Bradshaw

History

Granville Eastwood Bradshaw was born in Preston, Lancashire on 8 December 1886, the son of William Semptimus Bradshaw and Sarah Anne Bradshaw (née Eastwood). He left school at 13 to work as a solicitor's clerk, whilst studying engineering at night school, before following his brother, Ewan, to an apprenticeship with the English Electric Company. Motorcycling took up much of the brothers' time, and by 1906 they started building their own machines, at first using proprietary engines and frames. After his apprenticeship, Bradshaw moved to Bruce Peebles Ltd. at Edinburgh, as a draughtsman. He studied engineering at Edinburgh University before moving to Vickers in Sheffield.

Bradshaw's early work was involved with the pioneering of flight and in 1909, while a member of the Midland Aero Club, designed a monoplane powered by a JAP motorcycle engine. The following year he joined Star Engineering, where he designed the Star Monoplane, including the engine.

Financier Ronald Charteris was the co-founder of the Aeroplane Engine Company with Walter Lawson Adams. Charteris was interested in the engine Bradshaw had produced for the Star monoplane, but this led to a disagreement with his partner. Charteris renamed the Company to All British (Engine) Company and Bradshaw, after a variety of different employments, started working for him as an engineer at Redbridge, Hants. During the war Bradshaw worked on aeroplane engine design, culminating with the Dragonfly Rotary aero engines. These were developed by the Air Ministry and put into service by them without proper testing. He was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire for his war work in 1918.

Following the war, the company and Bradshaw concentrated on motorcycles. When the company re-organized in 1920, Bradshaw became a consultant which allowed him to sell his designs to other companies. He designed a number of engines for Panther motorcycles. His biggest seller was selling patents for gambling machines, although he lost all the money he made in further business deals.

Granville Eastwood Bradshaw OBE, AFRAeS died in June 1969 at Hitchin, Hertfordshire.

Company References

1. https://cybermotorcycle.com/marques/bradshaw/granville-bradshaw.htm
2. http://www.historywebsite.co.uk/Museum/Transport/planes/Star.htm
3. British Aircraft Before The Great War, Michael H. Goodall and Albert E. Tagg (Schiffer Publishing Ltd., 2001)
4. Granville Bradshaw : a flawed genius?, Barry M Jones (Panther Publishing, 2008)