Henry Edmunds – The Man Behind Rolls-Royce

Born in Halifax, West Yorkshire, on March 20, 1853, Henry Edmunds was fascinated by electricity from a young age. His father, an engineer and iron merchant, sparked his interest, leading Henry into a career that would see him cross paths with Joseph Swan (the inventor of the incandescent lightbulb), Thomas Edison (the inventor of almost everything else) and was present at both the first successful sound recording and telephone call.

In 1886, Henry became a partner in WT Glover & Co, a Manchester-based electrical cable company. With the opening of the Manchester Ship Canel in 1894 along with the docks beside it, the company won the contract to supply the cabling for the mammoth lighting system. This lighting system was designed and manufactured by another Manchester company, F H Royce & Co. owned by Henry Royce.

In 1899, Edmunds joined the Automobile Club of Great Britain & Ireland (later the Royal Automobile Club, or RAC) and found a strong interest in motoring. The following year he entered the 1,000 Mile Trial from London to Edinburgh and back, Among the list of entrants was The Hon Charles Stewart Rolls.

By 1904, Edmunds had taken a business interest in the Parsons Non-skid Co Ltd, which made ‘chains’ that fitted to car tyres to prevent what was known as ‘slide-slipping’. They entered a competition, the Slide Slip Trials, at the end of April that year, but at the last minute found themselves without a suitable car. Edmunds asked Royce if they could use his first 10 H.P. car. Royce agreed and the car was sent by train to London, where Edmunds drove it successfully in the 1,000-mile event. Charles Rolls also took part, but there is no record of him having anything to do with the Royce car.

Edmunds was enormously impressed by the 10 H.P. He also knew Rolls was desperately looking for a high-quality British-made car to sell in his thriving London dealership. He was determined to bring the two men together, and earned his place in history when, on 4 May 1904 at The Midland Hotel in Manchester, he announced: “Henry, may I introduce Charles Rolls”.