That was an interesting read, Brian. My late father-in-law worked for Campions as a motorcycle mechanic, I think at Welford Place. This would be in the 1930s. He used to road race a works bike, ie he had some sponsorship from Campions, competing at the old Donington Park circuit that went through the bridge (now altered) and at Syston Park, Grantham. If you are interested, I'll ask my husband if he can add to my memory of what my father-in-law told me. I regularly passed the Braunstone Gate branch in the early 1960s. Lesley -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]]On Behalf Of Brian Binns Sent: 21 February 2012 10:02 To: [email protected] Subject: [LEI] Shop connections But back to Campion Cycles. These proved very popular, and William, now with his eldest son Edwin, developed the company and opened several retail premises in Nottingham, and as far as Mansfield, Ilkeston, Long Eaton and Newark. They also had three branches in Leicester; 12 Welford Place, St. Nicholas Street, and 45 Braunston Gate. The company was now making motor cycles and motor tricycles, and even a small car. But their cars never took off as had the ones of their former worker, Thomas Humber. In researching the Campions, (and I have a lot more detail than I can include here), I wondered what happened to the company, and this is where I found another Leicester connection. The retail side was apparently bought by Curry's in 1927, and this is when I discovered that the firm of Curry's was in fact founded in Leicester, and also started out as a cycle maker and retailer. This is their entry from Wikipedia. Curry's was founded in 1884 by Henry Curry (born in Leicester in 1850), when he started to build bicycles full time in a shed at the back of his garden at 40 Painter Street, Leicester, England. He opened his first shop in 1888 at 271 Belgrave Gate, Leicester. In 1890 he moved to larger premises at 296 Belgrave Gate, then in 1900 to 285-287 Belgrave Gate. The company was put on a proper financial footing in 1897 when Henry formed a partnership with his sons, calling the company H. Curry & Sons. The business continued to grow and floated on the stock exchange in 1927. By this time the shops sold a wide variety of goods including bicycles, toys, radios and gramophones. Curry's pulled out of cycle manufacturing in 1932 when they closed their Leicester factory but continued to retail Hercules bikes (badged as Curry's) until the 1960s. It would appear that Campion continued with making and selling motor cycles as they are listed as such in phone books in Leicester and Nottingham well into the 1930s. Another Leicester connection is that Edwin Campion once owned and lived in Wymeswold Hall. To find partnerships, patents etc which add so much to the meat of Family History when you have ancestors who were in Manufacturing, it is easy to search The London Gazette site for free - www.london-gazette.co.uk Brian Binns Loughborough _____ No virus found in this message. Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 2012.0.1913 / Virus Database: 2113/4822 - Release Date: 02/20/12 ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message