1. Singer 9 Coupe.
I've a few photos of pre-war Singers to go in here, mainly Singer 9 saloons, but this is the first to crop up that features the Singer 9 Sports Coupe of the early 1930's.
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This particular Singer, with a lady dressed in her fur coat stood alongside, was registered BV 3031. That makes this a northern-registered coupe, originally registered in the Blackburn area, post-June 1930. The sparse hedgerow and the fur coat suggests an autumnal or winter's day, although the hardy driver has still opted to have the Singer's screen full raised (maybe that's why the lady is so well wrapped up!).
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2. A 1934 Singer Coupe reg. BPH 108.
Singer 9 Coupe registration BPH 108 appears in this next image, dating the car to 1934 and suggesting its early years were spent on the roads of Surrey. Evidently the car was in use during WW2 at the time of this photograph, judging by the white paint that has been applied to the Singer's wings, and the blackout headlamp mask fitted to the nearside lamp. There's no record of BPH108 on the DVLA system, so perhaps it didn't see the end of the war, or was broken up for parts in the 1950s. Alternatively, it may have been exported and the number simply dropped from the "system" - that's what has happened to sister car, BPH 65. Another Singer 9 Coupe, BPH 65 was registered within days (or hours) of the car shown below, and lives on in California - photos of it appear on the North American Singer Owners Club site.
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I must do some research into these Coupes, as our family had one in the 1950s.
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3. Singer 9 Coupe registration ALX 63.
Thanks now to Colin Muddell who kindly emailed over the following photographs after having had a look around the site, and also the old-photo compilations that have made it onto the Old Classic Car Youtube channel (link). Colin's father owned this 1934 Singer 9 Coupe in the 1940s and 1950s, as he now describes:
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"As promised in my comment on your recent YouTube video "Original Photos of Pre-War British Cars Part 1" I have attached a file containing five photos of my father's 1934 Singer 9 Sports Coupe, ALX 63. It had a black body and green wire wheels. I believe he bought it shortly before or during WW2 and traded it in for, in my eyes then and now, an ugly Singer SM1500 Saloon sometime in the 1950's. I seem to recall a story that the Singer 9 was stored in a garage during WW2 while my father was in the RAF. The bottom left photo is of me in the driving seat, probably in the early 1950's. The bottom right photo is of my father and mother on their wedding day in July 1945. I think the remaining three photos were taken some time in the 1940's."
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"I have fond memories of the Singer 9 (knicknamed Lulu), including an epic journey (for those days) from Bushey, Hertfordshire to Porthcurno, Cornwall for a holiday with relations in 1956. This was the year of the Suez Crisis and at one point the roads were choked with convoys of tank transporters heading for the south coast ports. Another hold-up was the notorious Exeter Bypass. The sting in the tail was a broken halfshaft that miraculously meshed back together and was nursed along until we arrived in Porthcurno. I can still picture my father with his head under the rear wing fitting a replacement halfshaft in our relation's garage. Some holiday for him!"
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Thanks for sending over these great photos!
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Return to Page 12 in the classic & vintage car photo gallery.
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Other pre-war Singers in this section include a photo of my family's Singer Le Mans, a 10/26 tourer, and a selection of Singer Juniors to name just a few.
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