William Lyons
| Sir William Lyons | |
|---|---|
| Born |
4 September 1901 Blackpool, UK |
| Died | 8 February 1985 (aged 83) Warwickshire, UK |
| Nationality | British |
| Other names | "Mr. Jaguar" |
| Known for | Co-founder of Jaguar Cars |
| Spouse(s) | Greta Brown (m. 1924) |
| Children | 3 |
Sir William Lyons (4 September 1901 – 8 February 1985), known as "Mr. Jaguar", was with fellow motorcycle enthusiast William Walmsley, the co-founder in 1922 of the Swallow Sidecar Company, which became Jaguar Cars Limited after the Second World War.
Lyons was born in Blackpool, son of Irish immigrant William Lyons, who owned a musical instrument shop, and his wife Minnie Barcroft, the daughter of a mill owner. After attending Arnold School, Lyons obtained an engineering apprenticeship at Crossley Motors in Manchester, where he also studied at the technical school. He left Crossley in 1919 to work as a salesman at the Sunbeam dealers Brown and Mallalieu in Blackpool.
In 1921, Lyons met William Walmsley who was converting army-surplus motorcycles for civilian use and making sidecars. Lyons admired the sidecars and bought one. Lyons and Walmsley obtained from their fathers a substantial £500 bank guarantee to go into business. Their plans were delayed as Lyons was under the legal age, but on his 21st birthday he formed a partnership with Walmsley. It was called Swallow Sidecars and had a staff of "three men and a boy". The company manufactured stylish sidecars, but after 1927 made increasing numbers of low cost coach-built cars, especially the Austin Seven Swallow which the Blackpool factory produced at the rate of 12 per week. Following several moves to larger premises in Blackpool, in 1928 Lyons moved the company (and his family) to Coventry. His family home was Woodside, Gibbet Hill, on the fringe of the city. Production increased to 50 cars each week. In 1931, they began selling the SS1, and in 1933 the company name was changed to SS Cars Ltd. The following year, William Walmsley left the company.
The first "Jaguar" model was offered in 1935, and after WW2 Lyons changed the company name to Jaguar to avoid the unfortunate connotations with the Nazi "SS". Armstrong Siddeley allowed William Lyons to use the Jaguar name from their successful aircraft engine range, such was the camaraderie of the car industrie at the time.
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