COMING TO AUCTION
SATURDAY 20th JUNE 2015
THE CLASSIC SUMMER SALE
We continue our look at another lot from the annual Summer Classic Sale being held at Bonhams Oxford salerooms this weekend.
We are always looking for something unusual and I think you'll agree this is worth a peek at.
1924 ROLLS-ROYCE 40/50HP SILVER GHOST
SHOOTING BRAKE
Registration no. XT 209 Chassis no. 101EM Engine no. S-100
- Long wheelbase chassis number '101EM' was delivered to coachbuilder Windovers Ltd in March 1924 for bodying as an 'enclosed drive limousine'. The car was first owned by Bracewell Smith, Esq (later Sir Bracewell Smith, MP) whose address is recorded on the accompanying copy chassis cards as the Shaftesbury Hotel, London WC2 and later as the Park Lane Hotel, London W1, the latter being part of his property empire. There are no subsequent owners listed.In 1959, George du Boulay bought the by then somewhat dilapidated Silver Ghost from Carr Brothers in Purley for the sum of £99. He subsequently dubbed the car 'Gawain' after the powerful knight of Arthurian romance. Gawain comes with a fascinating account, written by George's son Giles, of the Ghost's ownership by the du Boulay family and the many happy memories associated with this unique Rolls-Royce.The body had been converted some years previously to that of a 'shooting brake' with a platform on the roof, another folding down at the rear, with fittings for a third at the front, all for the mounting of cinĂ© cameras. It is understood that the conversion was carried out for a film company, and '101EM' may possibly have been one of two such camera cars. Indeed, '101EM' is known to have appeared in the 1951 motion picture 'The Man in the White Suite' starring Sir Alec Guinness.Giles du Boulay was one of six sons, so holidays had become logistically difficult. His father solved the problem by converted the shooting brake into a 'caravanette': slightly raising the roof, installing storage lockers and a water tank on the roof platform, and replacing the seats with a long fold-down bench at the rear, with more storage lockers, a cooker and wash basin opposite. The two nearside passenger doors opened onto an ingenious double back-to-back seat of George's design, which folded flat for sleeping, At a pinch, the whole family could sleep overnight inside.During the long summers of the early 1960s, the du Boulays holidayed in Gawain, usually at campsites in Wales and Cornwall. A 'kitchen tent' would be attached to the rear of the car, making a sheltered corridor through which the family could scramble through to sit or dine upon the folded down rear platform. Another sleeping tent was pitched at the far end, so that the whole operation would occupy two or three camping pitches.As the family grew up, however, Gawain ventured forth on fewer and fewer occasions and eventually was driven only on special occasions or to keep the engine turning. In 2007, after much discussion and not a little soul searching, it was decided to donate Gawain to the Sir Henry Royce Memorial Foundation.In 2008 the SHRMF despatched '101EM' to marque specialists Overton Vehicle Overhauls of Leigh-on-Sea, Essex for a thorough check over and extensive re-commissioning to MoT standard as detailed on Overton's report and invoices for £15,000 on file (inspection recommended). Overton's report remarks that 'in years to come, (the body) if left as is, would be an indication of the ingenuity shown by enthusiasts of the fifties and sixties using the Rolls-Royce chassis.' The car also comes with an old-style logbook and V5 registration document.
FOR FURTHER IMAGES OF THIS VEHICLE PLEASE VISIT:
No comments:
Post a Comment