Alvis Archive

A new page has been added specifically for the Series II TD21 as the first step in updating the TD21 Register – Series II – 1962-3

Also, head over to the Fourteen site www.alvis14.com to find out what these are….

Malcolm Elder’s 12/50 on the 1995 Rally Neige and Glace was the cover picture for the last Bulletin of 1997 ending the first year of Julian Collins in the Editor’s chair of the AOC. This year the response to the earlier 1997 Bulletins made available to download has been tremendous so we have made a Year Book of all the Bulletins which is now available to members on request.

In 1984 the AOC published four Model Registers for the TF21, TE 21, TD21 Series II and the TD21. The TF21 and TE21 registers were updated in 1999 and 2000 by the Model Secretary, the late Ken Cameron.

The TD21 Register has not been published since 1984 and the latest information on ownership can be found in the 2012 Membership List. With the passage of time and some 1,100 new members since 2012 the information available to members is limited.

The late Brian Maile wrote in the 2012 membership list “An up to date Membership List is essential to allow members to easily communicate with each other and identify owners of particular cars.” It was therefore good news that future AOC membership lists, will be published digitally every March and September, and include the model of each member’s car.

Fortunately, recording the ownership of cars has continued with successive Model Secretaries and the Membership Secretaries. The information we have available is vastly greater than first published. Gaps remain to be filled and of course – not all owners are members of the Club and those that are rarely notify the Club of sales and purchases.

Data Protection legislation has acted as a brake on providing this essential information to owners. Cars sold at auction and by dealers on commission are particularly affected by this. Provided consent is given, information can be shared.

So, if you own TD21 now or in the past and consent to your contact details being passed to future or past owners of your car please let us know by clicking on UPDATE YOUR DETAILS and fill in the gaps– we can then update the Register and make it available to those who participate.  

Why not do it now?

TD21 26419 pictured at Crystal Palace in 1972 – first registered 6951 HP when the Alvis demonstrator for the overdrive gearbox introduced in 1960. One of several TD21s that had a number of different UK registrations  –    6951 HP –  MEC 919 –  JF 9 –  8459 PE  – XMV 934A before moving to Germany where it is currently for sale. 

In this picture the car is fitted with the ER70 tyres that were introduced for the XJ6 Jaguar and transformed the handling. With the original 60 spoke wire wheels then fitted, broken spokes were not uncommon but the later 72 spoke wheels were much more resilient. Graber built cars often had Borrani wheels specified on either 15” or metric diameters such 400mm.

“Fun Fact” The car cost £375 in May 1970 with 96,000 miles on the clock. That is equivalent to £7,000 in 2022 money (RPI based). A new Austin 1300GT was £996, an E type coupe was £2,584 and a Silver Shadow was £9,272.

For more on the TD21 go to TD21 : 1958-1963

A few years ago a wooden carving of an eagle was commissioned for the gardens by the Blackburn Wing….

This month another Alvis themed item graces the entrance…

To learn more about the Willowbrook and its place in Alvis history click TC108G – Rara Avis

Also arriving at Bowcliffe this month were new additions to the library from our friends in Holland who celebrated forty years of the AOCNL this year. A happy coincidence was the front page photo of one of the rare birds now resident there, a Willowbrook 25925, body 56009.

Finally a reminder that we have arranged a group visit to the Rootes Archive next Sunday 27^th November at 10.30 located near Banbury at Wroxton (also home of the Bentley Drivers Club). It will be hosted by Andy Bye, a trustee and Director of Archives for the FBHVC. If you would like to join us, please leave a reply.

A gallery of photos from the current NEC show is now available on NEC Classic Car Shows.

A note from John Godley asked for identification of this car entered in the 2022 Chantilly Arts & Elegance Concours, north of Paris on Sunday, 25th September. The registration number was no help but the ever resourceful Greg Wrapson recognised it as the TL 12-60 Car no 14101 chassis 9226, originally a Cross & Ellis Sports Saloon despatched to Caffyns Eastbourne on 11.12.1931. Original registration was UF 8638.  Over the years the original body was lost, the chassis shortened and a simple open body fitted. Our member Tony Simpson took it on and created the existing body, basing the general design on that of the body that coachbuilders Grose of Northampton fitted to the SA 12-50 chassis that they displayed at the 1923 Motor Show

Armed with this information, John researched further – “I read that this car had also been present at the 2019 Chantilly event, and saw that a very similar shot to my own 2022 version had been taken.  Then suddenly, ‘hold on’, I was there too!

I needed to search through my own pictures from three years ago, and by fortune found I had seen it before and this time the photo was one near a similarly aged Bugatti, but I’d also photographed the driver’s eye view and the wooden bodywork.

Then, back to searching, I read that it was in attendance at the 2017 event – I wasn’t at that one myself – but found a “FlickR” site reference to it, by chance where that photographer (named ‘eric’), initially focused on the rabbit/hare bonnet mascot. We can now deduce the full registration is: “EG985CN”

Here, in addition, is the reference to this Alvis I found, when in England with its original registration and, it seems, the original bodywork too. This was a short documentary about Oxford, filmed in 1958. The four lower pictures can also be enlarged. https://www.imcdb.org/v959303.html “

A few Questions about archives…..

When someone mentions the word ‘Archive’, what first springs to mind?

• Musty papers in dusty boxes stacked in the back of a cupboard?
• Then take comfort that you are not the only one.

Why should anyone become excited over archives?

• Legibility is often poor
• The language might be awkward, or at least stilted
• The juicy plum of information lies buried deep in the heap
• Worse still: you might overlook the gem, or it might not be there in the first place.

Why then, does the Alvis Archive Trust exist?

• Because Alvis Ltd has had a far reaching effect for more than a century
• To provide a single location or search facility for all documentation related to Alvis
• Owners of an Alvis vehicle often want to know its history
• Technical solutions devised years ago are too easily forgotten
• Original documents need secure storage, and minimal wear & tear
• Original documents  need protection from pest damage and environmental degradation

How does the Alvis Archive Trust make my life better?

• By assisting interested parties in obtaining information easily
• By furthering historical research
• It provides a very wide forum for discussion of all Alvis related matters

Why bother digitising documents?

• Originals that are almost illegible can be converted into easily read formats
• Information can be sent or accessed electronically: safely, cheaply, worldwide
• Files can be searched much more readily
• Information can be indexed, if not already done so
• Once digitised, regular perusal of original material becomes unnecessary

Why does it cost?

• The Trust is run entirely by volunteers, so their efforts cost nothing.
• Some digitisation requires specialist professional knowledge and equipment
• Archive storage requires secure accommodation, free from pests such as insects, birds and rodents.
• To avoid long term damage, archives need an environment that includes control of temperature, humidity and UV light.
• Visitors reasonably expect heating and lighting, desk space and chairs, toilet and refreshment facilities

How are costs to be contained?

AAT is working with several other car clubs etc, with the aim of a central, shared facility.   Secure storage can be easily separated, whilst sharing a common environmentally controlled building.  Kitchen and toilet facilities, working space and meeting rooms can be shared amongst participants from the different organisations. The FBHVC (Federation of British Historic Vehicle Clubs) is coordinating this activity, and establishing best practice, with the AAT closely involved.

The 1920s neon showroom sign held in the archive

What do you want from me?

The AAT is an independent charity, so it relies on donations for its existence, regular commitments made by members and patrons. A decent lump sum would give you life membership. 

Additionally we value others who choose small or irregular donations, perhaps on an annual basis, or when they use services provided by the Trust.

So, Yes, we do want your financial support.

Even a bequest in your will of money or other Alvis related items.

Just as important as income, is the need for volunteers.  Much of this can be done in your own home, at times to suit each individual. It includes a wide range of activities, such as collating material, interpreting and typing difficult script and translation; catching your specialist knowledge to identify sites, cars, etc.  Some activity must be done within the archive, and so we encourage regular meetings that also make it a social occasion.

The bottom line is that if you are interested in Alvis, then sooner or later you will want some information.  Without the Alvis Archive Trust it may well be difficult or impossible to obtain, and perhaps lost forever.  At that point, you will not consider it to be a dull entity, but an important facility.  Please don’t ignore us.

If you are reading this on www.alvisarchive.com  you can see what has been digitised.

We welcome donations of archive material including photo collections and documentation of Alvis products. We have scanning equipment, film projectors, video recorders, cd/dvd players and microfiche readers to cater for all media. We also welcome donations to help fund the storage and display of the physical archives which are kept at: Hycilla, Bowcliffe Hall, Bramham, near Wetherby LS23 6LP and is open to visitors by appointment

But doesn’t the Alvis Owner Club pay for everything?

When the AOC was incorporated, the Articles of Association provided that the Company should conserve archive material and make it available to the public. The initial trust controlled by the AOC conserved the material at negligible cost to the Club until 2017 when they agreed to fund the storage of material at Bowcliffe Hall costing £5,000 per year for the first three years then reducing to £1,000 per year from 2020 for five years in anticipation of the trust becoming self funding from voluntary contributions and grants.

They also agreed to update the Trust to charitable status and although the trustees had produced the necessary documentation to achieve this the Board decided to seek legal advice and assistance which culminated in the establishment of a CIO (Charitable Incorporated Organisation) at a cost of some £6,300 to the Club. The Trust became independent in September 2018 and regulated by the Charities Commission.

It is the Trust’s well-known view that a contribution towards the Trust’s costs should form part of the annual AOC membership fee (perhaps on an opt-out basis) and the Trustees have discussed this possibility with the Directors. Such an arrangement would underline the close links existing between the two organisations and help preserve the Trust’s archival material as a resource available to AOC members. To date no agreement has been finalised.

Why not support us now? – click MEMBERSHIP