Don Wilson who raised this question will find some part explanation in the Hetchins pages of the main Classicrendezvous site. Open up the site and scroll down to the last entry - "Historic Hetchins" (or something like that). Open this up and look among the Contents for the item on Manufacturing Methods/ History or the like. Listed in the contents of that section is an interview with ken Janes who worked for Hetchins cutting lugs, and bi-laminate plates used for Harry Rensch at Paris Cycles. At the moment there is discussion on the List of a large Rensch "Champion du Monde" frame that Hilary is currently offering for sale on Ebay. It is more tha likely that Ken cut out its "fancy lugs".
Ken refers to the Latin series names in that interview and alludes to how they developed. I had the good luck to have a number of long conversations with Ken last year when he was in the process, at the age of about 83, of cutting his last set of bi-lams, before packing up the job for good.
We discussed the origin of the names and I re call him stating much of what is written in the interview, but he added that Hyman Hetchins, ever wanting to get a edge on his competitors - bear in mind that some of the top names in UK frame building at that time were all clustered around in a small area of London - simply went up the local library, turned to the back of one of the English dictionaries - it was standard practice to have well-known phrases in foreign languages at the end of the dictionary - and plucked out the most impressive sounding Latin ones. Magnum Bonum is followed by Magnum Opus in most dictionaries, and all Hetchins' other model names are listed as well It was proabably just a matter of Hyman running his finger down the columns, and the work of half an hour or so, has taken Hetchins' name into posterity. .I understand that he rejected the name "Tria Juncta in Uno" for his Trio model, and was not impressed by the idea of a "Caveat Emptor" model, for a cheaper low-end frame. Just imagine if Alf had continued the trend he might have ended up with the ever popular Quo Vadis.
It should also be remembered that in those days, the 30s and the 40s just about every town or city in the UK had an official Coat of Arms, emblazoned upon which were scrolls announcing "Arte et Labore", "Per Ardua", "Deus Impigros Iuvat" , "Labore et Honore" etc etc., and that very many cycle frame builders incorporated, as did Hetchins, that coat of arms in their headbadges. One of the most popular bike models of the 1950s was the "Vox Populi" model produced by Phillips.
When I finally get around to building more bike frames., instead of houses....possibly a small workshop in France.. I intend to christen them all with worthy Latin names, and to this end I think that I might just register the following model names, to prevent anyone else using them:- Sine Qua Non, Sui Generis, VanitasVanitatum, (for my version of the Magnum Opus), Vade Retro, Multum in Parce, Semper Fidelis, Utile Dulci, Primus inter Pares, and the Nota Bene. All of them in the dictionary and it only took ten minutes to give my bikes eternal renown.
Once in the early 80s when I had taken on too many framebuilding orders one customer became very stroppy at the extended delay in the delivery of his frame. When I explained that his frame would be the first of a newly-to-be -introduced and rare range, the Festina Lente, he very quickly acquiesced. I have since taken to using this name for any project on which I spend far too much time and make far too little progress..so much so that one of my former shops that I have almost finished converting into a two-bedroomed house..the fruit of almost nine years of intermittent work when time permitted..will almost certainly be called Festina Lente, although it might be more appropriate to name it Caveat Emptor.
Noris Lockley ..with my tongue firmly in my cheek..Settle UK