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Cosa ci faceva a Parigi questa ex auto della polizia di Glasgow?
Questa fotografia ci ha incuriositi subito. La didascalia recita: « Parigi – danni della Seconda Guerra Mondiale e auto antica » e viene datata tra il 1957 e il 1959. Interessante per diversi motivi. I danni visibili agli edifici – ancora non riparati, almeno dodici anni dopo la fine della guerra – sembrano davvero tardivi. Ma forse, nel dopoguerra, i parigini avevano altre priorità.
No, ciò che ci interessa davvero è, naturalmente, l’automobile. Considerata già un’“antichità” alla fine degli anni Cinquanta, è chiaramente una splendida tourer britannica degli anni Trenta. Ma quale? Una Jaguar? Una Lagonda? Forse una Bentley? O una MG SA?
No, è senza dubbio una Alvis Speed 25 con carrozzeria Charlesworth Tourer. Guardando attentamente, si intravede che la targa potrebbe essere CUS 5 o CUG 5. Abbiamo provato con la prima opzione e, con nostra grande soddisfazione, il registro Alvis ha subito dato un riscontro – corredato da una splendida foto d’epoca. Questo tourer fu consegnato nuovo alla polizia di Glasgow nel 1933. In realtà faceva parte di un lotto di cinque vetture identiche destinate alla polizia, tutte con targhe consecutive.
Quando questa foto fu scattata a Parigi, la Charlesworth Tourer aveva circa 25 anni – abbastanza per essere considerata un’antichità all’epoca. Sembra davvero improbabile che fosse ancora in servizio con la polizia di Glasgow per inseguire gangster scozzesi.
Rimane dunque la grande domanda: cosa ci faceva questa ex Alvis della polizia a Parigi alla fine degli anni Cinquanta?
Testo: Jeroen Booij
Foto: New York Public Library
Pubblicato:
lunedì agosto 25th, 2025
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Commenti
Trevor Wooding
01 Settembre 2025, 08:02
CUS9 definitely still exists, it is a navy blue car that was previously owned by a friend of mine in Belgium, highly active in Alvis circles. I believe the car is now in Wales . It featured a rather nice police 'Bobby' radiator mascot.
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brian mcmillan
27 Agosto 2025, 00:32
Doug Young in Brisbane had CUS8. It is now owned in Perth.
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David Ward
26 Agosto 2025, 13:13
on the uk DVLA vehicle information site it shows that CUS5 had a log book last issued in 1988, CUS6 had the same in 2011, neither cars show a recent mot or roadtax record, all the other registrations are not showing as recognised anymore
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David Scott
26 Agosto 2025, 09:28
With regard to the "where and when", I would suggest this was, in fact 1949 or 1950 and the owner was an Army type, posted to France for some reason, somewhat "ratty" sporting cars being often owned by military types, especially RAF?
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David Scott
26 Agosto 2025, 09:00
Growing up in South London soon after the war, I can tell you that there were plenty of war-damaged buildings right up into 60s and 70s, that excellent ITV series "The Sweeney" ( still available on DvD) is largely set in South London, and you didn't have to look far to find a "bomb site", usually with a villain like my dodgy" Uncle" Jack selling completely worn-out old cars from it. It was a well-known trick of cabbies to take gullible tourists, usually americans, who wanted to see a "WWII bomb site" round to one of the any slum clearance sites as many of the bomb sites had been cleared? South London, even Blackheath where we lived after my parents and grandparents house on the Heath was badly damaged by incendiaries, was seen as much more down market than North London and thus less remunerative to restore or redevelop? To this day it's difficult to persuade a black cab to go "Sarf of der river". But it was still a brilliant place to grow up!! I was very privileged to have had such an interesting family and life there, London was undoubtedly a "foreign country" to the rest of the UK, as I found out when we left London for a modest seaside resort on the South Coast, we may as well have come from Arcturus!
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Mark Sampson
26 Agosto 2025, 04:09
The car looks quite drivable except for the top, which has collapsed from neglect. If it had been left outside for any number of years, it would show more damage. So I suspect that it had been stored in a shed for a long time, perhaps due to unavailable repair parts. Whether that storage began before or after WWII, or if the location is indeed Paris, we may never know. I hope that 68 years after this photo, the car has been restored, and is still with us.
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Anthony Green
25 Agosto 2025, 18:49
Yes, you’re right. Upon reflection, it is plausible. There were factories on the Paris outskirts that were targeted by both sides. Plus railway marshalling yards where collateral damage often occurred. I reacted a little too quickly early this morning. My apologies to Jeroen Booij and to The New York Public Library.
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Frank Mertens
25 Agosto 2025, 16:20
According to the Alvis Speed 25 register CUS 5 was delivered on June 16, 1939. Alvis Speed 25’s were not produced until 1936.
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Anthony Green
25 Agosto 2025, 07:18
With respect, the photo doesn’t look very much like Paris, despite the caption. Also, brick buildings are extremely rare in Paris, if not non-existent, and the city-proper suffered very limited bomb damage during WW2. In sum, to find a war-damaged brick building in Paris in the 1950s would have been very difficult. But regrettably I can’t offer a credible alternative…
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Ben Stephens
25 Agosto 2025, 11:08
I don’t think it is entirely implausible. Areas of Paris in the Western Suburbs which had industry were hit, both at the start and mid war by both Germans and Allies.
There are some fairly well known photos taken in places such as the Rue de Championet showing brick built buildings after the bombing. I am not sure when the reconstruction took place, but, reading books such as Paris Vagabond makes you realise it was a slow pace in places like Paris, as they cleared areas to make way for more modern housing etc.
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There are some fairly well known photos taken in places such as the Rue de Championet showing brick built buildings after the bombing. I am not sure when the reconstruction took place, but, reading books such as Paris Vagabond makes you realise it was a slow pace in places like Paris, as they cleared areas to make way for more modern housing etc.