Classic cars forum & vehicle restoration.

[Bengt Axel]

Just bought this on Ebay. according to the sellers add.....

"The actual 50th Jubilee took place on July 9th 1955 and was a massive celebration for the works.The celebrations were enhanced by the Veteran Car Club of Great Britain who were also celebrating their Silver Jubilee. Over 35,000 attended the event and special seating was erected along the
length of the roadway outside CAB 1 . After a flag hoisting ceremony, Lord Austin’s brother Harry Austin unveiled a ceremonial plaque on the
top of CAB 1. This was quickly followed by a very noisy arrival of Kenneth Horne in the 1908 100h.p. racer. Kenneth was the M.C. for the day.
There were many VIP guests from dealerships across the world, as well as ordinary workers.

There were many special presentations, including a special recognition to the 15 employees, who at that time, had worked at Austin for 46 years or more. This group included the legendary mechanic Alf Depper, and “Bobby” Howitt (personal secretary to Lord Austin).

Workers with 25 years service were presented with a specially engraved Smiths gold wrist watch."

I'd love to know more about this celebration and especially anything about the "W.A.Abbey" who recieved my watch for his long service

[james.stringer]

That certainly is a delightful collector's item and well worth hanging on to. They even produced a medallion in a pewter finish - though I am not sure who would have been the recipients. (I managed to obtain one a few years ago!). They also produced a limited number in gold, which were presented to members of the A.M.C Board. - No, I do not have one of these!!!
In 2005, we saw the Centenary of the A.M.C. and I, along with several others organised the biggest gathering of Austin-badged motor vehicles ever assembled together in the world at Coften Park - right opposite the Longbridge works. There was also a parade of one hundred 'Austins' dating from the earliest right up to the last one, which was flagged off from Birmingham Town Hall by the Mayor of Birmingham and drove to the park. We too commissioned medals such as those above in three different metal finishes, Bronze, Pewter and Gold (Yes, I have one of each of those!) The artwork for the medallion followed closely to the originals of 1955, and was drawn up by the late Aubrey Edwards who designed the original. As far as I am aware there are no 'spare' medals available, but I do have a number of lapel flags available which were manufactured by the Jacquard company for us, at just £5.00 each. If these interest you please e-mail me on james.stringer@sky.com for a picture and further information.
Cheers. Jim (Founder member of the Federation of Austin Clubs and Registers)