The first thing that William Lyons did on the day in 1934 that William Walmsley told him he was resigning from the business, was to sit down and write a plan. He was just 33, and soon to be Chairman and Managing Director of a publicly listed company. He badly needed his own plan.
The sidecars would carry on, he decided, but under their own cost centre, he was confident they would continue to produce 100-150 units every month. Swallow Coachbuilding Co (1935) Ltd would come into being early in 1935, appropriately enough, he smiled to himself.
Bertie Henley had become one of his closest friends and business associates. Following on from their collaboration during the late 1920’s with the Austin 7 Swallow, Bertie and his sales team had been instrumental in writing the specification for the larger, grander SS1. Since its introduction at Olympia in 1931, SS Cars had produced over 4,000 SS1 and the smaller SS2 models for Henlys and its export customers. His long-term plan had to be as an independent car manufacturer, like Austin, like Morris, like W.O Bentley. He chuckled to himself when he recalled Ettore Bugatti’s comment at the 1931 London show. The snappily-dressed, personable Italian had taken him to one side and told him in a low voice that in his opinion, Bentley made the fastest lorries in the world. Once he’d stopped laughing,
