I
thought I would do a more detail article on the Life of the Man who
made it all happen.
The section will be added to, over many months
This
is the Story of Herbert Austin
from Boy to Lord.
(known
to all who worked for him, affectionally as) "The Old
Man"
Herbert
Austin who was born on the 8th November 1866 to Mr Giles Stevens
Austin, a farmer and his mother Clara Jane Austin daughter of
Willoughby Simpson, an officer in HM Customs. They lived at Grange
Farm in the small village of Little Missenden, Buckinghamshire
which lies in the shadow of the Cotswold Hills. He was christened
Herbert Austin at the local Parish Church of St John The
Baptist.
After
four years the family moved to a small village in Wentworth, South
Yorkshire, his father becoming Farm Bailiff to Earl Fitzwilliam. In
this small community there was very little to do as a small boy, so
as he grew up, it became obvious to his parents that his talent lay
in the way of drawing. At the age of six he would spend many hours
especially in the winter months at the large table making freehand
drawings of various subjects.
It
was his ability to draw anything mechanical which gave him the most
enjoyment. Friends and family used to be amazed that this small boy
could produce drawings that were of a geometrical nature that had
the right sizes and proportion to be almost three dimensional. This
skill was something that stayed with him through out his life. What
was even more surprising was that nobody in the family before-hand
had shown this aptitude.
Rotherham
Grammar School
When
he was older, he attended the Rotherham Grammar School, which meant
a daily round trip of 10 miles on foot come summer or winter. Along
with his passion in drawing his artistic skills were also to show
in his interest in music, and spent many hours enjoying the works
of great composers. He becoming a chorister in Wentworth St Peters
Church.
Wentworth
St Peters Church
After
leaving Rotherham Grammar School he attended the Brampton
Commercial College for about two years. It was at this point his
parents decided that his artistic talent could be used, so that he
should take up a profession in architecture. As his uncle was
architect to Earl Fitzwilliam. who had shown a willingness to have
Herbert join him, so an apprenticeship was entered into. This
arrangement did not bode well, as Herbert's heart was really in
engineering. So it was not long before the Uncle was having words
with Hertbert's parents that the apprenticeship would have to be
cancelled.
GNR
Motif
So
his parents decided to apply for an apprenticeship with the Great
Northern Railway. This Railway Company had been formed in 1846, it
expanded and took over many small railway companies of the day,
with its main activities been the transporting of coal. There were
no vacancies at that time, but Herbert was duly registered, and it
was arranged that he should enter upon his five years' training
immediately a vacancy occurred.
He was determined to improving his skill in freehand drawing, and
won several prizes for life-size crayon enlargements from
photographs. But it was in drawings of mechanical objects that he
receive most distinction.
It was whilst waiting for a vacancy with the Great Northern
Railways that he remembered that his mother had a brother in
Australia who had always been going on about what a fascinating
country it was. Being a young country that need men who were
willing to work hard and it would reward them richly for there
efforts. So this was to become his vision for the future.
His uncle who was managing a engineering firm in Melbourne was
going to visit them in a few months time, so was this the break he
needed, could he convince his parents that he wished to go back
with his uncle to Australia.
With uncle's visit now only weeks away, it was time to put his plan
into action. So he would seize an opportunity to get mother by
herself (how many times have we done this) and convince her that he
would like to return with his uncle to Australia. It appears that
over time she could see that he would only be happy if this could
happen. Now it was only a case of convincing father, but with
mother on his side it wouldn't be too difficult.
A few days after his uncle had arrived, the question was broached.
His uncle said that he was happy to take him back to Australia, so
after further pleading with his parents, permission was finally
granted.
So
yet again his apprenticeship, this time with the Great Northern
Railway had to be called off, as now it was a sea voyage to the
land of opportunities.
Australia
The
journey in those days took many months so I am sure although at
times he wondered when he would arrive, his time would have been
put to good use. Although only a young man in his late teens he was
very focused, and no doubt used his time to draw and plan out what
he would do, down under..
On the day they arrived in Melbourne it was the hottest the city
had experienced for many years. The next day his uncle who loved
horse racing took him to see the 1884 Melbourne Cup. Next day he
was in the North Melbourne engineering shop where his uncle was
manager for the Scottish owner Mephan Ferguson. It was here that he
received a grounding in general engineering particularly been a
mechanic. The company was of medium size but soon grew with this
canny Scot in charge. One thing he would never allow was to work on
a Sunday, but come Monday morning it was all hands to the pump and
this probable was good grounding for Herbert, that if you want to
succeed you have to work for it.
It
is interesting that his inventive genius, which had lay dormant,
was now showing through. As having only been in Australia for about
a years, had already applied for his first patent in the form of a
locking plate for railway fish-plates. He showed that he was
willing to have ago at anything that would involve his engineering
and design skills.
In his spare time his passion for drawing was catered for by
attending the Hotham Art School again in Melbourne, and as was the
case in England his work surprised his teachers. Although he was in
the Junior Section of the school, his work was of such high
standard that his work was put in the Senior Division for marking,
and even then he carried away the first prize. So this was the
first stage in him becoming a automobile designer.
After
two years he felt that it was time to move on, so severing the
family ties with his uncle he moved to another Melbourne company
which imported and installed Crossley gas engines and printing
presses. This again lasted about two years but in those years he
obtained more skills which would be useful later on.
He was only twenty one when the Government of Victoria invited
designs and estimates for a swing bridge over the Yarra River at
the end of Spencer Street, Melbourne, This would be a real
challenge, so it was only possible to work on the design in the
evenings and some wekends. His designs and estimates were duly
submitted. He was not successful, but was told that for such a
young man he was very talented.
The Langland’s Foundry Company, also of Melbourne was his next
move. This company had more bearing on his engineering life that
the others. He was quoted as saying, "I have mixed memories of this
particular shop, but I feel that I owe to it a very great debt of
gratitude, for it was here that I received a thorough training as a
mechanic."
After
leaving the Langlands Foundry, Herbert Austin managed to secure a
post as manager of a small engineering firm. Some of the work which
came his way in this capacity was in connection with the Wolseley
Sheep Shearing Company, from which his firm had obtained an order.
In the course of his work he was able to see various weaknesses in
the machinery, which he pointed out to the manufacturer. Several of
his suggestions for improvement of the machinery were adopted by
the Wolseley Company. Obvious he impressed the Wolseley management,
because he was latter offered the post of Manager.
The machine had many advantages over hand blade shearing, it
produced a better clip closer to the animal along with fewer nicks.
Having proved that this method was faster and better than hand
operation, he travelled across the country promoting the machines,
and wining orders and in 1888 was transferred to the Sydney
office.
A year earlier he had married Helen Dron, the daughter of James
Dron of Melbourne, on 26th December 1887 in Melbourne. Herbert
Austin, later had two daughters, and a son who was killed in France
in the First World War. At the age of 27 he had an invitation from
Frederick Wolseley to return to Birmingham, England, to supervise
the manufacture of sheep shearing equipment. This was because the
company had received a great many complaints from customers that
the machines were unreliable.
_________________________
Returning
to England
Herbert
Austin was called back to England in 1893 to sort out the quality
of the sheep-shearing machines that were giving Wolseley a bad
name. It was not a very good home coming as his wife and first
child were not well. He had left Sydney at short notice, selling
his house at a reduced price, for a quick sale. An arrangement had
been agreed where by he exchanged the patents held on the machine
for eighty shares in the company and took up the position of
Production Manager.
The difficulties with the machines was soon addressed, with the
company actually repurchasing the whole of the faulty machines.
Some could be rectified but most were scrapped, this procedure
costing the company a great deal of money. In the first ten years
of Herbert Austin controlling production, things were very tough
because the company's capital had been largely consumed in
connection with the shipment of faulty products. With a view to
keeping the cost down to the minimum, the company decided to start
a workshop in Birmingham mainly because of the fact that most of
the machine parts were produced there. The first premises were in
Broad Street, and chosen because of their cheapness rather than
with an eye to convenience. Operations had to be conducted with
remarkable economy, Herbert Austin had learned his lesson during
his years in Australia, and was now able to impress upon his
directors and his men that, in order to be good enough for overseas
conditions, machinery had to be of the very finest quality.
Second-rate apparatus could not function without failure under
conditions which were so very severe. Even though he succeeded in
impressing upon his own men the urgent necessity for exactitude and
care, still he was faced with shortcomings in the parts supplied
from outside suppliers. Because of the poor quality on some
components bought in, a decision was made to move to a larger works
at Alma Street, Aston, Birmingham, and so manufacture as many
components itself. With the quality now good, the next challenge
was to restore confidence in the product, this proved to be a slow
process.
It
was now that the company looked at other products to keep the
workforce and machinery busy. This took the form of making machine
tools principally for cotton machine makers, along with supplying
parts for the bicycle manufactures, of which there were many around
the Midlands. Herbert Austin even designed a bicycle, but was never
put into production. Another side line was machine tools, and at
Alma Street there was produced the first vertical semi-automatic
chucking lathe, which was considered to be a remarkable piece of
workmanship when exhibited at the Paris Salon.
Herbert Austin then started to look at making a motor car, the main
board were not convinced that this would be a good move, so did not
back him. This did not dampen his enthusiasm, so in his own time he
set to work on making his own car. Various designs were looked at,
but his second Wolseley car, or should it have been called an
Austin if he was funding it himself.
Wolseley
Autocar
Wolseley
Autocar No. 1 was revealed. It was a three wheeled design (one
front, two rear) featuring independent rear suspension, mid engine
and back to back seating for two adults. In June, 1898, Herbert
Austin drove a Wolseley car to Rhyl and back a distance of about
255 miles, averaging around eight miles per hour, carrying two
passengers without experiencing any kind of breakdown. The end
result was it received favourable comments from the board and they
decided to fund a four wheel car, this was called the Wolseley
"Voiturette" in 1899. In 1900 his latest baby was entered in the
1,000 miles trial, which proved successful and on the strength of
this the board elected him to the board as a director in
1901.
Wolseley
Voiturette with Herbert Austin at the
wheel
He
was concerned that because of the cash restraints, his vision for
the future would not materialise without an injection of money,
from outside the company. Herbert Austin was at the time in touch
with Sir Hiram Maxim (Vickers Shipbuilders) so he approached the
company Vickers Sons and Maxim with the suggestion that it should
take over the machine tool and motor side of the Wolseley concern.
At this time the great shipbuilding firm was in the heyday of its
success, and was prepared to consider any additional enterprise
that looked promising. A deal was put to the Wolseley board, which
was accepted, and Herbert Austin was made General Manager, with the
company renamed The Wolseley Tool and Motor Car Company. With
finance behind them, a new factory was erected and called Adderley
Park to replace Alma Street.
Adderley
Park 1901
It
is interesting that although he was now the General Manager of
Wolseley, part of him wasn't sure it was right for him. As the was
quoted as saying, "In a sense it is possible that I made a mistake
when I took over the management of Wolseley Company for Messrs
Vickers, in that I did not commence to build cars on my own
account. It would, of course, have had to be in a very small way,
but it might have been better from the personal stand point, than
managing somebody else's business. It would have been a slow
process, however, and also somewhat
unsafe."
So
what were the main problems for the car manufacturers of the time.
it appears that there were three main areas that affected the
reliability of the vehicles.
A reliable ignition system, as at the time only the hot wire type
was available. Next came the tyres, which partly because of the
poor roads in some areas, punctures were quite frequent also the
milage covered per tyre was very low. Transmission in the form of
the gearbox, were very noisy and they had very wooly gear changes.
It is this area that Herbert Austin came up with the universal gate
change in 1895. In the early years, Wolseley cars used horizontal
engines, but later on changed to the vertical type that soon became
the norm.
Financially the company was now on a firm footing, as in 1901 from
February to December the turnover was £22,368 by 1903 the turnover
had risen to £171,136. With the rapid growth of the car business,
the machine tool section took a back seat. So the Wolseley range of
cars expanded and production increased, showing that with Herbert
Austin leadership the company was moving forward in the right
direction.
In 1905 Austin and the Vickers management had a disagreement, we
don't know what brought it to a head, but no doubt Herbert Austin
felt that he was unable to steer the company his way. So this was
the catalyst that made Herbert Austin start looking for a place
that he could call his own.
_________________________
Herbert
Austin Sets Up His Own Company
Just how much
capital would you need to set a car company in 1905, well it
appears that £100,000 is the minimum needed. At the time he had
only £15,000, but what he did have was this reputation that brought
with it design and management skills. Some of this capital came
partly from a son of an old friend, Captain Frank Kayser, (who
owned various companies, including a steel company in Sheffield) he
was his only partner. About a year afterwards, Harvey Du Cros
joined the firm, and later on various members of the family
furnished the additional capital which enabled the company to
expand. At the time, his candid friends ridiculed the idea of
starting a motor manufacturing company on his own account, and
especially doing it seven miles from the centre of Birmingham. But
as the empty workshops at Longbridge were of a size convenient for
his immediate purpose, and there was available plenty of space for
expansion. With the Great Western and the Midland Railway lines
having siding accommodation there, along with his then modest
financial resources he could scarcely arrive at any other decision.
After all it was not that far from the manufacturing centre of
Birmingham which could supply all his needs in the early
years.
His main problem was to get a skilled workforce that would be
willing to travel to Longbridge. But this is what we would call
today a green field site, although he would have to adapted the
buildings from tin box printing to motor manufacture. It was
because he had worked his way up from the shop floor to management
in an engineering environment, he was able to do any job and had
the knowledge of knowing what facilities were needed. This ability
proved invaluable when employing workers, as they soon respected
his judgement, although they may not have always agreed with
everything he did. He no doubt kept a tight reign on his workforce,
and was able to implement different working procedures that would
have not been possible at Wolseley. The old-times at Longbridge
used to say that the "gov'nor" is able to see round corners.
One thing you need when producing cars, is a dealer network.
Herbert Austin had no problem in setting this up, because of his
Wolseley connections he was able to contact various distributors at
home, the Colonies and elsewhere. At the time the sole selling
export agent was put in the hands of Mr R G Ash who had his own
company. This carried on till 1912 when Mr Ash joined the Austin
Motor Company as the export director to expand the markets
overseas.
K
Gate early 1910s
At the end of 1913 Austin and Frank Kayser decided that they needed
more capital to finance and expand the business. The three main
shareholders were Herbert Austin with 186,663, next was Harvey Du
Cross (Dunlop Rubber Company) 18,663 and Frank Kayser with 26,662.
Austin would become chairman and managing director on a five year
contract at a salary of £3,500 a year and 2.5 per cent of the net
profits in each year. All this was signed and sealed in February
1914 and the company was renamed The Austin Motor Company (l914)
Limited. With net turnover at over £400,000 for the year, allowing
for all expenses, depreciation and the setting up of the company,
it made a healthy profit.
Although Austin was happy at the time taking the company public,
when asked in the late 1920s if he though that was a good think he
made the remark, "The truth is that was the biggest mistake I ever
made, had it remained a private concern its development would have
been more personal and less spectacular'
In recognition of the important service Herbert Austin rendered to
his country during the war years, (Link) he was created a
Knight of the British Empire in 1917. He was also honoured with the
Order of Leopold for war services to the Belgium people. It was sad
that his only son was killed in France in January 1915.
After the war it was now time to reorganise the factory back to car
production. The company were able to exercise the option of buying
the North and West Works from the Goverment. Of course the
workforce had to be slimmed down as Government contracts came to an
end. It must have been a very difficult period to decide what type
of vehicle to put into production, and how to price it. To try and
kick start the market, the first model introduced was the Austin
20, which was sold at a very low price. Sales did not really take
off as most people considered it as too big. But then came along
the Austin 12 which was popular. But the real boost in production
and profit came with the Austin Seven.