What began as one Birmingham builder’s ingenious solution to a common problem became one of Britain’s most successful sidecar manufacturers. Discover the remarkable history of Watsonian, from its pioneering folding sidecars to world championship success – and an ambitious attempt to build its own motorcycle.
The idea for Watsonian sidecars came not from an engineer, but from a Birmingham builder.
With sidecars becoming increasingly popular in the first decade of the 20th century, a motorcycle and chair was a not inconsiderable investment for a working man. However, many of those men lived in the industrial terraces of big cities where backyards were only accessibly by a narrow alleyway, a passage down which it was impossible to fit a motorcycle combination and allow it to be parked safely. So Thomas ‘Fred’ Watson, realising that this was a real problem, came up with the idea of a collapsible sidecar.
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Featuring a hinged rectangular chassis and long vertical body hinges, it could be easily folded and wheeled through tight spaces. The seat locked everything firmly in place but could slide to one side to allow folding. Production began in 1912, and it was an instant success; by the outbreak of war in 1914, Watsonian offered an impressive 30 different models.
After the war was over, Fred continued to develop the Watsonian sidecar, offering different models for different uses. Whether you wanted a sidecar for your business, for taking out the family or even for sport, Watsonian had the chair for you.
In 1922 the company had grown so much that it required a bigger factory. The revolutionary ‘Kwikfit’ chassis was introduced in 1926 and the permanent motorcycle subframe and quick-release clamps for the sidecar allowed riders to easily switch between solo and sidecar riding, giving owners the best of both worlds. The Kwikfit would remain immensely popular until it was discontinued in the late 1950s, bikes having by then become too powerful for the quick release clamps.
Disaster seemed to strike in March 1930 when a spark from a passing steam train ignited the premises of the Watsonian Folding Sidecar Co Ltd at 32-46 Branson Street in Hockley. It housed the enamelling shop and stored the special wood required for the sidecar bodies, all of which was highly flammable. The three-storey building was completely gutted and damage was estimated at £5000, which would be close to half a million pounds today.
However, Watsonian picked itself up, renamed itself the Watsonian Sidecar Company and, by the following year, it was housed in new and larger premises in Greet, Birmingham. By now there was a wide range of sidecar bodies on offer, from the basic to the luxurious Oxford saloon.
During the Second World War sidecar production was halted and instead the factory turned its hand to military supplies, which included camp beds, rucksack frames and portable aircraft hangars. Fred Watson died in 1944 but his son Ron took up the reins of the company and not only continued its success but brought to the firm a new element – motorcycle sport. Although Watsonian had always had an interest in competition (in 1932 the team trophy in the International Six Days Trial was won with a standard Watsonian chair coupled to a Sunbeam motorcycle), offering a specially designed aluminium trials model, it was Ron Watson’s passion that led to its dominance of sports sidecars.
Collaborating closely with Norton Motorcycles and the brilliant sidecar pilot Eric Oliver, Watsonian was a mighty force. It won every sidecar world championship from 1949 to 1953, the last time a British motorcycle manufacturer would win the title. By the early 1950s half of the sidecars on the road were built by Watsonian and the Greet factory was producing 200 chairs a week, evolving into new materials like fibre glass.
These were the glory years for Watsonian, but it wasn’t to last. With small cars becoming both popular and cheap, people turned away from sidecars. By 1967, Watsonian was producing less than 700 units a year. However, just as Fred Watson had done in the early days, the company adapted and survived, diversifying into fibre glass hardtops for sports cars, traffic bollards and dodgem cars, as well as moving into automotive bodywork, much of it for Land Rover.
With the end of the Land Rover contract in 1981 and the subsequent redundancies involved, Watsonian moved to a smaller facility in the Cotswolds. Ron Watsonian retired, leaving the way open for a management buyout. Watsonian would then merge with the up-and-coming Squire Sidecars in 1988. While Watsonian had become rather stuck in its ways, Squire had spotted a new market, making sidecars for affordable Eastern European machines. The new merger was the kick in the pants that Watsonian perhaps needed.
Watsonian streamlined its range and production and so was perfectly placed to take advantage of a resurgence in sidecars at the beginning of the 21st century. From the comedy value of outfits in sitcoms like On The Buses and George and Mildred, outfits were again cool – and still are with Watsonian once more at the forefront of outfit production.
However, what few people don’t realise is that back in 1950, the company decided to dip its toe into producing a complete motorcycle. A prototype was developed using a 996cc V-twin JAP engine and a Burman gearbox. Dunlop telescopic forks were used at the front and, at the front and rear, large alloy hubs with massive 9-inch drums were used so that the motorcycle could stop quickly. As a sidecar machine it was rather magnificent, but the postwar buyer was looking for a cheap machine, not a luxury sidecar hauler. JAP was also disinterested in supplying engines given that Watsonian was the only customer likely to be interested in this motor. Thus the project was dropped with only one machine having ever been built which is now in the National Motorcycle Museum in Birmingham.
The original article appeared in Old Bike Mart
