Armstrong Siddeley

John Davenport Siddeley was born in 1866. He became one of the most successful of the motoring pioneers of the early twentieth century. Like many of his contemporaries he started with the new bicycle industry in the early 20s.

He joined the Humber Cycle Co in the cycle racing department as a draughtsman. Then in 1893 he joined the Pneumatic Tyre Company. When this company became Dunlop Tyre Co, Siddeley set up his rival Clipper Tyre Company in Coventry. He became an importer of Peugeot cars in 1902, importing the mechanical parts and assembling them with English bodies in Coventry and marketing them as Siddeley Autocars. He had a wide range of cars in his collection from 6hp single cylinder through to 18-24hp cars. In 1905 Siddeley Autocar merged with Wolseley and when Herbert Austin resigned from Wolseley in 1906 to set up his own company, Austin, Siddeley became Sales Manager.
In 1909 J D Siddeley took over the Deasy Motor Co and the company became known as Siddeley Deasy and became a successful mid-range car producer. But by the end of WW1 the company had expanded tenfold from 500 to a 5000-strong workforce. In 1915 the company expanded into airframes and aero engines. After the war there was a shortage of materials, and to maintain supplies Siddeley Deasy merged with the Sir WG Armstrong Whitworth Company and became Armstrong Siddeley Motors in 1919.
The first car manufactured under the Armstrong Siddeley name was the 30hp which was sold to the European aristocracy. The then Duke of York, (who later became King George VI) owned at least six different examples of this car. In the 1950s there was tough competition in the luxury car market, with Jaguar Cars emerging also from Coventry. In 1960 the last Armstrong Siddeley came off the line and the company concentrated on its aircraft business instead.