1950s / 1960s UK country driving video

[jagnut66]

Hi,
Thought you might like to see this. Plenty of Minors amongst many other classics, see how many you can identify.
It is an old film and there is a blank bit at about 10:06 (on the counter) but bear with it and the film resumes fairly quickly.
I believe it leads into other period UK driving videos, if you let it carry on running after this one has finished. So stop at one or carry on.
Enjoy!
Best wishes,
Mike.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ig7CZTEbkzY

[jagnut66]

Thought you might like this one too, from a friendly rival(?) of the period.........

https://www.britishpathe.com/video/maki ... -it-reel-1

https://www.britishpathe.com/video/maki ... -it-reel-2

Sadly, after checking the DVLA website, it looks like the little A35 used in these, TOX 930 didn't survive.............

[Blaketon]

Not as many Austin/Morris 1100s as I remember as a toddler. Thinking back to those early days, my father had an Austin Mini Countryman (Similar colour, if not the same as my Traveller), next door had an A40 (Farina), then next to them was a green Minor Traveller (Firms car) and they also used to have the odd Jaguar (Could have been their son's car). Next to that, I seem to remember Citroen DS and beyond that was a farm. We had no next door neighbour the other side, until someone bought the plot and they had an Escort Estate (As did my father by that time) and beyond them was another Jaguar, whilst beyond them belonged to the farmer. On the other side I recall a Morris Oxford (Farina) a Humber Imperial and then there was a graveyard and chapel. Beyond them was a tad far away for me in those days, though I recall a Hillman Minx (Hunter style). I had two aunts and uncles and they had a Mk1 Viva and the others had an MG Magnette Varitone. Of my grandfathers, one had a firm's BSA C15 and the other had a Mk2 Jaguar. In retirement, he first had a series of Wolseley/Austin 1100s.

[jagnut66]

I grew up in Reading, on a private estate built in 1953, though the houses were (and still look in my opinion) modern in style. Unlike where I live now in Mansfield, which is an ex council house built in 1950 and whose design style looks pre-war in origins.
I remember a Mark 1 Escort estate up the road from us, two doors along was a white Morris Minor Traveller, we had a pale blue (Wedgewood Blue?) Triumph Herald 1200 with a dark blue interior, Webasto sunroof and white rubber over the bumpers.
I have very fond memories of that car, as I strongly associate it with my childhood. Shame the next owners wrote it off......
I don't seem to remember seeing many cars parked in the road though, so I'm left wondering how many people / families owned one, even in the late 60's. Mind you there was a good corporation bus service back then.
I also remember discovering a barn with some friends, in a small field not far from us, packed with pre-war cars in good condition. Yes, three little boys found a way in, though we didn't damage or nick anything, how times have changed............
And playing in the woods, near some old air raid shelters, which also had pre-war cars littered about, although these had been left out to rot and were falling apart by the late 60's / early 70's.
Best wishes,
Mike.

[Blaketon]

Cars parked on the road wasn't common back then or even that easy. Neither of my grandfathers left their vehicles on the road. The one, with a motorcycle, kept it in a shed in the back garden, whilst the other had a garage (That wasn't filled with junk). Because my paternal grandfather was a fitter, he had cars before most people did (Before WW2) BUT he always garaged them and looked after them (This has made it's way down, by example, to me). In those days it involved some effort and sacrifice, so you valued your investment. What I call "Coal in the bath" motoring was still a long way off.

The Police used to clamp down on parking overnight on the road. One of my maternal grandparent's neighbours was booked for not showing a light (His van was the only vehicle parked), whilst my other grandfather was visiting his sister and had parked his car outside (Again there was nothing else there). There was a knock at the door and a Policeman asked that the lights be put on, as it was dusk. So my late next door neighbour told me, during the 1970s, the Police booked loads of cars in my present street, for not having parking lights or being parked facing the wrong way. None of the roads mentioned are main roads. Today you can park as you like, where you like; they don't even book people for parking on double yellow lines. I think that turning a blind eye has snowballed and now the problem is out of control.

[philthehill]

The above reminds me of visiting my grandmother in Sheffield, my father would have to park off the road at night and some time later he used a Pifco red/white parking light attached to the offside gutter; he always made sure that he was parked the right way round.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/CLASSIC-AND- ... SwGJldmxpw

[ManyMinors]

Not as many Austin/Morris 1100s as I remember as a toddler.

Surely that is simply because the film pre-dates the production of most 1100s? The 1100/1300 range was Britain's best selling new car during the 1960s and the roads were indeed covered with them. I don't know what year(s) the filming covered but most of the cars I spotted were older. The very first 1100s were 1962 I think and even then, only in small numbers.

I too can remember when a "parking light" of some sort was a legal requirement when parking on the roadside during darkness. Most of them plugged into a little socket fitted to the dashboard.

[Blaketon]

The Ford Zephyr Mk3, coming off the ferry, tells us we are at least 1962 and whilst I haven't looked at every car, I can't see a suffix number plate, so maybe we are looking at 1962. You'd expect to see a few A reg cars, if it was 1963.

[jagnut66]

Something else for your delectation.......
Hope you enjoy it as much as I did....
For anyone who hasn't spotted them, you can use the little pointers in the top right hand corners of these videos to go 'full screen' for better viewing.
Best wishes,
Mike.

https://www.britishpathe.com/video/look ... at-britain

[Blaketon]

Some of these films are great and I'd like to be able to put them on to DVD. As an example is https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nEAVkRnn4iQ&t=1497s . This programme has never been released on DVD. Is it possible to download these sorts of thing on to DVD?

[jagnut66]

Is it possible to download these sorts of thing on to DVD?

Great little clip that.
Try the link below, let us know if it's any help.

https://www.y2mate.com/en3

Best wishes,
Mike.

[moggiethouable]

Hi,
Thought you might like to see this. Plenty of Minors amongst many other classics, see how many you can identify.
It is an old film and there is a blank bit at about 10:06 (on the counter) but bear with it and the film resumes fairly quickly.
I believe it leads into other period UK driving videos, if you let it carry on running after this one has finished. So stop at one or carry on.
Enjoy!
Best wishes,
Mike.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ig7CZTEbkzY

Thanks for that, as the same minor appears in a lot of the frames I wondered one half of a duo filmed while the other drove?
Also, at 10.02.56 I enjoyed watching the kamikaze old dears who studiously ignored the zebra crossing up the road and wandered without looking across a highway.
At 10.03 the Eden arms is shown, I am convinced this is at a roundabout North of Newton Aycliffe in county durham
10.03.53 is Barnard Castle town centre, also co durham, and though not certain, 10.04.40 looks like redcar steel works to the right with Wilton chemical plant on the left viewed from Eston Hills near Middlesbrough.
10.06.23 is Newcastle town centre, the monument is still there,
All good stuff.