Bernard Harcourt

The Bernard Wulston Harcourt Photo Album

Hugh Barnes and Chris Garner

It has always been a train of thought that there must be many family photo albums in existence that would be considered priceless to those who understood their contents better than the people deciding their fate. We are fortunate in that, sometimes, those people are just a little more thoughtful about disposal and this album is one such. Chris Garner was contacted by some relatives of the man in question asking if he would be interested in an album of photos showing their relative trialling an Austin 7 in the 20’s. Well of course the answer was yes and Chris kindly contacted the Archive to ensure that it went to the right home.

It is a lovely thing, apparently charting the motoring history of Bernard Wulston Harcourt, the earliest photo being dated 1902 with the latest 1947, some 6 years before his rather early death at the age of 68. Your author wonders whether it may have been put together as a gift in his later years – perhaps to celebrate his retirement or some such. Pure conjecture, I know, but I cant help but wonder.

Harcourt was a keen sportsman, cyclist and motorist. He was both Chairman and Managing Director of David Harcourt Limited, Linkula Works on the Coventry Road, Birmingham. A pressure gauge manufacturer who supplied oil pressure gauges for the Austin Seven from 1931 to 1939, and to other models and makes no doubt. Many will be familiar with the DH logo on the faces of these gauges.

The de Harcourt name stretches back to the Norman Conquest and in the reign of Charles 11, around the 1650s, a Clifton Harcourt, son of Sir Robert Harcourt, started his business in Cherry Orchard, now Handsworth Wood, Birmingham as a manufacturer of brooches, buckles and sword hilts. This continued through to a David Harcouirt, an innovative engineer. He commenced trading around 1823 as a manufacturer of lathes and press tools, the Company later branching out into chains and finally into vacuum and pressure gauges. The Company was incorporated in 1920 and at that time appeared to make all manner of chains, in a variety of metals, for ships’ semaphores, telegraphs, window sashes, bell cranks, airship control gears etc. It must have been soon after this time that the pressure gauge business commenced. Gauges for submarines were a speciality and much later they provided equipment in the conquest of Everest. Bernard Harcourt was born in Sutton Coldfield in 1884. His father, Charles, in the 1901 census is described as having a brass-founder business and Bernard as a pattern maker, obviously learning his trade. He was educated at King Edward’s School, Birmingham and in 1907 married a Christina Maltby, the daughter of the Rector at Morton, Derbyshire where the service took place. Incidentally Christina was one of fifteen children! Bernard by this time is described as “manufacturer“.

During WW1 Bernard was instrumental in the formation of the local Company of the 1st Volunteer Bn. Royal Warwickshire Regiment and in the second War, factory units of the Home
Guard from his employees. They had one daughter, Mary (“ Molly “) who took her father’s middle name as her own middle one. She in turn eventually married into the manufacturing industry, her husband being a director of The West Bromwich Spring Company, a large concern serving the motor industry David Harcourt Limited was eventually bought out by Smiths Industries in 1944, Bernard continuing as its General Manager and Director until retiring in 1949. Sadly, he was only able to enjoy four years of retirement, passing away at the early age of 68 in 1953. He maintained a keen interest in motor sport all his life and was a past president of the Sutton Coldfield and North Birmingham Automobile Club. (SUNBAC).

The photo album, and from various medals won at events, shows Bernard as an exceptionally keen motorist taking part in prestigious trials such as the MCC Edinburgh, Land’s End, Colmore Cup and many more, all over the country. He commenced with an Austin 20 and an Austin 12 in 1921 and 1922 then switched to Sevens as early as 1923, continuing in a variety of Chummys until 1930. He was a very competent driver and collected an array of gold, silver and the occasional bronze awards during this time. His initial successes must have been noticed by Austin’s as in 1923, in the Colmore Cup, he drove a Works Seven, OK 3537 and possibly the same car in the 1923 Land’s End. As a major supplier to the Austin Motor Company he would definitely have had an “in“ at Longbridge. His failures in these trials were few although he is described as having “crashed” in the 1924 Land’s End and non-started on a further couple.
The photos are all of a very high quality, many of them of the sporting events I suspect, having been taken by professional photographers for the motoring magazines of the day. It is a truly wonderful addition to the Archive and, as we keep saying, donations are the life blood of the collection.

Trials Events data taken from British Trial Drivers books – Donald Cowbourne

OK 3537
This is one of the Austin Works demonstrators. One of three that entered the Colmore Cup Trial in 1923. Having competed in Austin 20s and 12s in previous years, it demonstrates that Harcourt showed himself competent enough to be given a Works car to use. It is possible that Harcourt used the same car in the 1923 Land’s End Trial.