Adolphe Clément-Bayard

Early life

Gustave Adolphe Clément, the son of a grocer, was born at rue du Bourg in Pierrefonds, Oise. He was the second of five children of Leopold Adolphus Clément and Julie Alexandrine Rousselle. His mother died when he was seven years old, and his father remarried but died two years later, when he was nine years old. For the next seven years, he was raised by his stepmother, who had remarried a school teacher. He studied at the primary school in Pierrefonds and then at the college of Villers-Cotterêts. At the age of 13, he began working in the family business by delivering groceries and later chose to apprentice as a farrier/blacksmith.

During the winter of 1871–1872, the 16-year-old Clément left Pierrefonds to travel around France as a Compagnon du Tour de France, an organization of craftsmen and artisans dating from the Middle Ages. He had saved 30 francs (circa 100 Euros in 2006) by doing multiple jobs for three years. He subsisted in each city by working in forges owned by the Compagnons du Tour de France, shoeing horses, repairing metal and doing any kind of work. He reached Paris in 1872, followed by Orléans and Tours, where he encountered 'Truffault cycles'. This led him to acquire 2 wooden cart wheels and build an iron bicycle frame.

Cycle racing had begun in 1869 (Paris–Rouen), so in 1873, J.M.M. Truffault lent the 18-year-old Clément an iron bicycle with solid rubber tires to race in Angers. He finished 6th and was exhilarated to read his name in the newspapers.

Family life

Clément married Céleste Angèle Roguet, and they had four children – Albert, Angèle, Jeanne and Maurice. Albert died while racing at the 1907 French Grand Prix. Angèle (1880–1972) was widowed from Albert Dumont, an engineer and director at the Levallois factory. Angèle then remarried Numa Joseph Edouard "Petit" Sasias (1882–1927), a Fonctionnaire aux Affaires Etrangères, ex-Secrétaire à la Présidence du Conseil, with whom she had one son. Jeanne became divorced from Fernand Charron, a racing driver and manager of the plant at Levallois-Perret, subsequently living alone. Maurice married Renée Hammond and had three children – Andrée, Jacqueline and Albert (nicknamed 'Billy' to avoid confusion and memories of his uncle Albert).

The Domaine du Bois d'Aucourt in Pierrefonds was originally a 17th-century hunting lodge of the 'Sun King' Louis XIV, which had been upgraded circa 1822. Located 1.5 kilometres (0.93 mi) west of both the Château de Pierrefonds and his own birthplace on the rue du Bourg, Clément bought the property around 1904 and employed architect Edward Redont to renovate and remodel it. Latterly, the Domaine du Bois d'Aucourt was used by his son Maurice, while Clément continued living at 35 Avenue du Bois de Boulogne, Neuilly-sur-Seine.

Later life

By 1893, Clément owned the Vélodrome de la Seine near the site of the factory at Levallois-Perret. La plus belle et la plus vite piste du monde". It was managed by Tristan Bernard, who also managed the Vélodrome Buffalo, and its events were an integral part of Parisian life, being regularly attended by personalities such as Toulouse-Lautrec. Clément reportedly sold or converted this around 1900.

On achieving business success, he used the Latinate format of his name ('Gustavus Adolphus'), and he received permission from the Conseil d'État in 1909 to change his surname to 'Clément-Bayard'.

The death of his son Albert while racing at the 1907 French Grand Prix had a lasting effect on him. In 1913, he was elected as mayor of Pierrefonds and, on taking office, he ceded control of the Clément-Bayard company in 1914 to his son Maurice, who was passionate about aviation.

In 1928, he died of a heart attack while driving along the rue Laffitte to a meeting of a board of directors in Paris.