understand that J. and L. Hall, Ltd., of Dartford, intends to push the
Page 17
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Petrol Electric' 1),71(
marked success has been attained.
Mr. H. G. Burford, M.I.Mech.E., M.I.A.E., takes up his new duties with Numbers, Ltd.,
Humber's on the 1st October. New Chief. Good hick go with him, say I. Meanwhile, he has been taking a short motoring holiday in Ireland.
One night last week, I met one of Clayton and Shuttlewortb's representatives, and from An Important him I learned to my Retirement, personal sorrow that Mr. S. Sparlms has gone into retirement. He must have been for many years a much-occupied man, but he was never too busy to receive one with unfailing courtesy and kindliness. I venture to extend to him every good wish.
It is always of interest to me to hear of clubs formed in connection with large trading Dennis Athletic concerns. I think it Club. does so muell to weld together the human particles, the better fellow employees know each other. There is more give and take between them, and I am sure more esprit de corps. These reflections occur to me because the Dennis Athletic Club, formed in connection with Dennis Bros., Ltd., of Guildford, has just held its sports in the presence of some thousands of spectators. No fewer than 22 events were con tested, in which over 300 entries were received, and the chief event of the day was a half-mile race for the club championship and a challenge cup. This was very properly annexed by Mr. H. Wood, the foreman of the Woodbridge fitting-shop. A smoking concert finished tip what most have been a joyous day, and Mr. John Dennis distributed the prizes. Keen regret was felt over the fact that so genial a sportsman as Mr. Raymond Dennis was too ill to be present.
Just a few words before I forget the period of holidays. T7nfortunately, although I was in
Not at France during the Rheims. 'Rheims week, I did
not see the flying. T gave my moral support to the official opening of an aerodrome. some few miles from Dinard, in Brittany, and, together with two or three thousand others, I waited for hours while micasicivas tinkered an aeroplane which it was promised should fly, but all we felt was the fearsome draught from the propeller, and the thrill of expectancy as the machine trundled along the starting ground but failed to rise, because, we were told, the wire to " the lifting plane had snapped."
The bright particular stars of the sub-editorial room have, I should judge, each had a
Back Again, turn in filling up
"Out and Home duffing my absence, and some of the illuminating paragraphs I can, without exercising much perspicacity, attribute to the correct source. For instance, the one in which I am accused of colloquially greeting one of my colleagues as a " shilling rabbit." Its parentage is obviously easy to locate, .because there is but one member of the staff to whom this delicate sarcasm can be applied with any degree of scrupulousness. I do not remember using it, but I must have been goaded to utter it as a fitting rejoinder to some exquisite raillery of his bearing reference to my somewhat bulky self. The chief difficulty in picking up the threads will be. as one of the writers modestly recognizes, to keep up the exalted standard set by them! Well, that's what I feel. I can readily go along with an occasional quip, with a newsy paragraph, with now and then a biographical word picture. T ean, without qualms, even venture on some casual worldly anecdote, but when one of the holiday substitutes gives, with all the naturalness possible, quotations from the dead languages, I feel—in fact I know for sure—that I shall never scramble up to that pinnacle.
An invitation reached me to join the company on Engineering Day at. the great White Engineertng City, on Saturday Day. last, and, in spite of a relentless downpourof rain, the various papers which were read, and the inspection of the construction and operating mechanism of the various novelties of the show were fairly-well attended. Amongst thesewere the Straker-Squire petrol-driventramcars and the motor-racing track A banquet was given in the evening, in the charming premises of theGarden Club. The motoring contingent was well to the fore, as thechair was excellently filled by the Non_ Arthur Stanley, M.P., and amongst others present were Sir (1. W_ Truseott (Lord Mayor of London), Mr_ Worby Beaumont, Mr. Dugald Mr. .T. W. Orde, and Mr. F. S. Courtney, the consulting engineer tor the Royal Agricultural Society, and, of course, many engineers in whom we in the motor trade have no particular interest. The Hon. Arthur Stanley's after-dinner speech was, as is usual with him, a happy one, although he protested that it was not a speech, but merely "meditation after a meal." He naturally lapsed into talking about aeroplanes, and remarked sententiously that he should defer his flying until " after this life "—when he hoped all facilities would be afforded.
was much interested to meet an old business acquaintance, with whom I have not bad a The "First " talk for many yeans. Commercial but who is on my Motor, memory as one of tho very first figures I remember in connection with early motoring. T refer to MrJ. 1). Roots, and, during the dinner, as we exchanged notes, he proceeded to tell me that he made the first commercial motor, a delivery van, in 1898. and I walked over with him to the historical collection of motorcars, in which building there is placed on record not this early delivery van, but a photograph and some details.
[What about the Liquid Fuel Co.'s steam van, which ran from London to Birmingham in Iff17, and the Leyland van whioh won the Ft.A.B.F._ silver medal at Crewe the same yearY—ED.1