in 1913 the business declined, and r. t. shelley & co., the main creditors, intervened and saved it. norton motors ltd was formed shortly afterwards under joint directorship of james norton and bob shelley. shelley's brother-in-law was tuner dan o'donovan, and he managed to set a significant number of records on the norton by 1914 when the war broke out - and as competition motorcycling was largely suspended during the hosilities, these records still stood when production restarted after the war. 1914 dan o'donovan records set in april 1914 :