Past preservationists: the 1969 Yorkshire Thoroughbred Car Run

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As I write in 2024, 1969 was 55 years ago. Back then, the youngest cars eligible to participate in the Yorkshire Thoroughbred Car Run were a mere 30 years old. Now they are all closer to 100, and we might well ask: where are they now? And what became of the people? Are any of the children in the background of these photographs now vintage vehicle owners themselves?

We can only wonder. Anyway, as time marches relentlessly forward, it is nice to look back and see where we've been, and these photographs from the Yorkshire Thoroughbred Car Run provide plenty of grounds for nostalgia. Not only are the "Thoroughbreds" themselves very appealing, but even the everyday cars put today's plastic boxes to shame. The Mk. I Cortina with competition numbers, we bet, was a regular sight at driving tests organised by the Selby & District Motor Club. We also see in one shot a Mini with no bumpers or hubcaps, a matt black bonnet and a roof rack—a 1960s boy racer's dream. Then, of course, we can enjoy looking at the clothes, the street furniture, and other nice details which one no longer finds in the world today.

Thanks to the photographer's diligence, we have a little bit of information about the Thoroughbred Car Run which, as we can see, also admitted pre-war motorcycles and commercial vehicles. It started in Leeds and finished in Selby, a distance of about 20 miles as the crow flies, although it doubtless took in some pleasant countryside diversions, and took place on Saturday, June 14th. A couple of prominent landmarks also reveal some more precise locations. The Fox alehouse, seen in the background of many shots, is at the junction of Leeds Road and Fox Lane in Thorpe Willoughby and, happily, is still extent. The handsome tower visible in other pictures must be, we are sure, the main tower of the mediæval Selby Abbey, suggesting the rally finished in Selby Park.

Turning to the cars, we cannot say we are familiar with many specific vehicles, but we hope some readers will be able to tell us a little about their history and their present-day fates. Two cars in particular are rather famous, though. One is the big 1905 Renault Type VB phaeton, AA 1 (then dated as 1904), which was purchased by the Automobile Association to mark its diamond jubilee in 1965. Since the cars appear to be numbered more or less by age, we think this was the oldest vehicle on the rally. The Renault was ordered new by Lady Elizabeth 'Bessie' Cheylesmore, the daughter of a New York millionaire and friend of Princess Mary of Teck, the future Queen Consort. Lady Cheylesmore resided then at Princes Gate, opposite Hyde Park, and enjoyed going for drives in the Renault with the Princess. After her death in 1945, her son kept it outside his house in Egham until 1950, when it fell into dereliction. It was restored by a couple of enthusiasts in the 1950s before it became available for the AA to purchase. In recent years, it has been rallied frequently with the Veteran Car Club by a very enthusiastic custodian, and it was the machine in which your scribe enjoyed his first ever Brighton Run as a passenger, during the great downpour of 2022.

The Renault, incidentally, made a background appearance in Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines, which brings us to the other celebrity, the 1912 NAG 25/28hp. A very rare survivor of Germany's Neue Automobile Gesellschaft, it was discovered as a bare chassis in the garage of a house in Warlingham, Surrey, circa 1960, having formerly worked as a truck on a nearby farm. By 1963, it had been restored with a speedster body and it took a starring rôle as the personal transport of the dashing James Fox in the aforementioned 1965 film. It was auctioned by Sotheby's in 1968, which is presumably when it was acquired by the Yorkshire Car Collection, which certainly had possession of it by 1990. It is still on the road, though it appears not to have attended any rallies for many years.

Words: Zack Stiling
Photographs: Stiling Collection

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