Alldays and Onions
From Graces Guide
Alldays and Onions of Birmingham was an automobile and motorcycle manufacturer from 1898 to 1918.
- 1890 Showed an exhaust blower and pneumatic hammer at the Engineers, Electricians, Builders and Ironmongers Exhibition.
- 1889 Alldays and Onions Pneumatic Engineering Co. of Birmingham, was a company founded in 1889 by the merger of the long established Onions (dating from 1650) and Alldays (dating from 1720) engineering companies. Like many such companies they turned to bicycle manufacture and sold a range under the Alldays name.
- 1903 They also started making motorcycles in 1903 under the Alldays-Matchless name; these had no connection with the London based Matchless company.
- 1915 Presumably following representations from them, the name was changed to Allon. Manufacture of these continued until 1927.
Cars
- 1898 The company produced its first car, the Traveller; however, series production did not start until 1903/4 with the 7hp model. Larger commercial vehicles of up to 5 tons were also made in the years preceding the First World War and saw service during the conflict.
- 1913 April. Advert of 'Doctor's Coupe' car.
Alldays & Onions merged with Royal Enfield, a company they had owned since 1907, and produced cars called Enfield-Allday until 1925.
Motorcycles
Alldays and Onions built motorcycles from 1898 to 1915; in 1923 and 1927.
This old and well-established firm was based in Sparkbrook, from 1903 to 1915, and then at Fallows Road, Small Heath, Birmingham, and had its roots in the seventeenth century. During the nineteenth century they manufactured bicycles.
- 1903 Alldays and Onions produced their own 2.25hp engine that was fitted in a cradle to the loop frame. A 3.5hp forecar was also listed.
- 1904 The motorcycle became 2.5hp.
- 1905 A 3.5hp version was produced.
- 1909 There was a new 2.5hp model.
- 1911 Only the larger, belt-driven model with rigid forks was listed. The company revised the 3.5hp model and although it was still belt driven, it now had two-speed gearing and Druid forks. This well-built machine was fairly inexpensive. Later that year the Alldays-Matchless appeared. This had a 6hp twin engine, three-speed gearbox and all-chain drive.
- 1913 A 3hp twin was added to the list.
- 1914 The range was cut to the 3.5hp single, 6hp V-twin and a lightweight with a 269cc Villiers engine.
- 1915 The firm moved to Small Heath and started to produce their motorcycles under the Allon name, with two-stroke engines. The machines included a 539cc JAP V-Twin model.
- World War I. They built mostly motorcycles, returning to cars on cessation of hostilities.
- 1923 The Alldays and Onions name appeared again. They listed the Alldays Sports with a 348cc sv JAP engine, two-speed gearbox and either all-chain or chain-cum-belt transmission. It was listed for only that year.
- 1927 The name reappeared once more when two models were offered, both with four-stroke engines. They were built for one year only.
- Note: The company changed its name to Alldays Peacock which was acquired by the Spire Group in the 1980s.
Buses
- Alldays and Onions Pneumatic Engineering Co of Birmingham started building cars followed by vans in 1903.
- In 1911 trucks with a 40hp engine began production.
- In World War I, West Bridgford UDC situated near Nottingham bought seven Alldays chassis.
- The Alldays were chain driven which the war office did not favour. Each chassis cost £595.
- The last Alldays were sold by West Bridgford in 1921.
Sources of Information
- The British Motorcycle Directory - Over 1,100 Marques from 1888 - by Roy Bacon and Ken Hallworth. Pub: The Crowood Press 2004 ISBN 1 86126 674 X
- [1] CyberMotorCycles web site
- [2] Wikipedia
- Miller’s Price Guide to Classic Motorcycles
- The Engineer of 28th March 1890 p264
- The Engineer of 22nd June 1900 p650
- Ian Allan - British Buses Since 1900 - Aldridge and Morris
- The Autocar of 5th April 1913 pXXVI