Walter Owen Bentley Founder of Bentley Motors Limited
Biography of Walter Owen Bentley
Early Life
Walter Owen Bentley founder of Bentley Motors Limited was born on 16th September 1888 in Hampstead, London. He was the youngest child from nine children his parents had. His father was a retired businessman named Alfred Bentley and his mother was Emily nee Waterhouse. He belonged to a very wealthy and prosperous family of Hampstead, London. He got his early education from a public school named Clifton College, Bristol. He went to that school from 1902 to 1905. He left his education at the age of 16 for starting his work as a trainee railway engineer at the Great Northern Railway located at Doncaster in Yorkshire. As an apprentice he learnt so many technical things. He learnt the procedures that how to cast, how to make and how to build complex machinery. He also learnt the designing procedure for those machineries.
Interest in Automobiles
His father had to bear the cost for his apprenticeship. That was a five year term plan costing 75 pounds. But his father’s investment not went vain. He learnt so many technical things in that learning process. He completed his training in the summer of the year 1910. After completing his training process he worked on many locomotive trains. But he realized that there was not much scope of carrier in the field of railways. So, he also spent time experimenting on motorcycles, through racing and riding them.
He also studied theoretical engineering for a short span of time at King’s College London. He worked with the National Motor Cab Company. He had shown his interest in automobiles. His interest further increased in 1912, when he joined another company named Bentley and Bentley with his brother Horace Millner. That company was an automobile company which used to sell French DFP cars.
Founder of Bentley Motors Limited
He founded his own company of automobile manufacturing in collaboration of his brother. He founded that after the world war in 1919. He named that company as Bentley Motor Limited. He launched his company’s first automobile with the name Bentley with 3-litre engine. That car ran for a test drive on New Street Mews, Baker Street, London in the month of October 1919. A complete manufactured car was made in Cricklewood and was delivered into market in September 1921. That car became successful and earned name and fame because of its durability. It gained approval from many countries.
Bentley Motors Limited
Bentley Motors Limited is a multinational company of England in the field of luxury automobile manufacturing. This company is now owned by Volkswagen AG which is a German company. Bentley is now its subsidiary.
It works for designing cars, engineering them, manufacturing and distributing the luxury cars under the brand name of Bentley. It’s headquarter is based in Crewe, England.
It was actually founded by W. O. Bentley in Cricklewood, London on 18th of January 1919. That company was bought by Rolls-Royce in year 1931.
After Roll-Royce Motors Company, Bentley was purchased by Volkswagen AG in 1998. That company purchased everything from Bentley motors.
Personal Life
In his private life he married three times. His first wife was Leonie Gore. He married her in 1914. His first wife died in the Spanish flu epidemic in 1919. After a year of her death, he married to his second wife. Her name was Poppy. They married in 1920. After a decade, when he sold his company to Rolls-Royce in 1931, they divorced. His third and last wife was Margaret Roberts Hutton nee Murray. He married her in 1934. His last marriage lasted until his death and his third wife died several years after him. From all his marriages he had no single child.
Death
He died just before his 83rd birthday, which he was going to celebrate in The Bentley Drivers’ Club. He died on Friday 13th August 1971 at Woking, Surrey, England.
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