Cyril George Pullin was born on 18 August 1892 in Wandsworth, London, the son of Charles Isaac Pullin and Mary Pullin (née Holman).

In 1914 Pullin won the Isle of Man TT with a record average of 49.49 mph on a Rudge Multi which had a variable belt drive gearbox giving an effective option of over 20 speeds which made a huge difference on the hills. The race, which ran for over four hours, was led by Oliver Godfrey (riding an Indian) and Howard R Davies (on a Sunbeam) who dead heated for second place when Pullin overtook them both to win by only 6.4 seconds.

Following the outbreak of WWI, Pullin served briefly with the Royal Navy at shore establishment HMS Pembroke III from 14 September to 3 November 1914.

In 1919 Pullin and Stanley L. Groom (b. 4 November 1887 – d. 19 September 1957) produced the Pullin motor bicycle, a wheeled machine that included a novel two-stroke engine and extensive manufacture use of steel pressings. The bicycle was patented in 1920. From 1920, Pullin worked with Stanley Groom to develop and patent a two-stroke motorcycle with a unique design of pressed sheet metal frame and forks.

Still a keen rider, on 23 March 1922 at Brooklands Pullin established a new record and became the first ever British motorcyclist to be timed at over 100 mph on a 3 h.p. Douglas 500cc motorcycle.

In 1928 Pullin formed the Ascot Motor and Manufacture Co Ltd, taking over the former Phoenix factory in Letchworth, Hertfordshire. It was intended to build the Ascot car, based on the Hungarian Fejes, with chassis and 10 h.p. engine assembled from welded steel pressings. It never went into production, but a larger car, the Ascot Gold Cup Six with a 2423 cc six-cylinder engine, possibly made by Continental, a three-speed gearbox and servo brakes did become a reality and a few production cars were made. It was advertised as being available as a two-seat sports, coupé or fabric saloon.

After working on a range of other inventions, Pullin teamed up with Groom again to further develop their ideas and patent the Ascot-Pullin motorcycle, with a four-stroke rather than two-cycle engine. At a time when manufacturers were taking a very traditional approach to motorcycle design with conventional frames and engine layout, Pullin and Groom were keen to create an enclosed feel by mounting the engine horizontally within a pressed-steel frame. As well as the hydraulic brakes, Pullin also designed a telescopic centre stand and an adjustable windshield, complete with a windscreen wiper and rear-view mirror, as well as a fully enclosed chain and interchangeable wheels. With an estimated 17 b.h.p., the Ascot-Pullin was capable of 70 mph, but only about 400 to 500 machines were ever built as, sadly, the performance was sluggish and handling poor, so few were sold. Also announced was a sidecar model with a monocoque structure and this was equally unsuccessful.

The Ascot designs were short-lived due to major development problems and by the end of 1929 the receiver was called in. In 1930 a London dealer called Rennos sold the stock off.

In the 1920s Pullin developed various helicopter engine patents and in 1932 he joined G and J Weir Ltd's aircraft department, in Glasgow, Scotland, as chief designer to develop single-place autogyros. Pullin designed the 1500 cc "Flat Twin" and the "4-Cylinder"(later called Pixie when licensed to Aero Engines Ltd of Bristol) engine which followed it. These were used in the Weir W.2, W.3 and W.4 autogiros. The "Four Cylinder" was adapted to power the twin-rotor W.5 Helicopter. The Weir W.5 was a single-seat and established a maximum airspeed of 70 mph. Its two two-blade, fixed-pitch rotors had swashplate-actuated cyclic control. The W.5 made its first flight at Dalrymple, Ayrshire, on 7 June 1938, when it was piloted by Pullin's son Raymond (b. 26 June 1917 – d. September 1999) and it became the first British helicopter to fly successfully. By World War II the W.5 had logged eighty hours' flying time and was followed by a scaled-up version, the W.6, which was the first two-seater helicopter in the world, powered by a much more powerful DH Gipsy aero engine. Further progress on this model was prevented by World War II.

Following WW2, the Weir helicopter business became merged with the moribund Cierva Autogiro Company (which Weir effectively owned) and took the latter's name. Pullin became Managing Director and chief designer and development at the Cierva Autogiro Company of the W.9 and the 24-passenger-carrying W.11 Air Horse helicopters continued under his direction. A fatal crash of the W11 Air Horse, due to a small component fatigue failure, put an end to this very promising heavy-lift helicopter project. The remnants of the Cierva Autogiro Company were taken over by Saunders-Roe, who continued the development of the small Skeeter helicopter and put it into production.

Cyril George Pullin died on 23 April 1973 in Verwood, Dorset.

1. Wikipedia
2. ancestry.co.uk