Classic Car Enthusiast on the Rolls-Royce in Revolutionary Russia
“Harrison”, the salmon-pink 1934 Rolls-Royce 20/25 Barker Sports Saloon belonging to former Lord Mayor of London, Sir John Stuttard, can often be seen at local village fetes and charity events. The unusual colour reflects that of the Financial Times, to which Sir John sent regular reports of his 10,000 mile marathon drive from Peking to Paris in 1997. After negotiating some of the world’s highest and roughest roads in Tibet, Nepal and Pakistan, Harrison was in need of bodywork repairs and a respray, but Sir John decided to keep the novel colour scheme. Harrison has attended multiple Rolls-Royce rallies at home and abroad, and Sir John has written about many of them. He brings his expert knowledge of the early years of Rolls-Royce to the Shaftesbury & District Historical Society meeting at Gold Hill Museum at 2.30p.m. on Tuesday 06 January. His illustrated talk is entitled Rolls-Royce and Russia, Czarist and Bolshevik. Seats should be available for non-members from 2.20 p.m. on payment of £5 at the door.
The partnership of the Northern motor engineer, Henry Royce, and the Old Etonian financier and car salesman, Sir Charles Rolls, was formed when they were introduced at the new Midland Hotel, Manchester in 1904. Rolls was so impressed by Royce’s prototype 10 hp car that he undertook to sell as many as Royce could build. Previously he had been selling Peugeots imported from France and Minervas from Belgium. In their early years Rolls-Royce provided the chassis, engine, gearbox and transmission, while customers could choose from a variety of independent coachbuilders such as Barker. By 1907 Rolls-Royce Ltd was winning awards for the quality and reliability of its cars. Rolls was also a pioneer aviator and his personal involvement in RR Ltd was ended at the age of 32 by a fatal crash at a precursor of the Bournemouth Air Show.
Royce was devastated by Rolls’s death. A workaholic who frequently forgot to eat, he suffered from serious intestinal problems from 1911. He moved from the works in Derby and divided his year between Sussex and Le Canadel in the south of France, accompanied by key members of his design team. During World War One he focused on the development of aero engines – the motley collection of aircraft which left for France in 1914 was seriously under-powered. By 1930 he had been knighted for his contribution to aviation, and had laid the foundations for production of the Merlin engine which first ran in October 1933. Royce died aged 70 in April of that year. The Merlin was subsequently fitted to a whole range of famous World War Two aircraft including the Spitfire, Hurricane, Mosquito and Lancaster.
Rolls-Royce and Russia, Czarist and Bolshevik (This synopsis & Russian images kindly provided by the speaker)
Czarist Russia was known for its architecture, fine art, literature and music. With this appreciation of quality and the wealth of the nobility and business, it was not long before Rolls-Royce found a niche market in the years before the First World War. After being introduced to the marque in 1913, the Czar became a loyal customer. In total, 42 Rolls-Royce motor cars were delivered before the 1917 Revolutions which ended the Romanov dynasty. But the Revolutions did not end Russia’s appreciation of Rolls-Royce. Trotsky and Lenin commandeered the Czarist cars and at least a further 46 Rolls-Royce motor cars were ordered by the Soviet Government until diplomatic relations soured and Stalin put a stop to further imports.
Sir John Stuttard will relate the story of the owners of Rolls-Royce motor cars in Russia, set among the treasures, the turmoil of the Revolutions, the Civil War and the excesses of the Bolshevik era. It is based on the book he wrote and published in 2021, working with a senior executive, Maxim Kartashev, of the State Polytechnic Museum in Moscow, and his co-author.
