In 1903 the London car dealers Jarrott & Letts asked Crossley Brothers, makers of textile machinery and gas engines, to supply a British car to sell alongside their imports. The first Crossley, designed by James Critchley, was shown at Crystal Palace in February 1904, and Crossley Motors was set up as a separate company in 1906. Production began at Openshaw in Manchester and moved to Gorton in 1907.
The 20 hp model, later called the 20/25, was chosen by the War Office in 1913 for the new Royal Flying Corps, and by 1918 the RFC had more than 6,000, as staff cars, light lorries and ambulances. In 1920 the 20/25 became the first vehicle of London’s Metropolitan Police Flying Squad, and between 1924 and 1926 two Crossley trucks made the first drive from Cape Town to Cairo.
Post-war cars included the 14 hp best-seller, and in 1933 Crossley became the first British car company to offer a factory-fitted radio, but car sales declined and the last were made in 1937. The company moved into buses, and its 1930 Condor was the first British double-decker offered with a diesel engine. AEC took Crossley over in 1948, and the Errwood Park works at Heaton Chapel, Stockport, closed in 1958.
