Sir Henry Royce
Some readers will know very little about Sir Henry. Some will know
quite a lot about him - but it is worth recording again some of his
history and, in consequence, the history of Rolls-Royce.
Frederick Henry Royce was born in 1863. He was not born
into a
wealthy family - his father was a miller. He was firstly a telegraph
boy and then apprenticed to the Great Northern Railways. He was
interested in electricity and developed his knowledge of this industry
at night school. He formed F H Royce and Co. in 1884 when he was twenty
one. That Company manufactured dynamos and electric cranes; parts of
one of the latter were recently acquired by the Foundation.
On the wall of the display floor at the Foundation
is
this wonderful drawing. It shows Royce being encouraged to eat a bowl
of porridge by a devoted employee. Legend has it that he became so
absorbed in production that he seldom remembered to eat. It is flanked
by chassis plate displays made and donated by Barrie Gillings
In 1903 he purchased a small car manufactured in France and set
about improving it to his standards. This led to the production of his
own car, a 10hp, 2 cylinder Royce that first ran on 1 April, 1904. Two
more cars were produced and of the three, only the engine of one
remains in the Manchester Museum. The Honourable Charles Stuart Rolls
met Frederick Henry Royce (as he then was) in May 1904, was impressed
with him and his car and subsequently they formed Rolls-Royce Limited
in April, 1906. The first incomparable Silver Ghost made its appearance
in November, 1906 and with many improvements in its design, was
produced for the next nineteen years.
At the beginning of the First World War, Sir Henry
turned his
mind to aero engines and a long line of superb aero engines was begun.
First came the Eagle then the Hawk followed by the Falcon and then the
Condor. More than half of the Allied aircraft in that war flew with
Rolls-Royce engines all designed by Sir Henry. Immediately after the
war, Alcock and Brown in a Vickers Vimy fitted with two Rolls-Royce
Eagles completed the first air crossing of the Atlantic. Subsequently,
the Kestrel aero engine was produced which lead to the R engine for the
1931 Schneider Trophy races and ultimately, the Merlin based on the
design of the R engine.
In all his designs Sir Henry demonstrated an attention
to
detail never previously seen in the automotive and aeronautical worlds.
His motto was his engineering standard - "Whatever is rightly done -
however humble - is noble". "Rightly done" are the key words in
Rolls-Royce production and there are many fine examples of his
determination to strive for perfection.
The principal objective of the Sir Henry Royce
Foundation,
Australia is to honour Sir Henry's
life and work, to publicise, preserve and maintain examples of his
engineering genius and
perpetuate his engineering philosophy, namely the pursuit of
excellence.
Diversion: A Biography of Sir Henry Royce
|
