The Newland Files Pt. II: a young enthusiast's stable

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Last month, we introduced readers to pre-war enthusiast Geoff Newland, who had the foresight to photograph a lot of rare vintage and post-vintage cars when they were still to be seen in everyday use in the 1950s and '60s. In this instalment, we revisit the teenage Geoff has he becomes a motorist himself.

With the money he’d saved from his apprenticeship, Geoff made the leap from the simplicity of a Ford to the luxury of a Humber in 1962, and there followed a handful of other rare 1930s cars which he enjoyed driving and, where possible, taking to rallies, although at the time Geoff and others were still working to persuade people that 1930s family cars were worthy of preservation.

As mentioned in Part I, a group of enthusiasts formed the Thirty-Forty Motor Club to encourage interest in all 1930s cars. They met at the pub next to the Catford railway bridge and Geoff got involved as editor of the newsletter, which was "typed on wax stencils and rolled off on a Gestetner duplicator before photocopiers became more available." Indeed, it was one of his Humbers that featured on the club badge. The club was only operative for a few years and not many people remember it today, so it has been our privilege to hear Geoff’s reminiscences and see photographs from one of its rallies.

Humber 12 no. 1
This is the 1937 Humber 12 saloon which Geoff bought for the princely sum of £7 10s in September, 1962, shortly after his wages had risen to £3 14s. 0d. a week. Unfortunately, he cannot remember the full registration number, only that it was an Eastbourne ‘JK’ plate. In the first picture, it looked presentable but it had its share of rust, and the second photograph shows it halfway through restoration. This was the car that was immortalised on the Thirty-Forty Club badge, Geoff having traced around the side profile photograph and sent the sketch off to the enamellers.

Humber 12 no. 2
Geoff added a slightly earlier Humber 12 Sports Tourer to his stable about a year later. Very attractive in Wedgwood blue, he towed it back from Wootton Bassett, Wiltshire, and later sold it to a man in Hove, on the East Sussex coast. By the 1960s, this was already a very rare car but, remarkably, another was kept at a house just 300 yards from Geoff's and was driven regularly by its lady owner.

Humber 12 no. 3
This was Geoff’s third and final Humber 12 which had already come to the end of the road. He bought it to strip for its remaining spares to keep his other saloon on the road, and when this photograph was taken it had served its purpose and was on its way to the scrapyard.

Riley Adelphi
Seeking something sportier, in 1964 Geoff bought this "well-worn" 1937 Riley 12/4 Adelphi with pre-selector gearbox for £13. Finished in a natty two-tone, it looks most at home in the period-correct environs of 1930s suburbia. This and the Humbers were photographed outside Geoff’s family home at 61, Hillcrest Road, Orpington.

Austin 16 or 18
A car very different in character from both the Humbers and the Riley, this big six-cylinder Austin, which looks to be a 16 or 18 of c.1936, must have looked rather imposing mixing with the Minis, Minors and A40s of Geoff’s neighbours. It was seen on Homefield Rise in Orpington.

Morris 12
This Morris 12 was not one of Geoff’s cars, but instead belonged to the father of one of his girlfriends. Sadly, the pleasant suburban scene could not be recreated today as the houses in the picture, also on Homefield Rise, were demolished in the 1970s to make way for Orpington’s Walnuts Shopping Centre. In 2023, even more of the surviving interwar housing was destroyed to make way for some profoundly demoralising blocks of flats.

Morris Eight
On the subject of girlfriends, Geoff owned a superb example of a Morris Eight which he loaned to one prospective wife. Unfortunately, he was to regret his generosity when she was involved in a reversing accident which resulted in serious damage to one of the rear quarter panels. Geoff did his best to repair it but had to concede that it was never quite going to look like new. The Eight pictured was given to Geoff as a replacement following the accident in 1965 or 1966, and was photographed at the car park of Burton & Deakin, where he was apprenticed.

Singer 11
This 1934 Singer 11, spotted locally, must have been quite a rare car by the 1960s, and such machines are almost never encountered today. It was also taken in the car park of Burton & Deakin, opposite Orpington station. Happily, this particular car is believed to still be in existence, having last changed hands in 1991.

Thirty-Forty Motor Club
These pictures depict a Thirty-Forty Motor Club rally in Cornwall in 1964 or 1965, seemingly quite early in the year if the bare trees are anything to go by. Geoff participated with his Adelphi, which was one of about 20 or 30 cars in attendance. The variety of cars was impressive and by no means confined to pressed-steel saloons. The MG J2 has plenty of followers and the Hillman Aero Minx is celebrated for its airline styling, but the two Riley Lincock coupés represent one of the few Nine variations never to have taken off – only 300 were built between 1932 and 1934. It is interesting to see that, even in the 1960s, they were being ‘hot-rodded’ with oversized wheels and tyres.

The Morris Minor and Wolseley Hornet are scarce enough today, but the British Salmson is especially so. Wheel discs being generally the preserve of large, upmarket cars, they lend a certain aspirational quality to the Wolseley, although one cannot help thinking they would do wonders for the appearance of the British Salmson.

Armstrong Siddeley
As Geoff travelled around the country, he kept his camera by his side in the event that he might encounter some interesting automotive antiques, such as this well-used Armstrong Siddeley, we think a 12/6 of c.1930, which was in Aberdeen.

Hillman 14
A second Hillman 14 was spotted on St. Mary’s, the largest of the Isles of Scilly and the only one where cars were allowed, where it would have been one of very few cars altogether. As no registration numbers were issued on the Scilly Isles until 1971, it is hardly possible to identify the car any more positively.

Words: Zack Stiling; photographs: Geoff Newland
 

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