ABSTRACT
In 1909, The Times newspaper reported that it was rare for a workman in Coventry 'to be distant from the scene of his daily labours more than a ten minutes' walk', yet over the year preceding publication of the Directory of Coventry Manufacturers 1939-40 more than 50 million passenger journeys were made in the city. In 1936 Coventry stood in overall first place on the Home Market national indices of purchasing power and levels of owner-occupation were high in a city whose demographic characteristics were skewed towards the young, the male, and the artisanal classes. When Ronald Fearnley took up his position as Transport Engineer for Coventry Corporation in April of that same year he was nine years into a career which would see him rise to President of the Municipal Passenger Transport, as well as being a member of the original Council and Executive Committee of the Motor Industry Research Association.
