I was given some old Veteran Cycle Club magazines yesterday No 334 Dec 2009/Jan 2010 to be precise. On page 35 a reader has posted two images of his Hercules for identification.
"Elegant,rapid taper seat and chain stays, Nervex Professional lugs and Simplex ends.". " The frame number is marked on the bottom bracket and twice on the steerer tube."
The seral number is a four figure number, there is also a different number on the seat tube cluster. The rear brake bridge is curved.
The reader bought the bike second hand in 1962 so it could possibly from the 50's.
I read somewhere else that Holdsworth were using four figure numbers in the 40's.
So along with Holdsworth and Claud Butler, Hercules could be a possibility.
) but hadn't spotted the significance of the frame number. I'm beginning to think that my frame might be a Cordon Bleu too, problem is they made it for so many years (about eleven I think) that it changed gradually so an early one might have semi-wrapover seat stays while the later ones probably didn't. Notice I keep writing "probably" and "might" cos I'm still not sure. I looked at the bike in the retrobike thread and thought "my saddle's the same as that one" - and then realised that if it's a Cordon Bleu then it's a frameset not a fully-built bike 
