O.k., we all know the name Sturmey Archer.... they produced the most popular three speed bicycle rear hub in the known universe.... and that very rear hub, in its "A.W." guise graced the rear wheel of just about every Chopper sold in the U.K.
“But....” I here you shout, “But who were "Sturmey and Archer"?
A Mister Frank Bowden pioneered Raleigh Cycles. He bought the founding company at the turn of the century, and gave it the cash (and brain) injection it needed to become the largest cycle company of the 20th century.
Master Bowden was a cyclist.... his legs ached on hills just like most early cyclists, and he realised that gears were required on modern bicycles.
He bought Raleigh in 1888, and by 1902 was on his way to producing the 3 speed gear hub.
In 1902 he dug out two inventors, Schoolmaster Henry Sturmey, and engineer James Archer.
Both these guys had invented three speed hubs - Bowden’s brilliant idea was to put them together in a workshop and lock them in until they invented the Sturmey Archer we all know and love.
Patents soon flowed out of this workshop - history doesn’t record if it was at the Raleigh Factory or not - and soon the ‘Three-Speed Syndicate Limited of Nottingham’ was in production of three speed rear hubs.
I suppose the fact that the company had ‘…of Nottingham’ in its name is a fair indication of the factory connection. That name was a tad long, also they needed a name short enough to be stamped on a three speed hub, so the name smartly changed to "Sturmey Archer Gears Limited" still too long for the rear hub, so they settled on plain "Sturmey Archer”.
1905 to 1908 saw our heroes rarely absent from their inventing shed and by the outbreak of World War One they were producing motorcycle gearboxes for the army.
The next few years are of no interest to us, it’s the invention of the A.W. gears we’re interested in!
1936 Saw the invention of the A.W. 3 speed gear set, that remained in production until the 1990s.
For the uninitiated, the AWT lettering on the side of the Raleigh Chopper MK1 gear console simply means A.W.Three.

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