The men who gave flight to a dream
Loose author and historian Paul Tritton has written another book on Kent’s history.
“When Rolls and Royce Made History on Dover’s White Cliffs” tells the story (as you might expect) of Charles Rolls and Sir Frederick Henry Royce and also of their connection with Claude Johnson and Viscount Northcliffe, together four men who, as Mr Tritton puts it, “changed the world”.
Not only did Rolls-Royce Ltd found the prestigious marque of luxury cars, it also invented the aero engine that was to launch the British aviation industry.
The first aero-engine produced by Rolls-Royce Limited in 1915 was designed specifically to meet the needs of the war effort and was used to power Handley Page bombers.
But the same engine – or rather two of them – was used to power the first transatlantic flight by Alcock and Brown in 1919 in a converted Vickers Vimy bomber.
It was designed by Sir Frederick while he was living History man Paul Tritton at St Margaret’s near Dover.
The pair had a long interest in aviation.
Earlier, in 1910, Charles Rolls had become the first man to cross the Channel from England to France, and the first to fly there and back in a single flight, setting off from Swingate on the white cliffs at Dover.
Although the name Rolls-Royce suggests an equal partnership, Rolls’s contribution was short-lived. He died in a plane crash just 40 days after his record-breaking flight, incidentally setting a new record: he became the first English pilot to die in a plane crash.
It was in any case Royce who was the designer. He even had a hand in the early blueprints for the Merlin engine that powered the Spitfires of the Second World War.
Claude Johnson, it transpires, was the business brain behind the company’s success. Often described as “the hyphen in Rolls-Royce”, he knew the value of publicity and had a £27,000 expenses budget (more than £1m in today’s money) that he used to entertain the rich and famous to ensure the Rolls-Royce name was associated with luxury.
He named the Silver Ghost, which he promoted simply as “best car money can buy”.
Johnson died in 1926, but his wife Evelyn lived until 1955, spending her last years at the Bealings care home in Yeoman Lane, Bearsted. Her funeral was at Bearsted Church.
Viscount Northcliffe had no official role in Rolls-Royce but was a friend of the others and one of the first to own a Rolls- Royce car. His enthusiastic backing of the company was invaluable, especially as he just happened to own the Daily Mail and Daily Mirror newspapers.
In them, he wrote: “The lady who goes to Pacquin or Jay’s for her dresses, Tiffany’s for her jewels, the Maison Lewis for her hats, goes to RollsRoyce for her motor cars.
“Similarly, the man who goes to Poole’s for his clothes, Purdey for his guns, and Hardy for his rods, goes to Rolls-Royce for his car.”
Which just shows that inequality has always been with us!
When Rolls and Royce Made History on Dover’s White Cliffs is available by sending a cheque payable to St Margaret’s History Society for £16.49 (to include postage and packing) to St Margaret’s History Society, 31 Kingsdown Road, St Margaret’s, Dover CT5 6AZ.