A really lovely example of a desirable and stylish car, which has benefitted from a great deal of love and attention in recent times, and expenditure of £65,000 some years ago. This has included an extensive body rebuild to a high standard, repaint, lots of new chrome, a full engine overhaul, re-cored radiator, new road springs, and much more besides, all documented in the history file, which also includes an original sales brochure, a workshop manual, and a good deal more besides. This example will take some beating!

Price £27,500.

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Snippets: Sangster’s the Motoring Family.

 1950 to 1977 unknown

 In 1977 Grant Sangster paid Harry Sibley of Bude the princely sum of £2,100 for the RMC which was then shown as being painted in red – in 1954, according to Autocar which carried out a road test of this very car (we have the issue) the car was finished in light metallic green with Vynide hood & tonneau & a mileometer reading of 43,216 miles! 

The Sangster family have been connected with wheeled vehicles since the late 1800s with Charles Thomas Brooks Sangster (1872/1935) he was brother to David Orr Grant Sangster who was Grant’s grand-father!  Charles Sangster was a prolific inventor & between 1893/1908 he registered some 145 patents – including one for an “improved shirt & shirt front”!  One his most unusual designs was the Ariel Quintuplet which was built in 1899 & with 5 riders reached 60mph – terrifying.  Charles had 3 sons Frederick who was killed in 1916 during WWI, John (Jack) (1896/1977) who became the MD of Ariel Motors & in 1936 he bought out Triumph Motorcycles, he later sold both companies to BSA – in 1956 Jack Sangster became Chairman of BSA.  Charles’ 3^rd son was Harvey who raced Ariels & was the company’s Overseas Manager – one of Ariel’s great claims to fame was that in 1928 Jeff Monro completed a lap of Australia on an Ariel Sports Model ‘E which took 6 months with many mishaps & adventures along the way. 

 Thomas Alfred Sangster (1903/1988) son of David Sangster (brother of Charles) started his career with the Swift Company and in 1930 joined Riley initially as their test driver & was later the sales manager of both MG and Riley cars.  In 1934 he took part in the Monte Carlo Rally in a Riley with Eddie Mayer – designer & engineer of Cooper Engines – as his co-driver. During the event they became so embedded in a snowdrift that they were pulled out by a horse & hearse!!  By 1959 Tom Sangster had become the Deputy Director of Home Sales for the British Motor Corporation, he was also involved in the Wolseley & Morris companies.

A very well-specified example, with a plethora of extra instrumentation and switches on the dashboard, twin fuel fillers, twin side-mounted spare wheels, and various other deviations from ‘standard’.Originally built for Geoffrey Smith, managing editor of ‘The Autocar’ magazine, and specified with many extras and deviations, well documented in various publications, including mentions in four different editions of ‘On The Road’, the contemporary magazine produced by Bentley in the thirties. The history file with the car has copies of some of these, together with other documentation, handbook, etc. The car is in good all-round condition, and has a very impressive frontal appearance, with its selection of lamps and horns. Driving well, sounding good, and looking very handsome in two shades of cream, with red double pinstripe and red leather interior. Offered MoT tested.

Price £47,500.

Snippets: Autocar & A Double Royal Connection

George Geoffrey Smith (1885/1951) was best known for his involvement with the Autocar & Motorcycle publications however it should also be noted that during WWI he was the Inspecting Officer of the Motor Machine Gun Service of the Royal Artillery.  During this period, he recruited over 10,000 despatch riders, mobile machine gunners & armoured car drivers – in 1919 in acknowledgment of this remarkable achievement he was awarded and MBE.  In 1917 Geoffrey Smith transferred from the army to serve with the Royal Flying Corp.  After war ended he returned to work for the Iliffe company and in 1923 he became a director of the firm.  In 1927 his wife Margaret died leaving Geoffrey with two sons to bring up and this he did with the help of a governess Joan Arnull who he married in 1935. G. Smith also wrote several books with subjects being: Frederick Royce, Aeronautical Theory & practice, Modern Diesel engines & also Gas Turbines.

By 1937 B100GA was with the Hon. John H. Hare the 1^st Viscount Blakenham, his wife was the Hon Nancy Pearson daughter of 2^nd Viscount Cowdray and grand-daughter of Lord Edward Spencer Churchill with infinite connections to the Spencer Churchill family tree and of course our current Royal heirs via the Spencer family.  During WWII John Hare served with in Italy with the Suffolk Yeomanry, as a result of his war actions he was awarded the Legion of Honour. 

Just after the end of WWII the Bentley was acquired by Major Hubert Melville Martineau of Philberds, Holyport. The Martineau family came to the UK in the 1700s, family members included master surgeons, politicians, bankers, sugar refiners, political reformists and shippers.  Francis Martineau Lupton was the great-great-grandfather of Catherine, the current Princess of Wales.  Hubert Martineau (1891/1976) was a keen sportsman and hosted matches against New Zealand, Australia, West Indies & India teams at his own private cricket field at Philberds, Holyport.  His other great love was that of the winter sports including sking, skating & bobsledding!  He was the president of the St Mortiz Bob Club.  His private life was also fascinating & complicated – his first wife was Maud Morris Schwab, daughter of Nelson Morris and the ex-wife of Henry Schwab, and when Maud died in 1966 he received the majority of her estate which was in the region of £6m!  In 1969 he remarried a “very pretty young widow” but she has yet to be identified! 

From 1949 to 1963 the car was with John Robert Ferguson (1914/1963) who was a pupil & later a governor of Rydal School which is in North Wales, after his death the car, via various dealers, found its way to Canada with Donald Spiers who owned it  from 1971 until 2001.

A lovely example of a ‘special edition’ ‘R’ Mulliner version of the Brooklands, number 88 of just 100 built. Very attractively finished in ‘Black Emerald’, which is a delightful, metallic green, so dark that it almost looks black under certain lighting conditions, complemented by duo-tone tan interior, green top dash roll, dark green carpets, piped tan, with dark green lambswool over rugs. The woodwork is dark burr walnut. The car has significant service history in the stamped service book, as well as invoices and a long run of MoT certificates, which together confirm the mileage as 84,500 from new. Also with the car are the original correct handbook, a supplement specific to the individuaul car, numered 88/100, all tools, correctly housed, and various fitments in the boot storage compartments, all looking untouched and spotless. We also have 97 pages of factory order information, detailing the exact specification when built, and just as it remains today.  Much admired, excellent condition, in a fabulous colour scheme, and offering a rare opportunity. MoT tested. As well as the video below, you can see a walkround here: https://youtu.be/5W5qIRsdHEc?si=QeeSN31F9Q9Zg9du

Price £22,500.

A smart and sound car, looking particularly attractive in very dark green with lovely tan leather interior, a colour scheme which we feel suits the car really well. The leather, carpets, headlining and woodwork are all fresh, correct and gorgeous. There are even colour-coded, inertia reel seatbelts, front and rear. Various correct tools, large and small, are included. The history file with the car confirms expenditure of about £53,000 on repairs and maintenance over the last couple of decades, all documented, several Jack Barclay invoices from the 1950s, and there is also written history from an earlier owner, MoT certificates, a buff logbook from 1960, and various other documentation, even including instructions for the HMV radio! As well as the original trafficator arms, still working properly, the car has been upgraded to flashing indicators, neatly incorporated into the existing side and tail lights, all working from the same switch. Driving nicely, performing well, and offered with a new set of radial tyres (not shown in the photos), serviced and MoT tested.

Price £29,500.

Snippets: Kilted

Major Donald Callander (1918/92) served during WWII with the Queens Own Cameron Highlanders and was one of the last British Army Officers to go into battle wearing a kilt, he was awarded the Military Cross in 1940 this was in acknowledgement of the fact that his platoon of antitank guns put 21 enemy tanks out of action & in 1945 he received his second Military Cross (the Bar) for his actions in the Battle of the Reichswald.  The Major is mentioned in the book Monty’s Highlanders – the story is that whilst enroute to an officers’ party they were questioned by American sentries as to who won the World Series – surprisingly the correct answer of St Louis Cardinals was given!

Donald’s wife Margaret was the daughter of Andrew Geddie (1886/1976) who from 1931/39 was chairman of the Royal West India Turf Club and director of the Bank of India as well as the co-founder of Geoffrey Manners Ltd a leading pharmaceutical company. When Donald met up with Andrew and Margaret in 1943 at Poona Race Course he was, of course, kilted.  During his ownership of B356FV (1949/1955) he covered some 65,767 miles which is confirmed on the 1955 Jack Barclay’s invoice.

From 1961 / 2001 the Bentley was registered with the firm of Foster Yeoman of Dulcote Quarry in Somerset.  John Foster Yeoman inherited his first quarry in 1950 on the death of his father, John was just 21 at the time.  By the mid-1960s the company had grown to such a degree that he was able to get British Rail to re-open the branch line from Torr to Westbury in order for him to deliver his stone.  One of his most unusual land acquisitions was a granite mountain in Scotland – namely a 2,000ft mountain at Glensanda which provided crushed rock for the Channel Tunnel.  Robin Thornes wrote a biography of John Foster Yeoman which we have managed to obtain and which will be with the car.

A smart and sound example, well cared-for, and complete with a printed record of expenditure on maintenance and repairs, covering the period 1989 to 2025. This amounts to just over £50,000, and includes some significant attention. The car is nicely finished in Shell grey and Tudor grey, with just a few blemishes, and has a delightful, original, mellowed, deep red leather interior. The car comes with an impressive set of original tools, large ones in the correct clips in the boot, and the small ones in the tray underneath the driver’s seat. We have carried out an engine refurbishment with new pistons, etc, along with much other attention, and the car is offered prepared, serviced and newly MoT tested.

Price £32,500.

Snippets: Secrets of Knockholt & Bury

There is little information to be found about the owners of B31Ul so instead here are a few fascinating details about the villages of Knockholt & Bury were the car resided.

 B31UL was resident in Knockholt during the 1970s / 1990s where in 1841 the artist Henry John Boddington had painted “A Lane at Knockholt” and the village was home to the famous watercolourist William Frederick Wells 1732-1836 whose friend J. Turner was a frequent visitor.  In 1876 the railway station arrived at Knockholt and in 1906 was the setting for E. S. Nesbitt’s The Railway Children, during WWII Major Alexander Malins Lafone was awarded the Victoria Cross and Major Norman Smithers the Military Cross.  

 From 1989 until now B31UL was based in Bury which is named after Adam de Bury who held the manor from 1193 to 1219 as “one knight’s fee of ancient tenure”. In the 14th century, Alice De Bury married Roger Pilkington, and the manor remained with the Pilkington’s until 1485 when the lands of Sir Thomas Pilkington were forfeited because of his allegiance to King Richard III. The new King, Henry, granted them to his step-father Thomas, Lord Stanley, the Stanley family have been Lords of the Manor ever since.

 At the start of 18th century, John Kay, born at Walmersley, Bury, invented his famous “picking peg” in 1733, which made the shuttle in his hand loom move more quickly. It became known as the “Flying Shuttle” and revolutionised cotton weaving making Bury a centre for fabric production.

An attractive car, with low-folding hood line, giving a well-balanced appearance from any angle, enhanced by the rear-mounted spare wheel and quarter bumpers. The frontal aspect is also handsome with an impressive array of lamps and horns. Nicely painted in Burgundy and black, with contrasting tan leather interior and fully-lined hood. Nice mechanically, with a good engine, correct compressions, etc, running very nicely and a ‘well-rounded’ Derby Bentley, in an ideal condition to use as is, and perhaps improve in some respects as and when convenient. With the car are three folders of history, which include many invoices for repair and maintenance going back to the 1970s. Between 1974 and 2019, £73,000 has been spent on the car which, when taking into account inflation since the early part of that period, will probably represent a great deal more in today’s prices.  Amongst many other things, this work included a new aluminium cylinder head – a major plus point – and re-wiring in correct, cloth -covered cables, incorporating flashing indicators, which are rather important these days! Also included are old MoT certificates, correspondence (including letters from the original owner), a buff logbook from the 1950s, and various other documentation. We understand from documentation with the car that it was with the first owner until 1967. Certainly, it was with a subsequent owner from 1971 (or earlier) until he passed away in 2023. 

Price £77,500 

Snippets: A pair of RAMC Doctors

The first owner of B86AH was Ivan Whiteside Magill (1888/1986) born in Larne, Northern Ireland who in 1913 qualified as a doctor at Belfast University. During WWI he served with the RAMC in France and after being demobbed he took up a post at Queen Mary’s in Sidcup which was a military hospital specialising in facial reconstruction of war injuries. This is where Ivan Magill pioneered & invented many instruments & methods relating to anaesthetics which are still in use today, including forceps, laryngoscopes & intubation; during the 1940s he was in charge of anaesthetising King George VI for two operations for which he was given a CVO & in 1960 in recognition of his life’s work Magill was knighted by King George’s daughter – Elizabeth.

The second owner of B86AH was Peter John Blackburn (1934/2023) who qualified at Dublin University in 1958 and the following year he joined the RAMC! Whilst with the RAMC his postings included Aden, Singapore, Europe & of course the UK. Whilst with the RAMC he progressed through the ranks from Captain to Major to Lt-Col to Colonel and finally retired in 1994 with the rank of Brigadier. His qualifications also progressed to include Bachelor of Surgery, Bachelor of the Art of Obstetrics, Diplomas in Public & Industrial Health and in Tropical Medicine. Along side Brigadier Lewthwaite, MajGen Crawford & Brigadier Harwood our Brigadier is acknowledged as having made a large contribution to the RAMC’s integrated approach to health – all 4 gentlemen retired in April 1994.

Price now reduced. A delightful, early 20/25 with traditional, tall, upright coachwork, very stately, but fresh and cheerful in very nicely carried out primrose paintwork with tan leather interior, attractive veneers, and excellent headlining and carpets. In fact, the car is very fresh and clean throughout, inside and out. The car has some appealing vintage features, such as two-way divided windscreen, a ‘porthole’ communication window to the division, a lovely set of instruments, P80 ‘bullseye’ headlights, ‘Windover patent’ slimline bumper front and twin bladed quarter bumpers at the rear, a full set of wheel discs (also Windover’s own) and a very ‘characterful’ trunk on the rear. We have just completed an engine overhaul, which included new main and big end bearings, new pistons and little ends, timing case bearings, etc, and a clutch overhaul while we were at it, giving the car new lease of life. In addition to this, the car is fitted with a recent aluminium cylinder head, another bonus! Correct, attractive and smart, offered newly MoT tested. The last owner very effectively turned the car into a ‘Darling Buds of May lookalike’, and we have included a Lledo model of it to complement this, as you will see in the photos. MoT tested.

Price reduced from £42,500 to £39,500.

Snippets:Rugby Union, Civil Engineer & Football boots

The 1st owner of GXO48 was Sir David McCowan (1860/1937) of Park Circus Place, Glasgow who between 1880/84 had played international Rugby for Scotland and was capped 10 times, he later became President of the SRU in 1928. His career was that of a senior partner with William Euing & Co who specialised in Marine Insurance, in 1889 David married Gertrude Cargill whose father David Cargill in 1886 had founded Burmah Oil Ltd and remained as their chairman until his death in 1904. It would appear that with a few years GXO48 had been sold to Sir Frederick Llewelyn Palmer (1862/1934) who worked for the civil engineer Sir Alexander Rendel and was seconded to the East Indian Railway Company in the capacity of assistance engineer. Whilst stationed in India he was responsible for the construction of the Moghalserai-Gaya line which took over 4 years to complete and included the Sone Bridge which at the time was the 2nd longest bridge in the world with some 93 spans of 100ft. In 1909 he returned to the UK and became chief engineer to the Port of London Authority with work on the Albert Dock & the King George V Dock. During WWI he was consulting engineer to the Air Ministry, his international works included Port Churchill for Hudson Bay River, Montreal Terminal and the harbour at Haifa and the new Zambesi Bridge – there are many more beside. In 1907 he was appointed Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire and in 1930 Commander of the Order of St Michael & St George for his contributions to engineering. His home of Crowhurst Place had previously been home to Consuelo Vanderbilt, 9th Duchess of Marlborough after her separation and subsequent divorce from the 9th Duke. During the 1990s GXO48 was with V. A. Lovelock who applied for a patent for various sporting gear including a headband and a football boot cover which consisted of a band that wrapped around the “sweet spot” of a football boot thereby increasing the friction between boot and ball and hopefully allowing the ball to “struck with greater accuracy”…….

Price reduced. An appealingly unusual car, its design harking back to an earlier era, with faux canework, opera lamps, etc. It is, however, correct and as built, but benefitting from much attention, including restoration work in the USA many years ago, and continued attention in the UK since its return here in the 1970s. This work included an engine overhaul by Brunts of Silverdale, including new cylinder head and block, steering box rebuild, and more besides. Comes with a large, informative history file. The paintwork is in very good order, sharp and smart, as is the interior – brown leather to the front and cream to the rear, in both cases with matching carpets. Even the headlining is leather! The car features louvred bonnet and scuttle, Carl Zeiss headlights, Lucas ‘owl eye’ tail lights, twin tubular blade bumpers front and rear and a rear-mounted spare wheel. Running well, lovely all round and offered freshly MoT tested.

Price reduced from £55,000 to £49,500.

Snippets: Art & Jewels

The 1st owner of GMD36 was the socialite, heiress and scandalous Florence Evelyn St George, (known as Evelyn) whose father was George Fisher Baker (1840/1931) the co-founder of today’s Citibank. During his lifetime he was on the board of 40 companies, held the majority of the Central Railroad stock. In 1918 the first Forbes Rich List was published & it listed George Baker as being in joint 4th place with William Rockefeller with an estimated fortune of $150million, Nr 1 was John D. Rockefeller (William’s older brother) with a staggering $1.2billion. When George Baker died in 1931 the bulk of his estate was inherited by his son George with his two daughters gifted $5m each. In 1891, age 21, Florence Baker married the Irish land agent Howard St. George but by 1906 she had met the artist William Orpen (1878/1931) with whom she had a long-term liaison – and a daughter. Evelyn & her brother took annual trips to Paris to ensure they were dressed in the latest fashion and this of course included jewellery with Rene Lalique being commissioned to produce a choker with a lattice design of green glass cabochons on an enamel backing with diamonds set in each corner, this piece was later recut into a suite of bracelet, brooch and earrings with them being auctioned in 2020. There is a portrait of Evelyn St George by Orpen showing her reclining on her bed at Clonsilla in 1908 wearing that very choker. When she died in 1936 the auction house Sotheby’s were tasked with selling the contents of Cam House and this including artworks by El Greco, Goya, Cranach and of course works by Orpen.

From 1958 / 62 GMD36 was with the noted architect & interior designer Sir Hugh Casson – his clients included Air Ministry (Camouflage Service) Royalty (Royal Yacht Britannia) (Buckingham Palace, Windsor, Sandringham), WH Smith, NatWest Bank & Glyndebourne. During the time GMD36 was with Sir Casson the car was used, like his earlier Rolls-Royce as an everyday car and the mascot was replaced several times after being taken as a trophy.

Sale Agreed.  Originally an experimental ‘test car’, numbered 27-G-VI, this car was prepared by the factory in 1939 and became one of the very first production models (re-numbered WXA6) when the Wraith was introduced to the public. The car is handsome, sound, in fine condition, with an imposing and attractive frontal aspect, featuring an impressive array of correct lamps and horns. The car has been well cared for by one family since 1997, and we have a complete ownership record prior to that. Also in the file is a buff logbook from 1949, various documentation, old MoT certificates, and invoices confirming £32,000 of expenditure during the last ownership. Nicely correct, with a particularly appealing brown leather interior, excellent headlining, carpets and wood veneers and a sliding sunroof. Some of the beige paintwork is losing adhesion, on one side of the car, and ideally will need attention in the near future, but the panels are totally sound, and this does not prevent the car from being used and enjoyed. Running and driving well, offered serviced, prepared and MoT tested.

SOLD.

Snippets:

After being used as an experimental car (original chassis Nr 27-G-VI) WXA6 was sold to its first private owner, Lt. Col. Reginald George Stanham just prior to the outbreak of WWII. His wife was an Australian – Helen MacArthur – whose family imported the first merino sheep to Australia in 1796. When her father James Macarthur-Onslow died in 1945 she and her husband sold up and moved back to the family home Camden Park – a property with some 80 rooms and still owned by members of the MacArthur family. The 2nd owner was Captain Roger Cookson, the 4th son of George Cookson of Treslissick, Cornwall. Two of Roger’s older brothers died when they were just 25, in 1907 Geoffrey succumbed to the plague whilst serving with the King’s Royal Rifles in Jubbulpore, India & in 1909 Christopher drowned whilst stationed with the 1st Battalion Rifle Brigade at Holywood. Roger’s other sibling – George – joined the Royal Flying Corps and in 1918 he was mentioned in despatches. Media reports of the time refer to Roger Cookson as being a racing driver for the Bentley Team but we’ve yet to find evidence of this. In 1913 he married Sybil Taylor (an author & journalist) they had two daughters – Georgina, who became an actress & Patricia who became a princess with her 2nd marriage to Henry Aymon Marle Rodolphe (Prince de Faucigny-Lucinge et Coligny). In 1944 WXA6 was bought by George Bankoff, who have been informed was a British surgeon of Russian origin & author of some 120 books under various pseudonyms (George Sava, George Borodin, Peter Conway and others). His books covered topics varying from politics, history, medical, fiction & a biography of his father Ivan entitled “One Russian’s Story”. After just 12 months it was then bought by Edward W Collinson who in 1949 sold WXA6 to his own company (Beech’s Chocolates) in order to buy WCB45! Sadly in 1949 whilst on holiday in Scarborough, he fell down a 200ft cliff and didn’t survive, WXA6 remained with the family firm until 1955 until it was bought by Herbert Kaiser of de Oude Plaats, Corbridge. Herbert worked in Singapore where he was GM of Straits Steamship (Engineering Division) and later Chairman of Watt & Akkermans one of their subsidiaries. The 1990s saw WXA6 with Rami Elle, whose tailoring business “Elle 1981” included African Chiefs, Oil Sheikhs, royalty & government officials amongst their client list.

Price reduced from £110,000 to £95,000.

Snippets: Location, Location, Location

Exclusive Locations of a Rolls-Royce

The first owner was Mrs Edith Helen Campbell whose husband John Donington Campbell was chairman of J C & J Field Ltd – soap and candle makers which was founded circa 1642 by Thomas Field. Edith registered GAF81 at two London addresses – 22 Down Street in Mayfair and 44 Rutland Gate in Knightsbridge.  John Campbell died in 1939 on the way to hospital and it is thought that GAF81 was placed into storage for the duration of WWII. 

A later resident of Down Street was Sir Robert Young (1871/1959) a noted physician & tuberculosis specialist and during the mid 1800s Rutland Terrace was the home of Septimus Godson (1799/1877) barrister & brother of Richard Godson MP for St Albans.  South Lodge at Rutland Gate was the London base of the Llangattock family and was purchased shortly after the birth of their most famous family member – Charles Stewart Rolls. 

During the 1950s GAF81 was still in London this time in the Belgravia area with L. Candler of Chesham Place which via the master builder of the 19^th century – Thomas Cubitt – is connected to Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall as she is a direct descendant of his.  By the 1980s GAF81 was with a “Singing Solicitor” – this was Winston Ku who had studied law at Oxford and had been trained as a classical singer by the French Baritone – Gerard Souzay. 

A very fine example of the desirable and sought-after ‘M series’ cars, which has been prepared and maintained at great expense over the period 2016 to 2022. In total, £117,000 has been spent over that time, and as a result the car is running and driving extremely well. It has been used for long distance touring, performing very well indeed and is in ideal condition to continue use of this kind, being mechanically excellent, very sound structurally, and cosmetically at just the right level to use and enjoy, being smart but not so pristine that you are afraid to drive it! The paintwork is generally good, but in places is losing adhesion and cracking. The leather is in good condition, the seats are nice and plump, but the pale colour is fading and looks grubby. Perhaps a gentle colour of an appropriate type would be a good idea. What’s ‘under the skin’ matters most in a car that is to be actively used, and this one really is in that category. The engine is smooth and quiet, with a willing, ‘pulling at the leash’ quality, being very lively. Couple this with the high ratio gearing, and you have a very usable car, ready to enjoy. All the aforementioned work is documented, with invoices and photos, in a file which also includes copies of the old logbook, various other papers and a VSCC eligibility certificate. The ‘time trial’ meters fitted to the dashboard are included with the car, but we would be happy to remove them if preferred without. Serviced & MoT tested. At the price now asked, the car represents very good value!

New Price £65,000

Snippets: OCS, RAF & JDL

Alan Dudley Goodliffe took delivery of B67MX just months before the outbreak of WWII with the address given as C/o Chartered Bank of India, Australia & China – this bank was founded in 1853 & had been granted a Royal Charter by Queen Victoria. By 1940 Alan Goodliffe had joined the RAF and by 1942 he had been posted to No. 34 OTU in Pennfield Ridge, Canada to be in charge of the Accounts Section. He ended the war having attained the rank of Squadron Leader – No. 34 OTU was actually a unit of 2 Group of the RAF 2nd Tactical Air Force. Complete crews were trained at Pennfield on the Lockheed, or Vega Ventura, which was then in use by the RAF in England as a daylight tactical bomber by medium bomber squadrons of 2 Group. Little is known as to what Alan did after WWII but he certainly travelled with records of him visiting Manila, Canada, USA & Hong Kong. Alan was a direct descendant of F. W. Goodliffe (1875/1947) who started the family cleaning firm in 1900 and in 1930 his 3 sons formed the sub-division of OCS Ltd which is still a family concern albeit an international one with some 89,000 employees in 50 countries! The chassis cards of B67MX show that from 1952 / 1970 the car was with the engineering firm of John Dale Ltd which was initially established as Carr & Son in 1837 by John Smith Carr as a manufacturer of blacking. By 1890 his grandsons, John Dale Carr & Ralph Charles Carr had, set up John Dale Ltd to make tin containers & this developed into a separate business supplying tins, collapsible tubes and later aluminium castings. In 1972 Robert Carr was Home Secretary under the Conservative Government of Edward Heath. From 1973 until 2016 B67MX had 3 Italian owners of Italian – Pasquale Bertinetti (1973/88) who lived in Dorset but was from Turin then Roberto Rosso Snr (1988/2006) and upon his death the car was inherited by his son also Roberto Rosso.

Price Reduced. An exceptionally exciting opportunity, being an open Phantom II Continental two door, two seater with dickey, with very sleek, stylish coachwork by H.J.Mulliner, aided by sweeping, open wings, a low windscreen, a beautiful set of stainless steel lamps, including P100S headlights, etc, all of which add to the overall eye-catching appearance. The comprehensive original, special order specification of the chassis, which we have copies of, shows large, 5″ tachometer and speedometer, “loudest type of Bosch horn”, special attention to the cooling system, and special testing of the chassis when complete. The car started life as a James Young Tourer, but the current H.J.Mulliner body, originally fitted to another PII Continental (149TA), has been on for several decades, something like two thirds of its life in fact. With one family (father & daughter) from 1960 to 2018, and with us for a second time, and comes with a great deal of background information, including a fabulous set of photos taken on a continental tour when the car was brand new, adding more to the already considerable history file. Cosmetically very useable, equipped with a neat cover for the compact hood which folds easily and sits low, and a tonneau cover. Very promising mechanically too, driving particularly well, with delightfully light steering, decent brakes, and getting better and better with use, after being laid up for about a decade in recent years. We have just carried out some re-commissioning service work and fitted a brand new cylinder head, adding to the car’s appeal (and value) and at the same time giving confidence and security for the future and contributing to the cool-running that the car enjoys. Complete with the aforementioned history file, two impressive, original tool trays, mounted either side of the boot interior, and we have now been successful in having the original, very appropriate, registration number, GY 4050, re-allocated to the car. We are unlikely to ever be able to again offer an opportunity such as this. Offered newly MoT tested. In addition to the video below, we have added a walk around as well, which can be seen here: https://youtu.be/ZBsfAVEAAFI?si=4byur5n0ymNhvQDC

£195,000.

Snippets:

The first private owner of 28MS was Robert Edwin McAlpine (1907/1990) the grandson of Sir “Concrete Bob” MacAlpine. The chassis cards show that in 1932 Archibald Henry Pass (of Pass & Joyce Ltd) drove 28MS along the Stelvio Pass in order to “determine whether a 1932 Continental Phantom Rolls-Royce would negotiate the Stelvio Pass at the speed requisite for the Alpine Trial in view of the 44 hair-pin bends”. The trip was undertaken with A.H. Pass driving, Geoffrey Smith of Autocar as co-driver and G.W. Hancock from the RR experimental dept – the distance covered was some 2,300miles at an average of 9miles per gallon! 28MS was then sold to R. E. McAlpine as a 2nd hand car with the extra bonus of having a few extras plus already run in! In the 1930s Robert McAlpine purchased Lyttel Hall in Nutfield and registered 28MS there in 1937, the car was later, possibly during WWII, rebodied as a shooting brake & was apparently taken to West Africa by Dr Geoffrey Cuthbert Tooth (1908/98) who used it as a mobile surgery (more research needed here)! Dr Tooth was a qualified MRCS and a LRCP but he later specialised in the field of psychology with particular interest in juvenile delinquency; he produced several papers on Studies of Mental Illness in the Gold Coast. During WWII Geoffrey served with the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve. In 1958, two years after 28MS returned to the UK, Geoffrey Tooth had not only relocated to Teheran but he had also married a member of the Russian Royal family – Princess Xenia Andreevna, whose paternal grandfather was the 4th son of Grand Duke Michael, a grandson of Tsar Nicholas I; Princess Xenia’s paternal grandmother was Grand Duchess Xenia Alexandrovna – she was the eldest daughter of Tsar Alexander II and the sister of Tsar Nicholas II. Now that is what you call a pedigree! In 1956, after having been imported by J. O. Auclair the PII became the property of Major Cyril Edward Darlington who in 1949 was mistaken for Captain Charles Evan Darlington & it was reported erroneously that Cyril had had the Legion of Merit, Degree of Legionnaire conferred upon him by Harry Truman, President of the United States! A rebuttal notice was placed in The London Gazette to correct the error! By 1960 28MS was with H. R. Wilkins, the family firm of Wilkins & Mitchell dates from the early 1900s and at one stage the firm employed over 1,000 people. Wilkins & Mitchell produced machine tools, power presses and later in 1929 washing machines – Servis Domestic Appliances.

Price Reduced! A very striking car which incorporates various unusual and very appealing design features. Sporty in appearance, sharp and lovely in condition and running very well. One of the very first Derby Bentleys built, originally bodied by Park Ward, the current Barker body was built for a slightly later 3½ Litre in 1935, but transferred to this car in the 1950s. The car features very sleek wing design, shallow windscreen, some very attractive body mouldings and swage lines to the scuttle and bonnet (which are also louvred), the rear quarters and the doors, too have sweeping, curved lines, enhanced by colour division. Early photos of the body when mounted on B178DG, although black & white, suggest a very similar colour scheme to that still on the car. These photos, together with shots of various documentation, an old logbook, etc, can be seen below. The paintwork, chrome plating, upholstery, woodwork and cosmetics generally are all excellent, and the fitment of a full set of ‘Ace’ wheel discs and a ‘clam shell’ spare wheel cover, correct P100 headlights,the facility for mounting luggage on the lid of the already quite spacious boot, all add to the car’s practicality. Excellent, probably unique and a very rare opportunity to acquire such a special specimen. The car has a recent aluminium cylinder head and we have just fitted five new tyres and heavy duty tubes. Unusually, the car is still fitted with its exhaust ‘cut out’ device, operated from a lever inside, offering the opportunity for sporting sounds, and added performance. In most cases, this is long gone, so it’s good to see one in working order! Serviced, prepared and offered MoT tested. As well as the video below, you can see a walk round here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fyf4PrPVLlY

New Price £110,000

Snippets: The Embiricos & Lady Dorothy Roll

The first owner of B17AE was A H Embiricos a scion of the Greek shipping & finance family whose brother Andre M. Embiricos commissioned & raced the Paulin designed & Pourtout built Bentley.  The love of cars ran in the Embiricos family as their cousin Nicholas raced an ERA alongside a Bugatti Type 57S!  From 1934 / 1936 B17AE was owned by Lyonel Francis Stone, he was a Captain in the Coldstream Guards and as such registered the car at his club at 41 Brook Street.  His mother was a direct descendant from the Plantagenets and she was christened with the following names: Lyona Decima Veronica Esyth Undine Cyssa Hylda Rowena Viola Adele Thyra Ursula Ysabel Blanche Lelias Dysart Plantagenet Tollemache-Tollemache.

During WWII B17AE was converted to a Utility Van for use by Messrs Mash & Austin Ltd of Covent Garden – the earliest reference found to them is from the early 1800s when an Admiral in Lord Nelson’s fleet owed the sum of £3/7/6d to Mr. Joseph Mash!  The firm’s name was changed in August 1873 when Henry John Mash of Beaulieu married the wealthy Miss Lucy Austin of Beaconsfield, thus enabling them to acquire two farms where they grew their own produce enabling them to widen their customer base to include hotels & restaurants. 

In 1947 Hugh Curtis, a vet from Hungerford acquired B17AE and in 1958 the car (with the Utility body) was used by Hugh at the Police Motor Driving School in Hendon – this was an annual event comprising of concours events and driving ability tests in which B17AE took place as participant Nr. 20!  The current bodywork on B17AE was originally on B178DG which Mr. Curtis also owned – B178DG had been built to the exacting specifications of Lady Dorothy Roll.  Lady Dorothy was the widow of Howell Thomas Ball – he was killed in 1915 during WWI & in 1927 Dorothy married Sir Cecil Roll.  By June 1932 Sir Cecil had placed a notice in The Times that he would not be responsible for any contracts & expenditure entered to his accounts by her – this did not appear to stop her buying B178DG in 1935 and a photo of the car is shown in the Illustrated Sporting & Dramatic News.  When Sir Cecil died in 1938 his estate was circa £460,000 and the majority of it was divided between his 3 sons and not his extravagant widow……  prior to Sir Cecil’s death she had ordered a Rolls-Royce 25/30 – GAR22 & shortly after his death a Wraith – WLB2!