The Newland Files Pt. VII: out and about in Bromley and elsewhere

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In Part I, we looked at photographs taken during Geoff’s formative years as a car-spotter, when interesting pre-war cars were still relatively common sights on the streets. For Part VII, we are revisiting that theme, with more cars Geoff captured around his local area of Bromley and Orpington, as well as further afield.

1933 Singer Nine Deluxe Sports Coupé
We’re off to a good start with this rakish Singer Nine Sports Coupé. This daintily elegant four-seater was always something of a rarity and is especially so today. The Singer Owners’ Club reckons there are only nine surviving Sports Coupés, and this is among them—it’s still on the road and in good shape. It was apparently sold viâ Henlys of Bournemouth to a Mr. East or Mr. Case of Parkstone, Dorset, but Geoff captured it on the roadside next to Burton & Deakin, the BMC garage in Orpington where he served his apprenticeship.

Alvis Speed 20
Seen here at the Burton & Deakin petrol pumps is a 1935 Alvis Speed 20, chassis 12997. This originally carried a Vanden Plas drophead coupé body but, it may be seen, had acquired coachwork of an altogether different flavour by the 1960s. This car is on the road today, but we wonder if it hasn’t been rebodied again.

Morris Minor
Talking of special coachwork, this Morris Minor, also seen at Burton & Deakin’s pumps, is certainly a bit special… It’s easy to disparage an amateurish effort like this, but it was doubtless a lot of fun at a time when old pre-war Minors were not of such great historical significance. According to Geoff, “The chap in the cheesecutter cap thought it was the bee’s knees.” Sadly, this one’s probably a goner.

1928 Bentley 4½-Litre (YX 1516)
Seen on two separate occasions outside Orpington station, opposite Burton & Deakin, chassis PM3259, a 1928 4½-Litre, was originally supplied to one E. Forsyth. In these photos, we believe the car is still wearing its original Harrison tourer body. Alas, it has now been lost, and in its place is a replica Vanden Plas fabric tourer body. Geoff had a rather low opinion of its owner, who drove it to the station every day even though he only lived on Park Avenue, just a mile or so away: “It wasn’t very clever, it can’t have got warmed up. That’s no way to treat a vintage car.”

1929 Bentley 4½-Litre (UU 8721)
It seems you could barely step outside your house in the 1960s without falling over a vintage Bentley. Chassis PL3478 is a 1929 4½-Litre, originally supplied to E. R. Insole as a Vanden Plas fabric sports tourer. Happily, the body on this car is still the original. Geoff took the picture in Bromley on Burnt Ash Lane, something of a hotspot for old cars back then, through the back window of his father’s 105E Ford Anglia.

1935 Crossley Regis 10
This 1935 Crossley Regis 10 was an extremely rare find near the seafront in Bexhill. Only around 1,050 Regises were produced between 1935 and 1937, including the six-cylinder Regis 12, the only external difference between the fours and the sixes being the grille. Very few survive. This car, BLU 77, is among the lucky few, and it was restored to its attractive original two-tone green in 1989. Irritatingly, however, one recent owner has desecrated it by selling the original registration number— it is now 856 UXL.

Hillman 14
In Part II, we highlighted this Hillman 14 which Geoff found while on holiday on the Isles of Scilly. It was on St. Mary’s, the only one of the islands which permitted motor cars. They did not have to be registered, however. The fact that the Mini behind is registered suggests it must have belonged to a visitor.

Hillman Minx
We are still on the Isles of Scilly, but now on either St. Martin’s or Tresco. Vehicles were permitted on the other islands for agricultural use only, and it seems fairly apparent that this 1934/35 Hillman Minx had been cut down for use as a farm hack. It had seen better days by the 1960s.

Morris Commercial
This 1930s Morris Commercial was also on St. Martin’s or Tresco. It clearly led a hard life and the bodywork was in a state of serious decay. It may well have been abandoned by the time the photograph was taken.

Wolseley 14/56
This Wolseley 14/56 was spotted in Bexhill, Eastbourne or Hastings. “It was right behind the beach,” Geoff recalls. “They’re probably fishermen’s storage buildings in the background.” A distinctly upmarket car, only around 15,000 14/56s were produced between 1936 and 1938. This one looks as if it was in reasonably good shape, so it’s quite likely that it still survives.

Words: Zack Stiling
 

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