Unheralded genius

Despite being the powerhouse of leading motorcycle factory design offices and development teams, Valentine Page, always known as Val, was something of a mystery man, who certainly wasn’t the flamboyant character many rivals – including Edward Turner (ET) – were. Even Val’s birth year is a mystery – it has been long accepted he was born Hackney, East London in 1892 but the England and Wales hatches, matches and dispatches records imply 1891.

We can assume Mr Page entered the workplace as soon as he was old enough, thus rather than study engineering at university, he was apprenticed to a South Coast vehicle dealer, later moving to Talbot, first in London, then Coventry. Aged 16, Val built his first motorcycle from second-hand Chater-Lea chassis parts, fitted with a Fafnir engine. This was replaced by a lightweight, JAP side-valve powered Calthorpe, to which he soon installed a 3HP JAP V-twin engine for sidecar duties. Although always an enthusiast of many solo motorcycles, from this point on, outfits were his favoured type of motorcycling. He even used an Ariel Square Four combination during the Second World War, when permitted.

Circumstances leading to the transition from an automotive environment to the motorcycle world are unclear – perhaps his talent was spotted while in the employ of Talbot? What is certain, is that, c1914, Val Page was appointed as a draughtsman by Tottenham, North London engine makers JAP – albeit it was a brief encounter. After the world had gone to war in 1914, Page was moved from JAP