MORE DOUGLAS STUFF
I was interested in the letter from Doug Cross in RC216 regarding Ivy Baker’s memories which included Douglas motorcycles, and the mention of Rosie Douglas in particular. Doug wrote about Ivy’s father’s bike shop, near to the Douglas works. I don’t remember Baker’s, so I don’t imagine it was still there in the 1950s when I became active in motorcycling, but I did have an uncle who was a baker…
Uncle Ern and Auntie Florrie had made a great success of the bakery they ran in Lawrence Hill, Bristol. Around 1950 they bought a large house in Kingswood. It had extensive grounds, a very large garage, and even a tennis court. They bought the house from Jack Douglas, a member of the Douglas family, who manufactured their famous motor cycles not far away. Jack Douglas had moved into the house next door – a similarly large house – which he then shared with his widowed sister Rosie, and her two daughters. The two 1930s houses had been built in the grounds of ‘Woodstock’, a large mansion which was the home of the family patriarch, William Douglas, founder of the famous motorcycle company.
I remember going to Uncle Ern’s house as a child, playing with my cousin and Penny from next door. She was Rosie’s daughter – Rosie the famous motorcyclist of the 1930s, once credited with stopping a runaway horse and cart on Kingswood Hill by overtaking it on her bike, and catching the horse’s bridle and forcing it to stop. When it was time for tea, Rosie would come around to summon Penny home. I have no other memory of Rosie, but at least I can boast that I met Rosie Douglas!
Looking into Rosie’s background, I found that Rosina Douglas was born in 1913, a daughter of John Douglas and his wife Rosina. John was a grandson of William Douglas, mentioned above. Rosie married Reginald Sammons in 1934, and they had two daughters: Sally and Penelope – the girl I remember. In 1939, Reginald is listed as ‘director of motor spare factory’ so he was probably working in the Douglas family business. He joined the RAF in WW2 and was a pilot officer when his Bristol Blenheim was lost in action in 1941. Records show that Rosie lived until 2001, and was still alive when I met Penny again under strange circumstances…
In the mid-1990s I bought a Lomax three-wheeler. Just before Christmas I was sent out on a Christmas present delivery round. After visiting Hawkesbury Upton,
I came down the steep hill off the Cotswolds, and drove along a narrow road that ran along the base of the escarpment. It was very difficult, as a mound of earth about 9” high ran down the middle of the road. My centrally-mounted rear wheel meant that I progressed with a nose-down attitude as the rear wheel was on top the mound of earth, and I was travelling at less than 10mph. Suddenly the rear wheel slipped down off the mound, and the Lomax neatly turned itself upside down!
I was trapped underneath, drowning in petrol coming from the tank – now above my head, and with a smashed right shoulder among other injuries. I was taken to Frenchay Hospital, where I was put on a surgical ward. My wife brought me some classic motorcycle magazines to read, and the chap in the next bed asked if I was an enthusiast. He then told me his wife was from the Douglas family – yes you guessed it, his wife was Penny! She was due to visit him later, and I said don’t say anything about me, I’ll wind her up.
When visiting time came Penny was sat between our beds. When my wife came to visit me I started on about how I’d read that Rosie Douglas couldn’t ride a bike, and the stories about her were fabricated by the factory for publicity purposes. You can imagine Penny’s reaction at overhearing what I said! The situation was soon defused when I told her who I was. We reminisced about times past, and she asked after my cousin. I had to tell her that despite his privileged start in life, he’d spent most of his life in prison. As I remember, he ended up as governor of Cardiff Gaol.
Alan Freke, member 1197
Brilliant! Frank W