The Story of Rolls-Royce

Rolls-Royce is one of the most prestigious luxury car brands in the world, and the British carmaker is also in the business of Aero Engine Manufacturing. But every brand has an origin story, and here we're going to look at the story of Rolls Royce. Let's start with the backgrounds of the 2 founders, Henry Royce and Charles Rolls.

Background of Henry Royce

Henry Royce was born in 1863 in Alwalton, England, to a family of 5. His father’s flour mill business failed, and the family had to move to London for a better life. Tragically his father died when Royce was just 9. Even though Royce was the youngest in the family, he too had to contribute towards managing the family and became a Newspaper delivery boy.

In 1878, his aunt gave his some financial assistance, and he was able to land an apprenticeship with the Great Northern Railway. He then worked at a Tools making company before returning to London to join an Electric Light and Power Company. In 1882, he moved to Liverpool and worked on street and theatre lighting.

In 1884, he started a Partnership business with Ernest Claremont. The business was named F.H.Royce and Company and was into making domestic electric fittings. In 1894 their business evolved into making dynamos and electric cranes.

Background of Charles Rolls

Charles Rolls was born in 1877 in Berkeley Square, London, England. His parents were Baron Llangattock and Lady Llangatock. He was educated at Eton College. In 1894, he attended a private crammer at the University of Cambridge. A crammer is a British term for an institution that prepares students for an examination within a short time. This helped him gain entry into Trinity College, Cambridge, in 1895. He studied Mechanical and Applied Science there.

Rolls was an avid car enthusiast from small days. He was called 'Dirty Rolls' as he used to turn up for Cambridge events with oil-splattered white ties, which was a major breach of protocol for Aristocrats in the 19th century. In 1896, when he was 18 he travelled to France to buy his first car, a Peugeot Phaeton. He also joined the Automobile Club of France. He was also part of the Self-Propelled Traffic Association and became a Founder Member of the Automobile Club of Great Britain. He was also a competitive cyclist.

After graduating from Cambridge in 1898, Rolls worked at the steam yacht Santa Maria. Then he worked at the London and North Western Railway in Crewe. In 1903, Rolls started one of Britain’s first car dealerships with a £6,600 investment from his father. The business was named C.S.Rolls & Co and was based in Fulham. Rolls imported and sold Peugeot and Minerva vehicles.

As you can see, Rolls and Royce's backgrounds couldn't have been any more different. For starters, Royce was 41 and Rolls 26 when they met, that's a staggering 15 years age gap! Royce had a really tough upbringing and comes from a poor background; Rolls on the other hand comes from a privileged background. Royce had no formal education and learnt everything he knew the hard way through apprenticeship, on-the-job training and hard work, Rolls on the other hand received formal education at the prestigious Eton College and then Trinity College, Cambridge.

The meeting between the 2 was initiated by Henry Edmunds in 1904. Henry was a shareholder in Royce's company and couldn't stop bragging about how great the cars manufactured by Royce were. He boasted about the 10HP Royce Motor Car to Rolls. Rolls at that time was importing foreign cars and selling them, but badly wanted a car manufacturing company of his own.

Henry arranged a meeting between Rolls and Royce. Rolls drove the 10hp car following this meeting and fell in love with the car instantly. He offered to sell as many cars as Royce can make. Rolls and Royce formalized their partnership in 1906 and created Rolls-Royce Limited. Royce was the Engineering mastermind, and Rolls was the Business guy who also provided the financial backing for the business.

The Hyphen in the Rolls-Royce

Claude Johnson is another important figure in the story of Rolls Royce. While Royce was in charge of designing and building the cars and Rolls was in charge of selling them, it was Claude who helped expand the fledgling company's reputation. He stepped into the role of Managing Director, and he was so important in the business's success that he became known as the Hyphen in Rolls-Royce.

Apart from the superior finish and overall quality, the Rolls-Royce cars were quiet and smooth to ride. This made it an instant hit in the US. By 1907, the brand was winning numerous awards for its quality and reliability. It was marketed not as one of the best cars in the world, but as ‘The Best Car in the World’.

Rolls’ Death

From 1907, Rolls had tried to persuade Royce to design aeroplanes, but Royce refused. Rolls was also an avid aviation enthusiast, and his attention was drifting into aviation by 1909. So he stepped down from being the Technical Managing Director to become a Non-Executive Director.

Rolls had many achievements as an aviator. However, he had an untimely death at the young age of 32 due to an air crash at Bournemouth.