James Sumner and Henry Spurrier
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In 1896, engineers James Sumner and Henry Spurrier joined forces to create the Lancashire Steam Motor Company. Within a decade, with some help from Crossley, it had made its first petrol model, sold under the Leyland brand. In 1907, Leyland Motors was created.
Leyland benefited greatly from a 1912 subsidy to create a reserve vehicle fleet in anticipation of war, and by the time the conflict arrived, it was employing 1,500 staff and had built more than 2,000 vehicles. When peace returned, Leyland bought up many ex-RAF vehicles and refurbished them for the burgeoning civilian transport market. Six decades of expansion followed, culminating in the monolithic car producer, British Leyland, before it all went wrong. In1987, a troubled period began that eventually saw DAF and Leyland incorporated in the US-owned Paccar organisation.