Probably of no interest to anyone but reading of the motor factories in Coventry I would like to add that when I was evacuated from Egypt in December 1952 we were all housed in Blackpool. Being the closed season the MOD took over all the hotels. We were there for a few months and then my father was posted from Egypt to go as a PSI (Permenant Staff Instructor) to the TA in Coventry and my first job was with Rootes Group in Stoke which made the Hillmans, Humbers etc.
As has been mentioned Coventry was full of motor factories.
At the time most of the shops had a very presentable frontage but when you went inside the rest of the building was a nissan hut. Perhaps Keith can remember this.
Tom
Hi Tom, One model I overlooked was the Humber. My first house was amongst the Rootes fraternity and so my first car was a Hilman Minx as I could get spare parts easily. The second a Super Minx, then an Imp folowed by a Singer Vogue Estate. By this time I had left Coventry. With regards to the Shops in Coventry, one has to remember that the centre was completely raised to the graound in 1940/1 and it took some time after 1945 to rebuild. I remember sitting on a window sill and counting over 400 planes flying over to Birmingham and half an hour later they were back. All history now.
Paul, I went looking for my photos again but no joy. I can only think that they went missing on my last move 7 years ago. I am gutted. However, I have found my Discharge card signed 21/2/1956, also my final pay advice showing I was owed 12pounds eight shillings and four pence. Also my final travel warrant dated 23/2/1956.
Rpn, I as not the Signalman in your group as I was in a party of guys who left Loughborough all together. I did have a photo of the group at Loughborough Station but along with the others, it has gone missing. _________________ Keith Kerby (1955/6)
In 1960/.61 i worked on a contract to supply two tyre factories to Rumania, one in Bucharest and the other in Ploesti. When the equipment started to flow out there I was sent out to manage the admin, not the engineering. I inherited from my predecessor out there a Humber Super Snipe estate. despite its size it was for that time very quick despite the lousy Rumanian petrol. In fact it was faster than the Minister of Petroleum Industries Jaguar 2.4 and he kept on hinting that we should give the Humber to him. It was promised to him at the end of the contract but I did not stay that long having been found persona non grata. I came back to an Austin A30 which was a bit of a comedown. I had left my beloved Riley 1.5 RME in the hands of my best friend. When he met me at the airport he confessed that there 'one or two problems'. He was dead right. The car was virtually unusable. I had to climb in through the passenger door and the handbrake just hung loosely. Oil pressure? At 70mph it just about reached 18psi, I got £49 for it hence the A30.
Keith, you were a bright young lad to have been able to count to 400. At the time of the blitz I couldn't get much above 10 I reckon.
Posted: Mon Aug 03, 2009 1:20 pm Post subject: I ran for a bus
Hi Tom,
In December 1952 it was surely the War Office rather than the MOD. The latter - which unites the former War Office, Admiralty, and Air Ministry - was not established until 1964 or so.
Hi Ted, I knew I was wrong as soon as I had typed MOD but did not think you would be looking.
Regarding the Humber Snipes. When I did a DF course at Bletchley many moons ago we had two estate cars Reg Nos DF1 and DF2 for mobile DF and I am sure they were Snipes.
Tom
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