Albert Perrigo (1903–1985) was a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

engineer who was a successful

motorcycle trials Motorcycle trials, also known as observed trials, often called simply trial/s (with or without the plural "s"), is a non-speed event on specialized motorcycles. The sport is most popular in the United Kingdom and Spain, though there are participan ...

rider before becoming Competition Manager for

BSA motorcycles BSA motorcycles were made by the Birmingham Small Arms Company Limited (BSA), which was a major British industrial combine, a group of businesses manufacturing military and sporting firearms; bicycles; motorcycles; cars; buses and bodies; stee ...

where his ideas influenced the design of many of their best selling motorcycles.

Early life

Born in 1902 in

Small Heath, Birmingham Small Heath is an area in south-east Birmingham, West Midlands, England situated on and around the Coventry Road about from the city centre. History Small Heath, which has been settled and used since Roman times, sits on top of a small hill. Th ...

, Bert Perrigo's father was a baker but instead of following into the family bakery Bert got a job driving vans for a local motorcycle company. Bordesley Engineering Co of New Bond Street Birmingham had been producing motorcycles under the Connaught brand name since 1912. While he was working for Bordesley Engineering Perrigo persuaded them to enter him in the

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24-hour trial, which he won, securing the first of many gold medals.

Motorcycle designer

When Bordesley Engineering closed in 1926 Bert Perrigo moved to BSA and joined the competitions department. His

success was important to BSA and they developed the

BSA Blue Star The BSA Blue Star is a British motorcycle made by BSA at their factory in Small Heath, Birmingham. The Blue Star range was produced between 1932 and 1936. In 1936 a slightly uprated sports version called the BSA Empire Star The Empire St ...

range with help from Perrigo, who was paid one-half-penny royalty for every Blue Star sold. His first major commercial success was in 1937 when

Wal Handley Walter Leslie Handley (5 April 1902 – 15 November 1941) born in Aston, Birmingham,
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was presented with a

Brooklands Brooklands was a motor racing circuit and aerodrome built near Weybridge in Surrey, England, United Kingdom. It opened in 1907 and was the world's first purpose-built 'banked' motor racing circuit as well as one of Britain's first airfields, ...

Gold Star for lapping the circuit at over on a 500 cc

BSA Empire Star The Empire Star was a standard motorcycle made by BSA at their factory in Small Heath, Birmingham. Named to commemorate the Silver Jubilee of King George V of the United Kingdom and advertised as ''The Masterpiece of the Industry'', the Empir ...

. Any rider who achieved a lap during a race was awarded a "Gold Star", which was a enamel badge a small square on the bottom of it which said "100", but Perrigo saw a good marketing opportunity and persuaded BSA bosses to invest in the development of the 350 cc and 500 cc

BSA Gold Star The BSA Gold Star is a motorcycle made by BSA from 1938 to 1963. They were 350 cc and 500 cc single-cylinder four-stroke production motorcycles known for being among the fastest bikes of the 1950s. Being hand built and with many opt ...

which became a top seller for BSA for the next two decades until 1963. Perrigo was rewarded with promotion to become the Chief Engineer and Works Manager of the BSA Motor Cycle team. Perrigo also led the BSA

Maudes Trophy The Maudes Trophy is a motorcycle award established in 1923 by George Pettyt, owner of Maudes Motor Mart based in Great Portland Street, London who promoted an impartially-observed endurance test for motorcycles and provided a challenge award to t ...

when three BSA Stars successfully completed the round Europe tour. As well as entering the International Six Days Trial, Bert's team completed with no mechanical problems — a major selling point for BSA at time when reliability was a key factor.

Racing career

Perrigo won the inaugural British Experts Trial in 1929 and went on to become a leading trials rider and represented Britain in the International Six Days Trial and won a gold medal at the ISDT in

Merano Merano (, , ) or Meran () is a city and ''comune'' in South Tyrol, northern Italy. Generally best known for its spa resorts, it is located within a basin, surrounded by mountains standing up to above sea level, at the entrance to the Passeier V ...

, Italy in 1931. In 1937 Perrigo rode a B25 Empire Star to success in both the Colmore Cup and Victory Cup trials.

Death

Bert Perigo died in 1985 at the age of 82.

References

External links

Picture of the 1952 Maudes Trophy winners with Bert Perrigo (2nd from right wearing the tie)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Perrigo, Bert 1903 births 1985 deaths People from Small Heath, Birmingham English motorcycle racers Enduro riders Motorcycle trials riders British motorcycle pioneers