W. O. Bentley

Walter Owen Bentley, MBE (16 September 1888 – 2 August 1971) was the founder of Bentley Motors. He was often known as W. O. Bentley or just "W.O." He attended Clifton College in Bristol in the United Kingdom from 1902 until 1905 when, at the age of 16, he left to start work as an apprentice railway engineer with the Great Northern Railway at Doncaster in Yorkshire. During this time he also experimented with motorcycles, riding and racing Quadrant... more

Walter Owen Bentley, MBE (16 September 1888 – 2 August 1971) was the founder of Bentley Motors. He was often known as W. O. Bentley or just "W.O." He attended Clifton College in Bristol in the United Kingdom from 1902 until 1905 when, at the age of 16, he left to start work as an apprentice railway engineer with the Great Northern Railway at Doncaster in Yorkshire. During this time he also experimented with motorcycles, riding and racing Quadrant, Rex, and Indian models. He completed his apprenticeship in the summer of 1910. He spent a brief period studying theoretical engineering at King's College London, and a period with the National Motor Cab Company where he was in charge of cab maintenance, Bentley in 1912 joined his brother, Horace Millner ("H.M.") Bentley, in a company called "Bentley and Bentley" selling French DFP cars. Dissatisfied with their performance, W.O. designed new aluminium alloy pistons and a tuned camshaft for the DFP engine, taking several records at Brooklands... less