A product of the late 1940 and 1950s, the Warwick 3.5" x 18" gap bed, backgeared screwcutting lathe, was made by the Victa Engineering of Maidenhead, Berkshire, England. The same company was also responsible for early versions of the Centec milling machine and a range of Hobson lathes. Later, having moved to Pool in Dorset, they also made the Eagle surface grinder, a model originally manufactured by Dronsfield Brother, makers of Marlow milling machines.
For its age, the Warwick lathe exuded a rather old-fashioned air, with simple, pre-war style headstock bearings of split bronze carried in largely unbraced housings and a V-edged bed with a graceful curve joining its two mounting feet. The lathe was supplied, as standard, without a countershaft but, for a substantial 85% extra, a fully motorised version was also offered, ready to run with a robust 3-speed countershaft built onto the back of the lathe bed. The customer could choose either a flat or V-belt drive to the three-speed, 0.5" bore spindle but, whilst the motor belt was guarded, that to the headstock was without any sort of protection. The backgears, continuing the classic theme, were covered with rudimentary cast-iron or cast-aluminium strips instead of being more safely hidden, as they could so easily have been, under a housing integrated with a spindle-belt guard.
The cross slide carried two transverse T slots (rather on the lines of the early 1940s Myford "4-inch Precision") - with the top slide carrying two T slots as well; if the top slide micrometer dial was very much too small that fitted to the cross slide was unusually large. The tailstock was very much along the lines of that used on a Myford ML7 with a hollow No. 2 Morse taper barrel passing through the handwheel; unfortunately, instead of a proper pinch clamp, the barrel was locked by closing down a long slot in the casting.
Tumble reverse was fitted as standard and included with each new machine was a set of ten changewheels, a faceplate, driving plate, a spare chuck backplate and two centres. The basic price did not include a countershaft - that was an extra £5 - or an electric motor.  Marketed as both the "Warwick de-luxe" (shown below) and the "Warwick Model Maker", the latter was an economy version that lacked covers over the backgears and change wheels, was bereft of compound slide rest micrometer dials and had no spare chuck backplate or screwcutting chart. The toolpost was a simple triangular clamp type (similar to Myfords of the time) and, although the topslide still had tee slots they were at the right, not left-hand end. The economy model was advertised at £28 compared to the De-lux at £33 : 15s : 0d.  However, fully powered with countershaft and electric motor (Modelmaker 0.25 h.p., the De-lux 0.33 h.p.) this rose to £39 and £45 respectively. Amazingly, even in the 1950s, treadle versions were still available at £44 and £52 - possibly the last metal-turning lathes ever to be so offered. Model types listed included: M.M.A. bench lathe for drive by a separate countershaft; MMB bench lathe with motor-drive (countershaft) attachment; M.M.D. stand-mounted complete with drive system and M.M.E.  with stand and treadle drive.
In the late 1940s and early 1950s a new Myford lathe was not always easy to obtain, with delivery times stretching as long as two years; the Warwick however, although an inferior machine, was a little cheaper and invariably advertised as being available "from stock" - and no doubt many potential Myford customers, frustrated at the long delays, plumped for bread today, instead of  jam tomorrow.
If anyone has a Warwick lathe, or knowledge of the Victa Company, the writer would be very interested to hear from them.