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).
Letter from Rapson Tyre & Jack Company, Ltd. proposing trials of their latest tyre design and detailing its performance.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 39\1\ Scan044 | |
| Date | 2nd October 1923 guessed | |
| RAPSON TYRE & JACK COMPANY, Ltd. CONTINUATION SHEET No. Messrs Rolls-Royce Limited., Attention of E.W.Hives.Esq., In addition to the foregoing, Rapson tyres have been tested against various other makes by those responsible for the supply of tyres for use on armoured cars and easily proved the best. In connection with these various trials, I have obtained a great deal of valuable information and have incorporated this in our latest design of Rapson tyre, a set of which I shall now be happy to supply you with for test purposes. I should like you to try these out under running conditions as near as possible to that of the average Rolls-Royce user and render me to my private address at Ottershaw Park, Chertsey, Surrey, a fortnightly report. I am of the opinion that the casing will survive the wearing off of the tread until same reaches the breaker strip and if this should prove to be so in your trials, I should like you to return the tyres to me here so that I can have same retreaded and sent back for further trials. You will observe from the Directors at the head of this notepaper that my Board has recently been considerably strengthened and two of the gentlemen concerned, have joined me solely on account of the favourable impression created by the running of Rapson tyres, not only on their own cars, but on those for which they are responsible. I have Admiral Sir Lionel Halsey's permission to state that the tyres I supplied for use on H.R.H. The Prince of Wales' Rolls-Royce car when he returned from India, completed 14,000 miles without the slightest trouble of any description and it is a fact that during the past twelve months, not a single tyre which I have supplied for use on various Royal cars has yet failed. It is because of these achievements that I feel that my latest design of Rapson tyre is worthy of even your world-famous car and although I do not anticipate that for several years you would consider standardising the Rapson tyre, I do feel that, providing the tyres I now wish to supply you with prove successful in your trials, you will at least agree to those customers asking for Rapsons, being allowed to have same fitted in preference to your ordinary standard type. For use in countries like India, South Africa, etc. etc. I am positive there is no tyre made which can give | ||