John Wallace was born in 1896 and attended grammar school. Although he had no formal training as an engineer, he became determined to become one after seeing a motorcycle exhibition in 1911. Wallace decided to build a motorcycle - he bought a set of un-machined engine castings for £2 10 shillings, and proceeded to equip a workshop in his father's garden. He then began to teach himself to use the machinery, but soon realised that machining the castings was beyond his means and ability. He bought a frame and wheels from a local cycle maker and a secondhand engine and produced a motorcycle - which he promptly sold.
After John left school early in 1912, his father wanted him to join the family firm of clothing producers, but John instead obtained an apprenticeship with the Matchless firm, Collier & Sons. After an accident at the factory John's father put a stop to his employment with the Collier's. The pill was sweetened by his father buying him and his brother a pair of TT Rudges. They both swiftly joined the British Motor Cycle Racing Club and began a racing career at Brooklands. However things did not go well and John's Rudge was damaged beyond repair.
Early in 1913 he started as an experimental department test rider for J.A. Prestwich of which testing at Brooklands was required until the firm became aware of his age (17yo) and promptly sacked him. Wallace then spent the rest of the time up until the end of 1914 studying engineering and training to become a draftsman. With the onset of war Wallace decided that there would be little demand for motorcycles, so he took a job at Scottish car makers Arrol-Johnston as an aero-engine designer. This employment too was short-lived, ending in mid 1915. However, the experience gained was enough to land him a job with the design team at Westland Aircraft Company (Petters Ltd) which was to last until the end of the war.
In late 1918 Wallace began to design a high performance motorcycle engine. He advertised his design in 'The Aeroplane' to any firm wishing to diversify after their war contracts had ended. Portable Tool & Engineering Company of Enfield were impressed enough to take on Wallace as Chief Designer. The initial plan was to sell engines to other motorcycle manufacturers, and by September 1919 the first engine was ready for trials - it was 88.9mm x 76.2, giving a capacity of 475cc.
It was at this point that Wallace's friendship was renewed with Bert le Vack, with whom he worked for the duration of the war at Arrol-Johnston. Bert's experience with assembling and testing aero engines would be ideal for the fledgling company, so his services were secured for a modest salary. Le Vack proved to be a valuable asset, with his ability to produce wonderful results from ill-fitting components. Bert was quickly put to good use - he built the first prototype engine and got it running satisfactorily. He then built a second engine and fitted it into a complete motorcycle. This machine was used by Le Vack in competition and in demonstrations to the trade & public.
The combination of Wallace's design skills and Le Vack's development & riding skills produced an excellent machine. It was christened the 'Ace', then became the 'Buzmo', before ending up as the 'Duzmo' in 1920, by which time Le Vack had become well known in the racing scene.
The success initially produced an order book far greater than production could cope with and also bought Le Vack to the attention of much larger and wealthier organisations. By 1922 Le Vack was on his way to J.A. Prestwich in a deal that Wallace could not complete with.
The initial concept of selling engines was soon superseded as a result of the vast majority of orders being for Le Vack replicas. It was decided the way forward would be to float the company, so the order book could be fulfilled. However the Portable Tool directors failed to do so and decided to wind up the company.
This hit Wallace hard, but the blow was softened by one of the directors. He suggested that Wallace should take over the company and the money was made available by the same director. The loan was to be repaid from future profits. Wallace agreed and from then on the Duzmo machines were built by the new company trading under the name of John Wallace.
The production Duzmo from 1920 was belt drive with an engine of 496cc. The engines were produced under contract by The Advance Motor Manufacturing Co. of Northampton, who drew on their own pre 1912 engine production experience.
The machine developed through 1921, and 1922 saw the introduction of a Sturmey Archer gearbox and all chain drive. A pair of 496cc top-ends were used to produce a 992cc V twin which was fitted with a sidecar and took part in the Brooklands 200 mile sidecar race.
This was to be one of the last races by Le Vack for Duzmo, after which Wallace took over the role. However Wallace's talent as a designer did not spill over into being a mechanic and rider. As hard as he might try he could not match the achievements of Le Vack.
The lack of track success and the decline in the economy contributed towards orders drying up in 1922.
For 1923 Wallace designed his last Duzmo. It featured an inclined engine, 'banana' tank and a low seating position. Only one of these was built before the Wallace firm became insolvent. The remaining stock was sold to D.J. Sheppards who attempted to remarket the Duzmo, but it is not thought any motorcycles were sold.
Wallace never worked in the motorcycle industry again, but he designed a rather brilliant overhead cam single which did not make it past the drawing board. He also designed a straight-eight two stroke and a seven cylinder radial aero engine.
He went on to write papers on the phenomenon of 'wheel wobble' and lectured on the use of multi-cylinder engines in motorcycles. Finally Wallace designed a small tandem cycle-car, which was narrow enough to go through a standard doorway. None of these projects attracted backers, but by then he was a design draughtsman at D. Napier & Sons (of aero engine fame). By his retirement in the sixties he was chief test plant engineer.
P.J. John Wallace died in 1983 aged 87.
Primary source: Nick Harrison, who first published the article on oakingtonplane.co.uk in September 2007.
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