0/0/1887 - 0/10/1968
Record updated 06-May-08
As a partner with Archie Frazer Nash in the GN cyclecar concern, Henry Ronald Godfrey competed in British and French events with some success between 1913 and 1922.
Godfrey went into business on his own after the collapse of GN, but plans to market a car based on the Austin 7 came to nothing, and in the late 1920s the company went into general engineering work.
In 1935 however he was back in the car business, in partnership with Ted Halford and G H Robins. The name of their product came not - as many supposed - from Godfrey’s initials, but from those of the three partners. HRG cars continued in production until 1956, after which the company reverted to other engineering work.
During the 1930's Godfrey spent a lot of time at Brooklands and met Major Ted Halford who, in 1935 Ronald Godfrey approached with an idea to produce a new car. They were joined by Guy Herbert Robins, previously with Trojan, and took premises at the Mid-Surrey Gear Company, Hampden Road, Norbiton. HRG cars showed the first prototype at the end of 1935, a sports car in the vintage tradition. The company was established in 1936. Robins left in 1950. HRG continued in production until 1956, after which the company reverted to other engineering work.
David McKinney