Classic cars forum & vehicle restoration.

[Leather Seats]

Goodness me … what a wealth of information! Very many thanks to everyone who has contributed. Also, for the tips on using the forum. This is a composite response.

All noted about the census returns … I’ve accessed these in the past and will go back and try to home in on the Three Bridges connection.

I’ve found a link to the RR Enthusiasts Club and will follow this up. Am I right in supposing that RR cars have been kept going for longer than most … this because of their rarity and construction? The coupé survived until the 1970s at least and I presume it’s still on the road. I have its number as HC8815 … “Penman” commented on this … and I agree that “8815” does seem high for a pre-war car. I cannot now remember whether this number was given to me by my late uncle or by the owners when I traced them in the 1970s. Would it have been possible for a new owner to request an HC number from Eastbourne Borough Council in the 1970s? The larger Rolls had the number FXE17 … can someone tell me where this was registered? The owners started off in Eastbourne but later moved to near Tunbridge Wells. If that Rolls is still on the road, FXE17 will no doubt have been retained. If I can trace its present owners, I’ll have a lot to tell them about the life of their car in the 1930s.

Glad to have confirmation on the Delaunay Belleville… there was one on the road in Eastbourne in the 50s …. belonged to a chap called Tony Durban … seem to recall the passenger compartment had a lot of wood in its construction.

Interesting to read the comment about the coachwork of the Buick and how it may have been bought as a chassis. Unthinkable these days. My uncle did mention that a couple of ‘his’ Rolls had the bodies made by a coach builder. As chauffeur, he had to go up north to the coach builder to be measured. When did this practice go out, I wonder?

Regarding the Standard with Mr Peacock at the side. Now that I look carefully, I can make out a miniature Union Flag on the bonnet. I remember a lot of Standards in the 50s and 60s … they all had that emblem, but more often on two sides of a flute on the bonnet. Thanks for the other pic of a Standard … also the link. One of the images in that link shows an enlarged union flag. Nothing to do with the car itself, but I remember that Mr Peacock’s office, which was just behind where we lived, caught fire … this must have been during WW2 … but not due to enemy action. The fire brigade came and I remember him shouting out, “There’s petrol in there.” Guess it was illegal to store petrol in cans. But on a similar tack, I remember my uncle telling me that in the 1930s, petrol was delivered to the garage block in the grounds of the house of his employer. It came in gallon cans and was stored in a pit adjacent to the garages. Seems strange now … but perhaps this was common practice in those days. But it’s not as if the house was out in the sticks … it was in Eastbourne.

Lots of comments about the ambulance … thanks for re-posting on the GWF. So, was it case that commercial vehicles … smaller lorries and the like were commandeered for use as ambulances during WW1? Not sure whether my g/f was in the RAMC … but there’s another shot of him in uniform with a red cross armband. But no vehicle in that shot. I understand he was already working for the Megaw family before WW1 … the word was “they kept the job open for him”. Like his six brothers, he survived WW1 … but was killed by a German bomb in Eastbourne during WW2! Ironic. His full name was Donald Glendale Mackay but was always known as ‘Glen’.

[Leather Seats]

For some reason my post was repeated ... I got the message "failed to send" so I tried again. But it has appeared. I have deleted the first attempt.

[Leather Seats]

Goodness me … what a wealth of information! Very many thanks to everyone who has contributed. Also, for the tips on using the forum. This is a composite response.

All noted about the census returns … I’ve accessed these in the past and will go back and try to home in on the Three Bridges connection.

I’ve found a link to the RR Enthusiasts Club and will follow this up. Am I right in supposing that RR cars have been kept going for longer than most … this because of their rarity and construction? The coupé survived until the 1970s at least and I presume it’s still on the road. I have its number as HC8815 … “Penman” commented on this … and I agree that “8815” does seem high for a pre-war car. I cannot now remember whether this number was given to me by my late uncle or by the owners when I traced them in the 1970s. Would it have been possible for a new owner to request an HC number from Eastbourne Borough Council in the 1970s? The larger Rolls had the number FXE17 … can someone tell me where this was registered? The owners started off in Eastbourne but later moved to near Tunbridge Wells. If that Rolls is still on the road, FXE17 will no doubt have been retained. If I can trace its present owners, I’ll have a lot to tell them about the life of their car in the 1930s.

Glad to have confirmation on the Delaunay Belleville… there was one on the road in Eastbourne in the 50s …. belonged to a chap called Tony Durban … seem to recall the passenger compartment had a lot of wood in its construction.

Interesting to read the comment about the coachwork of the Buick and how it may have been bought as a chassis. Unthinkable these days. My uncle did mention that a couple of ‘his’ Rolls had the bodies made by a coach builder. As chauffeur, he had to go up north to the coach builder to be measured. When did this practice go out, I wonder?

Regarding the Standard with Mr Peacock at the side. Now that I look carefully, I can make out a miniature Union Flag on the bonnet. I remember a lot of Standards in the 50s and 60s … they all had that emblem, but more often on two sides of a flute on the bonnet. Thanks for the other pic of a Standard … also the link. One of the images in that link shows an enlarged union flag. Nothing to do with the car itself, but I remember that Mr Peacock’s office, which was just behind where we lived, caught fire … this must have been during WW2 … but not due to enemy action. The fire brigade came and I remember him shouting out, “There’s petrol in there.” Guess it was illegal to store petrol in cans. But on a similar tack, I remember my uncle telling me that in the 1930s, petrol was delivered to the garage block in the grounds of the house of his employer. It came in gallon cans and was stored in a pit adjacent to the garages. Seems strange now … but perhaps this was common practice in those days. But it’s not as if the house was out in the sticks … it was in Eastbourne.

Lots of comments about the ambulance … thanks for re-posting on the GWF. So, was it case that commercial vehicles … smaller lorries and the like were commandeered for use as ambulances during WW1? Not sure whether my g/f was in the RAMC … but there’s another shot of him in uniform with a red cross armband. But no vehicle in that shot. I understand he was already working for the Megaw family before WW1 … the word was “they kept the job open for him”. Like his six brothers, he survived WW1 … but was killed by a German bomb in Eastbourne during WW2! Ironic. His full name was Donald Glendale Mackay but was always known as ‘Glen’.

[peter scott]

[peter scott]

[peter scott]

This may well have been an American car but it looks much more elegant than the normal US bodies of the period. I think the body would have been created by a specialist coachbuilder.

Peter
_________________
http://www.nostalgiatech.co.uk
1939 SS Jaguar 2 1/2 litre saloon

[Ray White]

[Leather Seats]

Further to the comment about the owner knowing what he was buying, my g/f knew about cars and engines. I believe in the early days this would have been a requirement of a chauffeur and that they were required to carry out routine maintenance. Another of my uncles told me that Mr Megaw's son had a sports car of some kind ... my g/f advised him and did things to enhance its performance ... although he never drove it as part of his duties. In my first post, I mentioned the brother of my g/f. Unfortunately, I have very little information about him other than his wife (Annie, a Scot) was housekeeper or cook for the then Speaker of the House of Commons. But I don't think that her husband was chauffeur to the Speaker. If this had been the case, it would surely have been mentioned.

[Ray White]

[Ray White]

[peter scott]

[Ray White]

[peter scott]

[Ray White]

[peter scott]

I don't think it has changed much because the photo was taken in Derwent Road rather than Matlock Road. Looking at the age of the buildings I don't think either road has changed much. That said the building further down Derwent Road looks of newer construction than the one in the Standard photo.

https://goo.gl/maps/y68dgBgGFDzuq3ER8

Peter
_________________
http://www.nostalgiatech.co.uk
1939 SS Jaguar 2 1/2 litre saloon