Austin Seven "Chummy" .
Jeremy kindly agreed to this vintage motoring photo being shown on the site, it shows his Great Uncle Harry in August 1930, sat in a two-seater Austin 7 'Chummy' tourer.
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He adds: "My Great Aunt and Uncle (and their peers) lived most of their lives in E7, East London. He worked in the Royal Docks and received a commendation for an act of bravery there during the blitz. They used to enjoy going out for drives in the countryside. My Uncle was not very adventurous and would not go far, much to my Aunt's annoyance. He always had a full toolkit with him, just in case, and would never drive in the rain, dark or snow."
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"This could well be Essex, possibly out towards Southend way, or out towards Pinner in Middlesex as they had relatives out that way. But really that is just speculation. In later life he drove Morris Minors but still wouldn't go far. When he died (late seventies, from what I recall) his Minor (black with red
leather that smelled fantastic) was nearly ten years old and only had a few thousand on the clock. How I would have loved that car, but my Aunt sold it".
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The Austin 7 tourer.
The Austin 7 was introduced in 1922, and until 1926 was available in just the one style - a basic two-door two-seater tourer, as seen here. Only then was a saloon version of the Austin 7 offered. The tourer, which evolved through a number of different factory model names as the design changed, soon became known as the Chummy, and this unofficial name stuck. The first cars were the AB Family Model tourers, which in 1924 were replaced by the updated AC series. In 1926 the AD came along, with a curvier scuttle and lower screen curved to suit. In 1928 a nickel-plated radiator shell became standard fitment, which in 1929 was replaced by chrome. The new AE also had a slightly larger body than the previous model, and headlamps mounted on the front wings. The Austin 7 shown above has a painted rad surround, so is probably an early/mid production AD series tourer. Note how the headlamps were still fitted to the scuttle at this time, rather than ahead of the radiator as on later cars.
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A PC screensaver featuring several early photos of pre-war Austin 7s can be downloaded f.o.c. here.
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Return to Old Vehicle Photos Page 8.
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