Robert Bamford (16 June 1883 – 16 April 1942) was an English engineer, who with Lionel Martin (1878–1945), founded a company in January 1913 that became

Aston Martin Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings PLC () is a British manufacturer of Luxury car, luxury sports cars and grand tourers. Its predecessor was founded in 1913 by Lionel Martin and Robert Bamford. Headed from 1947 by David Brown (entrepreneur ...

. Before his career in the car industry he was active as a racing cyclist.

Family background

His parents married on Tuesday 18 April 1882 at St Luke's church on Bloomfield Road in South Lyncombe, Bath (on the A367). His father, who attended

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any ...

, was the eldest son of the vicar of Poulton, Gloucestershire, who conducted the service. His mother was the second daughter of Robert Porter (Australian) of Westfield House, on Bloomfield Road, in Bath.

Early life

He was born on 16 June 1883 at Lamarsh Lodge, Lamarsh, in Essex to the Rev. Robert Bamford (1854–1898) and Blanch Edith Bamford (née Porter) (26 May 1856 - 5 March 1936). The Rev. Robert Bamford served as curate of Thornbury, Gloucestershire (1880-1881), curate of St John's, Ladywood, Birmingham (1881-1882), curate of Lamarsh, Essex (1882-1885), curate of Holy Trinity, Lambeth (1885-1886), leaving Lamarsh in May 1885. Robert Bamford attended

Sherborne School Sherborne School is a full-boarding school for boys aged 13 to 18 located beside Sherborne Abbey in the Dorset town of Sherborne. The school has been in continuous operation on the same site for over 1,300 years. It was founded in 705 AD by Ald ...

as a day boy from May 1897 to April 1900.The Sherborne Register 1550-1950 (4th ed.)
/ref> During the First World War he served for one year as private in The London Regiment, 25th (County of London) Cyclist Battalion, and then as a

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

with the Army Service Corps (RASC), Mechanical Transport.Old Shirburnian Army & Navy List 1914-1919
/ref> Bamford, historically, is a

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...

surname.

Career

Aston Martin

Bamford & Martin Ltd was founded at 16 Henniker Place in West Kensington (off

Fulham Road Fulham Road is a street in London, England, which comprises the A304 and part of the A308. Overview Fulham Road ( the A219) runs from Putney Bridge as "Fulham High Street" and then eastward to Fulham Broadway, in the London Borough of Hamm ...

– the A308) on 15 January 1913. They produced their first Aston-Martin car, the ''Coal Scuttle'', in March 1915. Robert Bamford was the engineer of the partnership. In 1920 he retired from Bamford & Martin; Lionel Martin left in 1926. In the mid-1920s the company would undergo many changes of ownership. It would be largely through the ownership of David Brown Ltd. of

Huddersfield Huddersfield is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees in West Yorkshire, England. It is the administrative centre and largest settlement in the Kirklees district. The town is in the foothills of the Pennines. The River Holme's confl ...

that Aston-Martin would become the company renowned during the 1950s, who bought Aston-Martin for £20,500 (£,000 current value) in 1947. He was inducted into the Automotive Hall of Fame in 2013.

Personal life

In 1911 he was living at 41 Twickenham Road in

Teddington Teddington is an affluent suburb of London in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. Historically an Civil parish#ancient parishes, ancient parish in the county of Middlesex and situated close to the border with Surrey, the district became ...

. He contracted flu in January 1919, and subsequently married his nurse, Matilda, who was in the Queen Mary's Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC). He became engaged to fashion designer Muriel Matilda Etches (born 1898) in May 1918, the eldest daughter of C.T.W. Etches. They were married in 1919 in

Newton Abbot Newton Abbot is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish on the River Teign in the Teignbridge, Teignbridge District of Devon, England. Its population was 24,029 in 2011, and was estimated at 26,655 in 2019. It grew rapidly in ...

in Devon. He injured his jaw cycling down Dundrum Hill 8 November 1919. His wife's father was a Captain in the

King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry The King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry (KOYLI) was a Light infantry, light infantry regiment of the British Army. It officially existed from 1881 to 1968, but its predecessors go back to 1755. In 1968, the regiment was amalgamated with the Somers ...

. They had a daughter, Patricia, born in

Brentford Brentford is a suburban town in West (London sub region), West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the River Thames, Thames, west of Charing Cross. Its economy has dive ...

in Middlesex in 1921, and she married the illustrator Robin Jacques in 1943. Robert and his wife divorced in 1927. On Monday 24 April 1950 she remarried at St Peter's Church, Eaton Square by Prebendary P.T.R. Kirk, and moved from 9 Buckingham Palace Gardens to Los Angeles. The reception was held at her house. Her second husband was a professor at the University of California. His wife Matilda died on Thursday 18 April 1974 at home at 19 Abbey Road in Brighton. By 1939, Robert had retired to South Street, Ditchling, East Sussex. He died on 16 April 1942, aged 59, at the Royal Sussex County Hospital. He was buried at St Margaret's, Ditchling. His headstone reads: 'Motor Engineer Founder of Bamford & Martin later to become Aston Martin. Also his mother Blanche Edith Myers 26 May 1856–5 Mar 1946 round the edgeThe clocks, folk and pubs of Ditchling will miss him.'Robert Bamford (1883-1942). FindaGrave https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/223363401/robert-bamford

References

External links

Grace's Guide
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bamford, Robert 1883 births 1942 deaths Military personnel from Essex Burials in East Sussex Aston Martin people British automotive pioneers British founders of automobile manufacturers People from Braintree District People from Ditchling Royal Army Service Corps officers British Army personnel of World War I People educated at Sherborne School