Gerald Marley Palmer (30 January 1911 – 23 June 1999) was a British car designer.
Background
Born in England, Palmer grew up in
Southern Rhodesia
Southern Rhodesia was a landlocked self-governing British Crown colony in southern Africa, established in 1923 and consisting of British South Africa Company (BSAC) territories lying south of the Zambezi River. The region was informally kn ...
, now Zimbabwe, where his father was chief engineer to the state-run railways.
Another source says that he was born in Rhodesia on 30 January 1911.
In 1959, he married Diana Varley (died 1989), whom he had met at Scammell's drawing office. They had one daughter.
Career
Apprenticeship
Palmer returned to England in 1927 where he started an
engineering apprenticeship An engineering apprenticeship in the United Kingdom is an apprenticeship in mechanical engineering or electrical engineering or aeronautical engineering to train craftsmen, technicians, senior technicians, Incorporated Engineers and Chartered Engin ...
with
Scammell
Scammell Lorries Limited was a British manufacturer of trucks, particularly specialist and military off-highway vehicles, between 1921 and 1988.
History
Scammell started as a late- Victorian period wheelwright and coach-building business, G Sc ...
, the commercial vehicle builders,
and studied at the
Regent Street Polytechnic
The University of Westminster is a public university based in London, United Kingdom. Founded in 1838 as the Royal Polytechnic Institution, it was the first polytechnic to open in London. The Polytechnic formally received a Royal charter in Aug ...
.
Morris
![1951 MG YA (8439641745)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/62/1951_MG_YA_%288439641745%29.jpg)
While still training, in his spare time Palmer designed and built a sports car for the racing driver
Joan Richmond
Joan Richmond (1905–1999) was an Australian pioneer in motorsport who competed internationally in seven Monte Carlo rallies and two Le Mans 24 Hours races.
Early life and education
Joan Richmond was born in Cooma in 1905 and grew up in Vict ...
and called it the Deroy after a tin mine his father owned in
Mozambique
Mozambique (), officially the Republic of Mozambique ( pt, Moçambique or , ; ny, Mozambiki; sw, Msumbiji; ts, Muzambhiki), is a country located in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi ...
. He completed the Deroy in 1936 and drove the car to the
M.G. works at
Abingdon where he showed it to
Cecil Kimber
Cecil Kimber (12 April 1888 – 4 February 1945) was a motor car designer, best known for his role in being the driving force behind The M.G. Car Company.
Biography
Kimber was born in London on 12 April 1888 to Henry Kimber, a printing engi ...
. Kimber arranged for Palmer to be interviewed by chief engineer Vic Oak, which resulted in Palmer getting a job in the Morris drawing office at
Cowley with responsibility for development of a new generation of M.G. cars.
During 1937 and 1938, Palmer was responsible for leading the design of the
MG Y-type
The MG Y-Type is an automobile produced by MG in England from 1947 to 1953. It was offered in four-door saloon and limited production open four-seat tourer versions.
When production ceased, 8,336 "Y" Types had been produced, 6,131 of which we ...
which, due to the onset of hostilities, would not begin production until 1947.
World War II
![Jowett Javelin (9483046164)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/86/Jowett_Javelin_%289483046164%29.jpg)
With the outbreak of war in 1939, Gerald Palmer was reassigned to work on portable anaesthetic apparatus, the Oxford Vaporiser, for front line use. On completion of this he pursued development on a new
two-stroke engine
A two-stroke (or two-stroke cycle) engine is a type of internal combustion engine that completes a power cycle with two strokes (up and down movements) of the piston during one power cycle, this power cycle being completed in one revolution of t ...
and production of
Tiger Moth
The de Havilland DH.82 Tiger Moth is a 1930s British biplane designed by Geoffrey de Havilland and built by the de Havilland Aircraft Company. It was operated by the Royal Air Force (RAF) and other operators as a primary trainer aircraft. ...
training aircraft.
Jowett
Already looking beyond the war,
Jowett cars of
Bradford
Bradford is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Bradford district in West Yorkshire, England. The city is in the Pennines' eastern foothills on the banks of the Bradford Beck. Bradford had a population of 349,561 at the 2011 ...
had decided it was time to move on from their basic range of cars and vans and their new managing director, Charles Reilly, placed an advertisement for a chief designer. The name of the company was not mentioned in the advertisement but at the age of 30 Palmer applied for the job. He initially had doubts when he found out who he would be working for as it meant moving from the motor industry heartlands to a small company not specially renowned for innovation. Charles Reilly must have been impressed as he pursued Palmer and in January 1942. persuaded him to accept the offer.
![Wolseley Four Forty Four 1955 - Flickr - mick - Lumix(1)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ab/Wolseley_Four_Forty_Four_1955_-_Flickr_-_mick_-_Lumix%281%29.jpg)
Starting with a clean sheet, Palmer went on to design the
Jowett Javelin.
Except for the gearbox and rear axle, Palmer designed all the parts for the car, including a new flat-four engine and
unit body
A vehicle frame, also historically known as its ''chassis'', is the main supporting structure of a motor vehicle to which all other components are attached, comparable to the skeleton of an organism.
Until the 1930s, virtually every car had a ...
.
The first prototype car was finished on 25 August 1944 and production started in late 1947,
with cars reaching the first customers in 1948. The car was well received but was expensive and beyond the resources of the small Jowett company. There were problems with the engine and production volumes never reached the planned level. Body production had been outsourced to Briggs and they turned them out as ordered even though sales did not match resulting in a large stockpile and drain on Jowett's cash flow.
Morris again
In 1949, Palmer left Jowett and returned to Morris where he took up the job of designer of a new range of cars for M.G.,
Riley and
Wolseley.
The results of this were the
M.G. ZA Magnette and
Wolseley 4/44
The Wolseley 4/44 is an automobile which was introduced by the British Motor Corporation in 1952 and manufactured from 1953 until 1956. It was designed under the Nuffield Organization but by the time it was released, Wolseley was part of BMC. ...
.
BMC
In 1952, Palmer was made chief engineer of the
British Motor Corporation
The British Motor Corporation Limited (BMC) was a UK-based vehicle manufacturer, formed in early 1952 to give effect to an agreed merger of the Morris and Austin businesses.Morris-Austin Merger Company Named. ''The Times'', Friday, 29 February ...
(BMC),
where he oversaw the design and launch of the
Riley Pathfinder
The Riley Pathfinder is an automobile which was produced by Riley Motors Limited in the United Kingdom from 1953 to 1957. It was first presented at the London Motor Show in October 1953 and replaced the RMF as Riley's top-line model.
Design ...
and
Wolseley 6/90
The Wolseley 6/90 is a car produced by Wolseley Motors Limited in the United Kingdom from 1954 to 1959. Announced on the first day of the October 1954 British Motor Show,New Wolseley Car. ''The Times'', Wednesday, Oct 20, 1954; pg. 5; Issue 530 ...
, also being involved in the design of the MGA Twin-cam engine. He became a director but, in 1955, fell foul of chairman
Leonard Lord
Leonard Percy Lord, 1st Baron Lambury KBE (15 November 1896 – 13 September 1967) was a captain of the British motor industry.
Background and education
Leonard Percy Lord was born on 16 November 1896 and was the youngest child in his family ...
and was dismissed.
He was succeeded by
Alec Issigonis
Sir Alexander Arnold Constantine Issigonis (18 November 1906 – 2 October 1988) was a British-Greek automotive designer. He designed the Mini, launched by the British Motor Corporation in 1959, and voted the second Car of the Century, most i ...
.
Vauxhall
Palmer then joined
Vauxhall Motors
Vauxhall Motors LimitedCompany No. 00135767. Incorporated 12 May 1914, name changed from Vauxhall Motors Limited to General Motors UK Limited on 16 April 2008, reverted to Vauxhall Motors Limited on 18 September 2017. () is a British car compa ...
,
working with the team responsible for the
Victor
The name Victor or Viktor may refer to:
* Victor (name), including a list of people with the given name, mononym, or surname
Arts and entertainment
Film
* ''Victor'' (1951 film), a French drama film
* ''Victor'' (1993 film), a French shor ...
and
Viva
Viva may refer to:
Companies and organisations
* Viva (network operator), a Dominican mobile network operator
* Viva Air, a Spanish airline taken over by flag carrier Iberia
* Viva Air Dominicana
* VIVA Bahrain, a telecommunication company
* ...
ranges.
Retirement
Palmer retired in 1972,
but did not give up on innovation. He claimed in his book, The Auto Architect, that he designed the Oxford Hoist, a device for assisting disabled people. He also restored and competed in a
Type 44 Bugatti and a 2-litre Mercedes-Benz.
Publications
* or
References
;Footnotes
;Sources
Jowett Car Club North West Section
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Palmer, Gerald
1911 births
1999 deaths
British automobile designers