The Alldays & Onions Pneumatic Engineering Co. of Birmingham, was a company founded in 1889 by the merger of the long established Onions( The company was founded by a family of craftsmen named Onions who manufactured bellows in their shed in the shadow of Dudley Castle. This was in 1650, during the reign of King James the First.) and William Allday & Co. (formed by William Allday in 1720) engineering companies.

Cycles were made under the name ‘Alldays Cycles.’ They started making cars in Birmingham in 1898, and motorcycles in 1903 at their Great Western Works. When WW1 ended the company produced the Enfield-Alldays series LC, but in due course vehicle production ceased and the company looked to different products for survival.

After World War II, with changing market requirements, Alldays & Onions Ltd establish itself as a market leader in the manufacture of centrifugal fans expanding into the field of dust collecting and chemical engineering. In 1969 the company merged with rival fan company J.C.Peacock forming Alldays Peacock & Co Ltd and in the 1980s the company expanded its factory in Weston-Super-Mare in Somerset and began selling abroad. In 2005 Alldays Peacock was purchased by the world’s leading fan-maker, the German-based Witt Group and became part of Witt UK; manufacturing moved to Halifax, West Yorkshire.

Though they no longer make bicycles, it’s refreshing to see that this manufacturing company has survived, with various mergers and changes, for around 360 years.

They became known for their engineering and blacksmithing equipment .By 1770 the company had established a virtual monopoly in and around Birmingham, the company soon began manufacturing portable forges in addition to bellows. During the 19th century the company was appointed bellow makers to her Majesty’s ordinance and increased production, supplying forges and bellows to the new British colonies abroad,later becoming a manufacturer of motor lorries, cars and vans, cycles and motorcycles, complete outfits for foundries and workshops, hammers, fans, hearthes, forges, cranes, pulley blocks, etc.. Bicycle manufacture sold under the Alldays name. In 1898, the company produced its first car, the Travell a quadricycle made in private and commercial forms, steered by a wheel. It had an unsprung rear end, power generated by a 4 hp De Dion single-cylinder motor. However, series production did not start until 1903/4 with the 7 hp model. Larger commercial vehicles of up to 5 tons were also made in the years preceding the first World War and saw service during the conflict.

The company hit commercial success with the 1.6-litre, vertical-twin side-valve 10/12, which was made from 1905 to 1913. It was popular with commercial drivers and did well in period formula events and hill-climbs. A 16 hp 4-cylinder joined the lineup in 1906, and in 1908, the Enfield Autocar Co. was acquired. Shortly afterward, the range was rationalized, with most models being sold under both brand-names. The Alldays contribution to the equation was the well-established twin- and four-cylinders that put out 14 and 20 hp, always shaft-driven. A 30/35 hp six-cylinder was listed from 1911 to 1914, compressed-air starters being optional in 1911. In 1913, the 990 cc V-twin Midget cyclecar was introduced, featuring air cooling and shaft drive, selling at ₤138.10s. An 1100 cc 4-cylinder version with a bullnose radiator appeared in 1914, popular at the price of ₤175. Pair-cast side-valve four-cylinders rated at 12/14, 16/20, and 25/30 hp filled out the immediate pre-war offerings.

In 1908 Alldays & Onions merged with the short lived Enfield Autocar Company which had been formed to take over the car making interests of the Enfield Cycle Company. They produced cars called Enfield-Allday until 1925

They also started making motorcycles in 1903 under the Alldays-Matchless name; these had no connection with the London-based Matchless company, and in 1915 presumably following representations from them, the name was changed to Allon. Manufacture of these continued until 1927.

Alldays and Onions was the oldest engineering business in Britain, commencing in 1625. Although it made a bewildering variety of products from humble bunsen burners to enormous fans, it is perhaps best remembered for its "Matchless" motorbikes and its cars, tractors, buses, trollybuses and cycles. Today the company no longer has its base in Birmingham, but its worthy successor, Alldays, Peacock & Co Ltd. continues to make fans in Weston-Super-Mare.