Two lovely, contemporary photographs

[Tony Griffiths]

From Facebook: "A couple of nice photos sent to me as Librarian of the Morgan Club by Wayne Renshaw. His wife's father is working on the Chummy and the shop is pictured in 1935"

[Mike Costigan]

I rather doubt the showroom photo dates from 1935; the cars on display are all circa 1927 and all look to be in as-new condition.

[Mick Hobday]

The chap apparently attending to a tyre valve in the road is likely the same man pictured on the left in the second photo. His chummy looks pretty near new, but with plenty of road dirt on wheels and tyres, could both pics have been snapped on the same day? Strange looking number plate on the chummy, maybe a trade plate? And the car being used as a demonstrater?

[Duncan Grimmond]

With a 'bine in the corner of his gob!

[Chris Garner]

Wicliffe Motor Co, Bath Road, Cheltenham, with the capacity to store 50 cars, is listed in the Motor and Allied Trades Directory of 1930.

Some lovely signage dotted about and the tiles on the floor of the entrance are to die for...

[Tony Griffiths]

It must be a trade plate - the copper's simple aide-mémoire: "Red-on-white, stop on sight. White-on-red, go ahead"

[Erich]

I agree, Chris, the tiles are quite nice. It also looks the sloping cap for the tiles appears to have advertisements or something similar attached. Irregular sizes so maybe specs for various cars. And the car on the left seems to have a poster or display with an Austin radiator.

Also found a bit of history on the firm. https://www.stroudlocalhistorysociety.or.../wicliffe/

Erich

[Mike Costigan]

Eric's link to the Stroud History website is interesting:

Apparently both Austin and Morris required exclusive agencies in the late 1920s, and Wicliffe chose to stay with Morris and drop the Austin agency, so that rather confirms this photo is from 1927 or possibly early 1928 (the Austin Twelve in the left-hand window is a narrow-track version which was superseded in early 1928 by the wide-track version).

[Rogerfrench]

Don Pitt, MG racer of considerable note, had something to do with Wicliffe, and bought my father's P-type when he decided the future lay with Austin Sevens.
Just reminiscing.......