Eadie Manufacturing Co
Eadie Manufacturing Co of Redditch, manufacturer of bicycles, rifle parts, and of motorcycles from 1898 to 1900.
1891 Albert Eadie and R. W. Smith bought the bicycle business of George Townsend near Redditch
1892 The company was renamed as the Eadie Manufacturing Co; it produced sewing needles and bicycles. The company received a large contract to supply precision rifle parts to the Royal Small Arms Factory (Enfield). In celebration of this, they called their new bicycle the "Enfield".
1893 The word "Royal" (after the Royal Small Arms Factory) was added to the product name and thus the Royal Enfield began. Their trademark "Made Like A Gun" appeared in 1893.
1894 Made bicycle frames from bamboo[1].
By 1895 Eadie Manufacturing was a publicly quoted company[2].
1896 The New Enfield Cycle Company was registered on 1 July to take over from the Eadie Manufacturing Co certain works for cycle manufacture. [3]
1897 the New Enfield Cycle Company became the Enfield Cycle Co Ltd. Eadie Manufacturing Co then moved to other premises, and the whole of the Redditch works became the premises of the Enfield Cycle Co.
1898 Albert Eadie adapted a quadricycle design by Royal Enfield to create a motorised tricycle powered by a 2.25hp De Dion engine. Also used Minerva and MMC engines. It proved to be popular but then slipped from sight as Royal Enfield progressed.
1898-1907 Annual reports, in Coventry Archives[4]
1903 The 7th AGM held with George H. Cartland in the chair.[5]
1907 BSA took over the Eadie assets and Eadie's Redditch factory. Albert Eadie subsequently became the Managing Director of BSA.
1957 Raleigh Industries acquired BSA Bicycles Ltd, which appears included Eadie Manufacturing Co[6]
See Also
Sources of Information
- The British Motorcycle Directory - Over 1,100 Marques from 1888 - by Roy Bacon and Ken Hallworth. Pub: The Crowood Press 2004 ISBN 1 86126 674 X
- The Encyclopedia of the Motorcycle by Peter Henshaw. Published 2007. ISBN 978 1 8401 3967 9
- Motor Cycling and Motoring 1902/12/03