Sylvanus Anderton, better known as Syl Anderton, (born 1907, died in 1983 in

Bolton Bolton (, locally ) is a large town in Greater Manchester in North West England, formerly a part of Lancashire. A former mill town, Bolton has been a production centre for textiles since Flemish weavers settled in the area in the 14th ce ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a Historic counties of England, historic county, Ceremonial County, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significa ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

) was a British

motorcycle A motorcycle (motorbike, bike, or trike (if three-wheeled)) is a two or three-wheeled motor vehicle steered by a handlebar. Motorcycle design varies greatly to suit a range of different purposes: long-distance travel, commuting, cruisin ...

dealer and Grand Prix motorcycle racer. Syl and his brother James Anderton founded Anderton Bros. Motor Cycles Ltd. in Bolton, Lancashire in 1935."Motor Cycles Not a Thing of the Past" ''

Bolton Evening News ''The Bolton News'' – formerly the ''Bolton Evening News'' – is a daily newspaper and news website covering the towns of Bolton and Bury in north-western England. Published each morning from Monday to Saturday and online every day, it is pa ...

'' 29 October 1968 Both brothers qualified as pilots before the war and Syl served as a pilot in the

Air Transport Auxiliary The Air Transport Auxiliary (ATA) was a British civilian organisation set up at the start of World War II, the Second World War with headquarters at White Waltham Airfield in Berkshire. The ATA Ferry flying, ferried new, repaired and damaged milita ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

and James in the

RAF The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...

."Flying is Congenial to Them" ''Bolton Journal and Guardian'' 19 February 1943 The brothers resumed their family motorcycle business after the war. Anderton began his racing career before World War II."Syl, from Racing in the TT to Flying Aircraft" ''

'' 30 April 2002 In 1949 he competed in his first

Isle of Man TT The Isle of Man TT or Tourist Trophy races are an annual motorcycle racing event run on the Isle of Man in May/June of most years since its inaugural race in 1907 Isle of Man TT, 1907. The event is often called one of the most dangerous racing ...

event with brother James in the pits. He also competed in the

Ulster Grand Prix The Ulster Grand Prix is a motorcycle race that takes place on the Dundrod Circuit made up entirely of closed-off public roads near Belfast, Northern Ireland. The first races took place in 1922 and in 1935 and 1948 the Fédération Internati ...

1949 to 1951, riding Triumph and Norton motorcycles between 1949 and 1952. He was also known as a private pilot, owning an Auster Aiglet Trainer.

References

Triumph 500 GP
Twist Grip. 10 September 2011.
Motorcycle memories
''The Bolton News''. 27 May 2002.

External links

at airport-data.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Anderton, Syl 1907 births 1983 deaths English motorcycle racers 500cc World Championship riders Air Transport Auxiliary pilots

See also

References

External links