Wal Handley

Walter Leslie Handley , (April 5, 1902 - November 15, 1941), was born in Aston, Birmingham, and was a famous British Inter-War motorcycle racer with four wins at the Isle of Man TT Races in his career.

Later he also raced cars in the 1930's, and died during World War II in an aircraft accident while serving as pilot with the Air Transport Auxiliary.

• Wal Handley, who was one of the best riders and tuners of the times, guided the Rex-Acme company in its racing exploits from 1924 to 1926. He later became Works Manager at the Earlsdon factory.

• Handley's strong influence saw the arrival of a wider range of models for 1926 including a new four-stroke, with a 173cc ohv AKD engine and Albion three-speed gearbox, which replaced the previous two-stroke.

• 1927 There were good results at the TT, when Handley won the Lightweight; as well as the world one-hour record - 91.21 miles (145.94km) covered in the sixty minutes.

• By 1929 Handley had moved on.