From the Rolls-Royce experimental archive: a quarter of a million communications from Rolls-Royce, 1906 to 1960's. Documents from the Sir Henry Royce Memorial Foundation (SHRMF).
Meeting with Mr. Royce concerning issues with Lucas accessories and a new cut-out design.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 36\4\ scan 219 | |
| Date | 20th June 1921 | |
| R.R. C499(T) (S.C. 558, 15-3-16) G.{Mr Griffiths - Chief Accountant / Mr Gnapp} 1515. X.3014b Memo from BY.{R.W. Bailey - Chief Engineer} To. WGC. Hs.{Lord Ernest Hives - Chair} BY6-P20.6.21. X3014/RECENT VISIT OF HS{Lord Ernest Hives - Chair} & BY TO MR ROYCE. X4165 RE QUESTION OF LUCAS ACCESSORIES. X3770 X4349 With reference to the above matter, we did our best to convey to Mr Royce the views of the Works Committee as definitely expressed in the report of the Conference between Messrs. Lucas Representatives and ourselves, but from the outset it was quite evident that it would be impossible to obtain anything like a symphatic hearing, as Mr Royce had definitely made up his mind on the whole issue before our arrival, and was not prepared to move from the attitude he had adopted. We pointed out that our responsibilities in regard to the Lucas equipment were at least as great as those of Messrs. Lucas, as we had definitely selected the equipment in question in preference to not only other makes, but also to at least one other type made by the Lucas Company, and that since as a result of this selection we had ordered up the material, we could hardly turn it all down because we now considered it did not fully meet our requirements. Mr Royce seized upon the cut-out as the weak point of the installation, and stated definitely that one could not reasonably expect it to work well, as the design was faulty. He would not express an opinion of the new design of Lucas cut-out, but did not appear to be favorably impressed by it. He could not be persuaded to consider any question of co-operation, but stated that Messrs. Lucas should be able to do the job themselves without our help, and that if they could not do this then it was their funeral, and further they should not expect us to help out their short comings by assisting them from a design point of view. The position at the finish could be summed up as follows, namely, that if Messrs. Lucas were satisfied with the performance of the new cut-out, they were at liberty to replace those of the faulty design with the new type at their expense, and that from their point of view this was the least that could be done. contd. | ||