Help identify these old photos please.
Discussion
I've recently been trawling through a lot of old photos in the family. We are just trying to add all the information to the family photos for future generations.
Some of them, we don't know what car/bike they are, date taken, or perhaps location.
So let's see what the PH combined knowledge can identify.
Name the bike and which Police Station yard it's taken in. The guy in the sidecar was Metropolitan Police Deputy Assistant Commissioner.
My father driving one of his MG's, Mum identified it as a 1934 MG TA. Is she right and has this car survived?
Obviously an AJS, but which model?
Perhaps the original horseless hooner in the family? Name the car and estimate the date.
The earliest known women driver and pilot in our family. Name the car, the location and estimate the date.
This one is a mystery since there is nobody in the picture. Car details and location?
Two of the same, but name the car.
I'll add more as they they get scanned.
Some of them, we don't know what car/bike they are, date taken, or perhaps location.
So let's see what the PH combined knowledge can identify.
Name the bike and which Police Station yard it's taken in. The guy in the sidecar was Metropolitan Police Deputy Assistant Commissioner.
My father driving one of his MG's, Mum identified it as a 1934 MG TA. Is she right and has this car survived?
Obviously an AJS, but which model?
Perhaps the original horseless hooner in the family? Name the car and estimate the date.
The earliest known women driver and pilot in our family. Name the car, the location and estimate the date.
This one is a mystery since there is nobody in the picture. Car details and location?
Two of the same, but name the car.
I'll add more as they they get scanned.
davepoth said:
Good news on the MG - Someone popped a fresh tax disc on it last month, so it's still around. 
Interestingly it's a 1937 but first registered in 1953, and has an export marker, so it started its life somewhere foreign.
Thanks for that.Interestingly it's a 1937 but first registered in 1953, and has an export marker, so it started its life somewhere foreign.
I'll try and get a copy of the photo to the current owner.
I think dad said the original owner was a British Army Officer, posted overseas.
ETA
I talked to Mum again and I'm mixing up things I was told about two different cars.
This MG TA was found hidden in Germany at the end of the Second World War.
On the front of the car was what Mum describes as "a big German Eagle".
I can't see it in the picture, but will clarify where on the front it was.
Edited by Uncle Fester on Thursday 4th February 10:25
Good pics there, which deserve to go on this thread:
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
Well a couple of very interesting ones turned up. It seems that Dads Jenson was unknown to the Jenson Owners Club, so sadly hasn’t survived. They lost the factory records when the factory was bombed in the war and knew nothing of this car.
As they want to run a feature on this previously unknown car, one of the first Jenson’s ever built; I’m going to let them have first go at publishing within the JOC magazine. I’ll post them later.
Meanwhile, here is an MG TC taken in 1958.
We think this one was Granddads’ Jaguar, is that correct and what model.
This last one has nothing to do with cars. The picture, taken in India has notes on the rear.
These explain that the two men seated are being served with Toddy by the Toddy Wallahs. This is served by pouring it into a leaf from which it is drunk.
The shocking part is the well dressed man at the back. He is the Tax Collector!
The PAYE system in India was simple; you get your own personal Tax Collector to stand and watch every deal. The Wallah sells the Toddy; the customer hands him some coins and the personal Tax Collector immediately confiscates the majority as tax, keeps his share and passes the majority up the Revenue system. Judging by the comparative standard of clothing, the tax rate must be eye watering.
As they want to run a feature on this previously unknown car, one of the first Jenson’s ever built; I’m going to let them have first go at publishing within the JOC magazine. I’ll post them later.
Meanwhile, here is an MG TC taken in 1958.
We think this one was Granddads’ Jaguar, is that correct and what model.
This last one has nothing to do with cars. The picture, taken in India has notes on the rear.
These explain that the two men seated are being served with Toddy by the Toddy Wallahs. This is served by pouring it into a leaf from which it is drunk.
The shocking part is the well dressed man at the back. He is the Tax Collector!
The PAYE system in India was simple; you get your own personal Tax Collector to stand and watch every deal. The Wallah sells the Toddy; the customer hands him some coins and the personal Tax Collector immediately confiscates the majority as tax, keeps his share and passes the majority up the Revenue system. Judging by the comparative standard of clothing, the tax rate must be eye watering.
Uncle Fester said:
These explain that the two men seated are being served with Toddy by the Toddy Wallahs. This is served by pouring it into a leaf from which it is drunk.
The shocking part is the well dressed man at the back. He is the Tax Collector!
The PAYE system in India was simple; you get your own personal Tax Collector to stand and watch every deal. The Wallah sells the Toddy; the customer hands him some coins and the personal Tax Collector immediately confiscates the majority as tax, keeps his share and passes the majority up the Revenue system. Judging by the comparative standard of clothing, the tax rate must be eye watering.
Please delete that before Gordon Brown sees it.....The shocking part is the well dressed man at the back. He is the Tax Collector!
The PAYE system in India was simple; you get your own personal Tax Collector to stand and watch every deal. The Wallah sells the Toddy; the customer hands him some coins and the personal Tax Collector immediately confiscates the majority as tax, keeps his share and passes the majority up the Revenue system. Judging by the comparative standard of clothing, the tax rate must be eye watering.
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The picture of the older sidecar outfit I'll get back to you on
Uncle Fester said:
Obviously an AJS, but which model?
It looks like either a Model 16 (350cc) or 18 (500cc) of some description. There's various sub-models which I can't remember off the top of my head, but they included a scrambler (CS or MC suffix I think) and a trials version (T). Not sure whether the one in your pic is a modified road one or a proper offroad version (tank, mudguard and tyres(!) look road like to me), but judging by the lack of rear suspension (if my eyes don't deceive me!) and telescopic front forks I'd date the bike as mid-to-late 1940's.The picture of the older sidecar outfit I'll get back to you on
Uncle Fester said:
Name the bike and which Police Station yard it's taken in. The guy in the sidecar was Metropolitan Police Deputy Assistant Commissioner.
This one has me a bit stumped! I actually think it's a Harley Davidson. The front forks are pretty distinctive (they look more leading link than girder), and it has a speedo drive on the front hub. That sugests it was an expensive/luxury bike as not many bikes had them in that era.I think it's from about 1922-23. I don't know much about early Harley model names and stuff, but I have found this picture:
The bike looks very similar (and yep, I know the sidecar's on the wrong side!). I don't know whether Harley exported bikes to the Uk in those days though. I'd imagine a sidecar outfit would be expensive to ship so I would hazard a guess that the sidecar had been retro-fitted on the left. I may of course be talking complete cobblers! Maybe it was on some kind of police trials; might explain the speedo too?!!
I've emailed the pic to my brother who's the editor of an old bike magazine. They have a huge archive and he knows far more than me so I'll keep you posted. It may be a few days though!
ETA; Just had a text from bro. He's confirmed it is a Harley. He thinks it's a Model JD (the Model J was the standard bike, the JD had a battery so it could have lights). It's London registered and the speedo would be either a Corbin or a Bonniksen.
Told you he'd know more
Edited by srob on Friday 5th February 09:17
srob said:
This one has me a bit stumped! I actually think it's a Harley Davidson. The front forks are pretty distinctive (they look more leading link than girder), and it has a speedo drive on the front hub. That sugests it was an expensive/luxury bike as not many bikes had them in that era.
I think it's from about 1922-23. I don't know much about early Harley model names and stuff, but I have found this picture:
The bike looks very similar (and yep, I know the sidecar's on the wrong side!). I don't know whether Harley exported bikes to the Uk in those days though. I'd imagine a sidecar outfit would be expensive to ship so I would hazard a guess that the sidecar had been retro-fitted on the left. I may of course be talking complete cobblers! Maybe it was on some kind of police trials; might explain the speedo too?!!
I've emailed the pic to my brother who's the editor of an old bike magazine. They have a huge archive and he knows far more than me so I'll keep you posted. It may be a few days though!
I've traced the registration mark visible in the picture, XO 9478.I think it's from about 1922-23. I don't know much about early Harley model names and stuff, but I have found this picture:
The bike looks very similar (and yep, I know the sidecar's on the wrong side!). I don't know whether Harley exported bikes to the Uk in those days though. I'd imagine a sidecar outfit would be expensive to ship so I would hazard a guess that the sidecar had been retro-fitted on the left. I may of course be talking complete cobblers! Maybe it was on some kind of police trials; might explain the speedo too?!!
I've emailed the pic to my brother who's the editor of an old bike magazine. They have a huge archive and he knows far more than me so I'll keep you posted. It may be a few days though!
It was issued between May & August 1923, so your call on the date was accurate.
Close examination shows that there is an Automobile Association badge attached to the bike. I have no idea if the Metropolitan Police used the AA as some form of breakdown assistance at that time. I would suspect that there would have been some tension between the Police and the AA since the AA helped people avoid Police speed traps in the early days, so perhaps not.
The woman on the front of bike is my Grandmother. My Grandparents married in 1922, so it’s even possible that the bike belonged to my Grandparents and that they are visiting her family. The man is her father and the girl on the pillion is her younger sister. My grandfather took a lot of photos, so he may be the cameraman.
This picture may not have been taken at the same time, but is the same location. It’s no help, but interesting. Note what appears to be a ladder lent against the Police Station wall. It isn’t a ladder, it’s an ambulance. It’s a sort of hand pushed cart. The Police were responsible for the emergency transport of persons taken ill to the nearest Doctors house, or Hospital. It also served to transport drunks back to the Police Station. People were lashed down to the ladder section and pushed through the streets. Around this time the Ambulance service was being formed and the old hand ambulances’ languished in Police Station yards for a few years before being scrapped.
Edited by Uncle Fester on Friday 5th February 11:39
davepen said:
A guess; in the twenties and thirtes there were races on the beach at Southport, not that far from Manchester (ND plate).
Who knows your GF may have entered elsewhere - could try Austin Harris's LAT (Autocar) archive site.
Southport was my guess as well, get in touch via my site and I'll put something up if you want. (I'm Austin Harris btw!)Who knows your GF may have entered elsewhere - could try Austin Harris's LAT (Autocar) archive site.
If you are a member of the VSCC the forum they run will provide the answers I'm sure.
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