Coventry branch

The Coventry Branch is guardian to the heritage of the Armstrong Siddeley company, its predecessors the Deasy Motor Car Manufacturing Company, Siddeley-Deasy at Parkside in Coventry, the subsequent activities of Bristol Siddeley and ultimately Rolls-Royce, both at Parkside and at Ansty.

Following the closure of the Parkside site in 1994, the extensive Coventry collection has been displayed at the Rolls-Royce Light Alloy Foundry, Osmaston Road, Derby, which it shares with the Derby/Hucknall Branch. It constitutes the finest record of Armstrong Siddeley achievement anywhere, encompassing motor cars, aero engines, rocket engines and engines for industrial and marine applications. Branch members continue to meet for lectures and outings in Coventry. They also travel every Wednesday to the display and its associated workshops in Derby, where they continue the work of building their unique collection.

A small workshop has been established at the Ansty site near Coventry and operates on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays. Current restoration projects include Viper Turbojets, rocket engines, a Cheetah radial and a 1938 14hp Armstrong Siddeley car.

Historical collection and exhibits

The Coventry products include aero engines, cars, rocket engines and industrial and marine engines. There is an extensive collection of these products, lovingly restored and maintained by a group of enthusiasts drawn mainly from retired employees.
Amongst other things, the collection includes such treasures as:

• A 1904 Siddeley Autocar, which completed the Brighton run in 2004
• The last Armstrong Siddeley car model
• The Star Sapphire
• WW1 Puma aero engine
• Sectioned Cheetah radial
• ASX turbojet of 1942
• Python, Mamba & Double Mamba turboprops
• Sapphire and Viper turbojets
• Stentor and Screamer rocket engines with a sectioned Blue Steel nuclear stand-off bomb (cruise missile)
• Maybach V-16 locomotive diesel
• SM1-C (Spey) marine full size mock-up
  The latest additions to the collection are a Black Knight Gamma Rocket Engine and a Sapphire 346 Pick-up truck.

There is a good library, housed partly at the Coventry City Archive and partly in Derby. The Branch has excellent workshop facilities for restoring exhibits, and currently about 50 people enjoy working sessions.

The Coventry branch of the Rolls-Royce Heritage Trust is dedicated to the preservation of items relating to Armstrong Siddeley and it is always interested to hear about its products, documentation or any other information.

Publication

The Sphinx magazine, covering the work of the Branch and the history of Armstrong Siddeley is published twice a year for members.

Armstrong Siddeley Owners Club

The Armstrong Siddeley Owners Club (ASOC) provides technical support and spares for Armstrong Siddeley cars. They also run social events for car owners. The Rolls-Royce Heritage Trust works closely with them, including support at the Classic Car Show at the NEC, Birmingham.

The contact for ASOC is Peter Sheppard on +44 (0) 121 459 0742.