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).
Difficult situation with Mr. Royce regarding the Sports Phantom coachbuilding and design details.
| Identifier | WestWitteringFiles\Q\July1927-September1927\ Scan148 | |
| Date | 21th September 1927 | |
| to Hs{Lord Ernest Hives - Chair} from EV.{Ivan Evernden - coachwork} ORIGINAL EV{Ivan Evernden - coachwork}1/21.9.27. X8771 X8830 RE SPORTS PHANTOM. Many thanks for your Hs{Lord Ernest Hives - Chair}/LG/19.9.27. as it makes the situation more clear. I had a note from Sg{Arthur F. Sidgreaves - MD} on Monday asking me to take the recommendations of the London discussion up with Mr Royce and to arrange to go up and discuss the detail designs with them, at once. I think that the suggestion will provide the best possible results and am backing it up. Mr Royce has not taken to it too well but I believe he will agree eventually, consequently I cannot do anything at the moment. He has written a long letter to BJ. and is seeing him tomorrow. The situation is very difficult to handle down here. Mr Royce dislikes the idea of my leaving this office to pay visits to coachbuilders, and therefore welcomed the idea of your taking the job on believing that all the work could have been done by drawings and letters on similar lines to the chassis work. All these troubles would be overcome if there were someone on the London coachbuilding staff who might be capable of coming here, studying our drawings and then taking them away and seeing that the coachbuilder provide our requirements. He would need to be someone not of the Sales or Coachbuilders party, but belonging rather to no faction save that of progress along lines indicated by Mr Royce. However, I am afraid that we are a long way from getting this. If all goes well I hope to go up to London early next week and will keep you informed of what happens. EV{Ivan Evernden - coachwork} | ||