William Lyons (1901 - 1985) was a Car manufacturer Britannique, creator of the mark Jaguar.

Biography

Wire of a musician (also fore-mentioned William) come to settle in the tourist city of Blackpool to found its business, Lyon there' S Music and Pianoforte Warehouse, William sees the day the September 4th 1901.

His/her mother is called Minnie and her Carol big sister. Its studies are neither good nor bad, but towards the 17 years age it is interested in the motor bike. However, William father already became an influential personality of Blackpool and succeeds in placing her son as apprentice at Crossley Motors while it would follow courses of the evening to the technical training school Manchester.

At the end of the Great War, Crossley disappears and Lyons returns to the fold, not knowing too what to make (he wants to even launch out in the manufacture of Gramophone S!). Of needle and thread it is a place of salesman in a garage of Rover and Morris and buys a whole series of Motocyclette S.

Somewhat of time later, in 1921, of new neighbors settle: Walmsley. One should not to the young man a long time to realize that the corner attracts many young people motorcylcists who set out again with a motorcycle combination attached to their mounting. Walmsley (also a William) approached the thirty years of age, his wife awaited their second child and William Lyons, who had gotten one of the motorcycle combinations artisanalement manufactured, had started to sell some of them.

Walmsley was not very ambitious, but under the influence of his wife the establishment of a joint undertaking accepted. The company took its rise, Walmsley dealing with the production of the motorcycle combinations and Lyons of the sales, promotion and the recruitings (Lyons was not yet 21 years old, and it is his/her father who signed papers).

In 1922, it is major. The sales go good progress and Lyons proves to be a very good “promoter” of Swallow motorcycle combination (the name comes from the small car to pedals of Walmsley which his/her father had thus baptized), and the sales abroad start, particularly with certain Emil Frey in Suisse which becomes the first agent of Swallow.

The mark had moved in larger workshops and in 1927 announces its first car, Austin Swallow Two Seater with an aluminum body, stylée. Swallow becomes manufacturer of cars. Austin is followed of good of other recarrossés frames, like Sunbeam Hornet, Morris and other FIAT (though later, with Coventry, with the Vauxhall). More than recarrossées, these frames are modified to offer an improved control: benign details like the heights of columns steering completely ignored their manufacturers of origin.

On the one hand the place starts to miss, and the heart of the Britannique car is in Coventry. Towards the autumn of 1928, the decision is taken. Removal thus towards “where that occurs”, in a factory of shell closed down with the floor fixed by copper nails to minimize the risks of sparks. The place is rented with a three year old contract with option of repurchase after this period.

We are in Whitmore Park with Foleshill, and the street becomes some time Swallow Road later. 1928, it is also the crisis. But as that in the newspaper interns “Apprentices Jaguar' Magazine was written later”, the 12 hours work per day for all the levels of the factory did not leave time to think and reach moral each one of it.

Enough curiously, the removal is done without too many clashes, and since work there was, the majority of the employees move, followed families gradually. The business of the motorcycle combinations continues to thrive: Lyons as a large treasurer, uses all the falls of wood and carpet for their construction and completion! It will be known later that even for the official presentations on scene, the curtains were in fact of the interior fabrics of completion which were going to once take again their destiny on the line production their accomplished temporary work. Even treatment for the carpets! These methods “economic”, allied with its acute sense of the style, were always what made it possible Lyons to produce, initially motorcycle combinations, then cars which are always less expensive than it appears. Nothing is lost!

Finally, the mark S (Standard Swallow) is born in 1931 and with it the S 1 thanks to an agreement between owner from Standard John Black and William Lyons. Standard delivers the frames of Type 16 very modified to lower them a maximum as well as the motors six cylinders. The public is époustouflé by the line of this machine. It is first time well there that two people can tighten the hand with the top of a roof of car! A smaller model, naturally named SS2 also arrives, animated by one four cylinders. The range is packed with even more engines with the choice, version opened, and “Airline celebrates it”. In 1935, arrives the famous S 90 at short frame (way of the SS1 but footing of the SS2), but it is also the arrival of Bill Heynes (quod vacuum) and the startup of the program of what was going to become the `100.

in 1945, the Swallow Sidecar Company takes officially the name of Jaguar.

The June 18th 1960, Lyons buys Daimler established with Radford and in order to keep the customers faithful to the mark decides to make a Daimler version of Mk 2, affluent of the V8 engine conceived by Edward Turner.

Then in March 1963, it is the turn of Coventry Climax (see Hassan), followed by good of other marks, to fall into the Jaguar empire.

The July 11th 1966, Lyons decides to amalgamate with George Harriman of BMC in order to ensure a greater commercial viability. Lyons leaves its position of director of Jaguar on January 1st 1968 but remains President Exécutif about it.

But here is the ball which arrives: BMC has bad results this year and British Leyland wants to consolidate: all the business becomes political. However, Lyons keeps a firm hand on the developments of its cars, preventing a too large seizure of British Leyland on Jaguar. But the Syndicat S did nothing but worsen the things and in 1972 the factory is paralyzed during ten weeks! That made more than 50 years that Lyons started Swallow with Walmsley, and it has nearly 71 years. It takes its retirement, but one always comes to consult it in his residence of Wappenburry Hall, his residence since 1937.

He will die the February 8th 1985.

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