THE SPIRIT
DOUG RYDER 1993 Bentley Brooklands RCH54284 Bought new from Powles of Leicester by George Adams who was known as the ‘Sausage King’ of Lincolnshire. He was collected from Buckingham Palace in the car, then registered GCA 5, after he received his OBE. Adams was a great car enthusiast and came 12th equal in the RAC Rally of 1953 in a Jaguar. His son, Mark, inherited 28 cars from his father after his death, including the Booklands. The car was not to Mark’s taste and he soon sold it although he admired the quality
of the workmanship and described the craftmanship as ‘superb’. When his company, Adams and Harlow, opened a new factory, Princess Anne was guest of honour and travelled in the car to officiate at the opening ceremony. The company is now run by the granddaughters of the founders and manufacture an excellent range of pies! The next owner was Frederick Edward Titmuss of Kettering and the car was registered as FET 4V. The present and third owner of the car, Doug Ryder, purchased it with only 34,000 miles recorded – fully supported by documentation. It is now registered as L292 WEW.
THE SPIRIT
JERZY ZDANKO 1987 Rolls-Royce SIlver Spur HCH21912 One of the Silver Spur’s previous owners was Thornbury Castle, a 500-year-old listed building and now a 26-room luxury hotel. Building work began in 1511 – it was intended as a home for Edward Stafford, the Duke of Buckingham. The castle was almost finished by 1521, when the Duke’s distant cousin, Henry VIII, accused him of treason, then had him beheaded and confiscated his castle. And then, 14 years later, Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn enjoyed a 10-day retreat at Thornbury Castle as part of their honeymoon tour. Although the car was registered to the owner, the bills for running it were be paid by the Castle itself.
STEPHEN RICHARDSON 1992 Bentley Turbo R NCH44448 This Turbo R was previously owned by Gerry Crampton (1930-2009) – the son of a coach driver who worked as a butcher’s boy before becoming a stuntman and appearing in six James Bond films from Dr No in 1962 to The Spy Who Loved Me in 1977. He became known as “Mr Mayhem” and did stunts for Raiders of the Lost Ark, Gandhi, The Jewel in the Crown and scores of other films. Gerry Crampton is one of only a handful of British stuntmen to be received into the Hollywood Stuntmen’s Hall of Fame. Although he was undoubtedly fearless, Crampton was not immune to work related injuries. While making Cromwell he fell from his horse and ended up in the London Clinic. On another occassion, while fighting a leopard in Tarzan Goes to India, Crampton was chained to a tree. The animal’s claws were supposed to have been clipped before it was goaded and released but, when the cameras rolled, Crampton was left to defend himself. The leopard’s claws may or may not have been clipped but they left scars on his body which he bore for the rest of his life. Other accidents left him with a metal plate and screws in one ankle and following a motorcycle fall, the petrol cap caught him so hard between the legs that he fainted and was rushed to hospital. Crampton had a life-long enthusiasm for fast cars and, in addition to his Bentley Turbo R, he also owned several Aston Martins, and an E-type Jaguar.
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THE MAGAZINE OF THE ROLLS-ROYCE ENTHUSIASTS’ CLUB SZ REGISTER
MISS S WALKER AND MR S HALES 1989 Rolls-Royce Silver Spirit KCH26511 This beautiful Rolls-Royce Silver Spirit has had only one previous lady owner who purchased it new for her 70th birthday and the car was kept by her until her sad demise. The coachwork is finished in two tone blue and has cream leather seats edged with blue piping.
The vehicle has a full Rolls-Royce service history up to 2007 and has been looked after by Rolls-Royce specialists since then. Having covered just 84,000 miles from new, the car has had more than £4,500 of restoration work recently carried out on it in order to bring it up to its present condition. The Silver Spirit still carries its original cherished registration number of 29 ADA.
Where to start researching the history of your car Construction records The RREC holds extensive records for SZ cars. These records generally run to more than 50 pages and itemise the car’s original specification and trace its journey along the production line. The chances are that a copy of the original order from the supplying dealer will also be included. The price for Rolls-Royce Enthusiasts’ Club, Bentley Drivers Club, Sir Henry Royce Memorial Foundation and W O Bentley Memorial Foundation members is £50 plus p&p and £60 for non-members; contact archives@rrec.org.uk for details or to order. DVLA records Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency holds records of all UK cars. For £2.50 you can use Form V888 to request a list of previous registered keepers in order to research the history of your car, provided you can show that the information is to be used ‘in a fair and responsible way and for the purpose for which it is requested.’ DVLA will generally supply a summary of names, addresses and dates of the previous keepers along with photocopies of previous V5 Vehicle Registration Documents, V317 Applications to transfer or retain a vehicle registration number and any other documents relating to the car. Service history Follow up the dealer stamps in the service book. Main dealers are often prepared to check their records against the documents that came with the car and confirm the details of any major work.
HANS PORRIO 1986 Rolls-Royce Silver Spirit GCH14850 Now resident in the Netherlands, Hans Porrio’s pecan Rolls-Royce Silver Spirit
was first registered to Jack Barclay in London and the dealer used the car as its official demonstrator – nearly 30 years later, the distance covered has only just crept over 15,000 miles.
Contacting owners A search of previous keepers’ addresses using Google Maps can provide a fascinating insight into where the car has been kept and a polite email or letter with an SAE to these addresses can often reveal more facts, memories and anecdotes.
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