Osborn Engineering Company

Last updated

Osborn Engineering Company was a British manufacturer of motorcycles, which sold its machines under the OEC brand name.

Contents

OEC motorcycle on display at the Milestones Museum Oec-fvm288.jpg
OEC motorcycle on display at the Milestones Museum

The Osborn Engineering Company and its predecessor companies were founded by Frederick John Osborn, trading in partnership with W.T. Lord until 1906 with works in Shepherd's Bush, then as Osborn & Co Ltd, and later as Osborn Engineering Company. In the 1920s they had a 2-acre factory at Lees Lane, Gosport, and were engaged in a wide range of engineering activities. They built motorcycles for Burney & Blackburne, then from 1922 produced them as OEC-Blackburne, then later just OEC. Initially they used Blackburne engines, but later used other engine manufacturers such as JAP. The Osborn Engineering Company went into receivership in 1931, and the extensive premises at Lees Lane, Gosport were auctioned by the receiver on 17 December 1931. [1] However the motorcycle part of the business survived and by 1933 OEC motorcycles were being produced by O.E.C. Ltd of Portsmouth. During the Second World War, OEC ceased motorcycle production to concentrate on war work, but went back to motorcycle production before ceasing production in 1954.

Osborn & Co

Osborn & Co Ltd was formed in 1906 when the partnership of Frederick John Osborn and William Thorburn Lord, agents and automobile engineers was dissolved. [2] Osborn and Lord had been UK Agents for the Gregoire cars, and adverts of the time stated that you purchased the car and then had "bodies built by London coach-builders to your own design and colour". Osborn and Lord had their works adjoining the Empire Theatre at Shepherd's Bush. Osborn & Co Ltd continued as UK agents and exhibited the Gregoire car at the Olympia Motor Show from 1906 to 1909. The account of the 1908 Olympia show mentions that Osborn & Co were also involved with the Lynton resilient wheel and tyre. [3]

During WW1 Osborn & Co were involved in supply of horse boxes to the RSPCA - these had Commer 3-ton chassis and Mulliner bodywork. [4] Towards the end of WW1 F.J. Osborn patented a horse box designed to help transport injured horses (GB130774 8/8/1918), and in Dec 1918 the company advertised the Mulliner-Osborn de luxe horse box. [5] The company address at that time was still 4 Great Marlborough Street, London.

In 1919 Osborn and Co Ltd acquired the former United AirCraft Ltd factory in Lees Lane, Gosport. In 1920 they advertised a diverse range of service from their 2-acre factory, including plating, enamelling, turning, milling, grinding, gear cutting, hardening, press work, sand blasting, smith's work and they claimed 20 years experience in automobile manufacture and also that they are the maker of the "Blackburne" motorcycle. In the advert they referred to themselves as Osborn & Co Ltd, Consulting Engineers (United Aircraft Co Ltd.) Lees Lane, Gosport. [6]

In 1921 they advertised themselves as Electrical Engineering contractors, covering electric light, dynamos, motors, cinema plant, country house lighting installation and maintenance. Their Telegram name continued to be "Planes" Gosport. [7] In March 1921 a similar advert stated they made the Blackburne Motorcycle, the Sirron Light Chassis, and Motor Bodies of all types for the Fiat Company. [8]

OEC Motorcycles

OEC Duplex Steering Spring Chassis 1934 OEC Duplex Steering system 1934.jpg
OEC Duplex Steering Spring Chassis 1934

While Osborn & Co advertise in early 1921, at the November 1921 Olympia Show the Blackburne motorcycles were shown by the Osborn Engineering Company Ltd. Among the motorcycles on the stand was the 1090cc Blackburne motorcycle with a luxury sidecar designed for use as a taxi-cab. This was a conventional motorcycle except in one striking aspect, it had a steering wheel instead of handlebars (with the steering wheel connected to the forks by worm and bevel gearing). In 1922 Burney & Blackburne Ltd ceased selling the Blackburne motorcycle, and instead focussed on engine sales. The Osborn Engineering Company - who had built the Blackburne motorcycles - took over the sales of the completed motorcycles marketing them as OEC-Blackburne, and later just OEC.

The OEC-Blackburne stand at the 1922 show exhibited the same sidecar with steering wheel as in 1921 but as the OEC-Blackburne [9] Other OEC-Blackburne motorcycles on show in 1922 included a 349cc side-valve touring solo, a 348cc overhead-valve sports solo (also available with light sidecar), a 545cc single with sidecar, and 998cc V-twin sidecar models with either single and double seat sidecars.

In 1927 OEC introduced its first bike with unusual patented duplex front fork system (e.g. US Patent No 1715246 [10] and 1780034 [11] ), and this was to be fitted to all their models. The next year they patented a novel rear swinging arm suspension design (US Patent No 1816788). At the 1929 Olympia show Osborn Engineering Company listed 350cc and 500cc motorcycles, in either side-valve or overhead-valve form, all with the unusual duplex fork arrangement. However the novel design was not a success, and the Osborn Engineering Company went into receivership in 1931, and their huge factory in Gosport was sold by the receiver and became Ashley's wallpaper factory.

The motorcycle business was resurrected by a financial tie-up with dealers Glanfield and Lawrence in 1932, [12] as O.E.C. Ltd of Atlanta Works, Highbury Street, Portsmouth, and in 1934 in addition to motorcycles it announced a very unusual vehicle - the two wheel car. This was the brainchild of Mr Norman Frederick Wood, designer and director - and was in effect a motorcycle enclosed completely in a slender car type body with wheel steering, and tandem seating for two. [13] By 1935 this unusual vehicle was being marketed as the Whitwood monocar, however it was not a success and was discontinued in 1936.

The most famous model produced by the firm was the OEC Commander introduced in 1938, with a 500 cc single-cylinder Matchless engine, Girling brakes, sprung frame and duplex steering plus a claimed top speed of 80 mph. [14]

During WW2 the works changed over to manufacturing aircraft undercarriage parts, however it was also involved with the rather strange and unsuccessful secret weapon known as the Great Panjandrum [12] which will be familiar to devotees of "Dad's Army" as an imitation of it featured in an episode in 1972. The works was bombed during the war and when production restarted it was at Stramshaw Road, Portsmouth.

In 1949 the company commenced production of the Atlanta, a lightweight machine with a choice of 122 cc or 197 cc Villiers engines, followed in 1951 by the Apollo, with a 248 cc side-valve Brockhouse engine. Neither of these postwar machines was successful and the company ceased production in 1954.

Speed Record

In the 1920s and 1930s there were numerous attempts at gaining the motorcycle speed record by various companies, and OEC was one of them. Their first success came about by teaming up with Claude Temple, who used the unusual OEC fork arrangement which had the virtue of great straight line stability (only a virtue if you want to go in a straight line!). Using a 996cc JAP engine in the OEC frame he gained the world speed record at Arpajon in France in 1926 at 121.44 mph. The record stood until August 1928 when it was taken by a Brough Superior.

On 31 August 1930 a motorcycle with a special OEC frame - the OEC-Temple-JAP - ridden by Joe Wright gained the world speed record at Arpajon, France, at 137.32 mph. [15] Less than a month later the record was taken by Ernst Henne on a supercharged BMW to 137.85 mph (221.85 km/h) at Ingolstadt, Germany.

OEC and Joe Wright set to regain the record in Cork in November 1930, and while the record was broken at 150.7 mph on 6 November, and the OEC-Temple-JAP was exhibited as the record-breaker at the Olympia show - the truth turned out to be that the OEC developed an engine problem, and the record breaking ride was on a backup Zenith-JAP motorcycle. The Zenith company being in financial difficulties, and OEC paying for the record attempt, the facts got mis-reported. The truth did however come out fairly soon after the Olympia show. [16]

Related Research Articles

Morgan Motor Company British motor vehicle manufacturer

The Morgan Motor Company is a English motor car manufacturer owned by Italian investment group Investindustrial. It was founded in 1910 by Henry Frederick Stanley Morgan.

Velocette Defunct motorcycle manufacturer in the United Kingdom

Velocette is a line of motorcycles made by Veloce Ltd, in Hall Green, Birmingham, England. One of several motorcycle manufacturers in Birmingham, Velocette was a small, family-owned firm, selling almost as many hand-built motorcycles during its lifetime, as the mass-produced machines of the giant BSA and Norton concerns. Renowned for the quality of its products, the company was "always in the picture" in international motorcycle racing, from the mid-1920s through the 1950s, culminating in two World Championship titles and its legendary and still-unbeaten 24 hours at over 100 mph (161 km/h) record. Veloce, while small, was a great technical innovator and many of its patented designs are commonplace on motorcycles today, including the positive-stop foot shift and swinging arm rear suspension with hydraulic dampers. The business suffered a gradual commercial decline during the late 1960s, eventually closing in February 1971.

Coventry Victor was a British motorcycle and car manufacturer. Originally Morton & Weaver, a proprietary engine manufacturer in Hillfields, Coventry, founded in 1904, the company changed its name to Coventry Victor Motors in 1911. The company closed in 1971.

The Scott Motorcycle Company was owned by Scott Motors (Saltaire) Limited, Shipley, West Yorkshire, England and was a well-known producer of motorcycles and light engines for industry. Founded by Alfred Angas Scott in 1908 as the Scott Engineering Company in Bradford, Yorkshire, Scott motorcycles were produced until 1978.

Excelsior Motor Company

Excelsior, based in Coventry, was a British bicycle, motorcycle and car maker. They were Britain’s first motorcycle manufacturer, starting production of their own ‘motor-bicycle’ in 1896. Initially they had premises at Lower Ford Street, Coventry, and 287-295 Stoney Stanton Road, Hillfields, Coventry, Warwickshire before moving to Kings Road, Tyseley, Birmingham in 1921.

New Hudson (company)

The New Hudson Cycle Co. was originally started in 1890 by George Patterson, and manufactured 'safety' bicycles in Birmingham. In 1903 they produced their first motorcycle, but times became tough for Patterson after one of his sons died in WW1 and the other lost a leg. The family sold the factory to HJ Bructon after WW1, and in 1920 the company was reformed as New Hudson Ltd.

The Xtra was an English three-wheel cyclecar launched at the Olympia show in November 1921 and built until 1924 by Xtra Cars, Ltd., of London Road, Chertsey, Surrey.

Cotton (motorcycle) Former British motorcycle manufacturer

The Cotton Motor Company, was a British motorcycle manufacturer of 11a Bristol Road, Gloucester, and was founded by Frank Willoughby Cotton in 1918. F.W. presided over the company until his retirement in 1953. The company was reconstituted as E. Cotton (Motorcycles) Ltd, and traded until 1980. The marque was later resurrected in the late 1990s by a business which manufactured replicas of earlier machines.

Rudge-Whitworth British bicycle, motorcycle and sports car manufacturer

Rudge Whitworth Cycles was a British bicycle, bicycle saddle, motorcycle and sports car wheel manufacturer that resulted from the merger of two bicycle manufacturers in 1894, Whitworth Cycle Co. of Birmingham, founded by Charles Henry Pugh and his two sons Charles Vernon and John, and Rudge Cycle Co. of Coventry.

The Sheppee was an English steam automobile manufactured in York by the Sheppee Motor Company run by Colonel Francis Henry Sheppee, son of Lieutenant-Colonel Francis Faulkener Sheppee. After long service with the army in India, Colonel F.H. Sheppee created the Sheppee Motor Company in Thomas Street, York around 1902. The firm mainly made steam-driven commercial vehicles but in 1912 at least two passenger cars were made with 25 hp engines and flash boilers. In 1913 they announced they had got a site on the Birmingham Road near Worcester where they would build a new factory for production of their 3-ton steam wagons.

Rex, Rex Motorcycles, Rex-Acme, was a car and motorcycle company which began in Birmingham, England in 1900. Rex soon merged with a Coventry maker of bicycles and cars named Allard and then later in 1922 the company merged with Coventry's 'Acme' motorcycle company forming 'Rex Acme'. The company existed until 1933, and, in its heyday, was considered one of the greatest names in the British motorcycle industry.

Blackburne was a trade name of Burney and Blackburne Limited a British manufacturer of motorcycles from 1913 to 1922 at Tongham near Farnham, Surrey. They were also a major supplier of engines to other motor cycle and light car makers and continued to make these until 1937. Burney and Blackburne also made small aircraft engines.

Humber Motorcycles

Humber Limited was a pioneering British motorcycle manufacturer. Humber produced the first practical motorcycle made in Britain by fitting one of their Humber bicycles with an E. J. Pennington two-horsepower motor in 1896.

Zenith Motorcycles

Zenith Motorcycles was a British motorcycle and automobile manufacturer established in Finsbury Park, London in 1903, by W.G. Bowers. Automobile manufacture only lasted from 1905–1906. The first Zenith motorcycle was the 'BiCar' of 1903, based on Tooley's Bi-Car design, which was purchased by Zenith for its own production. The BiCar was a unique design with hub-center steering and a low-slung chassis with the engine centrally fixed.

ABC motorcycles British motorcycle manufacturer

ABC motorcycles was a British motorcycle manufacturer established in 1914 by Ronald Charteris in London. Several British motorcycle firms started up with the name "ABC", including Sopwith. The All British Engine Company Ltd. of London was founded in 1912 and later changed to ABC Motors Ltd. With chief engineer Granville Bradshaw, Charteris built a range of engines throughout the First World War. From 1913 ABC produced motorcycle engines.

Quadrant (motorcycles) Defunct British motorcycle manufacturer

Quadrant was one of the earliest British motorcycle manufacturers, established in Birmingham in 1901. Famous for their big singles, Quadrant pioneered many innovations that proved important for motorcycle development but struggled after the First World War and the company was wound up in 1928.

Hazlewoods Limited

Hazlewoods Limited of Coventry were manufacturers of bicycles from 1895, and motorcycles from 1911 until closure c. 1923. They were typical many British companies who proceeded from bicycle manufacture to motorised bicycles, a change made possible by engine and geared hub suppliers.

Grindlay Peerless Former English motorcycle manufacturer

Grindlay Peerless is a historic motorcycle manufacturer that operated out of Coventry, England, throughout the early 20th-century, specialising in racing machines including the record breaking 498cc Grindlay Peerless.

F. E. Baker Ltd was a British motorcycle engine and cyclecar engine manufacturer based in the Precision Works, Moorsom Street, Birmingham, England. Founded in 1906 by Frank Edward Baker, the company produced motorcycle engines under the Precision trademark until 1919. Precision engines were used by a wide range of motorcycle manufacturers in the United Kingdom and in other parts of the Commonwealth and were also used in cyclecars. Many manufacturers used the 'Precision' trademark as part of their model names, and in 1912 there was a 'Precision' motorcycle sold in Australia, but it is unclear if this was manufactured by F.E. Baker or just permitted use of the trademark by a motorcycle manufacturer.

Arthur William Wall British engineer (1874 - unknown)

Arthur William Wall was an engineer in the field of motorised transport and inventor of the self-powered wheel in England in the early 20th century. He is best known for his creation of the self-powered wheel, the Wall Autowheel, which could be used to power a bicycle, but he was also the man behind Roc motorcycles and a tricar and four-wheel cyclecar. His main company was A.W. Wall Ltd, but he created several other companies to compartmentalise his different activities, such as the Roc Gear Co, who supplied epicyclic gears to a significant number of manufacturers before WW1.

References

  1. Portsmouth Evening News, 28 Nov 1931, p2
  2. The London Gazette, 27 Apr 1906, p2901
  3. Motors at Olympia, Daily Telegraph & Courier (London), 18 Nov 1908, p15
  4. Advert, Motor Traction, 13 Mar 1918
  5. Advert, Illustrated Sporting and Dramatic News, 28 Dec 1918, p24
  6. Advertisement, Portsmouth Evening News, 14 October 1920, p3
  7. Advertisement, Portsmouth Evening News, 13 January 1921, p2
  8. Advertisement, Portsmouth Evening News, 31 March 1921, p3
  9. The Olympia Show, The Motor Cycle, 30 November 1922, p839
  10. "Frame for motor cycles and like vehicles".
  11. "Frame and steering means for motor cycles and like vehicles".
  12. 1 2 Historic Gosport, https://historicgosport.uk/o-e-c-motorcycles/
  13. Two Wheel Car Arrives, Daily Mirror, 6 July 1934, p4
  14. Introducing the new 1939 OEC Commander, Chatham News. 20 Jan 1939, p2
  15. New World's Record, The Daily Mirror, 2 Sept 1930, p20
  16. Wrong Machine Shown as Record Breaker, Birmingham Daily Gazette, 10 Dec 1930, p1

Further reading