The history of your car

[Martin Prior]

Wonderful! My '33 RP VJ4985 has spent its entire life just over the border in Herefordshire. I have the entire set of logbooks from new and years ago met with its second owner and also the best mate of the first, so I have a very comprehensive history. Unfortunately, although local, I've never managed to find a picture of the car before 1969, so I'm very envious of this one!

[Bryan Downes]

Splendid picture Robin and how nice that you have a copy to start your history file.

Bryan.

[Mick Hobday]

Robin, the page heading of of "July 1934 (page) 1034" suggests it's a magazine, not a newspaper.
I think it could well be a page from the official Austin Motor Co magazine, "Austin Magazine", later known as the "Austin Advocate". I happen to have a copy of Page 486, February 1934, with similar format.

[Hugh Barnes]

Other way round, Mick. It was the Advocate up until 1927, then it became the Austin Magazine and Advocate from then on..

[Oxford Jack]

Hi Robin,
What a wonderful find you must be made-up having come across that. I share your frustration, my Citroen Traction avant lost its number 20 years ago, which now appears on a Range Rover no doubt as a vanity plate. The Range rover is getting more advisories at every MOT and it cannot be long before it returns to its component parts, rust and undegradable plastic bits. In the meantime I am unable to get a message to the current owner to say may I buy the plate back and reunite it with its original vehicle. I could spit with rage that it was stolen and its more frustrating to know that it might die with the biscuit tin top.
Keep searching,
 Jack

[Ivor Hawkins]

I understand your fury Jack, I’ve had a number of cars and motorcycles which evidently had fascinating histories, but were robbed of their original numbers, so the history has benn difficult or even impossible to trace.

Myself and Martin Prior have been airing our views on the vital importance the original registration number plays in a vehicle’s history and Robin’s tourer and that wonderful photograph proves the point.

Tracking down the owner of your Citroen’s plate is by no means impossible!

[Chris Garner]

I have a complete record of my R ( Top Hat ) saloon first registered 10th November 1928. It was continually register 'til May 1942. The history covers 3 log books (  RF60s )
Interestingly after Sep '39 page 8 was used ( " For use by the Registration Authority only" ) the stamps accompanied by handwritten reference numbers and letters commencing CA thro' to CL every 3 months until October '41`. eg: CD 419387 , stamped 15th Feb 1940. Did these refer to petrol coupons reference numbers? The car appears to have been taken off the road in 1942 and returned back in May '45.
Unused motor fuel ration books are attached to the third log book which ran from Jan '54 to Feb '67 when it was taken off the road until found by me in 2015.
I am the third owner.

[Robin Oldfield]

Although the photo quality of the three tourers is poor, when I enlarge the photo there seem to be rather complex fitments where the semaphore indicators are.  Maybe just reflections and distortions.  I will, however, now fit non-working semaphores to mine.  The original County record of registration makes interesting reading as some subsequent sales seem to have been recorded on the original entry.

   

[Charles Levien]

Other way round, Mick. It was the Advocate up until 1927, then it became the Austin Magazine and Advocate from then on..

Dear Hugh,

 Your little box ( no reference to an Austin 7) seems to contain a demented thrip, eternally frustrated in its attempt to escape. I thought at first it was a bug that had somehow got behind the screen on my iPad.
Hope you running board job went well

Charles

[Robin Oldfield]

Good to see that the old Police Station, now flats, has not been molested.