Baughan to be wild
In last month’s part 3 of the A-Z of British Motorcycles you discussed the exploits of the Baughan enterprise based at Stroud.
The last time the Baughan outfit appeared in sidecar wheel drive guise was, in fact, the 1946 Cotswold Cup Trial. I know because as a little lad I was there and I have a lasting memory of watching and, above all, hearing the Baughan outfit driven full out by Bill Hayward tackling the Rowden climb section in the trial. The device had no differential so was at its best on straight muddy hills.
That year’s Cotswold Cup had, effectively, three premier awards – best solo, best chair with sidecar wheel drive and best sidecar with rear wheel drive only. Bill slaughtered the opposition, both solo and sidecar, and finished with a clean sheet. The most difficult section of the day, Henwood, he cleaned and no one else – solo or sidecar – got near!
One other wondrous claim to fame for Baughan was the ultimate works team victory. For many years, the most important team trial was the Stroud Team Trial. In my days the event was often, but not always, won by the Sunbeam Club, the Sunbeam team manager being the one and only Ralph Venables using riders such as Gordon Jackson, John Giles and Brian Martin.
But, if we go back to 1930, the Team Trial was won by Baughan, and when I say ‘won’
I mean it in every sense of the word. The Baughan team consisted of Harry Baughan in a Baughan car, Bill Hayward in a Baughan sidecar and Chris Stagg on a Baughan solo. The car and sidecar passengers were the
Grant Heelas sisters. All of the team machines were Baughans and all of the team riders were Baughan employees – the gaffer, the works manager, the apprentice and the admin staff. A quite unique performance, I believe.
There is an excellent book written by Kenneth Chandler called Harry Baughan, A Life of Motor
Cycling, published by Walls Quarry Press. I got my copy a few years back from the Stroud Museum in the Park. Stroud Museum has one other delight on show, namely the sidecar wheel drive Baughan machine as it was in 1946 when I saw it, as a kid, put up best performance of the day in the Cotswold Cup.
Michael Martin