Car Dealers, Garages, Petrol Stations

There was a link here: Mr Skillington lived 3 doors away from my parents. He was Percy Blamire's father-in-law. Percy's wife was a lot younger than he, and she became a good friend of my parents. My father would joke that before the war, he had bought a duff car off him. His wife (widow by now) did not take the bait, but smiled and implied "I could tell you a tale or two". This was about 6 months after Percy had died. The marriage had been without issue. They had a farm at Balsall Common. I suppose one has to be careful on this public forum, especially as I believe his widow may still be alive, hence no names, but Percy seems to have a led a colourful life, and that's got nothing to do with flying planes. Let's just say ... double existence ... family ... out of woodwork ... Perhaps I've said too much already!

Thanks Annewiggy. I feel a bit of a plonker after reading through the explanation as I already knew the answer I've now discovered from Coventry Culture that my car was first registered on 30 October 1969 by Coventry Council. So I have a mystery as to what happened to it between 15 July 1969 and 30 October 1969.

I wonder if the council have any records of who they bought it off.

The record cards used to be kept in the basement of what was Nelson Mandela House before the Herbert had its revamp. However these cards only refer to any vehicle "scrapped or disposed of", so theoretically speaking, this car should not be there.

Hi JagFan, It may be that the car in question went out of the factory gates in July to sit in one of the car delivery firms' compounds until a buyer was found. In the late 1950s my father worked for Canley Car Deliveries. Their compound was in Hob Lane, Burton Green, and it held hundreds of cars - mostly Standard Triumph and Jaguar - awaiting delivery or awaiting shipping if an export.

Looks lovely JagFan. I was also brought up in Allesley and a lot of my family worked at Browns Lane. You'll find most Coventrians of a certain generation all worked either there, Masseys or Ryton (where I was a trainee!). Lost my dad many years ago but I still see his best mate now and again who was a works test driver for the E-Type. Ironically the last time we met up he was telling me about that role. He'd moved to Jag after starting and being trained at the Standard. He was telling me that despite what I perceive as a dream job - he really did not enjoy it there as there was a lot of rivalry with the longer standing Jag employees who had been apprentices from the start there and who 'looked down' at Standard workers. My cousin is quite well know in Jaguar circles as he was the chief engineer on the XF and rose to Programme Director before moving on a few years ago.

Getting my head round this! I think Pixrobin is correct. I misunderstood and thought the car had been registered to rather than by Coventry City Council. As Pixrobin says the car would have left the factory in July but was registered and given its number on 30 October so it would have been in storage of some sort. Possibly A C Barlett worked for Newsome's and signed for the vehicles. Michael Buckley probably then ordered it from Parkgate Garage who got it from Newsome's and then it was registered on the 30th so he could tx it from 1st November. Just a theory I know. Perhaps your contact who told you when the car left the factory could tell you if A C Barlett was responsible for any other vehicles.

Just been talking to a car transporter driver who worked with my father (we live in the same building). While Standard Triumph cars were collected from Canley and driven up to Burton Green for storage and delivery, those from Jaguar were collected by car transporter. As cars left the Jaguar factory gate they would need to be signed for by the transporter driver, so though not 'owner' of the cars the driver was responsible for them. When they got to the storage facility then the responsibility would be taken over by the delivery company. But that would look as if the transporter driver would go down in the Jaguar documentation as 'owner' before the vehicle was delivered to the distributor/dealer and before the car had to be registered.

Did they move, or have two depots? Because they were in Canley Road during the sixties and early seventies. The main entrance for the lorries was by the brook, next door to my mate's down the dip. The brick wall along the rear of the gardens had broken glass cemented on the top. That was a red rag to us kids, and we regularly went over the wall at night just for the devilment of it.

Looks like they did, Slim 1958 Telephone Directory lists them at Burton Green 1963 they're listed at 242 Canley Road 1968 shows them both at Canley Road and Griff Clara Colliery

Hi, Jag fan, that certainly is a nice looking E type you have there, I have always liked Jags especially 60' models, I have driven many in my time. Regards.

Thanks, MR. 1963 is when we moved to Canley Rd. My friend's house was 244. When CCD disappeared, the bulldozers soon moved in, and that's when we got visits every night from the foxes, who must have been nesting (or lairing) on the derelict site. We knew it was foxes, because every night at about 2300 hours, our dog went into the back garden and went berserk sniffing around. And they always left their calling cads on the lawn. Black, they were! Within a year of the bulldozers, Sainsbury's Homebase was built, and is still there.

I found the S H Newsome letter posted earlier by NeilsYard interesting as it was signed by Geoffrey Bull. Geoff Bull was the managing director of Rootes/Chrysler dealership Cheylesmore Garage in Daventry Road during the 60's & 70's. His son Peter also worked at the dealership at that time as Sales Manager. I think Geoff retired in the mid seventies so had a long career within the Coventry motor industry!

I have been collecting info about and writing blog posts about garage business that dealt with either Standard or Triumph cars. Vitessesteve - blog. Here is a photo of a Triumph Herald on the roof of Parkgate Garages Ltd - Coventry Parkgate Garages Ltd, Parkgate Road, Holbrooks are listed as a Coventry Triumph car dealer in 1955, 1965, 1968 and 1974. In 1968 the Coventry area distributor was Newsome, S.H. and Co. Ltd., with their Sales, Service and Spares: Highway Garage, Kenpas Highway. Repair Dept.: Quinton Road, Coventry. Other Triumph dealers listed as at 1968 in Coventry. Blamire, P., Queen's Road Garage. Cheylesmore Garage (Coventry) Ltd., Daventry Road. R.E.S. Motors (Coventry) Ltd., Paynes Lane. Ryton Motors Ltd., London Road, Ryton-on-Dunsmore Does anybody have any recollections of or photos of any of these Triumph car dealers they can share with me?

Don't know if you have come across this info.