Overseas Caravans.

[griffin]

I recently did a search on flickr for caravans and was surprised to find this photo which is a English acquaintances late 1920s Vauxhall and Anglea caravan outfit taken at the Goodwood Revival. If you click on the link then click back and forward a few photos on the flickr site, there are others in the same series showing some strange outfits

In one photo there is a 4cyl CA Bedford towing what appears to be a half double deck aluminium van. It is visible in the distance in the first photo too.

I sent the link to my friend and it turned out he wasn’t aware of the photos and sent me the following details and advertisement for what is a Berkeley Statesman behind the Bedford.

“The CA is towing a Berkeley Statesman made at Biggleswade 3 miles from us. I helped salvage this for the owner from a farm on the Shuttleworth estate. Berkeley started there after the war in the aerodrome. He has restored it to a high standard. He could not attend the GW revival and did not have an in period car so the organisers found a man with a CA and hitch to tow it round the circuit. He had clutch trouble afterwards!”

The advert states these vans were meant to be used as premanent residences so dare say the weight it up there, no wonder the poor old Beddie had clutch trouble.

George

[griffin]

While researching some copies of The Coach and Motor Body Builder recently I ran across this photo published in the January 1933 issue showing a van and car. It seems the van and the car body were built by Munt, Cotterell & Neilson of Petone, N.Z. No further information than the photo caption was given.
I found it interesting that it was titled 'New Style Camping Trailer' but having researched the publication from 1917 it was actually the first 'Caravan' as we know it that appeared. There were quite a few 'motor caravan' items, bodies built on truck chassis or camper trailers and other units built by modifying car bodies so they could be used with a variety of tent type attachments.

Oddly, the photo seemed familiar and while going through some of my digital caravan stuff I found the same photo which I had downloaded from the internet some time back, probably the Picman site in relation to caravans. The photo on the net is held by the University of Melbourne and I can only think that as the magazine was published in Melbourne maybe some of the original photographs found their way into the University's collection.

BWP3,151.jpg - university of Melb archives.jpg (49.75 KiB) Viewed 1615 times

I'll have to contact the University at some time and pass on the information, I'm sure they would like to know a little more about their photo.

George

[griffin]

I recently ran across an old copy of Autocar in my magazines that had a couple of caravan adverts.
The Airlite is a particularly pretty van in my view and I'd love to have one behind my old Vauxhall, and it has a chromium rear bumper none the less, very classy.

Any ideas as to what the handle shaped piece is just below the roof line on the Siddall? They seem to be on the front too and are a bit high to be maneuvering handles surely.

George

[Richard]

Hi George.
The "handles" are actually the bends of the downpipes. For some reason the poms love having gutters and downpipes on their vans, although Iam not real sure why they are bent like handles at the top .

[griffin]

These two photos were part of an article published in the The Motor, 13-2-1952 and show a very interesting style small van. The article is all about touring to Europe and making the most of a 25 pound bonus you seemed to be able to get and it does not mention the brand of van.
I found the overall shape, the stylish car type mudguard and the rear opening particularly attractive.
Does anyone know what it is??

George

[griffin]

Lord Baden Powell’s caravan and Rolls-Royce.

While searching on Trove recently I found several articles in 1929 relating to a collection organised among Boy Scouts worldwide to provide a retirement gift for Lord Baden Powell, the founder of the movement. As a result of one penny donations by Boy Scouts he was presented with a new Rolls Royce and caravan. A photo of the combination in the paper was poor so I did some Googling and found that the van and the car both survive and this site among quite a few have a copy of the original presentation photo and photos of the car and caravan as they are today.

George

[Richard]

Two 1953 English caravan adverts.

[griffin]

Here's another English advertisement for Eccles Trailer Caravans, interesting to see they used the term 'trailer' at that time, I guess to distinguish them from the popular motor caravans.
I do like the early Eccles style and love the poms idea of a holiday with dad out fishing in the suit and tie, but it was a very different world in 1930.

The advert is from The Illustrated London News, 12 April, 1930.

George

[griffin]

At the other end of the world in New Zealand this scene is from a magazine called The Weekly News, the 1941 Christmas number, and shows a caravan at Mercury Bay, apparently near Auckland. It's not an overly stylish van but capable of being towed by the Model A Ford it would seem.
This is just a quick copy with my camera as the magazine wasn't for sale.

George

[Richard]

Hi George.
Further to your post about the Berkeley Statesman.
Here are some videos of the restoration of one of these mamoth vans.