Swallow Coachbuilding Co. (1935) Ltd.
Coventry Transport Museum
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| Industry | Motor vehicle bodies |
| Fate | sold to Swallow Coachbuilding Company Limited |
| Successor | Swallow Coachbuilding Company Limited |
| Founded | Blackpool, England (2 September 1922) |
| Founders | William Walmsley and William Lyons |
| Defunct | 30 September 1930 |
| Headquarters | Blackpool then Coventry, England |
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Key people
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William Walmsley and William Lyons |
| Products | sidecars and car bodies |
| Brands | Swallow |
| Owners | William Walmsley and William Lyons |
1932 Swallow body British Motor Museum
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| Swallow Coachbuilding Company Limited | |
| Industry | Motor vehicle bodies |
| Fate | sold to S. S. Cars Limited 1934 |
| Predecessors | Walmsley & Lyons trading as: Swallow Coachbuilding Company |
| Successor | S. S. Cars Limited |
| Founded | Coventry, England (1 October 1930) |
| Founders | William Walmsley and William Lyons |
| Defunct | 1 August 1934 |
| Headquarters | Coventry, England |
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Key people
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William Walmsley and William Lyons |
| Products | sidecars and car bodies |
| Brands | Swallow |
| Owners | William Walmsley and William Lyons |
Swallow Sidecar Company, Swallow Sidecar and Coachbuilding Company, and Swallow Coachbuilding Company were trading names used by Walmsley & Lyons, partners and joint owners of a British manufacturer of motorcycle sidecars and automobile bodies in Blackpool, Lancashire — later Coventry, Warwickshire — before incorporating a company to own their business which they named Swallow Coachbuilding Company Limited.
Under co-founder William Lyons its business continued to prosper as SS Cars Limited and grew into Jaguar Cars Limited. The sidecar manufacturing business, by then owned by a different company, Swallow Coachbuilding Company (1935) Limited, was sold by Jaguar to an aircraft maintenance firm, Helliwell Group, in January 1946.
Swallow was founded by two friends, William Walmsley aged 30 and William Lyons then aged 20. Their partnership became official on Lyons's 21st birthday, 4 September 1922. Both families lived in the same street in Blackpool, England. Walmsley had previously been making sidecars and bolting them onto reconditioned motorcycles. Lyons had served his apprenticeship at Crossley Motors in Manchester before moving to Blackpool Sunbeam dealers, Brown & Mallalieu, as a junior salesman.
Their business partnership was known by three successive trading names: Swallow Sidecar Company, Swallow Sidecar and Coachbuilding Company, and Swallow Coachbuilding Company. In 1930 a limited liability company was incorporated to own their business.
Lyons, having recognised the commercial potential for these sidecars, joined Walmsley and together they found premises in Bloomfield Road, Blackpool using a £1,000 bank overdraft obtained with the assistance of their respective fathers. With a small team of employees they were able to begin commercial production of the motorcycle sidecars. Soon they had to rent more space nearby. Then they needed still more room. Walmsley's father bought a big building in Cocker Street Blackpool which they moved into and with all the extra space began to offer to repair and paint cars and fit new hoods and upholstery. They added coach building to their business name.
The first car that Lyons and Walmsley worked on intending to build and sell it in any quantity was the Austin 7, a popular and inexpensive vehicle. For their show car Swallow's Bolton, Lancashire agent had persuaded a dealer in Bolton to supply him under-the-counter (coachbuilders required Austin's prior approval or warranties might be voided) with an Austin 7 chassis.
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