The Newland Files Pt. I: car-spotting on the road

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

While on The Automobile magazine’s Oily Rag Run at the end of September, I had the pleasure of meeting Geoff Newland, who had entered with his son’s James Young-bodied 1948 Bentley Mk. VI. Geoff’s enthusiasm for old cars, mainly pre-war ones, goes back a long way, as I was to discover when he offered to show me his photo albums from the 1960s.

While still a schoolboy living in Orpington, Kent, he would go on long bike rides to discover breaker’s yards, "glue my face to James Young's showroom in Bromley—the start of my interest in coachbuilding," and photograph some of their more interesting inhabitants. When apprenticed at an Austin garage which handled all sorts of cars, he would take great pleasure in handling some of the older ones.

Although the Veteran Car Club had been formed in 1930 and the Vintage Sports-Car Club in 1934, Geoff was at the vanguard of the movement for preserving everyday cars of the 1930s, which until then had not been so highly esteemed. He was active within the short-lived Thirty-Forty Motor Club, for cars built between 1930 and 1940, and edited the club newsletter, while also preserving several cars from the period, some of which are extremely rare today.

We’ll be taking a look at the interest in pre-war cars as it was then, with the aid of Geoff’s photographs, starting with some of fascinating vintage cars and post-vintage thoroughbreds which were then still a common sight at the roadside, and which Geoff enthusiastically documented with his camera.

Ford Anglia
Aged just 16, Geoff was fortunate enough to be able to buy his first car, and this was the very machine, a war-production Ford Anglia from 1940. It cost £8—over two weeks’ wages for the young Geoff—and had been ‘hotted-up’ with a Ford 10 engine and Eight cylinder head. Although it was then only about 20 years old, it would have been substantially different from a brand-new car of 1960, although it had continued in production with minimal changes as the Ford Popular until 1959. Incidentally, Geoff’s father bought a brand-new Anglia 105E in 1960, which Geoff passed his driving test in three weeks after his 17th birthday.

Hillman 14
This photograph, taken in 1959 or 1960, gives some indication of just how young Geoff was when his interest developed. He and best friend Bruce Harrison (pictured) had cycled down to Brooks’ breaker’s yard in Edenbridge where they saw this lovely 1929 Hillman 14 tourer. Needless to say, it was not about to be broken up, and it remains in preservation today.

Rolls-Royce Phantom
Sadly, the fate of this 1929 Rolls-Royce Phantom I limousine by Hooper, chassis 22WR,  first owned by Sir Mortimer Singer, also seen at Brooks’, is not so certain. Mr. Brooks was apparently something of an enthusiast himself and owned a 30-98, so we would like to think he would have recognised the importance of the Rolls-Royce and saved it, along with the 20/25 in the background and all the other Rolls which came his way, from being broken up. Geoff recalls that it was in sound condition, "with Hooper's beautiful original paintwork under the dirt."

Sunbeam 16
This handsome Sunbeam 16 saloon, most likely wearing standard bodywork by Darracq, was photographed near Burnt Ash Lane, just north of Bromley. Does anyone know of its whereabouts today?

Austin Seven
This c.1929 Austin Seven fabric saloon was photographed on Homefield Rise in Orpington, which was often used as a car park by shoppers on the High Street. Your editor was especially pleased to see this photograph because he currently has in his motor house an identical black RK-type fabric saloon with the registration UF 4053 – very close in sequence to this car.

Talbot 110
Once again in the region of Burnt Ash Lane, Geoff spotted this very attractive 1936 Talbot 110 Airline. This is another car which, happily, is still on the road today.

Morris Minor
Morris Minors of the post-war variety were ubiquitous by the early ’60s, but there were still a few of their pre-war ancestors to be seen. The example in this photo, taken at the end of Station Road near Orpington's War Memorial roundabout, dates from the early 1930s.

Austin Seven
Here’s another charming Austin Seven which, at more than 30 years old, appears to have survived in better condition than the modern Bedford CA minibus behind it. It was seen in the car park near Orpington High Street on which has since been built the Walnuts shopping centre.

Morris Commercial
This rather sad shot shows a 1920s Morris Commercial lorry abandoned at a horse-riding holiday farm at Golden Cross, a village in Sussex on the London-Eastbourne road. Most likely, it was worked very hard as a general-purpose farm lorry until some major component failed. By the time this picture was taken, it could have been languishing there for upwards of 20 years. Geoff adds, “The farm is still there, but is the Morris?”

Lanchester
This smart saloon is a c.1934 Lancester 10, seen outside 2, Hillcrest Road, Orpington. There’s little to be said about the photograph except to remark on what a pleasant picture of suburbia it presents, with the well-tended garden and attractively painted windows reminding us of a time before lawns were sacrificed to concrete and the scourge of PVC took hold.

Talbot
At 25 or 30 years old, this Talbot sports saloon, which we think is a 105, sported an impressive collection of battle scars. It is seen at the end of Treewall Gardens, just off Burnt Ash Lane.

SS Jaguar
In this scene which is, today, reminiscent of the Goodwood Revival car park, the star is an SS100 Jaguar, or possibly an SS90. The location is a race meeting but at Brands Hatch, c.1960. Says Geoff, "Before my 17th I had to cycle there, too. I went to Brands specifically to see the cars in the car parks, besides seeing real racing with A35s, Minis and Anglias handicapped against Mk. II Jaguars, Ford Galaxies, etc.!"

Words: Zack Stiling; photographs: Geoff Newland
 

Kommentar abgeben...