Following the last post of Alvis success in Switzerland we received a further hundred or so photos from Arie Wubben who clearly has an eye for detail in his subjects. Some of these photos have been added to the page Swiss Meetings.
This one captures the unique roof line of this Graber:
25936 – 1957 TC108G Graber coupe – photo Arie Wubben
Another Graber entered its first National U.S. Concours, Radnor Hunt, and won first place in their “Debutante” class – cars shown for the first time at a major concours –
1961 TD21 Graber super coupe 26605, photo Ken Swanston
A downloadable Register of TD21s as they left the factory has been added to the page TD21 : 1958-1963
In the UK, Pre-War Prescott attracted some thirty cars and these photos from Edmund Waterhouse give a taste of the event
A Graber TC108G Special has won the public vote in the Zurich Classical Car Awards on 18th August.
Peter Stierlin with his 1957 TC108G Special 25934 – photo Iris Henseler Stierlin
Also receiving a Special Prize of the Jury was the TC21/100 Tickford…
25526 TC21/100 Tickford AL28 of Leo Schmid – photo Arie Wubber
Twenty years ago the Swiss Graber contingent came to Blenheim Palace to celebrate the Golden Jubilee of the AOC and the report of their attendance was included in Bulletin 471 which is available to download, and also in more detail on 2001 Blenheim Palace AOC Jubilee
While many large events continue to be constrained by the dreaded virus, new smaller gatherings of friends on a less formal basis have returned to fill the social calendar. Our first Dining Club meeting got off to a perfect start making the most of our base at Bowcliffe Hall and its Drivers Club which has returned to normal with a full menu, excellent service and magnificent surroundings catering for the petrol head. For a report of the first meeting and dates of future meetings, click Dining Club.
Robert Blackburn, former owner of Bowcliffe Hall with the second of his three Speed 20s
Another very pleasant event this weekend in memory of Barry Ward, a serial Alvis restorer, brought together several Alvis owners, past and present, in a field in Lincolnshire, organised by Julian Brown Classic Car Commissions who is handling the sale of Barry’s Atalanta collection.
An appeal in http://www.alvis14.com for news of the whereabouts of a Tickford TA 14, registered KLM 51, chassis no. 22408 has gone unanswered. She is still shown on the current DVLA site so perhaps is sitting quietly in a garage or possibly has gone abroad. Black with a tan roof she was last heard of in 1989 in West Kensington, London. A relative of an early owner would love to track her down. Please contact Eileen on eileen4ta.tb14s@rocketmail.com if you have any knowledge to help locate her after 1989, also a photo would be much appreciated. We know she went to International Alvis Day in 1986.
A successful appeal for information has united the lady looking for history of the Keddie family, see Old photos, with the holder of the extensive photo archives and medals and they will be meeting soon. Steve Horne had already scanned all the over 300 photos and local press cuttings anyway and additional copies are archived in the Essex Records Office, preserving Essex’s early automotive history and the key role of EMC and SDAC in hill-climbing, in Essex and nationally at that time (EMC ran Kop events).
We also tracked down two “lost” TD21s to Switzerland, one the former Graber of the late Christo van Zweeden and the other a Park Ward, 26778, now in a collection near Bern.
In the August 2021 edition of Classic and Sports Car, Simon Charlesworth writes about his namesake coachbuilder…
I thought I’d let you know that my piece on Charlesworth Bodies Ltd is in the current issue of Classic & Sports Car magazine (August 2021) and as you assisted with information and or pix, I thought you’d like to know. This is a shot of the opening spread of the six-page feature. Once again, thank you for all your help. Regards, Simon Charlesworth
We were pleased to receive an unpublished work from the late Roy Probert which we intend to publish, “One Man’s Alvis” – it is not about cars but a fascinating read about life at Alvis after cars. We will be publishing extracts in due course and invite expressions of interest for a printed version.
We hold stocks of Roy’s first book “Leonides” and copies are available by post, see AERO ENGINES.
A major piece of work of digitising almost 1,000 pages of the The Leonides Handbook and Parts Catalogue is coming to fruition and owners of an engine are invited to express interest in receiving a copy.
In current ownership since 1962…..
On August 22nd at Mallory Park there will be a VSCC Centenary Race for Alvis cars and it is hoped that a special area for spectating Alvis cars and owners will be available.
On the same weekend a two-day event “Passion for Power” at Tatton Park, Cheshire is taking place on 21st and 22nd August with AAT Trustee Chris Taylor organising the Alvis stand in a great location within the show ground. You can book your place attending on either the Saturday or Sunday or both days.
Contact Chris at: chris@ctml.co.uk with the details of the car that you wish to display and he will make all the arrangements. Entry is FREE to exhibitors.
The final deadline for booking is Wednesday 14th July 2021.
Roy Probert passed away peacefully on the 14th June 2021 at the age of 86.
Roy’s passion for the ALVIS will always be remembered. He started with the company in 1967 and progressed to Quality Control Manager giving the company 28 years service. When Roy retired at the age of 60 he set up his own consultancy business which took him back to the ALVIS offering them support due to the knowledge he had on the Aero Engine.
Roy went on to write a book called ,”LEONIDES The ALVIS Aero Engine” as he wanted to put what he knew so much about and had learnt on this subject over those years into print. A second book was written by Roy Probert called ‘One Man’s ALVIS’ and he gives recollections of the former company in his own words from 1967 to the severance of its manufacturing associations with Coventry. To date this one hasn’t been published but shows one man’s passion for a company he loved working for and continued to love until he died.
Roy Probert leaves behind him two daughters who live in Solihull/Coventry and both keen to keep his memory alive. Roy Probert will be remembered as a man who had a wealth of knowledge of these engines and who will be sadly missed by all who knew him.
The funeral service is at the Robin Hood Crematorium, Shirley, Solihull on Wednesday 7th July at 11.30am. It is being broadcast on:
The dining experience at Bowcliffe is something we like to share with members so we have decided to launch The Alvis Dining Club at Bowcliffe Hall which will meet every Third Wednesday for lunch in the Drivers Club – July 21st; August 18th; September 15th; October 20th. Why not join us?
If you would like to join us, please leave a reply to make a reservation
Two Three Litres have taken to the road in Switzerland after being restored, a Graber TE21 cabriolet in Lugano and a TC21/100 Tickford in the canton of Zurich.
“I want to let you know that we have finished our work on 25526 / JRD 500. We passed the Strassenverkehrsamt Zürich and got the approval to drive around with it.
It was a great pleasure to restore that car and now we can enjoy the beautiful design of the TC 21 drophead. We are getting many compliments.
We plan to come to England to one of the meetings of the Alvis Owner Club, as soon as Covid allows. It probably might be rather 2022 that 2021, but we will see and let you know.
I want to thank you and your colleagues from the Alvis Owner Club, we got valuable help from many people, especially Malcolm Kindell, Chris Prince, Red Triangle, Jonathan Huggett, Richard Bagge, Alan Mills and Dieter Schätti in Switzerland. The AOC is a great thing and I highly appreciate your work and your help.
I look forward to seeing you and your colleagues soon.
Alvis Archive 