Kenelm Lee Guinness

KLG spark plugs

As for many racing motorists of this era, Guinness had commercial interests in automotive engineering; in this case being the inventor of the KLG spark plug, a brand name surviving today.

His experience in the 1912 Manx Tourist Trophy led him to develop a more reliable spark plug. The innovation of the KLG spark plug was its use of mica as an insulator. This mica was stacked in sheets and compressed by the centre electrode being tightened on a thread. These insulators gave more reliable performance than the porcelain ceramics used by others.

In 1912 Guinness acquired the disused 'Bald Faced Stag' inn at Putney Vale, where production of these plugs began in a small way, supplying other racers including Segrave and Malcolm Campbell. By 1914 Guinness was producing 4,000 plugs a week. making the factory the largest employer in the area. By 1918, the bulk of the factory's output was reserved for the Royal Air Force. In 1920 Guinness was made a member of the Order of the British Empire for his services as manager of the Robinhood Works.

In 1919, he sold world distribution rights to Smiths, then sold up completely in 1927. He remained as a consultant.

KLG's reliability was particularly attractive to the land speed record contenders and their many-cylindered aero-engines, often with dual ignition systems. Segrave's 1,000HP Sunbeam required 48 spark plugs, a mis-fire amongst which could be very difficult to detect and replace on a windswept beach. and had her refitted as a gentleman's yacht. Guest accommodation was provided, together with a hold equipped to transport racing cars to foreign events.

In 1926, after Guinness's retirement from motor racing, he and his friend Malcolm Campbell used the yacht for a treasure-hunting trip to the Cocos Islands.

Kenelm Lee Guinness