Alfred Robert Grindlay

Alfred Robert Grindlay CBE, JP (1 February 1876 – 14 April 1965) was an English inventor, industrialist and official during the 19th and 20th centuries. He co-founded Grindlay Peerless, the motorcycle engineering company and was Mayor of Coventry during WWII and the Coventry Blitz.

Early life and family Grindlay was born in Coventry, England, in 1876, the fifth child of nine and second son of William Vaughan Grindlay (1843–1891), into a line of established engineers and horological master craftsmen. He was orphaned while still a teenager, when first his mother, Mary Ann, died in December 1890, and then his father only a year later in December 1891. Upon leaving school, Grindlay joined a local cycle firm and began learning the skills he would employ later in his career. He captained the side during their most successful period, including the 1898–99 season when he was one of the top goal scorers and the club won the Midland Daily Telegraph Association Football Challenge Cup, Foleshill Nursing Association Cup, and the Nuneaton Cottage Hospital Cup.

At the age of 20, Grindlay married Emma Chaplin in St Paul's Church, Coventry on 7 September 1896, and started his family in 1899, aged 23, when the first of his two sons, Reginald Robert Grindlay, was born.

By 1901, Grindlay was working at Riley Cycle Company, one of the major firms in Coventry at that time. He progressed steadily within the company, until 1910, when while working as a foreman at Riley Cycle Company, he applied for a patent (24,683) regarding "improved means for carrying spare wheels" for motorcars. That same year Grindlay left Riley Cycle Company and took over the Coventry Motor & Sundries business, establishing Grindlay Sidecars, which became known for its "extremely high quality" machines.

In 1918, he established Grindlay Company or Grindlay (Coventry) Ltd, which focused on coachwork for cars and later the manufacture of the Grindlay Spring-Wheel Sidecar which he himself designed.

During the war, Grindlay was part of the Motor Patrol section of the Special Constabulary of Coventry, where he was able to utilise his extensive motoring experience. Specialising in machine parts and jigs, tool fixtures and gauges, early work involved assisting with the production of aircraft guns as part of the arms build up ahead of the war. Support for the war effort expanded to include the development of pitch propellers, barrage balloons, aircraft fuselages and control gear.

Motor industry

Formed in 1923, Grindlay Peerless, which operated out of Melbourne Works on Shakleton Road in Spon End, Coventry, entered into the wider motorcycle market in the early 1920s, and began making high-powered racing machines. Like the Grindlay Sidecars before them, they employed numerous technological advances and innovative engineering, which included utilising early aircraft design features.

CWG 'Bill' Lacey became the first man to exceed a 100 miles in an hour on British soil in August 1928 aboard his modified 498cc Grindlay Peerless. The bike covered 103.3 miles in the hour at Brooklands racing circuit in Surrey to secure a Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM) world record.

In 1929, Bill Lacey broke the record again on his Grindlay Peerless, by covering 105.87 miles in the hour at Autodrome de Linasc-Montlhéry, Montlhéry, in France.

When Grindlay founded Coventry Engineering Company in 1936, it became his third pioneering motorcycle engineering firm.

Throughout his time in government he held several additional positions, including chairmanships of the Coventry Progressive Party, the Waterworks and Fire Brigade, the Libraries and Museum Committee, the City Redevelopment Committee, Coventry Savings Committee as part of the National Savings Movement, as well as membership of the Coventry Chamber of Commerce.

Grindlay was elected an Alderman in 1950.

Mayor of Coventry King George VI and Queen Elizabeth visit Coventry Cathedral with A R Grindlay and M G Haigh, the Bishop of Coventry, 25 February 1942 During WWII, Grindlay was appointed Deputy Mayor of Coventry in 1940 under John Albert Moseley, and then elected Mayor of Coventry (later styled Lord Mayor) in 1941, becoming in full, The Right Worshipful the Mayor of Coventry, Councillor Alfred Robert Grindlay CBE, JP.

As Mayor of Coventry, Grindlay could impale the City of Coventry arms (dexter) with his family arms (sinister)On 14 October 1942, in response to the war-time solidarity that had developed between the people of Coventry and Stalingrad (now Volgograd), in a telegram to the people of Stalingrad, Grindlay wrote:"The inhabitants of Coventry will never forget the sacrifices which were endured by Stalingrad. They express to you, the people of Stalingrad, their feelings of special sympathy and admiration for your great courage and iron determination to fight until victory." – A R Grindlay, 1942This close war-time relationship, fostered by Grindlay and the citizens of Coventry, resulted in the twinning of the two cities in 1944, becoming what became known as sister cities. This act of comradeship started a trend that spread across Europe and the rest of the world.

Social engagement and philanthropy Grindlay was a keen sportsman and prominent figure in the Coventry sporting world, remaining involved with various clubs and associations throughout his life. His love of amateur football, beginning with his playing for Foleshill Great Heath Football Club in his youth, was a passion shared by his wife, Emma, and which culminated in his becoming vice-president of Coventry City Football Club. He was also chairman of Coventry and Warwickshire Motor Club, vice-president of Coventry Cricket Club, and a member the Coventry Hearsall and Coventry Golf Clubs.

A committed philanthropist, in his role as chairman of the Coventry Hospital Carnival Committee, Grindlay oversaw the organisation of 16 carnivals and 2 "Godiva" processions that raised more than £60,000 for the hospital, attracting visitors from around the world and to wide public acclaim, before it was eventually taken over by the government. He also contributed to the hospital by sitting on both its General and House Committees. In addition to his works with the city council, Grindlay was a Freemason like many of the wider Grindlay family, and contributed to many charities and philanthropic projects through his membership of the Trinity Lodge and Trinity Royal Arch Chapter. In his later years he went on to become the President of the Coventry and District Free Church Council. Three years later in 1946 he was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) for his service to the nation and personally commended for his efforts by King George VI. His award is described by Coventry City Council as being "in recognition of his eminent and devoted service to the city during a period of unprecedented municipal development and as a token of public esteem".

On 1 July 1965, Coventry City Council announced that a redevelopment in Windsor Street, Spon End was to be named Grindlay House in his honour. and was buried at All Saint's Church, Allesley on 2 June 1965. He is remembered as the "Father of Coventry City Council".