INTRODUCTION

Why write a history about a Motorcycle shop?

Well this is no ordinary motorcycle shop.

How did I get involved with Millard & Co?

Well when I was fourteen all I ever wanted was to be a cabinetmaker, until I was given the chance to escape from school by becoming a motorcycle mechanic.

Why is Millard & Co so special?

Well look through our history section and see for yourself.

Millards were making the famous Pacer cycles in the UK in the 1890's. They were around at the very dawn of Motorcycling. They have survived longer than all the original British motorcycles, including the might of the BSA Empire. They were in the middle of a world war on an island occupied by the German forces. The Company suffered but survived. They have survived longer than any other motorcycle shop in the Channel Islands, and the company is still fighting fit at the start of this new millennium. Above all it has always been and still is run by members of the Millard family. But on top of all this there have been so many characters who have worked at Millards over the years, with so many tales that could be told that it is now time to put them on record or they will be lost forever.

This is not a story but a collection of facts, plus tales and remembrances from some of the characters who have worked at Millards or in the bike trade over many years. Times have changed so much, but I will you give an example. On my first day at Millards at the age of fourteen and a half, I was so short I was provided with a wooden box on which to stand and reach the workbench. I spent all that first day lapping in the valves of a Sunbeam S8. The machine had come up from Alderney for a full overhaul. I spent a full week working with Alan Lowe the foreman on this machine. After it was in full mechanical order and he was satisfied that every part of the machine was in tip top condition, we spent a further day giving it a good clean and polish until it gleamed as a complimentary part of the service. We were proud of the job we had just done and what was an extra day's labour to the satisfaction of a job well done. Well in those days when I started I was paid £2 and 5s a week and my apprenticeship lasted 5 years plus two as an improver before getting full pay of £11. Yes times have changed but Millard & Co have adapted and survived.