International Alvis Weekend organised by the Northern Section of the Alvis Owner Club provided a superb location and glorious hot weather for the first of their three annual events over the weekend of 16-18 June 2017. It was good to see many Alvis not seen for many years as well the usual attendees. Here is a small selection….
The Board of the Alvis Owner Club are pleased to announce that at a meeting on 16 June, David Salter was co-opted to the post of Chairman of the Club to serve until the forthcoming AGM in October. David has also indicated his willingness to offer himself for election at the AGM.
The Board are also pleased to confirm that Brian Maile’s operation seems to have been successful and he is now at home recuperating. Brian will be undergoing further treatment in the coming weeks. The Board have sent the Club’s best wishes for a speedy recovery.
We have now moved the majority of the archive material we hold to our new offices at Bowcliffe Hall.
From July we will be open to visitors, by appointment, every first Wednesday of the month starting on July 5th, between 2pm and 7pm.
This neatly coincides with the Noggin and Natter night at Roecliffe so visitors can continue in Alvis mode for the rest of the day. If you would like to reserve a slot come and see us please complete the form below:
This Sunday Alvis will converge on Gawsworth Hall in Cheshire for the International event. The forecast is for dry and sunny weather so a good day is in prospect. The latest information from the AOC website is:
INTERNATIONAL ALVIS DAY 2017
PROGRAMME OF EVENTS
10.30 Entry to International Alvis Day opens at Gawsworth Hall, Church Lane, Gawsworth, Macclesfield SK11 9RN
Please clearly display your Gawsworth IAD badges and follow directions by the marshalls to the parking areas.
Concours and Featured Cars will be directed to the right to park in front of the main house. However please return to your car at 12.45 and move it to the main arena parking area to assist Frank Kay’s commentary.
If you have entered the Concours, please be sure, as detailed above, to notify the marshalls so they can direct you to the front of the house.
10.50 Drivers briefing
11.00 Concours Judging Starts
11.00 Driving Tests Start
11.45 Tea Room Opens
12-4pm Hall Open for Tours
12.45 Concours and Featured Cars to move to the main arena parking area
1-2pm Lunch
Please note that there is no movement of vehicles permitted during the lunchtime period for safety reasons.
If you have not ordered a hamper or brought your own picnic, Gawsworth Hall have a Tea Room near to the Hall and there is a barbecue stand in the main arena
4pm Prize Giving Ceremony to be held in the marquee
I am sad to inform you that our Chairman, Brian Maile, has been struck very suddenly by a serious illness. He is currently undergoing treatment for a cancer related tumour. Brian has relinquished his Chairmanship role with immediate effect and Mick Fletcher, as Vice Chairman, will be taking over the Chairman’s responsibilities.
On 23rd May 1917, T. G. John registered his own company with £3000 of his own money. He was the Managing Director with E. F. Peirson, an accountant, as Chairman, W. Maddocks, a solicitor and C. H. White, a gentleman of independent means from Criccieth, as other Directors. John’s brother-in-law, a successful businessman in the Pembroke area, held the first share. (Source: K R Day 4th Edition Alvis – The Story of the Red Triangle)
On 23rd May 1967, one of the last Alvis cars was despatched from the works to Sleaford dealer W. P. Maidens and sold to a Lincolnshire farmer, R P Watts – a TF21 saloon with automatic transmission – to be “F” registered LCT 329F in August
This TF was owned for almost thirty years by the English rugby player R.W.D. Marques (1932-2010) who was a serial Alvis owner having previously owned a Speed 25 and a TD21. David Marques wrote in Bulletin 293 of July 1978 “… our family had a 1939 Sp 25 Alvis saloon GPU 146 which I believe was owned before the war by Billy Cotton. We bought it about 1947 and gave it away to be raffled at a Harlequin Football Club ball in about 1958 – how short sighted could we be!”
Martin Boothman wrote in Bulletin 527 about David Marques and John Currie who played together in the English second row a record 22 times in succession during a wonderful period for English rugby. David also wrote in Bulletin 313 of July 1980:
“In 1957 I was using a Speed 25 and if the car had been left for any time the sound of the petrol pumps ticking away on starting to refill the three carburettors, used to hurt me, so I fitted a switch to the petrol pumps on the dashboard so that I could turn off the petrol approximately 1½ miles from home so that when I next started the car I had used the petrol in the carburettor instead of having it evaporated – in those days it worked out at a price of a bar of chocolate!
The sequel to my meanness was on one occasion asking a friend to drive the car into London from Twickenham. He arrived two hours later in a harassed state, the car having broken down 1 ½ miles from the ground and he could find no way of starting it and in desperation had come in by taxi – the explanation was simple. As he got in his large duffle coat wrapped round his knees had switched off the petrol pumps – the cost of the taxis on that one night outweighed all the savings I had ever made by a long, long way!
Yours etc
David.”
On 23rd May 2017 the Alvis Archive Trust starts its tenancy at Bowcliffe Hall. With luck, someone will be remembering that in 2067.
