Jowett A Century of Memories

Jowett Cars Ltd of Bradford, Yorkshire was one of the founder companies of the British motor industry. Yet, despite Jowett's importance, the company has previously been neglected by motor historians; this being the first book to record the entire history of the marque. The account begins with the Jowett family's struggle to survive in turn-of-the century Bradford. The sons of a blacksmith, it was natural that William and Benjamin should turn to smithying, but their inborn flair for machinery led inexorably first to engines then light cars. Their abilities enabled them to make a valuable contribution to the war effort from 1916, and the experience gained formed the springboard for their post-war company of Jowett Cars Ltd. The brothers' insistence on economy, both in the cars and commercial vehicles themselves, and their construction methods, earned them a niche within which they could at first prosper, then survive, the depressed British economy of the twenties and thirties. The Second World War expansion spawned the revolutionary Javelin and Jupiter, with their world wide appeal and international competition victories, as well as the highly successful heir to the pre-war designs, the Bradford van and its offspring. Jowett's products have always been regarded with affection, from the little twin cylinder cars of the Edwardian period, the family cars and commercials of the vintage period and the thirties, through to the commercials, saloons and sports cars of the forties and fifties. That an amazing number of Jowetts have survived to the present day is a testimony to the quality of their design and construction. This history is a detailed chronicle of the life and times of the Jowett company, a tribute to the workers who established and maintained an enviable reputation for high quality products. This is a look at their sporting history in prewar trials, to post war competition at Le Mans and a detailed investigation into the dramatic cessation of car production.