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King's Motors (Oxford) Ltd, 770 Chester Road, Stretford, Manchester A while back I found this old paperwork, still in its original envelope, sent by King's of Oxford Limited. The dealership featured here, despite the Oxford connection, was in fact their north-western showroom, situated on Chester Rd in Stretford. It was posted to a Mr. Mattok, who lived in nearby Salford. Evidently Mr. M had purchased a car from King's Motors in the past, and was being contacted again to see if he'd be interested in part-exchanging his existing car for a brand new, shiny, Austin motorcar. Added in, an interesting story about the Managing Director of King's, and a certain motorcycle racer by the name of Mike Hailwood. | ||
The courteous letter from a Mr Hedderly, General Manager at this Austin dealer, dated July 1966, went as follows: "Dear Sir, CAN YOU HELP US? As you know, we have always an unbeatable selection of motorcycles, scooters, three-wheelers, cars and light vans, but the ever-increasing demands made upon us for firstclass used models is such that we must have more and more models. If, therefore, you are considering part exchanging your present machine, you can be assured of a really tip-top offer. We are, as you know, Official Dealers for the new AUSTIN range of very popular family cars, and always have in stock all the Mini saloons and vans, the A35 van and A40 cars, the luxuriously appointed 1100, A60 and 1800 saloons and, as always, the best makes of scooters, motorcycles etc. In addition, we always have a large selection of new and nearly new saloons and vans available for immediate delivery. We can, therefore, offer you EVERY possible facility where personal and family transport are concerned. The enclosed voucher expresses our appreciation of your past valued business, which we would naturally like to retain, and I shall go out of my way to do everything possible to please you and to ensure your full satisfaction should you honour us with your further business. Whether or not you are contemplating a further transaction immediately, I would be grateful if you would be good enough to complete the reverse of this letter and return it to me in the enclosed reply-paid envelope. I look forward to hearing from you. Yours Faithfully, KING'S OF MANCHESTER C.F. Hedderly General Manager." | ||
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This letter was sent 13th July 1966 to Mr Mattok, but it would seem he was in no mood to change his present 'machine' (car or motorcycle I wonder?), as he never did fill out the brief form on the reverse of this letter, or send it back in the supplied pre-paid envelope. Which is good news, because it means this tiny little chunk of motor history, from the 1960s, is preserved in its entirety. As already mentioned in the letter above, a voucher was enclosed, to try and woo the client into considering a new Austin car. It was aimed at keeping a previous customer, and offered the following handy reductions: £5 upon the purchase of a new or used vehicle costing not less than £100, or £7 upon the purchase of a new or used motorcycle, three wheeler or car costing not less than £200, or £10 upon the purchase of a new or used motorcycle, three wheeler or car costing not less than £400. For some reason, the customer's name was never filled out on the voucher - "The above named holder of this token shall have the benefit of every facility available at any King's Branch and the part-exchange value of his present vehicle shall be increased as indicated against the purchase of any other new or used motorcycle, three-wheeler or car from our stock". No "Valid until...." date has been added either. I wonder if the pre-paid envelope would still get through the Royal Mail ok now? doubt it. Curiously the franked envelope has the old 3D (3 pence) franking, that featured 'GR', or George Regina (the former King), whereas Queen Elizabeth II had been on the throne since the 50s. Did King's Motors (Oxford) Ltd keep their old franking to maintain their name's association with a male Royal? A quick perusal of the worldwide web suggests that King's (Manchester) is still at 770 Chester Road, Stretford. A couple of websites advise that King's now sell Chrysler and Jeep vehicles, as opposed to Austins of England, whereas other online directories suggest that the site is now used by Bentley Manchester (see www.bentleymanchester.com), which looks more likely. A quick look at the Bentley Manchester website shows a stylish showroom that could well date back to the 1930s, judging by the style of the building, so maybe the directories suggesting a Chrysler-Jeep dealership at this location are out of date now? if anyone can clarify this, I'd appreciate it thanks. | ||
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King's of Oxford, and Mike Hailwood! 'Uncle Joe' dropped me a line, after reading this page, with an interesting little story that relates to this dealership, and a certain motorcycle racing legend ... "One day, a short time after the First World War, a young boy was playing at his home in Leigh, Lancashire when he fell on a knitting needle that his sister was using. This needle broke off in his knee. In those days, such a simple accident could be very dangerous. At hospital, the Doctors wanted to amputate due to the risk of gangrene. But the father, a miner said “If my son is going to die, I´d sooner he died with his leg on.” The boy lay on his back for two years. In spite of the fact that he was now a cripple, he never allowed the gammy leg to interfere with anything he wanted to do. One day in 1924, the boy, now 21 saw an advertisement in a motorcycle magazine. A certain Mr. King of Oxford wanted a motorcycle mechanic. He applied for the job, and got an interview. The twenties were a time of depression, and a mining family simply did not have the money to pay for a fare from Manchester to Oxford. So, the get there, the boy limped the 200 or so miles. Upon this boys arrival at the interview, the only thing that Mr. King saw was a cripple. “I´m sorry,” he said “we cant hire a cripple.” But the boy had character. He had already shown this in the way he had travelled to Oxford. So he said “Do you see those blokes loading motorbikes onto that lorry? I can do anything that they can do!” And with that, started lifting the bikes. He got a months trial, that finally ended 38 years later, when Doctors insisted that he retired! The man that had placed the advertisement was Howard King. When he had returned from the Great War, his father had given him enough money to start a motorcycle business. He didn´t know how they worked, he didn´t have to. But he knew how to sell them. He started a very early type of mail order business, and credit system, which enabled people to buy the machines. At first, the boy started buying in cheap motorcycles, which he repaired. These were then resold, and the boy received a small payment for each one. Soon, more expensive bikes were bought, repaired, and sold on. Making even more profit. Later, the boy was selling new bikes on commission. The boy would take chances. In leaner times, he would buy in huge quantities at ridiculously low prices. When times improved, he would then sell them off, making even more profit. Branches were opened, in such places as Glasgow, Manchester. Eventually, there were 50 branches in 21 towns and cities. Monthly sales were in excess of 1000 motorcycles. This made it the biggest in the UK. Later, they started selling cars. Over the years, the boys position with the Company grew. He became a Salesman, later, Sales Manager. And finally, Managing Director. In the process, he also became a rich man, with a personal fortune of over £1,000,000. This may not mean much nowadays, but remember this. The price of a bottle of whisky in 1939 was the same as it was in 1919. In other words, there was no inflation In April, 1940, this boy, now a man, had a son. In 1957, the son raced at Oulton Park in Cheshire for the first time. Riding an overjetted, overgeared motorcycle, the son finished in eleventh place. This was the start of one of the worlds most famous motorcycle racing careers. The sons Christian names were Stanley Michael Bailey. The fathers, Stanley William Bailey. To many people of today, these names mean nothing until the surname is added. For the surname is Hailwood - Mike "The Bike" Hailwood no less." | ||
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