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).
Confidential memo on managing rumors about a post-war small car and the challenges of maintaining project secrecy.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 144\2\ scan0033 | |
| Date | 16th February 1941 | |
| Sg{Arthur F. Sidgreaves - MD} file 1212 Private & Confidential. To Sg.{Arthur F. Sidgreaves - MD} from Rm.{William Robotham - Chief Engineer} Rm.{William Robotham - Chief Engineer}4/ET.16.2.41. CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION RE MYTH ----------------------------- We have received a letter from Ward, a copy of which we attach. We anticipate that there will be a great deal of speculation of this nature on what Rolls-Royce are going to produce in the way of a small car after the war. We believe that the only way to deal with the matter is to announce unofficially that Rolls-Royce are making experimentally every sort of car, from 8 H.P. upwards, and having every sort of number of cylinders. On the other hand they will probably never produce any of these cars. They have already made many models which have been brought up to the stage where they could be produced, and then thrown away. I cannot possibly keep what we are doing at the Clan Foundry secret, for the following reasons:- 1. I have 125 men working in the shops, who can see what is going on in the car section. Few of these men are on contract, and only 25% were working for Rolls-Royce before the war. 2. Almost all the detail draughtsmen have been obtained from outside, since our own men were transferred to the aero division when war broke out, and these men are naturally enclined to be anxious to tell their friends what they are doing. 3. Since we have no machining facilities in the Works, we have to get the bits and pieces we require wherever we can, and this spreads the information on the drawings. We are not very worried about this state of affairs, because we believe, if we adopt the proceedure outlined above, it will not affect our business appreciably. Rm.{William Robotham - Chief Engineer} | ||