A Brief History of Jowett Cars in the 1930s

The Jowett brothers—Benjamin and William—built their first car in 1906, which they drove and tested for four years before going into production in 1910. By 1916, 48 cars had been built, but after this the factory then switched to munitions work during the First World War. In 1920, the Jowett brothers took on more clerical staff and increased the factory shop-floor workforce, as car production took off dramatically from their new factory at Five-Lane-Ends, Idle, Bradford, in Yorkshire, UK.

Two important appointments in respect of publicity and advertising took place at this time; the first was Harry Mitchell, who started as works manager. Prior to his appointment, he had been working for ABC Motor Cycles Ltd. He was a very sociable person, who produced Jowett adverts and sales brochures and arranged publicity events. The second appointment was Gladney Haigh, who came in from a Bradford garage that sold Karrier commercial vehicles. He was appointed as a buyer, but in 1927, he took over writing sales booklets and adverts after Harry Mitchell left the company.