V-to-C miscellany, September 1994, September 1994

We hear that the 70th anniversary party of the Sunbeam MCC went off splendidly, with some trials ‘bikes on the hills and a re-enactment of the first run of 1924 undertaken by Sunbeams of 1914-1928, from Richmond Park to Ripley. The riders then arrived punctually for the Brackendens’ garden party, where some 200 members greeted them and later watched some 70 machines of 1903-1930 depart for a rural run. The Hon Secretary of this longstanding club is B Staple, 18 Chieveley Drive, Tunbridge Wells, Kent TN2 5HQ.

The STD Register’s National Weekend at Attingham Park near Shrewsbury last July went off extremely well, with a good balance between Coatalen Sunbeams and Roesch Talbots amongst the 67 cars present. Two of the cars had been at the inaugural rally on the Hog’s Back, Guildford in 1950, although not now in the hands of their original owners. The distance prize was won by William Balfour who had driven his 1933 Talbot AV105 Alpine tourer down from Kelso. RM Thackrey’s 1930 Talbot 90 with fabric sports-tourer body was adjudged to be the car the Club President would most like to have gone home in. Secretary: John Kearley, Higher Binneford Farm, Yeoford, Crediton, Devon EX17 5EZ.

When I wrote last month about a colleague and I driving an E-type Jaguar over the whole English motorways network in 1962, photographing the differing kinds of bridges as we sped under them, I did not know that around 100 of those bridges are due to be demolished, to permit road widening. Another slice of our motoring past about to expire.