The Villiers Visual Story - Villiers Factory, Wolverhampton, England, The heart and sole of machines

[@danwedderburn5550]

In 1970 when i was eight years old, i stammered very badly. My Father bought me an Ambassador road bike with a solid frame & a 197cc Villiers engine in it. He taught me to ride it in the back field we had to our council house. Once i learned clutch control i was off & my stammering stopped. I rode that bike into the ground eventually snapping the frame. My Father then bought a Triumph tiger cub & put the 197cc Villiers engine in that. I then trashed that frame through jumping it like a moto x bike. 2 chassis frames down & the little Villiers 197cc engine was still going strong. You couldnt kill this little 2 stroke. I owe such an amount to Villiers & my father for the enjoyment those bikes gave me.

[@johnstirling6597]

I remember in the 1970s using old Villiers 2 stroke engines to make go karts, great fun, very simple and basic to repair, went forever.

[@MrDaiseymay]

I am most familiar with the Two -stroke motorcycle engine, because my brother owned a couple of James Bikes. They never let him down

[@leeedmonds5531]

In Great Britain we had such an amazing engineering industry, highly skilled people and great engineers . I was an apprentice engineer in the early seventies at London Transport Chiswick work’s working in the machine shop. I later went on to work as an engineer at Express Lifts in Northampton. The one thing that I still remember most is the total lack of respect for the shop floor workers. You always seemed to be looked down on by the, I guess you would call white collar staff. Young girls from the offices straight out of school would look at these highly skilled workers like they 11:12 were something something on the bottom of their shoe. I once had someone who worked in an office say to me her friends were professional people, not factory workers like me. Would other countries, I’m thing of Germany mainly here show such contempt for engineers . I don’t think this lack of understanding helped in the demise of the once world leader in manufacturing.

[@nigelparker5886]

Hi, all you say is/was so true! Cheeky sods new nothing of actual engineering itself, yes you need admin,but not like they needed the mindset of any true engineer! I note you highlighted the jig-boring section! I was a time served toolmaker/ jig Borer (7 years apprenticeship in total), earning not much from 1963/1970, but as the creme de la creme thereafter I earned very good money! I enjoyed working on Newall jig borers the most on quite big stuff weighing tons! However after 20 years the smell of slurry got to me and possibly my chest which is rough today! Cheers

[@fetlocks3]

Yes at the time that attitude ran through most of British industry, only ever worked for one company where all workers where treated as equals, that was British Oxygen, now also sadly gone the way of the rest.

[@paulbroderick8438]

Now we know why British engineering/manufacturing went down the tubes. I served an engineering apprenticeship in Coventry, England at a time when the city was a major manufacturing hub. Sir Alfred Herbert and Sir William Lyons must be both spinning in their graves!! Greetings from a Brit residing in the USA.

[@patricknewall5634]

You only have to look at the difference of the tables in the main canteen and staff canteen. The staff canteen has table cloths and more condiments and water, the main one has salt and vinegar and no cloths.

[@dave20thmay]

I started my apprenticeship at de Havilland in 1957 and worked 50 years at Heathrow. I remember being in a lift with some other workmates going up to the canteen and the lift door opened on the next floor and a girl went to get in and step back out again. Yet when I worked in Germany on two occasions, in the canteen there were girls there that came over to chat to practice their English. What a different attitude they had to us aircraft engineers, they had there.

[@wilkinson7421]

What a fantastic bit of history. As others have said I started watching this and felt proud of what Britain did but ended the film feeling very angry and sad at what has happened to our manufacturing industry. Villiers made everything, not just assembled parts made all over the world

[@salterbros.collection]

They certainly did. And they had three factories around the world. UK, Spain and Australia.

[@PreservationEnthusiast]

This has all been demolished now.

[@salterbros.collection]

@@PreservationEnthusiast It all still stands and has been made into smaller factories and apartments.

[@mrdainase]

@@PreservationEnthusiast That's strange, I drove past their old place last week.

[@MrVee66]

Thank you for posting this story, being from Wolverhampton and being involved with 2 stroke engines for the last 30+ years it was nice to see the history

[@mikewickstead5852]

I worked for Metal Profiles part of DMW in Valley road Sedgley a few miles away from the Villiers factory, we had a department that reconditioned the Villiers engines from the usually pale blue invalid cars, l belive we also had one of the largest Villiers spare parts department in the UK, a very memorable time in the early part of my career.

[@martinforester3471]

@@mikewickstead5852 I recall buying spare parts from Valley View Works in about 1973, for my DMW 3T motorcycle.

[@cyrildennis2545]

@@mikewickstead5852 My mate had a DMW bike with the Villiers 2T engine, it was a lovely bike, I was very envious.

[@actionman862]

A pity that almost every picture is devoid of the wonderful people who made all this possible.

[@frederickbowdler8169]

Well spotted I have the feeling that workers were treated as just part of the machinery .The products initially were reasonable but never improved the creativity of the work force may have been ignored .The class system of the UK and other countries never tapped into or allowed

[@frederickbowdler8169]

Creativity and inclusion.

[@andyash5675]

@@frederickbowdler8169 I don't think you have an appreciation of where an engine actually comes from. You can't just say that the product never developed. Where did the company start, and where did it finish? The likely answer to why the company failed, is that it was beaten in the face of competition. This happened as Japan recovered from the war. Villiers was not the only company that failed in this way. There is a list as long as your arm. It is arguable that they were old fashioned, but they quite clearly had a massive investment in equipment that was unable to compete. It is shown in this video. My thinking is that British and Japanese economic differences killed the company. Japan was forced to start again, but Britain just carried on oblivious. We won the war, but it broke us financially and ideologically.

[@georgemoskal2098]

Would have been nice to see the faces, the pride and determination, unseen now, however time moves on, the musical piece is hypnotic.

[@chriswalford4161]

@@andyash5675: from the limited evidence in the film, it looks as if Villiars had a fairly benign and supportive outlook as employers.

[@shaunpower4868]

This brings back memories,started out as an apprentice at Aveling Barford late 60’s.Sadly all gone now like the rest of Gt Britain,we are now a nation of customers.

[@The-Armchair-Mechanic]

How could we let this all go? How could we possibly allow ourselves to diminish such a great impact we had on the world?

[@dave20thmay]

How is it that this all seems to have been knocked down and seems to be just an Exhaust fitting centre, more than likely replacing stolen catalytic convertors.

[@colinmartin2921]

Simple: the disease that afflicted all British engineering - lack of investment. Share holders saw no need to put money back into their company, with the result that their products became increasingly obsolescent, and the Japanese simply walked in and took over. The same was true of Italy and it was only American cash for modernization that saved Ducati. I read an article by a man who worked in the experimental shop at Villiers, where he described how they purchased a Japanese Motorcycle to strip and evaluate; after examination they looked at each other and said:"We're f****d."

[@k4106dt]

@@colinmartin2921 Edward Turner warned BSA and Triumph about the Japanese advancements and modernization of their factories in his report after his visit to Japan in 1960. The boards took no action because they thought the Japanese would only build lightweight machines.

[@frederickbowdler8169]

Two world wars and a heap of other conflicts with shared stupidity in many cases.

[@vannessar32]

We voted for Margaret Thatcher.

[@eddiebone421]

My first motor bike was a 1965 Francis Barnett Sport with a 250cc Villiers engine. They were great engines. Easy to work on .

[@tenners3258]

My Dad was service engineer, later Sales director @Marston Rd. back in the late 60's Still have a postcard from India he sent while out doing the R. E. deal with the break up of A. M. C. Little known fact, they did a lot of engine testing for Lotus (Lotus Cortina engines) I'd go as a boy in on Sat mornings the noise was deafening! Happy days, indeed.

[@grenvillephillips6998]

The kids of today will never understand how exciting it was to become part of such an enterprise. Canteens, surgeries and recreation rooms, were branded as paternalism, and taken away.

[@retromechanicalengineer]

Thank you for sharing. Some of the equipment in those shops were very up to date at the time. The Swiss type Autos were superb machines capable of producing very high quality products. Clearly Villiers did invest in modern machinery. Great video.

[@jamesgovett3225]

Interesting looking at this series of photographs on the Villiers manufacturing company, I was looking thru KZbin to find out a bit about my Villiers engine on an old lawnmower that I have and came across this, the old machine I have apparently dates back to 1948 and it’s in amazing original condition, I found it in an old shed here in Victoria, Australia and it has been untouched in it for the last 50 years, due to its brass fuel tank and other bits there is zero corrosion and probably due to our more than dry most of the time climate, the engine, a Villiers Midget, is in remarkable condition as after a couple of hours spent getting it ready and fuelled the damn thing started on the second kick of the starter! And runs like a dream, I can just about count the revs as they can be reduced to a slow speed unlike any other 2 stroke engine I’ve come across, almost like it’s a bloody diesel! They sure made some quality back then!

[@mrmyorky5634]

The first motorbike that I ever rode was a James with a 98cc Villiers engine. It seemed incredibly powerful after pedalling a pushbike.

[@frederickbowdler8169]

I liked the 98 Villiers engine we had an Excelcior I seem to remember it had two speeds and a round tin tool box a simple package work bike .It had been abandoned and picked up by the rag and bone man on the flat of his horse and cart and we gave him 2 pounds for it Only needed new points or adjustment and we were in business.

[@richardmessenger9474]

Mine was a Jame's as well..I was only 15 and stripped it for dirt biking at my local tip...my next one was a Norman B4 sports with a Villiers 250 T engine..both the bike and engine were completely stripped and one of the crankcases had a hole in it...spent a year re building it and had it roadworthy by my 16 birthday and rode it for two years...

[@frederickbowdler8169]

@@richardmessenger9474 some great two strokes in the sixties but these days I like four stroke cycle especially Douglas twins from the 20s and 30s.

[@chrisweeks6973]

Ah, yes; the James Comet - a misnomer if ever there was one! It was the first bike I ever rode, back in 1959. It had two speeds, being slow and slower! The Piatti-designed engine in the Raleigh RM1 moped that I had wasn't any faster, but it certainly gave me lots of exercise, pedalling hard to get it it to fire! Those RM1's had no clutch, so every time one stopped, the engine stalled... Phew!!

[@davids8449]

Interesting I am still riding my Autocycle with 2F engine

[@k4106dt]

We are lucky that someone at Villiers decided to have all of these photos taken. I wish there were such detailed photos of the British motorcycle factories.

[@salterbros.collection]

We have had these photos for many years and didn’t know what to do with them so I turned them into a video. Thanks for watching.

[@k4106dt]

@@salterbros.collection Thank you for uploading them. I don't own anything Villiers powered, but have always been interested in vintage motorcycles and also have Roy Bacon's book on Villiers.

[@kcribin5654]

I have an Ambassador motorcycle with a Villiers engine ready for restoring 👌

[@PurityVendetta]

@@salterbros.collection I would love a website where I could study these pictures and any others you have in detail. I cut ,you mechanicing teeth on a Villiers engined Sprite trials bike putting together my own 9E and 32A engines. This taught me so much. I went on to race an ex works, Starmaker engined FB AJS Stormer in the late 70's. It was an incredible bike and would give Suzuki RM400s' a run for their money. Thank you for making this fascinating video.

[@MrDaiseymay]

MANY THANKS@@salterbros.collection

[@madcarew5168]

Villiers,like farmers orange twine,kept this world from falling apart at one time!!!

[@gitaneVYS491R]

Started watching this thinking, "This is good". By the time I got to the end I was feeling quite sad.

[@boydovens4180]

This why Britain was called , Great Britain . The knowledge and expertise was unreal .

[@Cobra427Veight]

Wow , that was amazing , I had a go-cart that had a Villiers 197cc as a kid , about 1971 , pretty cool to see where that little motor came from and all the people that it took to make them , also cool seeing all those mills that were all so brand new with shinny handles , when you see similar equipment today it is all so discoloured and old . I'm sure there would have been a lot of new couples that met and married from that factory .👍

[@golden.lights.twinkle2329]

Those motors were not 'little'. I had a Bond Minicar powered by one. It was a hulking brute of a motor, horrendously noisy and had horrible vibration.

[@chrisweeks6973]

@@golden.lights.twinkle2329 Laurie Bond didn't believe in comfort. It wasn't until Bond produced the Equipe and the Equipe GT that their cars became comfortable or handled well. Of course, the Equipe/GT was heavily Triumph Herald/Vitesse-based, so they were a considerable improvement.

[@shug831]

Fabulous video, reminds me of Rolls Royce back in early 1980's. So many skilled people and production facilities lost. The UK makes nothing now and hasn't the people with the skills anymore. 😥

[@jhareng]

Keep saying that and it annoys me that people less than 45 ish think everythings plucked off a shelf.

[@JohnSmith-ei2pz]

It makes council estates and benefit claimants, too lazy to work!

[@thomasnoon9974]

In the mid 1970's I served a traditional 4 year engineering apprenticeship, working in a large and very noisy Marine engineers in Edinburgh . . When my time was out aged 20, I was paid off and got my first tradesman's job in a huge long established Wire and Rope factory as a maintenance engineer . . The "Wiremill" was an eye-opener compared to the relatively modem Marine Engineers and was a dirty, dangerous and very polluting place to work - and same as Villiers it was ear piercing noisy when all the machines were running full steam. 40 years later both are gone - one is a Tesco and modern units, the other a huge development of luxury apartment - the same all over the UK today.

[@shaunxthexmod777]

some nice machines, capstans and malty spindle machines, my engineering training, stopped !as a teen. as it went over seas.?

[@lawrenceogden2162]

brilliant video

[@fredfarnackle5455]

That was a blast from the past, brought back memories of when I started my 5 year fitter and turner apprenticeship in 1956. We had a lot of overhead shafts with belts running down to the machines, the rats used to run along the rotating shafts - and eat the grease I think.

[@salterbros.collection]

That's fantastic, I am glad you enjoyed the video. Did you do your apprenticeship at Villiers?

[@fredfarnackle5455]

@@salterbros.collection No, HM Dockyard, Portsmouth. Excellent apprenticeship.

[@salterbros.collection]

@@fredfarnackle5455 Fantastic!

[@markkneller1172]

Priceless

[@s1914]

What a fantastic video, loved it!! ☺️

[@highlandmalt6368]

My great grandfather ran a bicycle (Wearwell) and motorcycle (Wolf) manufacturer in Wolverhampton with his brothers. They used Villiers. Wolverhampton was an industrial powerhouse. They were exporting bikes the the far east. Now it's the other way around!

[@mrdainase]

My Grandfather apprenticed at Wearwell before moving to Guy, and I happen to own a couple of Wearwell bicycles.

[@highlandmalt6368]

@@mrdainase that's fascinating to hear - I have quite a lot archive material from the company.

[@Realrandomman]

Amazing. Some massive investment there.

[@maggieconu624]

Maggie Conu I worked in my parents business from the early 60's selling villiers powered motorbikes, industrial engines and all the parts for the engines. I used to go to the factory regularly to collect parts, change parts, sort problems and knew a lot of the staff very well. In the early days there were people racing round in little anzani trailers powered by a villers engine, there was a single wheel at the front and a steering bar. The factory was so vibrant. Much of the historical items disappeared during the lockdown when there was a dispute between the staff, management and the government were involved. I have recordings of interviews with the Farrers and Margaret Child who was the mainstay of Meetens, the biggest distributor of Villiers spares.

[@salterbros.collection]

That’s fantastic. Would you please contact me through my website - www.salterbros.com.au as I’d love to have a chat and learn more. As you will see I have been doing a lot of research on the history of Villiers and would love to add more to my website.

[@salterbros.collection]

@maggieconu624 would you please make contact with me via my website? I would be very interested in talking Villiers history as I have been researching Frank H. Farrer for a long time. www.salterbros.com.au

[@ccooper8785]

Thanks for posting this enjoyable montage. The "Amélie-like" soundtrack was the icing on the cake.

[@johnbrereton5229]

Villiers is back ! A new Villiers company based in Norfolk is currently dino testing a 2 litre V10 and a 1.2 litre V6 which will both be used in sister companies Connaught who are building a speedster sports car, built on their racing heritage. And a brand new Levis cafe racer using the Villiers V6 engine in a stainless steel framed motorcycle.

[@macmikey]

I rode a Norton 850 Commando and it's history was mixed with Villiers (Norton-Villiers). Nice to see where they started.

[@chrisnotton6744]

I had no idea that they were so huge!

[@georgemoskal2098]

Great video and music, we had it all back then, better times, and wonderful British bikes,,thanks for the memories

[@colvinator1611]

Memories...............Excellent video, thanks a lot.

[@tommilton5753]

As others have said, the basic Villiers two-stroke lagged in development. I used them in my first two trials bikes. The second had a Greeves cylinder and head, which gave a lot more bottom end power. Why Villiers could not have made this themselves is a mystery. Then along came Bultaco and blew them all away. That engine, unsophisticated as it was, showed up all the Villiers weaknesses. The film shows the Company had the means to improve,they just didn't. Too complacent and unconcerned about foreign competition.

[@AJ-qn6gd]

I never realised the Greeves had a non Villiers head and barrel, I owned a Hawkestone years ago and wondered why it wasn’t gutless like all the other Villiers engines I owned, I could never kick start it always had to bump start it. Wish I still had it !

[@routmaster38]

The Greeves engine and complete bikes were superior to any other British make and their engines made nearly twice the power of any Villiers based engine"

[@fredfarnackle5455]

I had a Villers 250cc single two stroke Greeves trials bike, it used to spit the dummy quite regularly when the Bakelite (or whatever it was) pick-up from the magneto died.

[@phillipcleaver7063]

Hello mate , yes , you're right , Villiers had the technology & people skills to make just about anything in the small engine world , but rested on their laurels a bit too long , I used to hang around with a bike scramble team , & the Bultacos were known to be one of the 2 bikes that would readily throw you straight off the back if you opened up the twistgrip throttle too quick coming out of a sharp corner , the other one was Husqvarna , that is , when you could get them to start . Just tremendous bottom end grunt right up into midrange revs , if Villiers had just quietly bought a couple of "the opposition's" bike engines & stripped & measured everything , they would have picked up the trick & hung in there longer . I remember the (Bert ) Greeves bikes & engines , yes , they did have more bottom end grunt , but suffered from the typical Villiers weak spark , which seemed to eventually get to all Villiers engines , a great shame , because how many times do you see a completely worn out Villiers engine in a car boot sale , never , because the base castings were almost bomb - proof , they just didn't wear out , but the magnetos died . My own opinion on this is that they needed a professor of physics , ( someone like a milder Nikola Tesla ) to redesign the ignition coil so it gave out one hell of a whack , this would have made Villiers engines far easier to start , therefore much more popular . Briggs & Stratton & Honda would never have got a grip . Great to see inside the old works , thanks very much for this .

[@josephleister9198]

Wonderful video, thank you very much.

[@michaeljeffs1224]

Very good never realised it was so big a factory have fond memories of the 8e and 9e engines in go karts as a youngster mid 1960,s think the factory was closed then but not certain

[@salterbros.collection]

Factory was still going in late 80s

[@michaeljeffs1224]

@@salterbros.collection Hi thats interesting what was work force size in the 80,s thanks

[@jeynes14]

Thank you for sharing this gift

[@123rtheo]

Back in the day we could make anything in this country with brilliant engineering where did it all go wrong we make virtually nothing now. What a great look back in time the cost of all that machinery & equipment must have been huge.

[@deanmarskell1518]

Thank you for posting a brilliant video sadly of what we here in Great Britain once had a great manufacturing industry about 30years ago I had a generator with a Norton Villiers engine on it that I got from an steam rally autojumble it did sound amazing when it was running ♥️👍

[@atgordon1948]

What a wonderful glimpse of how vibrant British manufacturing was post war ... it begs a question as to how it was all let go in the 60's - 80's. Management? Government? Foreign competition? A video tracing how all this was lost would be valuable, albeit bittersweet.

[@salterbros.collection]

It is such an interesting question of what went wrong and where. I have been documenting as much history as I can and putting it on my website - salterbros.com.au/villiers-wolverhampton/ Take a read

[@simoncroft9792]

Excellent website link, where you can see the story up to 1988. As to what happened after that , I would blame governments. Thatcher was advised by Prof Minford ( still around and giving same advice re Brexit) that manufacturing should be ‘let go’ and that the future was services and finance. Also there was general agreement by western governments that it was best to let manufacturing move to the far east in the hope that it would spur democracy in China. This is now looking to be a very bad policy for the ‘rustbelt’ USA , the North of the UK and the ‘working classes’ in general IMHO

[@jhareng]

@@simoncroft9792 Not forgetting we only paid our debt off to US and Canada in 2006, 61 years after war ended. Germany paid nothing look at all the war factories and companies that profited extortionally from it that are so prevalent today - BMW, Krups, VW, Siemens, Mercedes Benz, Deutche Bank, Hugo Boss, Kodak, Bayer, BASF and Anchutz to name a mere few. Not to mention the Japanese war factories.

[@Bobt98]

When I first started karting the villiers was the standard 3speed gearbox + flywheel removed after a while new motors introduced so money became the way to win so had to give it up

[@davidbacon2428]

I worked there for a short time in late 50s early 60s as a trainee tool setter using multi drillers and tappers on crank cases in B shop loved standing watching the engine test beds,good days

[@salterbros.collection]

That is fantastic David. Would you have met Frank Farrer when you were there? His photo can be found on my website - salterbros.com.au/villiers-engineering-key-staff/

[@davidbacon2428]

@@salterbros.collection No sorry I didn’t but looking back I would have started in B shop in 1960 but an awful lot of people who worked here,we used to spend time looking around the test beds and the carburettor shop ( where all the young ladies worked ) but a lot of older people worked here but not many 16 year olds as I was.regards David.

[@anthonyturton8091]

Really enjoyed that t.Thank you .

[@johnowen3891]

A fascinating piece of history of a company in Wolverhampton. I didn't realise how large a foot print the company covered considering I walked, cycled and drove past for about 33 years. Of course Google maps were not invented in 1961 so from Marston Road and Upper Villiers Street you only saw a very minute part of the site. I served my apprenticeship at a company approximately a 1/4 mile from the main entrance at the end of Cyprus Street , which was off Upper Villiers Street. Unfortunately the memory is not as good as it was , perhaps 15 years ago. In more recent times with advent of the internet the we find out more about of our social, cultural and industrial heritage. I was not looking for anything about Wolverhampton's history it was one of those things that popped up as history is one those things I watch on KZbin along with a lot of specialist videos that interest me. Thanks for posting, take care and stay safe.

[@sixtyshippee]

Another tragedy of British industry

[@christopherowen8484]

Really enjoyed this that’s why we are called GREAT BRITAIN

[@nitro74cs]

Great video, pretty much everyone likes Villiers engines and you are lucky if you own one. I don't ride motorcycles so I'm talking about small stationary engines. They were widely used to power many appliances from lawnmowers to generators, cement mixers, water pumps etc... at building sites, farms pretty much everywhere. Now the one of the main disadvantages of small Villiers stationary engines; the crankshaft don't have a woodruff key for the flywheel so ignition timing is difficult(not as easy as it's counterparts). Villiers engines were built from very good quality parts; this made the spare parts very expensive and their scrap value is very high, for example the flywheel is solid brass, engine block is quality cast iron, the sump and carburettor and magneto back plate are quality aluminium. So these quality parts always had a very high scrap value compared to other engines like Briggs and Stratton etc.. and Villiers was not easy to fix if anything went wrong and parts were costly. The WX11 water cooled 2 stroke stationary engine and Villiers Mar-Vil and the Villiers Mk15 ohv engines are among the most collectable ones and fetching astronomical figures if they are complete. Best Regards

[@garys4756]

A lot of the buildings are still there on upper Villiers Street/sunbeam Street etc

[@Tracertme]

The heart of any nations economy is manufacturing their contracts can carry a business right through a recession without even knowing it existed. Look what’s at the core of any strong economic power and its economy today. If you need infrastructure or social welfare or defence you need a strong economy to afford it.

[@mbak7801]

Many of the buildings are still there and being used by small companies. A tragic loss but overseas competition killed a lot of this off. Skills change over time. I buy British when I can and am happy to pay a bit more for it. Unfortunately not many others do that.

[@MrDaiseymay]

OR ARE ABLE TO

[@rodpettet2819]

I was blown away by the investment in plant and machinery shown. Nothing was cheap. They did a fantastic job, yet so sad British manufacturing and engineering was allowed to wither. We are beset with poor quality leaders.

[@robert-wr6md]

That was a great insight, I never realised they did everything.

[@martinellison4716]

i have a 1922 atco mower with villers engine--- bought it ten year ago been at cricket club all its life then put in shed over 3o years not touched--cleaned out fuel tank and carb---set/cleaned points-- new plug-- new ht lead mice had eaten it---swinging it over 2nd swing fired straight up a good villers engine now show it as it is --and it can still mow grass

[@arar8632]

Fascinating!

[@bisho57]

In the 1980,s I started running lorry,s out of forges and machine shops around the Black country. I worked alongside Perkson Forgings in the Lye and the area was full of works of all kinds. Steel stockholders. Picklers. Galvanizers. You name it. Now all has gone, and I mean all. All those skilled people. The pubs. Cafes. Gone. I packed up the haulage in the late 90,s due to the collapse of industry. And now, in my latter years, have started a machine shop with my son. You never know. What goes around.....

[@davidcoleman6032]

Truly fascinating! I wonder what occupies the site now? I imagine it was a pretty good place to work with even its own surgery.I wonder when these photos were taken as no staff in the actual factory on the pictures. A great video!👍❤

[@jhareng]

Much of it still exists, will instantly recognise the Sunbeam buildings from ring road opposite the Merc dealershhip. Other areas as well all broken up with other firms operating.

[@jhareng]

Had a go kart with a 250 Villiers in it, maybe circa 1967

[@nigelparker5886]

The cost back then of setting up the infrastructure must have been phenomenal! Very, very technical for its time, let alone the surgery and nurses ! Plenty of regular injuries to justify that cost alone then!? So, anyone know what happened to bring about a total demise, I assume? Cheers

[@stewy62]

’m sure that there were more industrial accidents back then but don’t forget that this factory dated from the time when there was no NHS. Responsible Capitalists look after their workers. I don’t know anything about Villiers non-motorcycle customers but by the mid sixties many of their motorcycle customers were going, or already had, gone bust. It’s too simplistic to blame Japanese motorcycles. The British working class was becoming more affluent and stopped riding Villiers engined James or Francis Barnett motorcycles and had switched to Minis, Morris Minors, Ford Anglias and other cars. Those who wanted 2 wheels for their commute switched to Honda Cubs with 4 stroke engines or they could still buy a BSA Bantam if they wanted up to 1972. Yes Villiers long stroke two stroke engines were out-dated especially compared to the Suzuki Super Six 250 with its square bore and stroke, twin carbs, posi-lubrication and six gears but this bike dated from 1966, too late to play any part in the demise of Villiers. Even if Villiers had made more modern engines more cheaply I doubt it would have made much difference in the end, unfortunately.

[@88SPIKE]

I once visited them in the early 80's when i was an inspector for BNFL (they were making something for us) and they were making camshafts for Ford Cortina engines

[@keithammleter3824]

When I was child, we had several Villiers alloy industrial engines on my father's farm in Australia, for pumping water, generating electrical power, running saws. Villiers was about the only brand available up to the 1960's having driven out the cast-iron Moffat-Virtue on price. Villiers were good durable engines mechanically, and conservatively rated on power output, but had frequent magneto troubles. In the mid 1960's, Honda engines became available, imported from Japan. They were far more reliable and available in a wider range of sizes. That was the end of Villiers. Now Honda has been almost driven out by clones of the Honda, made in China by several Chinese brands. They wear out in half the time, but cost about half too and almost never break down.

[@henrybartlett1986]

A pity it’s all gone, along with all the talent, skill and knowledge. What on earth happened?

[@philwhitelaw3111]

As a young lad in the late 70's i would catch the bus to the factory and spend my pocket money on 2T engine parts, my first rebuild project. The storeman in his brown warehouse coat used to let me behind the counter to pick out the parts from amongst the rows of parts and I can still remember the smell of the preserving oil and brown paper wrapping. What happened, what went wrong?

[@markbattersby7253]

I had a bond mini with a 197cc Villiers it was so unreliable that I carried a full spare engine in the back of the car, I can now fix anything!

[@peregrinemccauley5010]

Nice music accompanying video .

[@stephenrice4554]

In the picture showing the various engines , I've owned or used at least half of them , now I've got to remember their names 😱

[@cs7th]

I was an apprentice engineer at Hawker Siddelely Dynamics in the late 60's & my 1st bike was Villiers 197cc. The machines Villiers have in their workshops are in great condition, but the workshops are cramped, poorly lit and probably not well ventilated. It was major blunder for the the UK to lose it's technological lead in the aerospace industry, vehicle manufacture and others. Germany kept what they had and have done very well

[@routmaster38]

I have ridden and spent many hours kicking reluctant to start Villiers based scramble bikes into life.

[@johnmcdyer7297]

Very sad that we had it all but now sadly it’s suddenly disappeared over the last 40 or 50 years

[@johneaton621]

Great video, part of our engineering heritage. Pity no shots of the design offices. In spite of comments regarded how white collar staff looked down on shop floor workers, many made the transition from shop floor to draughtsmen by night school study.

[@AJ-qn6gd]

This was typical of British industry back then the people that actually made the product that paid everybody’s wages were treated poorly while the white collar workers were treated much better. I remember one winter myself and some colleagues having to go and clear snow and spread salt on the paths near the office block so the staff could go home early because of the snow regardless of whether they lived locally or not while us “oiks” had to stay till the end of our shift at 10p.m ! And they wondered why there was dissent in the ranks.

[@carlnapp4412]

Cheers!

[@russcattell955i]

Another victim of lack of investment in new products. I rode several Villiers powered bikes and operated a a few machines like mowers & cement mixers. Global rivals scooped up the business.

[@petergambier]

What an incredible set-up with so many machines I've never heard about SBC. The trouble with this film was that it really needed some explaining plus a few demo's perhaps (which didn't happen) and followed by a quick tour of all the workshops actually in full flow just to hear the noise which would have broken up the monotony of that music which started to get on my nerves because it was too repetitive. Soft jazz or acoustic guitar & bass might have worked along with some cheap to produce animated inserts would have been grand. Lastly, an interview with the oldest and longest lasting member of the Villiers works team giving us a small demo about what each room did please.

[@MrDaiseymay]

ASTONISHING !! Although i was born in the industrial West Midlands, and my Dad and family member's worked in Engineering, and knew where Villiers were, I had no idea they had such a vast range of processes and departments. What happened to all this equippment ?

[@normanedwards7220]

I had a James and a Francis Barnett , they were identical in every way , and both had Villiers engines , we led the world in engineering at one time , but did not move forward with the times , .....a highly skilled workforce , led by poor management

[@thra5herxb12s]

The area is still recognisable today. Sadly the entrance gates which are a listed structure, have been damaged by a lorry and not been repaired.

[@andypandy9931]

Very interesting video. In fact a lot of the machinery does not look a lot different to where I was apprenticed in the early seventies, that's probably the problem with British industry (lack of investment). I note different canteen for office workers and shop floor, that was the same too.

[@bernardlandymore7372]

Different canteen for office staff and workers yes, that was mainly because you would not expect an office worker in clean casual dress to sit on a seat after some one with oily overalls had used it would you?

[@golden.lights.twinkle2329]

Imagine the noise in those machine shops with all those machines running. It must have been deafening. And I bet the workers did not wear ear protection.

[@brianknowles1727]

Engineering at its best where do we go wrong

[@WiltshireMan]

We were a Great nation then. Maybe from the ashes a Phoenix will rise?

[@neildelaney5199]

@@WiltshireMan One can only hope,, but alas i think those days are long gone,?

[@dinsdalepiranah1189]

accountants, with their cheaper from abroad philosophy

[@johnham9256]

We got the bitch thatcher

[@nickpridding3435]

Certain politicians wanted a ‘nation of bankers’ and look where they got us. Britain, Once the industrial capital of the world. Now the underdog 😢

[@Phiyedough]

Such a shame that there has been so much manufacturing lost in UK. When I was 17 my first bike restoration included the rebuild of a Villiers 8E engine and 3 speed gearbox.

[@Journeyman53]

When I served my apprenticeship in the late 60s, early 70s, most of our machine shops and colleges were equipped with British made machinery. McPherson, Colchester, Nuttal, Churchill, Avery to name a few. Although Australia had many fine tradesmen and engineers, the British engineers were regarded as the finest in the world, second to none. As a people, we bought your cars, tractors, and all types of machinery. If it had "Made in GB", it could be relied upon. What has happened to your great industry? From an outsider, it seems your industry has been moved off-shore, and all your famous brand names sold off. For a country that started the industrial revolution and bought the whole world into a new age, it is really sad to see it lose this edge.

[@PM-xt8yc]

Great video of Great British Engineering as was. Id love to know what the music is on this video, it’s beautiful

[@orwellboy1958]

Where did all that machinery go?

[@terenceburchett6122]

Remember these Factories well. They stood still. . .and then were lost to Far East innovation. Think about the first Honda 50 or 90. Imagine the Board of Directors at Villiers in 1950/60. Comfortable in their positions.

[@LittleHotels]

Comprehensive facilities for the 1940s (I would imagine). Unfortunately Villiers just carried on making 1940s engines until the company finally turned up its toes. When I swapped my 32A engined bike for a Bultaco, even a naive 16 year-old like me could see that the engines were like chalk and cheese. This didn't just destroy Villiers, but also took down James, Francis-Barnett, Greeves and all the others that relied on their engines.

[@benitopussolini544]

So sad it's gone.progress,who for bankers? On a lighter note,good to know that if you lost a few fingers or a hand at work you could get sorted on site!

[@alanbadham]

I had a Villiers 175 long stroke engine.it sounded fantastic.

[@peter7624]

When I was a lad most of the bikes we rode had Villiers engines, and even some of the cars! BSA was said to be supplying 1 out of ever 4 bikes on the road, but I'll bet Villiers powered more.

[@salterbros.collection]

By 1956 Villiers had made 2 million engines.

[@jonka1]

My first car was a Bond and it had a villiers with dynastart and a 4 speed gearbox .

[@andrewallen9993]

Meanwhile in other news the Honda Cub production line makes 50 000 complete motorcycles per month.

[@matthewevansteush6461]

my dad grew up in this era and looking at all th b+w photos everything was made in Britain,built to last .The person talking about Bultaco engines they would have fallen to bits.Also loss of empire and barring from EEC markets meant lack of investment in the 60s so the working capital decreased. Where are we now,we ust have to invest in a p roper and efficient way.

[@stever1053]

I used to have Villiers stationary small engine with a kick starter the only one I have ever seen. Don't know what happened to it.

[@salterbros.collection]

Possibly off a washing machine.

[@noahPenney-n2c]

this channel is owned by someone i know

[@hanscompernolle2399]

Those were the days....they MADE engines, not just buy and assemble Parts....

[@patrickmccarthy7068]

What the hell happened to Britain and villiers the once mighty villiers ? It’s a crying shame, i bet all the machinery is over seas still churning out parts!

[@clonemat]

Has anyone seen the ghostly figure wearing a tie. A block tool room shaping section.

[@garrettsweeney3945]

Well spotted Matthew; I am amazed more people did not notice it.

[@crozwayne]

Thank you for posting this!

[@johnturnbull7798]

Sadly another example of a great company with a rich pedigree that was allowed to die due to under-investment in the product and insufficient understanding of the changing market place. Too many British companies suffered that fate. Some people want to blame the unions, others the management and others still "the City" which preferred to invest in easy options overseas. Personally I think they all had a finger in the pie.

[@davids8449]

Just spotted my 1F engine, it was shouting Daddy I am over here................PS nice music.....what is it called ?

[@barryrudge1576]

The buildings still exist but now leased out into small industrial units.

[@alangraham4526]

Was the air cooled twin cylinder diesel made here?

[@salterbros.collection]

I believe there were only two diesel models made. Both single cylinder air cooled diesels.

[@alangraham4526]

@@salterbros.collection thank you my recollections are of the 50's so a little off at times! The shipyard where I worked had a tree wheeled trike affair about 30 of them and only the front wheel was driven. It was all mounted in a circular support frame that had ball bearing to cope with the weight of the engine / gearbox & drive wheel. I have cranked the beggars many a time and don't ever recall seeing a name BUT they were always referred to as Villers and I seem to recall there being 2 valve lifters for hand crank start.

[@paulnolan1352]

@@alangraham4526 you might be on about the Lister Autotrucks.

[@alangraham4526]

@@paulnolan1352 thanks for the info. Would this be a subsidiary or totally separate? I do recall they were a begger to start on damp winter's mornings!!!

[@alangraham4526]

@@paulnolan1352 Yes just seen one on the net! I was convinced it was a "Lister" should have bet me a fiver!