norton-sub-Hamdon , Somerset , on 28 February 1857 he died aged 72 at his home in Coventry on 8 January 1930.
25-481: Henry Sturmey rode his first bicycle while at school in Weymouth when in his mid-teens in 1872 and became a keen cyclist. He was a touring enthusiast rather than interested in track racing. Sturmey's first post was an assistant-master at Brixton Hill College, London S.W. He resigned in 1877 to devote himself to writing a book on cycling published as The Indispensable Bicyclist's Handbook . Dealing with every bicycle on
50-541: A legal agreement whereby the royalties for the "Archer" hub would be paid to its true inventor, Reilly. Inventive as ever, in 1921 Henry Sturmey applied successfully for a patent on a five-speed hub gear. It was more advanced than any other hub gear then available but he was unable to find a manufacturer willing to produce it. It is deeply ironic that no hub gear designed by Sturmey was ever series produced. Friendly with company promoter Harry J Lawson Sturmey invested heavily in and became closely associated with Daimler and
75-792: A patent for his three-speed hub in August 1901. By March 1902, he had entered an agreement giving sole rights to the hub to Frank Bowden, chairman of the Raleigh bicycle company. A few weeks later, Bowden discovered that a similar three-speed hub was being offered to rival bicycle makers. Although patented under the name of James Archer, this was a design by William Reilly, designer of The Hub. Archer's patent application had been submitted shortly before Sturmey's. To prevent Raleigh's competitors, such as Humber, gaining rights to Reilly's three-speed, Bowden bought exclusive rights to it. Having now acquired rights to two similar three-speed hubs, Bowden decided that it
100-633: A very debased form", and the chapel, 1894-96 as "really no better". In 1972 the building was in use as a College of Education. It is now a residential conversion. Some of the chapel furnishings are in St Aldhelm's Church , Radipole, Weymouth. Notable former pupils include: This article relating to a school or sixth form college in Dorset is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Harry John Lawson Henry John Lawson , also known as Harry Lawson , (23 February 1852–12 July 1925)
125-656: A well-publicised epic drive from John o' Groats to Land's End accompanied by Richard Ashley, a mechanic. Weymouth College (Public School) Weymouth College was a public school in Weymouth , Dorset , England, from 1863 to 1940. It closed during the Second World War because of the risks from its proximity to naval bases at Weymouth and Portsmouth, and the boys and some staff moved to Wellingborough School in Northamptonshire. A new house
150-754: The British automobile industry through the acquisition of foreign patents. He acquired exclusive British rights to manufacture De Dion-Bouton and Bollée vehicles. He founded a succession of promotional companies including: The British Motor Syndicate — not to be confused with British Automobile Commercial Syndicate Limited . BMS was the first of many of Lawson's schemes to collapse in 1897. Lawson also founded British Motor Company, British Motor Traction Company, The Great Horseless Carriage Company , Motor Manufacturing Company , and with E. J. Pennington forming Anglo-American Rapid Vehicle Company. With his one great success, The Daimler Motor Company Limited , he bought in
175-629: The French-inspired Union Cycliste Internationale . Sturmey became one of the first editors of Autocar , printed by Iliffe, in 1895. Walter Staner took over the editorship from Sturmey in July 1901 following his premature retirement from injuries received while road-testing a car. Sturmey then founded The Motor first published in January 1903. The first commercially successful compact epicyclic hub gear
200-552: The business was not profitable and the directors borrowed to finance further investment. A very stormy meeting of shareholders brought about the appointment of an independent committee of investigation which reported privately to shareholders in December 1898 attacking important board decisions and pointing out the current board members' lack of technical experience. At the Annual General Meeting of shareholders held
225-586: The company just before a public subscription to help expand its wartime effort in the First World War but the company soon found itself in breach of its contract with Blériot. When this came to light, the company was wound up and its director found guilty of fraud and dishonesty. Lawson survived being torpedoed on the ferry "Sussex" crossing the English Channel in March 1916. He retired from
250-689: The elimination of the Red Flag Act , Lawson and Frederick Simms founded the Motor Car Club of Britain. Lawson and the Motor Car Club organised the first London to Brighton car run , the "Emancipation Run", which was held on 14 November 1896 to celebrate the relaxation of the Locomotives Act 1865 (the Red Flag Act ), which eased the way for the start of the development of the British motor industry . Lawson attempted to monopolise
275-603: The following month four board members retired and E H Bayley and Sir Edward Jenkinson were appointed. Not then up for re-election Sturmey remained a director but did resign from the board in May 1899 following major changes in the members of senior management. Adding to it a body built to his own design by Mulliners of Northampton, Sturmey took delivery of the ninth Daimler built at Coventry in September 1897 and in October carried out
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#1732800996198300-498: The market and 300 pages long the first edition was sold out within a month. Following an unsuccessful attempt to sell bicycles made to his own design he took up the post of mathematics and science master at Brynavor Hall College, Towyn but continued to develop material for another book on cycling. He then moved to Coventry to The British Boys School in King Street near the heart of the new cycle industry. Becoming associated with
325-453: The public gaze and died at his home in Harrow, London on 12 July 1925 aged 73. After Lawson's death, Herbert Osbaldeston Duncan , former Commercial Manager of his British Motor Syndicate , described him thus: "He was neither a greedy man nor an egoist. On the contrary he was always fair and extremely generous. He paid largely and was most liberal in the golden days of his success. A cheque
350-650: The publishing firm of Iliffe & Son around 1877, he edited the Cyclist later The Cycle and Motorcycle Trades Review and frequently contributed to other cycling papers. Sturmey was from 1879 an early leader in what became the Cyclists' Touring Club . In 1893 he founded the International Cycling Association to hold the World's cycling championships each year. It was superseded in 1901 by
375-559: The rights of Gottlieb Daimler though this company too was to be reorganised in 1904. After a succession of business failures, British Motor Syndicate was reorganised and renamed British Motor Traction Company in 1901, led by Selwyn F. Edge . Many of Lawson's patents were not as defining as he had hoped, and from 1901 a series of legal cases saw the value in his holdings eroded. Lawson's patent rights were subsequently eroded through successful lawsuits by Automobile Mutual Protective Association . In 1904 Lawson, along with Ernest Terah Hooley ,
400-449: The same course. Lawson was born on February 23, 1852, in the City of London the son of Thomas Lawson, a Calvinistic Methodist minister and brass turner and his wife Anne Lucy Kent. In 1873 the family moved to Brighton and Lawson designed several types of bicycle. His efforts were described as the "first authentic design of safety bicycle employing chain-drive to the rear wheel which
425-418: The three-speed was very brief and in reality consisted of little more than allowing his name to be used to endorse the product. The syndicate was formally established in January 1903 but by July 1904, Sturmey had ceased to be a director. He never again had any involvement with Bowden, Raleigh or the syndicate's successor, Sturmey-Archer. On the same day that the syndicate was formed, Archer and Reilly entered into
450-564: Was a British bicycle designer, racing cyclist, motor industry pioneer, and fraudster. As part of his attempt to create and control a British motor industry Lawson formed and co floated The Daimler Motor Company Limited in London in 1896. It later began manufacture in Coventry . Lawson organised the 1896 Emancipation Day drive now commemorated annually by the London to Brighton Veteran Car Run on
475-488: Was a director and deputy chairman. The initial prospectus for the flotation of the Daimler company listed him among the directors as J J Henry Sturmey of Iliffe & Sturmey, Coventry. Chairman H J Lawson rarely attended board meetings, Sturmey usually presided and involved himself in day-to-day activities gaining the reputation of "live wire" at the firm. He used the columns of Autocar to promote and support Daimler. However
500-412: Was a more practical and profitable proposition to manufacture Reilly's hub rather than Sturmey's. Henry Sturmey was bitterly disappointed by Frank Bowden's action and threatened to take his hub elsewhere. Sturmey was a well known expert on bicycle gearing and his name was valuable to Bowden to give the new three-speed hub credibility. Bowden persuaded Sturmey to stay with the project and an elaborate story
525-492: Was a two-speed designed by William Reilly. It was simply called The Hub and was launched in 1898 by The Hub 2-Speed Gear Company of Salford. William Reilly signed away his rights to any of his future bicycle gear inventions to The Hub company and soon left them to work at Royce of Manchester. Henry Sturmey took the hub gear concept further and designed a three-speed hub which, unlike the original version of The Hub, incorporated automatic freewheeling. Sturmey successfully applied for
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#1732800996198550-646: Was actually made" and has been ranked alongside John Kemp Starley as an inventor of the modern bicycle. In 1879 he married Elizabeth Olliver (b.1850) in Brighton. They went on to have four children, two sons and two daughters. In the early 1880s he moved to Coventry . Lawson saw great opportunities in the creation of a motor car industry in Britain and sought to enrich himself by garnering important patents and shell companies . In 1895, as one of many attempts to promote his schemes and lobby Parliament for
575-430: Was concocted to give the impression of technical collaboration between Sturmey, Archer, Reilly, G.P. Mills (Raleigh's chief designer) and Alfred Pellant, the agent for Archer and Reilly. This story portrayed Sturmey as the leading figure in the fictitious collaboration, a pretence he maintained for the rest of his life. However, Sturmey's involvement with The Three-Speed Gear Syndicate established by Bowden to make and market
600-424: Was formed at Wellingborough to accommodate the 33 pupils who moved, and Weymouth House still exists; since 1989 it has been the girls' house of the school. Weymouth College aimed "to provide for the sons of gentlemen a classical, mathematical and general education of the highest class". The building was designed by George Rackstraw Crickmay in 1864. Pevsner described the building as "The High Victorian style in
625-522: Was tried in court for fraudulently obtaining money from his shareholders and, after representing himself in court, he was found guilty and sentenced to one year's hard labour. Lawson was completely out of the automobile industry by 1908 and disappeared from the public gaze for some years. He reappeared as a director of Blériot Manufacturing Aircraft Company Ltd., the English branch of Louis Blériot 's aircraft company. Lawson secretly acquired control of
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