Adolphe Clément-Bayard

Gustave Adolphe Clément-Bayard
Adolphe Clément circa 1890
Born	22 September 1855(1855-09-22) Pierrefonds, Oise, France
Died	1 January 1928(1928-01-01) (aged 74) Paris
Cause of death	Heart attack
Resting place	'Domaine du Bois d'Aucourt d'Adolphe Clément-Bayard' at Pierrefonds[1][2][3]
Nationality	French
Other names	Gustavus Adolphus Clément, Gustavus Adolphus Clément-Bayard
Education	Primary only
Occupation	Entrepreneur, Manufacturer of bicycles, pneumatic tyres, motorcycles, motorcars and airships
Title	Commander of the Légion d'honneur
Successor	Maurice Clément-Bayard
Spouse	Céleste Angèle Roguet
Children	Albert(c 1879–1907), Angèle (1880– 4 May 1972),[4] Jeanne and Maurice
Parents	Leopold Adolphus Clement and Julie Alexandrine Rousselle

Gustave Adolphe Clément-Bayard (also spelled Gustave Adolphe Clément, Gustavus Adolphus Clément, Gustavus Adolphus Clément-Bayard; 22 September 1855 – 10 March 1928) was a French entrepreneur. An orphan who became a blacksmith and a Compagnon du Tour de France, he went on to manufacture bicycles, pneumatic tyres, motorcycles, automobiles, aeroplanes and airships.^[2][5]

In 1894 he was a passenger in the winning vehicle in the world's first motor race. George Lemaitre's Peugot was judged to be the winner of the Paris-Rouen Competition for Horeseless Carriages (Concours des Voitures sans Chevaux).^[6][7]

He changed his name to Clément-Bayard five years after the successful launch of the Clément-Bayard automobile brand. It honoured the Chevalier Pierre Terrail, seigneur de Bayard who saved the town of Mézières from an Imperial army during the Siege of Mézières in 1521.^[2][8]

Clément-Bayard was appointed a Commander of the Légion d'honneur in 1912.

Personal life

Early life

Adolphe Clément, the son of a grocer, was born at rue du Bourg, Pierrefonds, Oise. He was the second of five children of Leopold Adolphus Clement and Julie Alexandrine Rousselle. His mother died when he was seven years old and although his father remarried he also died 2 years later when Adolphe was nine years old. For the next seven years he was raised by his stepmother who had remarried a school teacher. Adolphe studied at the primary school in Pierrefonds and then at the College of Villers-Cotterêts. He worked in the family business by delivering groceries, and at 13 chose to be apprenticed to a farrier/blacksmith.^[1][5]

During the winter of 1871–1872, the 16 year old Adolphe left Pierrefonds to travel around France as a Compagnon du Tour de France, an organization of craftsmen and artisans dating from the Middle Ages. He had saved 30 francs (circa 100 Euros in 2006) by doing multiple jobs for three years. He subsisted in each city by working in forges owned by the Compagnons du Tour de France, shoeing horses, repairing metal and doing any kind of work. He reached Paris in 1872 followed by Orléans and Tours where he encountered 'Truffault cycles'. This led him to acquire 2 wooden cart wheels and build an iron bicycle frame.^[1]

Cycle racing had begun in 1869 (Paris–Rouen), so in 1873 Truffaut lent the 18 year old Clement an iron bicycle with solid rubber tires to race in Angers. He finished 6th and was exhilarated to read his name in the newspapers.^[1]

Family life

Adolphe Clément married Céleste Angèle Roguet and they had four children, Albert, Angèle, Jeanne and Maurice. Albert died while racing at the 1907 French Grand Prix. Angèle (1880–1972) was widowed from Albert Dumont, an engineer and director at the Levallois factory. Angele then remarried Numa Joseph Edouard "Petit" Sasias (1882–1927), a 'Fonctionnaire aux Affaires Etrangères, ex-Secrétaire à la Présidence du Conseil, with whom she had one son. Jeanne became divorced from Fernand Charron, racing driver and manager of the plant at Levallois-Perret, subsequently living alone. Maurice married Renée Hammond and had three children Andrée, Jacqueline and Albert (nicknamed "Billy" to avoid confusion and memories of his uncle Albert).^[1][4]

The Domaine Bois D'Aucourt in Pierrefonds was originally a 17th century hunting lodge of the Sun King Louis XIV which had been upgraded circa 1822. Located 1.5 kilometres (0.93 mi) west of both the Château de Pierrefonds and his own birthplace on the rue du Bourg, Adolphe Clement bought the property around 1904 and employed architect Edward Redont to renovate and remodel it.^[1][2][3]

Latterly the mansion 'Domaine du Bois d'Aucourt' at Pierrefonds was used by his son Maurice, while Adolphe continued living at 35 Avenue du Bois de Boulogne, Neuilly-sur-Seine.^[1][9]

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec publicity poster from 1890s, Constant Huret riding with a Simpson chain behind the Gladiator tandem pacer at the Velodrome de la Seine.

Later life

By 1893 Clément owned the Vélodrome de la Seine near the site of the factory at Levallois-Perret. La plus belle et la plus vite piste du monde". It was managed by Tristan Bernard who also managed the Vélodrome Buffalo, and its events were an integral part of Parisian life, being regularly attended by personalities such as Toulose Lautrec. Clément reportedly sold or converted this around 1900.^[1][10][11]

On achieving business success he used the Latinate format of his name, Gustavus Adolphus, and later (circa 1909) received permission from the Conseil d'État to change his surname to Clément-Bayard.^[2][12]

The death of his son Albert while racing at the 1907 French Grand Prix had a lasting effect on him. In 1913 he was elected as mayor of Pierrefonds and, on taking office he ceded control in 1914 of Clément-Bayard to his son Maurice who was passionate about aviation.^[1][2]

In 1928 he died of a heart attack while driving along the rue Laffitte to a meeting of a 'Board of Directors' in Paris.^[2]

Cycle manufacture

In 1876, after 2 years of cycle racing, working and saving, Adolphe had enough money to start in business, so he opened a bicycle repair works in Bordeaux, aged 21. The next stage of his business plan was to move to Marseille where he learned how to manufacture steel tubes for bicycles. The following year he moved to Lyon and began manufacturing whole bicycles under the name 'Clement SA cycles'.^[1]

Clément cycles

The following year, circa 1878, he moved to Paris and opened a cycle business, A. Clément & Cie, at 20 Rue Brunel near the Place de l'Etoile. Here he also ran a cycling school and was competing in cycle races. In Paris his business backers were monsieur de Graffenried and monsieur de Montgeron.^[1][5]

At the end of 1878 Adolphe partnered the cycling champion Charles Terront at the 'Six-Days' cycling event at the Agricultural Hall in London. He also opened a sales showroom at 31 rue 'du 4-September', in Paris and started a poster advertising campaign, a new concept.

In September 1879, Clement built an iron smelter in Tulle, in the Limousin where there was a good supply of water power, but he did not have sufficient finance to make it viable and Tulle was too remote from Paris, so he had to sell the plant.^[1]

By 1880 the "Clément" cycle manufacturing business at Rue Brunel, had circa 150 employees building bicycles.^[1][5](Image and description of 1880 Clément cycle) The machines were regarded as high quality and by 1890 Clément was the leading cycle brand in France.^[13]

Clément-Gladiator cycles

The Gladiator Cycle Company, a French manufacturer of bicycles was founded by Alexandre Darracq and Paul Aucoq in 1891 at Le Pré-Saint-Gervais in north east Paris.^[8][14] Adolphe Clément was a major investor in this venture.^[6]

In 1895 Gladiator introduced its first internal combustion, a naphtha powered tricycle.^[6]

In 1896 Adolphe Clément was associated with Lord Charles Chetwynd-Talbot, 20th Earl of Shrewsbury and (yet to be convicted) fraudster Harry John Lawson of the British Automobile Commercial Syndicate Ltd (BACS)^[15] They bought Gladiator which was then merged into a major bicycle manufacturing conglomerate of Clement, Gladiator & Humber (France) Ltd valued at 22 million francs (circa €60–80 million Euro in 2006).^[a] In 1897 Lawson's BACS ltd collapsed so he (and Humber) parted company, but Clément and Talbot remained as directors. The range of cycles was expanded with tricycles, quadracycles, and in 1902 a motorised bicycle, then cars and motorcycles.^{[8][14][6][5]}

Shortly after the purchase of Gladiator cycles Adolfe Clément began to build the new factory at Levallois-Perret in north west Paris, which also produced various cars from 1898, (see below) and went on to build the Citroën 2CV for nearly forty years.

Motorised cycle manufacture

Clément and Gladiator

From 1895 Clément cycles started to focus on motorized vehicles. In 1895 it introduced its first internal combustion, a naphtha powered tricycle.^[6] In 1902 they offered a motorized bicycle with a 142 cc engine that had an automatic inlet valve, an overhead exhaust valve and an external flywheel. The combined oil and petrol tank was behind the saddle and the batteries were stored in a leather case strapped to the horizontal frame tube. This 'motorisation adaptation' was sold on both Clément and Gladiator cycles.^[5]

Clément-Garrard

In Britain these popular motorised cycles were known as Clément-Garrards.^[5]

Tyre manufacture

In 1889 Clément saw a Dunlop pneumatic tyre in London and acquired the French manufacturing rights for 50,000 francs. This success lead to his millionaire status.^[5] The company he formed with a capital of 700,000 francs paid 100 per cent dividend in its first year of operation.^[6]

Motor manufacturing

Clément-Gladiator motorcars

In 1896 Adolphe Clément was associated with Lord Charles Chetwynd-Talbot and fraudster Harry Lawson's 'British Automobile Commercial Syndicate Ltd' which owned Humber cycles. Together they bought the Gladiator Cycle Company and merged it into a major bicycle manufacturing conglomerate of Clément, Gladiator & Humber (France) Ltd. Clément and Talbot remained as directors after the collapse of 'BACS Ltd'.^[14] and the range was expanded to include a motorised bicycle, cars and motorcycles.(See Clément Gladiator cycles above for further details)^[5][8][15]

By 1898 the new Clement-Gladiator company was building cars and marketing them as both Clements and Gladiators.^[6] Gladiators were imported into England by the 'Motor Power Company' which was co-owned by S. F. Edge and Harvey du Cros of the English branch of Dunlop.^[6]

From 1901 Clément-Gladiator cars were built at the Levallois-Perret factory and by 1902 production was over 1,000 cars per annum, 800+ of which were sold in England.^[14]

After 1903 the Clément-Gladiator name continued to be used on the 'shaft-drive' cars made at the Pre-Saint-Gervais factory, whilst chain-driven vehicles were marketed as Gladiators.^[14] The Clément name was dropped in 1907 and in 1909 another French manufacturer, Vinot et Deguingand, took over Gladiator and transferred production to Puteaux. At this time the Pre-Saint-Gervais factory reverted to making bicycles.^[14]

Panhard et Levassor

In 1897 Clement invested 1 million francs (circa 3 million Euros at 2006 valuation) in Panhard & Levassor, part of their five million francs capitalisation. This established the main business and eventually lead to the creation of Clement Panhard marque.^[6]

Clément-Bayard

Clément Gladiator was divided in 1903, Charles Chetwynd-Talbot founding the English arm "Clément-Talbot Ltd", while Adolphe Clément formed Clément-Bayard on a former military site at Mézières (now Charleville-Mézières).^[16] He chose the name Bayard in commemoration of the Chevalier Pierre Terrail, seigneur de Bayard who saved the town of Mézières in 1521. A statue of the Chevalier stood in front of the Mézières factory, and the image was incorporated into the company logo.^[2][8] After the split both marques built very similar cars, but the specifications gradually diverged.

In 1922 the Clément-Bayard company was sold to André Citroën, in whom Adolphe also invested financially, and the factory at Levallois-Perret was the centre of 2CV manufacturing for the next 40 years.^[2]

Clément-Panhard

Clément was a director of Panhard-Levassor, and when the factory could not meet the production requirements for circa 500 units of the 1898 'voiture légère' ('dog cart') model, he undertook manufacture under licence at his factory in Levallois-Perret. It was designed by airship pioneer Commandant Arthur Krebs, of Panhard, and used a tubular chassis, centre-pivot steering, near-horizontal 3.5 hp (2.6 kW) rear-mounted engine with automatic inlet valve and hot-tube ignition, driving through a constant-mesh gear-train, and final drive by side chains and early models had no reverse gear.^[17][18][6]

Clément-Stirling

Some of the Clément Panhards were exported to Great Britain where they were variously sold as 'Clément-Stirling' and 'Stirling-Panhard', by the Scottish coachbuilder 'Stirling'.^[17][18]

Clément-Talbot

After the division of Clément-Gladiator in 1903 Charles Chetwynd-Talbot headed the English arm "Clément-Talbot Ltd".^[16] Adolphe Clément was a major shareholder in the company, along with Talbot, A. Lucas, and E. Lamberjack. After the split both marques ( Clément-Bayard and Clément-Talbot) built very similar cars, but by 1907 the specifications diverged.^[19][20][21]

On 11 October 1902 Clément-Talbot was formally incorporated, and subsequently 5 acres (20,000 m²) of land was purchased for a new factory in Ladbroke Grove, North Kensington in west London, between the Great Western Railway line and the 'Edinburgh road' before it was renamed 'Barlby road'. The factory was a high status operation whose brick workshops used the latest saw-tooth roof line, glazed to maximise natural light. It was equipped with the most modern machine tools and the reception area was laid out like a miniature palace, marble Ionic columns, gilded frescoes and stained glass windows etched with the Shrewsbury coat of arms. The building is now known as Ladbroke Hall.^[19][20][21]

The company traded as Clément-Talbot and the factory was titled Clément-Talbot, but the cars were always known as Talbots.^[19][20][21]

Diatto-Clément

In 1905 Adolphe Clément created the 'Diatto-Clement Societa Anonima' in partnership with Diatto who had been coachbuilders in Turin since 1835. The cars, known as Torinos were built in Turin under licence from Clément. The first car was the 20-25HP which used a 3,770cc four cylinder engine. This was followed by a 10-12HP (1,884cc two-cylinder) and a 14-18HP (2,724cc four-cylinder). This series was a success and was followed by a six-cylinder model. In 1909 Clement left the business and the company was renamed 'Societa Fonderie Officine Frejus'.^[22]

Clément

Motorcars may also have been manufactured and sold under the Clément brand between 1907 (1908^[23]) and 1914. The company is recorded as Clément Motor company Ltd., Coventry, Warwickshire.^[24][23]

Motor racing

Worlds first motor race

Georges Lemaître classified 1st in his Peugeot 3hp. Adolphe Clément is the front seat passenger. (second from the left in the picture)

Adolphe Clément had no direct involvement in the nascent motor industry until around 1897, but he was a passenger in Georges Lemaître's (Peugeot) that was judged to be the 'official winner' of what is considered to be the world's first motor race on 22 July 1894, from Paris to Rouen.^[7][6]

The event was a publicity exercise organised by Pierre Giffard of Le Petit Journal newspaper and consisted of 69 cars starting a 50 kilometres (31 mi) selection event before 25 were allowed into the main event, the 127 kilometres (79 mi) race from Paris (Porte Maillot) to Rouen. Georges Lemaître completed the course in 9 hour 18 minutes at an average speed of 13.6 kilometres per hour (8.5 mph), followed by Doriot (Peugeot), René Panhard (Panhard) and Émile Levassor (Panhard). Count Jules-Albert de Dion reached Rouen 3’30” ahead of Georges Lemaître but as cars were judged on speed, handling and safety characteristics the official winners were Peugeot and Panhard. De Dion's steam car needed a stoker which was forbidden.^[7]

Clément-Bayard

For main article see Clément-Bayard, Motor racing

Clément-Bayard started building automobiles in 1903 and then started building racing cars in 1904. The racing team included Albert Clément, Jacques Guders, Rene Hanriot, Marc-Philippe Villemain, 'Carlès', "De la Touloubre" and A. Villemain, and Pierre Garcets.^[25][26][27]

1904 season

Albert Clement drives a 80-hp Clément-Bayard at the 1905 Vanderbilt Cup

Albert Clément finished 10th at the I Eliminatoires Françaises de la Coupe Internationale, held at the Forest of Argonne on 20 May 1904. This was an eliminating contest for the French entry into the Coupe Internationale (Gordon Bennett Race) where only three cars were allowed per country. Clement finished in 7 hours 10 minutes 52.8 seconds.^[25]

Albert Clément won the II Circuit des Ardennes des Voiturettes on 24 July 1904 at Bastogne in 4h 26m 52.6seconds at an average speed of 53.91 km/h.^[25]

Clément drove his Clement-Bayard into third place at the III Circuit des Ardennes race at Bastogne, on 25 July 1904.^[25]

Clément finished second at the 1904 I.W.K. Vanderbilt Cup Race on Long Island on 8 October 1904.^[25]

1905 season

Rene Hanriot finished tenth in 8 hours 23 minutes 39.6s at the II Eliminatoires Françaises de la Coupe Internationale at the Auvergne on 16 June. This was a qualifier for the Coupe Internationale (Gordon Bennett Race).^[26]

At the 1905 Vanderbilt cup on Long Island Clément drove an 80-hp Clément-Bayard (France #12) but suffered reliability problems.^[28]

Clément retired his Clement-Bayard after the first 166 km lap of the II Coppa Florio at Brescia Italy on 4 September 1905. His team-mate 'Carlès' retired after 2 laps.^[26]

1906 season

Albert Clément driving a Clément-Bayard at the French Grand Prix 1906

Clément-Bayard entered 3 cars for the inaugural 1906 French Grand Prix at Le Mans where Albert Clément finished third in his 100Hp machine. He completed the 1,238 km event in 12 hours 49 minutes 46.2seconds. Clément lead the race at the end of laps 2 and 5 on the second day.^[29][27] Punctures were common and Michelin introduced a detachable rim, saving 11 minutes over manually replacing the tyre. This enabled Felice Nazzaro (FIAT) to take second place from Clément.^[27]

Albert Clément finished 6th in the V Circuit des Ardennes on 13 August 1906 at Bastogne. He completed the 7 lap 961 km race in 6 hours 2 minutes 55.2 seconds in a 100Hp Clement-Bayard. His team-mates A. Villemain and Pierre Garcet finished 11th and 12th.^[27]

At the 1906 Vanderbilt cup Clément finished 4th driving a 100 hp (75 kW) Clément-Bayard (France #15) and completing the ten laps averaging 59.0 mph (95.0 km/h).^[30]

1907 season

Albert Clément died while practising for the 1907 French Grand Prix on 17 May. Of the 3 other Clément-Bayard entries, Pierre Garcet and Elliott Shepard, finished 7th and eighth respectively. Clément's car was entered by 'Alezy' who retired after 4 laps.^[2]

1908 season

The company entered 3 cars for the 1908 French Grand Prix, using a 12,963 cc six-cylinder overhead camshaft engine. Victor Rigal finished 4th.^[16]

Other events

In 1905 Clément-Bayard won the Coupe de Calais and 'finished well' at the Course de Dourdan. In both 1907 and 1908 Clément Bayard won the Coupe de l’Automobile-Club de Cannes', and in 1908 it also won the Tour de France Automobile.^[1]

Aeroplane manufacture

Maurice Clement at the controls of the 1908 Clement Bayard biplane.

Clément-Bayard was an early French manufacturer of aircraft engines and lighter-than-air vehicles, with the earliest flights occurring in 1908. Clément-Bayard created the world's first series production aircraft.^[1]

The company worked with Louis Capazza to produce the 'planeur (glider) Bayard-Clément' that was unveiled in L'Aérophile on 15 May 1908.^[1][31]

The company also started working with Alberto Santos-Dumont in 1908 to build his Demoiselle No 19 monoplane that he had designed to compete for the Coupe d'Aviation Ernest Archdeacon prize from the Aéro-Club de France. The plane was small and stable, but they planned a production run of 100 units, built 50 and sold only 15 for 7,500 francs for each airframe. It was the world's first series production aircraft. By 1909 it was offered with a choice of 3 engines, Clement 20 hp; Wright 4-cyl 30 hp (Clement-Bayard had the license to manufacture Wright engines); and Clement-Bayard 40 hp designed by Pierre Clerget. It achieved 120 km/h.^[1]

Pierre Clerget designed a range of Clement-Bayard aircraft engines including a 7-cylinder supercharged radial, the 4-cyl 40 hp used on the Demoiselle, a 4-cyl 100 hp used on 'Hanriot Etrich' monoplanes, and a V8 200 hp airship engine.^[1]

In 1910 the Clement-Bayard Monoplane No. 1 was introduced at the Paris show.^[1]

By 1912 Clément-Bayard built a biplane plus three different models of horizontally opposed aircraft engines.^[32][33]

In November 1912 The Clement-Bayard Monoplane No. 5 was introduced. It was powered by a Gnome 7 cylinder rotary engine producing 70 hp (52 kW). The pilot sat in an aluminium and leather tub.^[1]

In 1913 a three-seater biplane was introduced as part of the military project, the Clement-Bayard No. 6. It was configured for two observers in front of the pilot, and was powered by either a 4-cyl 100 hp (75 kW) Clement-Bayard or 4-cylinder Gnome engine.^[1]

In 1914 Clément-Bayard produced a steel scouting monoplane powered by either an 80 hp (60 kW) motor or a 100 hp (75 kW) Gnome et Rhône engine. The nickel steel armour was designed for protection against rifle fire.^[34][35]

Airship manufacture

Clement-Bayard Airship No 1, The "Adjudant Vincenot" circa 1910. Caption from Popular Mechanics magazine 1910

In 1908 'Astra Clément-Bayard' began manufacturing airships at a new factory in La Motte-Breuil in response to a French Army decision to commence airship operations.

The Clément-Bayard No.1 airship was offered to the French government but was too expensive so it was bought by Tsar Nicholas II for the Russian army.

In 1910 the Clément-Bayard No.2, piloted by Maurice Clément, was the first airship to cross the Channel, travelling over 380 km in 6 hours.^[2] The army ordered 3 copies.

The airship hangar in La Motte-Breuil is still maintained by Clément-Talbot Ltd.

Clément-Bayard dirigibles

Seven Clément-Bayard airships were completed.^[1][2]

• N° 1 was 56.25 metres long, 10.58 metres wide, 3,500 m3, powered by 2 Clément Bayard 115 cv engines. First flew on 28 October 1908.^[1]

• N° 2 was 76.50 metres long, 13.22 metres wide, 7,000 m3, powered by 2 Clément Bayard 120 cv engines. Top speed 54 km/h. First flew on 1 June 1910.^[36]

• N° 3 Dupuy de Lôme, 89 metres long, 13.5 metres wide, 9,000 m3, powered by 2 Clément Bayard 120 cv engines. First flew on 1 May 1912.^[36]

• N° 4 Adjudant Vincenot, 88.5 metres long, 13.5 metres wide, 9,800 m3, powered by 2 Clément Bayard 120 cv engines. Top speed 49 km/h. First flew in 1911.^[36]

• Adj Vincenot modified, 87.3 metres long, 13.5 metres wide, 9,800 m3, powered by 2 Clément Bayard 120 cv engines. Top speed 53 km/h. First flew on 13 August 1913.^[36]

• N° 5 livré à la Russie, 86 metres long, 13.5 metres wide, 9,600 m3, powered by 2 Clément Bayard 130 cv engines. First flew on 9 February 1913.^[36]

• Montgolfier, 73.5 metres long, 12.2 metres wide, 6,500m3, powered by 2 Clément Bayard 90 cv engines. Top speed 60 km/h. First flew on 31 July 1913.^[36]

Factories used by Adolphe Clement

Adolphe Clément-Bayard circa 1907

• In September 1879, Clement built an iron smelter in Tulle, in the Limousin where there was a good supply of water power, but he did not have sufficient finance to make it viable and Tulle was too remote from Paris, so he had to sell the plant.^[1]

• In 1880 he moved his small cycle business and established the "Clément" cycle manufacturing business at 20 Rue Brunel, Place de l'Étoile, in central Paris, where 150 employees built bicycles.^[1][5]

• The Gladiator Cycle Company built bicycles at Le Pré-Saint-Gervais in north east Paris.^[8][14]

• In 1894 he started construction work on a former military site in the Faubourg Saint-Julian at Mézières, to build a new factory, which would become known as La Macérienne. Clément personally supervised the work remotely using photographs taken every day and visiting the site once a week. By 1897 it was producing components and spokes for the Gladiator Cycle Company. It covered 15,000 m2 and using a hydraulic turbine power plant, a steam room, large machine hall, a foundry, a workshop for the nickel processing, the operation with the manufacturing of nuts and spokes on a bike. The factory building still exists but in the spring of 2006 it was transformed into a cultural center.^[2]

After World War I Maurice Clement-Bayard undertook to rescue La Macérienne from the physical, social and commercial ravages of war. He visited the United States and by 1925 had a contract to manufacture for the 'Allied Machinery Company' (Almacoa hoists and Cletrac tractors). By 1928 it produced Almacoa excavators, tractors and forklifts, plus Cletrac crawler tractors were exclusive to Clement-Bayard for Europe and North Africa.^[1]

• Clement-Bayard was situated at the Boulevard de la Saussaye 57 in Neuilly in west Paris. Between 1899 and 1922, three wheelers and cars were built there.^[16]

• Shortly after the purchase of Gladiator cycles in 1896 Adolfe Clément began to build the new factory at Levallois-Perret in north west Paris. This produced cycles and various cars from 1898, (Clément-Panhard, Clément-Gladiator from 1901, Clément-Bayard from 1903), and went on to build various Citroën models including the Citroën 2CV for nearly forty years from 1948–1988. From August 1914 it was dedicated to wartime production.

• On 11 October 1902 Clément-Talbot was formally incorporated, and subsequently 5 acres (20,000 m²) of land was purchased for a new factory in Ladbroke Grove, North Kensington in west London, between the Great Western Railway line and the 'Edinburgh road' before it was renamed 'Barlby road'. The factory was a high status operation whose brick workshops used the latest saw-tooth roof line, glazed to maximise natural light. It was equipped with the most modern machine tools and the reception area was laid out like a miniature palace, marble Ionic order, gilded frescoes and stained glass windows etched with the Shrewsbury coat of arms. It is now known as 'Ladbroke Hall'.^[19][20][21]

• In 1908 'Astra Clément-Bayard' began manufacturing airships at a new factory in La Motte-Breuil.^[2]

• In 1911 Adolphe built a pottery factory at Pierrefoids.^[1]

War activity

By 1910 Clément-Bayard vociferously warned of Germany's warlike ambitions, and in 1912 he was assaulted by a hostile German mob. Thus when Germany invaded France he was a marked man. In September 1914 the Germans reached the outskirts of Pierrefonds and shelled the Domaine du Bois d'Aucourt, although by then it was being looked after by Carlo Bugatti, the Art Nouveau furniture and jewelry designer and father of Ettore Bugatti who also lived in the town. Adolphe remained in Paris with his family.^[6][1]

Adolphe ceded control of Clément-Bayard to his son Maurice in 1914 before the start of the war, but the consequences for the company were disastrous. The La Macérienne factory at Mézières was lost to the Germans in the opening weeks, as were his home, mayoral town and factories at Pierrefonds. The industrial machinery was shipped back to Germany, and the forges, foundries and smelter were destroyed. La Macérienne was gutted and used as an indoor riding school for German officers.

Automobile production at Levallois-Perret in Paris was suspended in August 1914 and the factory was turned over to war production, military equipment and military vehicles, aero engines, airships and planes.^[1]

Bank of Ardennes

In 1922, Adolphe was appointed director and vice-president of the new Bank of Ardennes, which was established in Charleville on 12 April 1922.^[1]

Dreyfus affair

The Dreyfus affair split France at the end of the 19th century over the guilt or innocence of a soldier, Alfred Dreyfus, who had been convicted of selling secrets to the Germans. In 1900 Clément was one of the leading anti-Dreyfusard industrialists, along with comté Jules-Albert de Dion, who cancelled all advertising in the Drefusard newspaper Le Vélo and started a rival daily sports paper, L'Auto-Velo. The roots of both the Tour de France cycle race and L'Équipe newspaper, result from Clément's hostile anti-Dreyfusard stance.^[37][38][39] The Dreyfus affair was eventually concluded with the official exoneration of Dreyfus (as an innocent person who had been framed). With the end of official inquiries it may be said that Clément and de Dion had been wrong for a decade.

Death, honours and commemoration

In 1912 Clément was appointed a Commander of the Légion d'honneur.

In 1928 he died of a heart attack while driving to a meeting of a 'Board of Directors' in Paris.^[2]

His tomb is located at the 'Domaine du Bois d'Aucourt d'Adolphe Clément-Bayard' at Pierrefonds which has been a protected Historic Monument since 2004.^[9]

The rue Clément-Bayard runs through the centre of Pierrefonds, Oise.

In 2005 a 50 CHF gold coin was minted to commemorate the centenary of the Geneva Motor Show, with the theme "Clément 1905"

Notes

a. ^{^} By 1896 the title of Humber cycles had been acquired by entrepreneur and fraudster Harry Lawson. The cycle factory of Thomas Humber at Beeston, Nottinghamshire started adding the soubriquet 'Genuine Humber' to its logo.</ref>

References

1. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad} Hydro Retro, Clement-Bayard, pdf (French) Clément-Bayard, sans peur et sans reproche par Gérard Hartmann
2. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o} Nos belles anciennes – Clement Bayard, Profile of Gustave Adolphe Clément
3. ^ ^{a b} Domaine Bois D'Aucourt
4. ^ ^{a b} GeneaNet, Numa Joseph Edouard "Petit" Sasias
5. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h i j} Yesterdays, Antique motorcycles, Auguste Clement
6. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h i j k l} Unique cars, Founding fathers – Gustave Clement
7. ^ ^{a b c} Forix, Autosport, 8W – Welcome to Who? What? Where? When? Why? on the World Wide Web. The cradle of motorsport by Rémi Paolozzi, 28 May 2003
8. ^ ^{a b c d e f} Georgano, N. (2000). Beaulieu Encyclopedia of the Automobile. London: HMSO. ISBN 1-57958-293-1. 
9. ^ ^{a b} Patrimoine de France, Domaine du Bois d'Aucourt d'Adolphe Clément-Bayard à Pierrefonds
10. ^ Mlle Serpolette at the Velodrome d'Hiver 1896
11. ^ Cycling, A Hands, La Chaine Simpson
12. ^ Unique cars, Honour roll, Auguste Clement
13. ^ Randonneurs Ontario, Profile of Pierre Giffard
14. ^ ^{a b c d e f g} Brighton Early, Gladiator Cycles
15. ^ ^{a b} James J. Flink. The Automobile Age. Cambridge: MIT Press, 1988. p. 21.
16. ^ ^{a b c d} Motorbase, The complete encyclopedia of Vintage Cars – Rob de la Rive Box – Clement Bayard
17. ^ ^{a b} Motorbase, Clément-Panhard
18. ^ ^{a b} Clement Panhard
19. ^ ^{a b c d} France Classics – Clement-Bayard
20. ^ ^{a b c d} Flickr, Description and image of Clément-Talbot works at Ladbroke Grove
21. ^ ^{a b c d} Gorges Roesch and the Invincible Talbot" by Anthony Blight
22. ^ Motorbase – Diatto-Clément
23. ^ ^{a b} Motorbase, Clément
24. ^ Chello Database of Motor manufacturers
25. ^ ^{a b c d e} Teamdan Motoring Datbase – 1904
26. ^ ^{a b c} Teamdan Motoring Datbase – 1905
27. ^ ^{a b c d} Teamdan Motoring Datbase – 1906
28. ^ Vanderbilt Cup Races, Westbury, Clement-Bayard
29. ^ dDavid. The story of Formula 1, 1906
30. ^ Vanderbilt Cup Races, 1906 entries
31. ^ The Aerodrome, Pioneer Avuiation, Early hanriots
32. ^ A history of aeronautics by E. Charles Vivian, (Evelyn Charles Vivian) London ; Melbourne : W. Collins & Son, c1920/1. Subjects Aeronautics – History. Other Authors Marsh, W. Lockwood
33. ^ Aero engines – Clément-Bayard
34. ^ Flight archives, 1914, p265 – Clément Bayard
35. ^ Flight archives, 1914, p266 – Clément Bayard
36. ^ ^{a b c d e f} Blimp n2a, THe Dirigibles of Clement Bayard
37. ^ Le Naine Jaune
38. ^ Boeuf, Jean-Luc and Léonard, Yves (2003); La République de Tour de France, Seuil, France
39. ^ Nicholson, Geoffrey (1991) Le Tour, the rise and rise of the Tour de France, Hodder and Stoughton, UK

Other Sources

• Gazoline, in French, Clément type AC 2L Bayard : A L'OMBRE DU CHEVALIER BAYARD

Gallery of images

• Pdf about Adolphe Clément-Bayard, (French) containing 95 images, posters and diagrams of cycles, cars, planes, airships, houses and factories.
• Flickr, Description and image of Clément-Talbot works at Ladbroke Grove
• Internal image of 'Ladbroke Hall', once the Clément-Talbot works at Ladbroke Grove

External links

• Images of Clément-Bayards at the 1906 French Grand Prix
• Images of La Macerienne at Mezieres
• Image and description of 1880 Clément cycle
• Gallery of images of Clément-Bayard airships
• Poster images including Clément tandem, circa 1885

Persondata
Name	Clement, Adolphe
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	22 September 1855
Place of birth	Pierrefonds, Oise, France
Date of death	1 January 1928
Place of death	Paris