Motorcycle Heroes

Philip's parents owned a large cattle-farm some 300 miles from Buenos Aires in Argentina and it was customary in many circles at the time for an expectant mother to return 'home' to have her baby, to ensure British nationality for their offspring. So it was that Phillip Conrad Vincent was born in Fulham on 14th March 1908.

Educated first by his mother and at a British Prep-school in Argentina, he then came to live with his uncle John Vincent in High House, Horndon-on-the-Hill. John was a veterinary surgeon who, with his brother, an agricultural engineer, was involved in the local Orsett Agricultural Show, and these two gentleman are commemorated by name in 'Vincent Close' in Horndon.

An extension was built onto the back of High House, the ground floor of which became a schoolroom and Phillip, his two sisters, Marjorie and Gwendoline, cousin Mary Kirk, (and four local children considered 'suitable' companions) were all educated there together until Phillip went off to Harrow School, returning to Horndon for holidays. He said he found this time in his life very cold and damp after the warmth of Argentina.

It was whilst he was at Harrow that he first encountered motorcycles and was smitten. He started working on his mother to acquire one, but it was not until Christmas 1924 that she capitulated and a 350-cc. Side-valve BSA was purchased second-hand from Gamages in Holborn and delivered by train. The die was cast. Very soon he was experienced in all aspects of motorcycling - riding, falling off, pulling to pieces, fettling, modifying, polishing and all the stuff boys of all ages enjoy, aided and abetted by Mr. Barton, the family chauffeur. Soon, of course, he wanted bigger-better-faster; he became convinced he could design more efficient frame and forks, and he is reputed to have made preliminary sketches for these in his bedroom at High House (top floor, right-hand side as you face the house) whilst still at Harrow.

By the time he went up to Cambridge in October 1936, to read Mechanical Sciences at King's College, he had completed several drawings and before long, he rented a workshop near his lodgings and was building a motorcycle to his own design - at age 18.

Rather unsurprisingly, Philip's heart was not in his studies, and after hours of serious conversations with Vincent Senior, it was finally agreed that Philip and King's should part company and that father would finance him for a trial period, to see if he could 'make a go of it'. The prototype 'Vincent Special' which he built seemed reliable and performed satisfactorily, and another serious conversation was called for. The result was the formation of a company with family friend Mr. Frank Walker (an engineer who happened to be a motorcycling enthusiast) as Managing Director to act as a steadying influence.

In 1928, H.R.D. Motors, (a company headed by the famous racer Howard Raymond Davies) came onto the market, and very soon the assets were acquired and a new name appeared: The Vincent H.R.D. Company was born. Suitable premises were found in Stevenage (including a barn said to date back to 1660), which were to remain 'home' to the marque until closure in 1956, when the buildings were incorporated into a school campus.

In June of that year, production got underway, and between that date and the closure of the Works, some twelve-and-a-half thousand Vincent's (road going and sporting) passed through the gates, collecting on the way a very impressive array of National and World records in all aspects of sport. It was in about 1935 that Mr. Vincent's own engine design began to be incorporated.

During the 1939 - 1945 war, production was of course turned over to other lines, such as Vincent-engined target aircraft with particularly economical fuel consumption, lifeboats (designed in-house to be waterproof and dropped by parachute), half-a-million mines for the Royal Navy, three quarters of a million fuses for the rockets mounted on Spitfires, gear-changes for tanks (another in-house design), small parts for Mosquito aeroplanes etc.

Post-war, items other than 'pure' Vincent's were produced in an effort to diversify, including rotovators and mowers, industrial stationary engines, water-scooters, 'clip-on' engines for bicycles, lightweight motorcycles for other manufacturers etc, and these items , like the motorcycles themselves, have become much sought-after by collectors.

In 1948, the Vincent-H.R.D Owner's Club was formed - the first international one-make Club independent of a manufacturer - and in 1999 they held their Golden Jubilee International Rally in the Isle of Man, when a total of 234 Vincent motorcycles from a total of 17 different countries took to the famous circuit - how proud P.C.V would have been, but sadly he passed away in 1979. His ashes are interred in the family plot at St. Paul's Church, Horndon-on-the-Hill.

It is with much pride that members of the Vincent-H.R.D. Owners Club associate themselves with Thurrock Council in the affixing of a Thurrock Heritage Plaque in his honour at High House on 21st July 2002 and we thank the current owner, Mr. Graham Thomas for his willing co-operation.

Philip Conrad Vincent was sent home to England by his parents. They lived in Argentina. Here in Cambridge he finished his mechanical engineer studies. He had decided to become a motorcycle manufacturer. 1927 he was ready with his first cycle equipped with a 350 cc MAG engine. Philip went together with Frank Walker and when HRD was for sale they bought this firm. In the 1930s Vincent-HRD was a well established company. 1931 another partner entered the firm. It was Philip Irving. This new partnership showed up a 500 cc engine with high camshaft and pushrods which were parallel with the valves. This was a new way of construction and was presented 1935. Now rapidly a series of new models were sold. Among them a 1000 cc. After some introductory problems all were solved till WWII. After the war new models came and were called A, B, C, and D series. Vincent won lots of victories and dominated the race tracks. Although people bought less motorcycles and the economy became bad. After cooperation with NSU the production ceased 1956. Vincent was sold to Harper Engineering with the promise that they should for all future time produce spare parts.

Kurt Donath

At the end of World War 2, under Director Kurt Donath, BMW gained a manufacturing licence to produce pots and pans, agricultural equipment and bicycles but behind the scenes, company management was working on plans to return to motorcycle production.

In 1946 BMW was given approval to produce motorcycles up to 125cc. Work began on the creation of a two-stroke Boxer and the R 10 was quickly developed to a running prototype. Donath, believing that the capacity restriction would be lifted to 250cc, had Alfred Böning and his engineering team secretly begin work, away from Munich, on a new motorcycle.

This would be a difficult task as all the production plans and technical drawings were either destroyed or located at the Eisenach plant, which was in the Soviet-controlled sector and out of BMW control. A pre-war R 23 was located and it was disassembled and every part measured in order to produce new plans.

The restriction on capacity was increased to 250cc and work on the new model continued at an increased rate. Designing the motorcycle was only the first step; there were other problems to encounter such as sourcing production equipment and the raw materials needed for manufacturing, as both were in short supply and rationed. Donath went about gathering all the much-needed machinery from businesses in worse condition than BMW.

In March 1948 the R 24 was unveiled at the Geneva motor show and the initial reaction from the press, public and motorcycle dealers was positive. In May the R 24 was again on show in Hanover and by the end of the exhibition there were over 2,500 forward orders for the new single. There was now a sound economic basis for the rebirth of BMW.

The R 24 looked very similar to the R 23 but there was considerable redevelopment in the M225/1 motor and - for the first time - a four-speed gearbox. Much of the technical improvement came directly from the wartime R 75 as well as the two-piece rocker cover, giving a clean and up-to-date style. The 12 hp R 24 was a quality motorcycle.

The first R 24 was not destined for life in a museum. There was a draw from within the BMW workforce to see who would own this historic motorcycle. The winner was Mr Erdinger but unfortunately nothing more is known of him or the fate of the first R 24.

The R 24 was the most expensive motorcycle available in Germany but by 1950 when the R 25 replaced the model, 12,020 had been sold. It was an undoubted success and paved the way for the return of the Boxer in 1950 and the restarting of car production in 1951. December 17 is indeed a day to celebrate.

We couldn't leave out the Blue Knights heroes could we? Frank was the International President when the Blue Knights came to the UK and has been a great supporter of the 'European connection' in the club. Many remember him handing out patches at Edale. A giant personality, like him or loath him he just cannot be ignored! He is also one of those Blue Knights who always provide a superhuman level of hospitality. Again and again over the years he has provided help and assistance to people from all over the Blue Knight World. I can't say he is slowing down as he grows older, (aren't we all) because Debbie would hit me (again) but the club would be smaller and less interesting without the things he has supported over the years

Frank is on the left, and of course, we shouldn't ignore our founders either, (who are not in this photograph! The Founding Fathers were: Joel Rudom, Bill Robinson, Doug Miner, Ed Gallant, Mike Hall, Chuck Gesner, Wayne Labree, Chuck Shuman . Without this happy band there would have been no Blue Knights.

GIACOMO AGOSTINI AND PHIL READ

Philip Conrad Vincent 1908 - 1979

Inventor of the legendary Vincent motorcycle