The eldest son of William Siddeley and his wife born Elizabeth Davenport, J D Siddeley was born in Longsight, Manchester in 1866 and first worked for his father as an apprentice hosier but took night classes in draughting. In 1892, the young bicycle racer and designer was hired as a draughtsman by the Humber Cycle Company. The then managing director of Dunlop picked him out at Humber and hired Siddeley as Dunlop's Belfast sales manager. In 1900 as managing director of Dunlop's Midlands subsidiary Clipper Tyre Company he gained prominence in the motor industry by driving a 6 hp Daimler car through England's Thousand Miles Trial with marked success.Lord Kenilworth. The Times Wednesday, 4 November 1953; p. 10; Issue 52770. This followed cycling from Land's End to John o' Groats to publicise the new pneumatic tyre.BBC Radio 4, Midweek, 27 April 2011, Interview with John Randle Siddeley, 4th Baron Kenilworth
