261:
307:
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53:
302:... "Selwyn Edge, Director of the Napier Car Company and famous racing driver ... spotted Miss Dorothy Levitt amongst his staff, a beautiful secretary with long legs and eyes like pools. In a bid to promote his cars ... Edge decided that she should take part in a race, though first he had to teach her to drive. She surpassed his expectations by winning her class in the 1903 Southport Speed Trial, and proved such a good driver that she was taken on by De Dion for a major publicity stunt." Jean Francois Bouzanquet
221:; driven by Edge, with Kennard along, and the 14-year-old St John Nixon as his mechanic, on a circuit from Newbury to Edinburgh and back, she won her class, being one of only thirty-five finishers (of sixty-four starters) and one of just twelve to average the requisite 12 mph (19 km/h) in England and 10 mph (16 km/h) in Scotland. He did the same (with
248:
because it had been completed on 25 May, only four days before the event. Montague Napier was the riding mechanic. The car was too powerful for the Dunlop tyres and fitting new French tyres led to disqualification, since they were not of the same nationality of origin. The car was retired with clutch
398:
The first event of the season, the Monaco meeting, from 2 to 16 April, ... is without precedent in yachting history; beginning with an exhibition of all types of motor-boats, lasting four days, after which three days afloat were allowed for preparations, the races began on 9 April and continued for
170:
reported: "S. F. Edge (1907), Ltd., has been registered at
Somerset House, London, with a capital of ÂŁ275,000, to carry on the business of motor car, cycle, launch, and flying machine manufacturers." He sold his company, S.F. Edge Ltd, to Napier in 1912, for ÂŁ120,000. The sale included an agreement
252:
For the 1902 Gordon
Bennett, Edge's Napier was the sole British entrant; with his cousin, Cecil Edge, as riding mechanic, he won, at an average 31.8 mph (51.2 km/h) (though by default, since the French entrants all fell out). The preparation of the car was hurried with some parts being
193:, where he also sat on the board, to Cubitt, who produced what was essentially a copy of the Anzani design. Edge purchased AC cars outright for ÂŁ135,000 in 1927. When AC collapsed in 1929, Edge sold his interest in the company and took no further business interest in the motor industry.
76:
township, near Sydney, on 29 March 1868; his parents were
Alexander Ernest Edge and Annie Charlotte Sharp. At age three, he was taken to London where in his teens he competed successfully as a bicycle racer, winning the North Road Cycling Club's 100 Mile Road Race in 1888 and the
318:
track, accompanied by riding-mechanic Joseph H Blackburn.(Born 17 December 1875 D 8 May 1919) He covered 1,581 miles (2544 km), 1,310 yards at an average speed of 65.905 mph (106.06 km/h). This record stood for 18 years. In 1910 Edge was awarded the
330:
setting a new "Double 12" world record covering 1,782 miles 1,066 yards (2,868 km 693 m) at an average speed of 74.27 mph (119.53 km/h) for the aggregate 24 hours.
22:
97:
offices in London. In 1892 he married
Eleanor Rose Sharp who died in 1914; his second wife, Myra Caroline Martin, whom he married in 1917, had two daughters by him.
341:
car (PF6465) which she drove in the 1927 Monte Carlo Rally, travelling 1,700 miles (2,700km) in 72 hours without sleep, finishing sixth overall, and winning the
253:
fitted on the train to Paris. Additionally the second gear had not been hardened properly so, on arriving in Paris, Edge got the gear out, contacted his friend
230:
260:
387:, but as both owner and entrant "S.F.Edge" is engraved on the trophy as the winner. The third crew member, Campbell Muir, may also have taken the controls.
472:
185:, gaining full control in 1922. About 1923 Edge was also managing director of William Cubitt & Company, who had entered the car market with the Cubitt
41:
237:
218:
844:
409:, won the 100 kilometres (62 mi) race for racers in the eight to 12 metres classes in 1 hour 5 minutes, he also finished second in
859:
171:
not to be involved in motor manufacturing for seven years. During this period he devoted himself to farming at
Ditchling, Sussex.
678:
306:
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879:
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314:
In June 1907 Edge broke the 24-hour distance record, driving a 60 hp (44.7 kW) Napier six, at the newly opened
257:(Adolphe Clément-Bayard), borrowed his factory, hardened the gear, reassembled everything, and went on to win the race.
275:
At the 1903 Gordon
Bennett, Edge had an 80 hp (60 kW) Napier, the Type K5, but was disqualified. Edge (with
241:
706:
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116:
793:
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as it was common practice to describe the owner and entrant as the driver, even if he did not take the wheel.
348:
His final contribution to motor racing was the inauguration of the
Campbell Circuit at Brooklands in 1937.
189:, but were out of business by 1925. Edge switched the contract for purchasing engines for the AC car from
839:
383:' speedboat fitted with a 3-blade propeller, achieved 19.3 mph (31.1 km/h). It was driven by
295:
205:, which no other British marque did, Edge entered an 8 hp (6 kW) four-cylinder Napier in the
104:, Sussex, and from 1912 to 1919, courtesy of his contract with Napiers, he devoted himself to farming.
794:
Hydroplane
History – French Launches and Launch Engines of 1905 by W. P. Stephens. (Transcribed from
356:
323:
for his drive in top gear in a 60 hp (45 kW) Napier on the route London-Edinburgh-London.
254:
152:
139:, Edge formed the Motor Vehicle Company Ltd to sell these improved cars, made by Napiers (Edge paid
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73:
509:
291:
269:
181:
When the embargo on motor manufacturing expired in 1919 he started to build up a shareholding in
144:
61:
283:
factory, as riding mechanic) fared no better with the K5 in the 1904 Gordon
Bennett in Germany.
57:
668:
Hull, Peter G. "Napier: The
Stradivarius of the Road", in Northey (1974), Volume 13, p.1486-7.
214:
206:
175:
646:
Hull, Peter G. "Napier: The Stradivarius of the Road", in Northey (1974), Volume 13, p.1483.
590:
Hull, Peter G. "Napier: The Stradivarius of the Road", in Northey (1974), Volume 13, p.1485.
94:
854:
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81:
climb when he was nineteen. One of the English Team and aged 23 he came third in the first
8:
131:), another keen cyclist, and in 1898 asked Napier to carry out some improvements to his
128:
82:
148:
771:
761:
368:
443:
Wise, David B., "Edge: Progenitor of the six-cylinder engine", in Northey, Tom, ed.
174:
In 1917 he was appointed controller of the agricultural machinery department of the
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36:, cyclist and record-breaker. He is principally associated with selling and racing
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as she was the first woman, a working secretary, to compete in a 'motor race'.
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37:
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222:
821:'S F Edge - Maker of Motoring History', Simon Fisher, Evro Publishing, 2022.
707:
Fast Ladies: Female Racing Drivers 1888 to 1970 By Jean Francois Bouzanquet
372:
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In 1903 Edge's eye for publicity created a world first when, on 2 October,
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British and Colonial Ltd as importers of cars. He had become friends with
202:
244:, Edge entered a special 17-litre Napier which he was only able to test
679:"Profile of the restored 1902 Napier that won the Gordon Bennet Trophy"
315:
101:
814:, Selwyn Francis Edge, Foulis, 1934. For a review of this book see:
233:
race in June; the car would be eliminated due to ignition trouble.
338:
182:
132:
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190:
100:
From 1910 until at least 1922 he resided at Gallops Homestead,
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won her class at the Southport Speed Trials driving his 12 Hp
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21:
115:
In 1899, he went into partnership with pioneering motorist
107:
He died 12 February 1940 in Eastbourne, Sussex, England.
64:
second from left. Others in the picture: J.E.L. Bates,
574:
572:
447:(London: Orbis Publishing Ltd, 1974), Volume 5, p.589.
367:
In 1903 Edge won the inaugural British International
735:
628:
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Fast ladies : female racing drivers, 1888-1970
569:
720:, Hobart, Tasmania, Monday 12 August 1907, Page 2.
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371:for speedboats held on the River Lee, Queenstown,
56:S.F. Edge (far right) in the English Cycle Team,
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662:
660:
658:
656:
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201:Recognizing the value of publicity gained from
16:British businessman, racing driver, and cyclist
649:
476:(online ed.), Oxford University Press,
614:, T.R. Nicholson, Batsford, 1966, Page 317.
363:driving S.F. Edge's Napier motor yacht 1903
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696:Co-driver Solutions – Women in Motorsport
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379:. The 40-foot (12 m) steel-hulled, '
326:In 1922 Edge returned to Brooklands in a
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305:
259:
157:
51:
20:
782:
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551:
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473:Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
422:
32:(1868–1940) was a British businessman,
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459:
457:
455:
453:
209:'s 1900 Thousand Miles (1600 km)
681:. Birthplace of Speed. Archived from
624:See history of British Anzani company
581:, 13 February 1940, Obituary, Page 3.
463:
700:
546:
310:Breaking the 24-hour distance record
229:) at the 837 mi (1350 km)
162:Selwyn Edge and his 16 hp Napier Car
845:Racing drivers from New South Wales
450:
13:
754:Bouzanquet, Jean-François (2009).
602:, Thursday 29 August 1907, Page 9.
467:"Edge, Selwyn Francis (1868–1940)"
143:400, selling at ÂŁ500), as well as
110:
85:cycle race in 1891. He worked for
14:
891:
558:, 1911, Westmeston, West Sussex;
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151:, both manufactured in Paris by
47:
860:Australian emigrants to England
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671:
617:
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1:
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25:Selwyn Francis Edge 1868-1940
835:Brighton Speed Trials people
496:UK public library membership
375:, Ireland, in a boat called
119:and Herbert Duncan to found
7:
10:
896:
880:Racing drivers from London
865:Businesspeople from London
818:, 18 October 1934, Page 7.
812:My motoring reminiscences
637:, 17 March 1927, Page 11.
612:The Vintage Car 1919–1930
600:The Sydney Morning Herald
562:, 8 September 1921, p.5;
345:, for the women's class.
168:The Sydney Morning Herald
805:
816:The Manchester Guardian
798:, May 1905, p. 283-287)
744:, 21 July 1922, Page 7.
742:The Manchester Guardian
635:The Manchester Guardian
579:The Manchester Guardian
564:The Manchester Guardian
560:The Manchester Guardian
532:"Bordeaux - Paris 1891"
240:race that included the
870:English racing drivers
760:. Dorchester: Veloce.
482:10.1093/ref:odnb/32970
364:
311:
279:, manager of Napiers'
272:
163:
153:Adolphe Clément-Bayard
135:. In 1899, along with
93:as manager of his new
69:
44:, Napier and AC cars.
26:
875:English male cyclists
732:, January 1952, p.21.
510:"Selwyn Francis Edge"
464:Thoms, David (2004),
394:reported that :
359:
309:
263:
176:Ministry of Munitions
161:
55:
24:
566:, 8 April 1922, p.9.
534:. CyclingRanking.com
512:. CyclingRanking.com
445:World of Automobiles
231:Paris-Toulouse-Paris
685:on 4 February 2012.
399:the following week.
129:D. Napier & Son
58:Bordeaux-Paris 1891
30:Selwyn Francis Edge
365:
312:
273:
242:Gordon Bennett Cup
164:
70:
68:and P.C. Twentyman
27:
840:Brooklands people
767:978-1-84584-225-3
556:Kelly's_Directory
494:(Subscription or
369:Harmsworth Trophy
72:Edge was born in
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335:Mrs Victor Bruce
149:Clément-Panhards
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343:Coupe des Dames
296:British society
277:Arthur McDonald
255:Adolphe Clément
227:riding mechanic
215:Automobile Club
207:Automobile Club
199:
125:Montague Napier
117:Charles Jarrott
113:
111:Business career
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42:Clemént-Panhard
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12:
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403:Edge, driving
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385:Dorothy Levitt
361:Dorothy Levitt
353:
352:Motor yachting
350:
304:
303:
288:Dorothy Levitt
268:and her 12 hp
266:Dorothy Levitt
238:Paris-Bordeaux
219:Edward Kennard
198:
195:
137:Harvey du Cros
121:De Dion-Bouton
112:
109:
91:Harvey Du Cros
83:Bordeaux–Paris
79:Westerham Hill
49:
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38:De Dion-Bouton
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9:
6:
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3:
2:
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217:on behalf of
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48:Personal life
45:
43:
40:, Gladiator;
39:
35:
34:racing driver
31:
23:
19:
815:
811:
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683:the original
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536:. Retrieved
526:
514:. Retrieved
504:
485:, retrieved
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444:
410:
404:
402:
391:
390:In May 1905
389:
376:
373:Cork Harbour
366:
347:
342:
332:
325:
321:Dewar Trophy
313:
285:
274:
251:
245:
236:In the 1901
235:
200:
197:Motor racing
186:
180:
173:
167:
165:
114:
106:
99:
71:
66:M.A. Holbein
29:
28:
18:
855:1868 births
850:1940 deaths
730:Motor Sport
718:The Mercury
294:, shocking
223:C. S. Rolls
203:auto racing
829:Categories
796:The Rudder
538:15 January
516:15 January
498:required.)
417:References
392:The Rudder
333:Edge lent
316:Brooklands
145:Gladiators
62:G.P. Mills
776:305172909
406:Napier II
292:Gladiator
270:Gladiator
249:trouble.
102:Ditchling
411:Napier 1
377:Napier I
246:en route
166:In 1907
487:18 June
213:of the
183:AC Cars
133:Panhard
74:Concord
60:won by
774:
764:
492:
381:Napier
339:AC Six
328:Spyker
191:Anzani
187:marque
95:Dunlop
806:Books
281:Genoa
264:Miss
211:Trial
89:then
87:Rudge
772:OCLC
762:ISBN
540:2019
518:2019
489:2015
225:his
147:and
127:(of
478:doi
337:an
831::
784:^
770:.
651:^
571:^
548:^
470:,
452:^
424:^
178:.
155:.
778:.
542:.
520:.
480::
141:ÂŁ
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
