Return to time when Sunbeam lit up world
"My grandmother Ellen suddenly looked at the very polished bicycle and said 'Ah, look at that sunbeam,' and that was where the name began."
Those are the words of Melissa Marston, granddaughter of John Marston, the founder of the Sunbeam company that produced high-quality bicycles before going on to make the Wolverhampton car industry famous around the world.
Her testimony was recorded as part of a documentary made by Beacon Radio in 1985, which also featured first-hand accounts from workers at the firm's plant in Upper Villiers Street. Now, for the first time in almost 30 years the entire broadcast is once again available as a limited edition CD. The recordings were made during the annual Sunbeam-Talbot-Darracq (STD) Register's annual rally at the factory, 50 years after the iconic firm produced its last car.
The disc has been released by Penn-based Sunbeam fanatic David Cooper, who said the interviews provide a fascinating snapshot of a company that has remained a central feature in the city's folklore.
"The Sunbeam mark has always been associated with the city and it will always be a part of our heritage," he said. "Some of the accounts are quite extraordinary and it is nice to be able to share them again after all these years."
Listen to a sample of the recording here:
The 48-minute long disc, which was released as a long sold-out cassette in the late 1980s, also features insights into what life was like working at the firm's Moorfield Works in the city. Albert James, who was 91 at the time, started working as a finished car inspector at the plant after he returned from the Battle of the Somme.
Known as 'The Sunbeam Man', he describes a sign that was on display in the middle of the repair shop that stands as testament to the company's reputation for excellent craftsmanship.
"A concealed mistake is a crime that may cost a brave man his life. It was something that every mechanic saw and made him ensure every part he was doing was perfect," he said.
Youngsters from East Park Junior School are also interviewed, along with their teacher Dave Whyley, a Sunbeam owner who clearly transferred his love of the cars onto his pupils.
Mr Cooper's links with Sunbeam go back to the late 1960s when he worked for Rootes Motors, the Coventry-based firm that bought the Sunbeam name in 1935.
Later he would go on to become director for the Andrews Industrial Equipment in Wolverhampton, and was part of the firm's purchase of land and buildings on Marston Road that were formerly owned by Sunbeam.
"Together with my fellow directors we started taking a keen interest in the history of Sunbeam," he said. "One of the buildings we bought was where they used to manufacture their famous grand prix cars.
"That led to us publishing a book by Norman Cliff, a guy who worked on the cars between 1920 and 1935."
Mr Cooper added company owner John Andrews took his own obsession a stage further when he bought a 1912 Sunbeam Tourer complete with wooden artillery wheels.
He found the car in an abandoned barn in Claverley in the early 1980s. It was in a real state of disrepair with chickens running around inside it. I remember he paid a fortune to have it refurbished but it was such a beautiful car."
Sunbeam motorcycles were renowned all over the world and were manufactured at the site in Paul Street and Jeddo Street from 1890 to 1937. The factory also moved into car production and produced vehicles that were successful on the racing circuit and driven by the likes of Sir Henry Seagrave.
The company also produced a car which broke the world land-speed record at Daytona Beach in Florida in 1927 after hitting 203.79mph. Sunbeam closed in 1936 and Associated Motor Cycles took over the site in 1937. Production finished in 1999 with the loss of 60 jobs.
Details on ordering the CD, which costs £5.75, are here.
