Nuffield Organisation

Nuffield Organisation

Industry	Automotive
Fate	Merged with Austin Motor Company
Successor	British Motor Corporation
Founded	1938
Defunct	1952
Headquarters	Cowley, Oxford, Oxfordshire, England
Key people	William Morris

The Nuffield Organisation was a vehicle manufacturing company in the United Kingdom. Named after its founder, William Morris, 1st Viscount Nuffield, it was formed in 1938 as the merger of Nuffield's Morris Motor Company (already having acquired Wolseley Motors in 1927), another of Nuffield's companies the MG Car Company and Riley.

Morris Motors Ltd included Morris Commercial Cars which made light commercial vehicles such as vans.

In 1937, Nuffield Mechanisations Ltd was formed for the purpose of development and production of tanks. The Cruiser Mk III was their first product.

Second World War

During World War II Nuffield was engaged in military production. Among their activities was production of the Liberty L-12 engine for use in British tanks of the period. In 1939 one of their subsidiaries was given the opportunity to take part in production of the Covenanter tank then being designed but opted to develop their own version of the design which became the Crusader tank. They followed this with the Cavalier tank which used the Liberty engine as well. The tank was built but the power of the Liberty was limited and with the increase in tank weight the Cavalier was not used in combat. The last tank the Liberty was produced for was the A27L Centaur tank, effectively an underpowered Cromwell tank.

Commercial vehicles in the Morris range were produced for military use - such as the Morris C8 and Morris Commercial also built vehicles such as the Terrapin amphibious carrier

Post war

Automobile production of Morris, MG, Wolseley and Riley marques restarted in the 1940s. Post war, Nuffield vice chairman, Sir Miles Thomas, announced to the I.S.M.A at Hull in 1946 "Nuffield to Make Tractors". Production started in 1948 with the Nuffield Universal tractor, launched at the Smithfield show in December 1948. Designed by former David Brown Ltd. tractor designer Dr. H E Merritt, who had been involved in tank design during the war.^[1]

Tractor manufacture was undertaken at the former Wolseley factory in Birmingham.

The Nuffield Organisation merged with the Austin Motor Company to form the British Motor Corporation in 1952.

Following the Merger of BMC with Leyland Motors the Nuffield tractor brand became Leyland tractors in 1968, production was transferred to Bathgate in Scotland.

See also

• Marshall, Sons & Co. - Part taken over by Leyland,
• Track Marshall - Nuffield tractors renamed Marshall after sale by Leyland.
• Pressed Steel Company

References

1. ^ Nuffield Leyland & Marshall 1948-85, By Alan T. Condie, ISBN 1-904686-11-7