V-E-V Odds & Ends, March 1985

The Sunbeam MCC’s 48th Pioneer Run for veteran motorcycles takes place on March 24th, from Epsom Downs to Brighton. Entries have closed. The VMCC has its Racing Section dinner and dance at the Allesley Hotel, Coventry, on February 16th, and the Herefordshire Section its 1st Bromyard -Bangor Run on May 4th/5th. We regret to learn of the deaths of two famous motorcyclists — historian Erwin Tragatsch and Sunbeam rider Eddie Flintoff, who was Still riding the Sunbeam he bought new in 1921 in recent competition events. The Bean CC holds its annual Daffodil Run for Pre-war cars on April 14th, from Knowle Hill, Berkshire to Bournemouth. SAE for entry forms to R. K. Hickling, 22 Cranbourne Close, Slough, Bucks. The January issue of The Driving Member, magazine of the Daimler & Lanchester OC, carried pictures and stories of the great Move of Daimler spares from Mason’s yard in Edmonton to the store of these valuable spare parts. Pre-war Austins seem to thrive in family ownership. For example, newspaper reports in the current issue of the Austin Ten DC magazine mention an Austin Carlton saloon de luxe which was first registered in Derby in May 1934, later taken over by the owner’s son, but laid up in 1956. A grandson has now restored it to celebrate the car’s 50th birthday. The other report concerns a 1934 10/4 Lichfield saloon which the original family is still using, at a mileage coming up to 155,000, although the son who took it over in 1960 had to have the engine rebored last year, and at one time a broken front spring had to be repaired with a leaf from an A40, suitably modified. Incidentally, the original handbook quotes a new pair of brake linings at the equivalent of 17½p but the last pair required cost 34p.

The Croydon Airport Society is engaged with the Guardian Royal Exchange Group in their £3-million scheme to restore the original Croydon Airport Terminal Building and Control Tower to provide a museum of aviation history, Croydon Council having given permission for the demolition of “B” hangar and the old Air France hangar having been destroyed by fire. The membership secretary is Mike Marshall (01-643 5013). We wish the project well but cannot help thinking what a help £3 million might have been to the preservation of Brooklands. Through a mention in Motor Sport a member of the 12/50 Alvis Register has made contact with Mrs Vera Boote whose late husband Richard, after commencing in 1924 with a BleriotWhippet, had many Alvis cars and drove these and an A7, 2-litre Lagonda, and a Brooklands Riley 9 at Brooklands and in MCC and other trials with considerable success in the 1920s and 1930s, and had owned the Silver Eagle Alvis about which this reader was enquiring.

The Veteran CC’s AGM takes place on March 30th, at the RAC in Pall Mall, SW1. Among the prizes to be awarded, and the list is too long to mention them all, are the Lord Trophy to J. E. Tanner (1900 Daimler 1904 Berliet), the Sears Trophy to E. Everard F. Parkinson (1914 Ford), the Single-Cylinder Trophy to R. Pickard (1905 De Dion Bouton), the H. 0. Duncan Cup to F. Parkinson (1900 Peugeot), the S. F. Edge Cup to Mrs Mieczkowski 11911 Rover), the Shuttleworth Trophy to Mr Long, the AA Cup to Mr Eastmead, the Lanchester Trophy to J. Zimbler (1910 Lanchester), the Coal-Scuttle Trophy to R. Phillips (1911 Renault), the Napier Award to J. Bahnford (1914 Napier), the National Benzoic Trophy to Mr Scholes, the Blake Memorial Trophy to T. C. Moore (1899 Panhard) and the Overseas Trophy to S. Halsall (1898 Panhard), etc, etc. Pendine Council had intended to hold a rally at the Beach Hotel, by Pendine sands, to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the birth of J. G. Parry Thomas, who was killed at Pendine while driving “Babs” on a LSR attempt there in 1927. They now find that this date came up in 1984, but they are going ahead all the same, if a year late) “Bobs” will not be present but other vintage cars are welcome, for hospitality put on by the Brewers, on Easter Saturday April 6th, and Weybrige Museum have promised films and photographs appertaining to Thomas’ activities. An sae to J. D. A. Thomas, Tirdail, Nantgaridig, Carms, S. Wales will bring details.

The turn-out for the VSCC assembly near Ledbury on New Year’s Day was really remarkable, considering that it was just a local get-together organised by Mark Garfitt, who of course came in his Frazer Nash-BMW 319/55. Almost every desirable kind of vintage car seemed to be present on this cold but bright day, in the yard of the Verzon’s Inn, whose proprietor had contributed a bottle-of-bubbly for the car coming the greatest distance, which turned out to be G. Stephens’ 4½-litre M45 Lagonda, from Neath, some 120 miles away. Mostly the assembled vintagery was in fine and presentable order. Morgan three-wheelers abounded, six in all, which cannot be just because Malvern is not far distant, and you could compare them with a modern tribe, in the guise of the very smart and professional-looking Buckland. Most kinds of A7, several different types of MG including a blown 3.4, 12/50 Alvises, many Frazer Nashes, an OM, Monica Gray’s ON were present and Light-15 Daimler rubbed shoulders with a Model-A Ford. Or, for contrast, how about the 1909 Renault twin and a Ford Eight open tourer?

Add an AC Ace, two Armstrong Siddeleys, Alvis Speed 25 and Firefly, two 3-litre Bentleys, a 30(98 Vauxhall two-seater, five Rolls-Royces, all of different types, a GP Salmson, a couple of Humbers, a nice bullno. Morris tourer, a smart 14/40 Delage, 3½ and 4½ Derby Bentleys, a bevy of Rileys from Monaco to Sprite, a Mk II Aston Martin and a few I must have overlooked, plus some vintage motorcycles, with Moffatt arriving in his stripped Type 35T Bugatti and Roger Collings departing, to London, in his stripped-for-racing 60 Mercedes while his family departed in their Speed Six Bentley, and surely this augurs well for vintage motoring in 1985?— W.B.