I thought I might be able to help to stop Dan Kehew agonising about the origin of his elegant British frame, but the more I've studied the photos, the less convinced of the conclusions I had reached.
Certainly the frame is a generic stereo-typical late 1940s product...in the same way that Nervex-lugged/bracketed.and fork- crowned frames with a p air of those twin-fluted top-eyes were very typical of the 50s and into the early 60s. Get one with the paint and transfers in place and you are happy , but find one that's had an aerosol make-over and you have only the frame number to work with..then you are in trouble, unless the builder showed som e originality with his numbering system. So it is with Dan's frame unfortun ately.
Last Sunday I saw an almost identical frame in the Market Place of our s mall town. The owner had just acquired it in all's it's garish home-sprayed finish and unoffficial transfers. From the lugs to the crown via the botto m bracket, not forgetting the top-eyes the frame was identical to Dan's...b ut the brake-bridge set it apart. it was clearly a Hill Special, made local ly in Padiham by Adam Hill, in the late 40s. I have an almost identical one in my collection.
So..my first thought was that Dan's frame is a Hill Special..a very highly respected marque particularly in the north of England. Then further study of the photos persuaded me that the answer was staring at me...the f rame must be a P T Stallard. I have an identical one of these as well...ext remely light, particularly for a 24"...made with Accles and Pollock "Kromo" tubing.
So it was down to eliminating one brand or the other...Unfortunately som e research on the Classic-Rendezvous site and the Classic Lightweights one prove both my assumptions to be incorrect as the numbering systems for both these ,marques was not as straightforward as the number on Dan's frame
What is fairly sure is that Dan's frame was built in 1948, and that it i s No30 for that. The frame is not entirely original and I would suggest tha t the brake bridge has been replaced and the rear derailleur chute added, p robably in the 70s. The original pump pegs on the leading edge of the seat- tube have been crudely removed..or maybe they just rusted away.. The other thing that puzzled me was dan's reference to D-section fork blades. Are the y really D-Section?
The other thought that now comes to mind, now that I have eliminated bot h Hill and Stallard, is that the frame might be a Rotrax, from Southampton. So does anyone out there know how Rotrax numbered their frames? And, like Gillott, Rotrax were known for elegant fork blades..and exceptionally good rides.
Norris Lockley, Settle Uk
Norris Lockley
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