Guy's Motors
Guy's Motors was founded by Sydney Slater, a clever and ambitious young man, born in 1885 and grew up in King's Heath, Birmingham. He had thought about running and manufacturing his own business, and On Saturday 30th May, 1914, Guy Motors Limited was registered and was built on Park Lane, Fallings Park in
Wolverhampton. Its factory began production by Septemeber 1914, a month after The Great War broke out. Their first productions were the 30cwt lorries, supplied to the Russian Army, and in 1915 they began war work as they were now under control of the Ministry of Munitions. The company began producing engines for tanks, aero engines and depth charge firing mechanisms (of which they became the most popular manufacturers in the entire country).
Wolverhampton. Its factory began production by Septemeber 1914, a month after The Great War broke out. Their first productions were the 30cwt lorries, supplied to the Russian Army, and in 1915 they began war work as they were now under control of the Ministry of Munitions. The company began producing engines for tanks, aero engines and depth charge firing mechanisms (of which they became the most popular manufacturers in the entire country).
In 1917, the comapny was asked to produce A.B.C 'Wasp' 7 cylinder (pictured left), air cooled, radial aero engines. This project succeeded, and a year later, lead to the production of a prototype A.B.C. ‘Dragonfly’ 9 cylinder, 350 hp (pictured bottom left) radial aero engine which was built and tested within 24 days. The government were extremely impressed and Sir William Weir, Secretary of State for Air sent Guy a telegram (pictured bottom right) saying, “Reference to your telegram of yesterday regarding dragonfly engine. I heartily congratulate you on your magnificent performance, the result of which it is hoped will mark a new milestone in progress.”Due to all of this, Guy’s Motors became very popular during the war, with the name being established and the factory increasing in size.