Debenham Sisters
Betty and Nancy Debenham, with their dog, Poncho, were keen motorcyclists. Nancy won a Gold Medal at Brooklands in 1926.
The Debenham Sisters
Established in 1899 in Feldbach, near Rapperswil, the firm produced their first prototypes in 1902.
In 1918 the company was sold and became "Electrische Fahrzeuge AG" (EFAG), moving to Altstetten, in Zurich. Electric 3-wheelers were built from 1918 to 1920 and these proved very popular, in particular with the post office which bought a large number. Many of these remained in service into the 1940s. The surviving logbook of one such Post-Fourgon covered a total of 393,339 km during thirty years of service - a distance the equivalent of circumnavigating the earth ten times!
They also built electic single-seater tricycle wheelchairs, "Elektrischer Rollstuhl", and a large variety of commercial and private four-wheelers. Some of the cars were luxury models named Nautilus.
Examples of the marque have been displayed at the Museum of Transport in Lucerne.
Sources: 3-wheelers.com, uetikermuseum.ch, Autopasion18.com, et al.
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