Serial Ownership

Published January 2017 –  PPS by Dave Culshaw

This short piece will give a flavour of the type of content in the ” being worked on ” Centenary/Celebrity Book.  Indeed, no such volume would be complete without mention of cases of multiple ownership, and in this regard, the name of  Sir George Burton , CBE  DL  (1916-2009) must figure prominently, with at least eleven examples of the marque owned.

Sir George, a noted industrialist and a former chairman of Fisons, was a motoring enthusiast of eclectic tastes, which ran from a veteran De Dion Bouton to a modern Ferrari.  It is ALVIS however which provided a common thread, from passing driving test in a 12/50 inherited from his grandfather, right through to the TF21.

Sir George's 8th acquisition, an SD Speed 20 chassis13011, WS 7223, which had been obtained from the Farr Collection, where it had been endowed with a 4.3-litre engine
Sir George’s 8th acquisition, an SD Speed 20 chassis13011, WS 7223, which had been obtained from the Farr Collection, where it had been endowed with a 4.3-litre engine

Accompanying the text is a list of the eleven known Burton cars, all but two identified by registration number. Of these, and especially worthy of mention is the 12/60 TK ch 8765, WM 6315.  This was the car featured in The Autocar’s popular wartime series  ” Talking of Sports Cars “, reproduced below.  That particular article ( Number 148 of April 16th, 1943 ) specifically mentions ownership by the then Lieutenant Burton.

1925     12/50

1927     14.75

1931     12/60  TK             WM  6135         chassis  8765

1934     SB 20                    BLB   106                –

1932     SA 20                    FG   7503                       9834

A period Alvis advert featuring BKV 278
A period Alvis advert featuring BKV 278

1936     SB 25                    BKV 278                      13334

1939     SC 25                    IW  6996                       14630

1936     SD 20                    WS  7223                      13011

1955     TC21/100              RVR  851                      25870

1967     TF 21                     RLD  717  E                 27382

1936     SG S/Eagle            DHK  916                     13501

burton-1burton-2

Postscript: Readers wanting more of Sir George’s memoirs can refer to Bulletin 385 of 1990 and his article 58 years of Alvis Motoring. He finally sold the Silver Eagle in 1995.