Pullman99 Posted April 26, 2011 Share Posted April 26, 2011 I have not posted on this Forum before, but I have been asked by a work colleague if I can find out any more about the vehicle in the photograph below. My friend's great-uncle, who is driving this car, was Walter Ernest Ellis and was born in the mid-1890s. He was believed to have been apprenticed into the motor trade in London and so was driving vehicles at a very young age, eventually joining the Army in WW1 and serving, from about almost the start of the War, as a driver. I believe that the car in the prhotograph, taken c1915, is of a 12/16hp Sunbeam, possibly one of the cars built under contract by The Rover Company. These are quite frequently seen in photographs and film of the period but if anyone has any further suggestions, please feel free to contribute. My friend would also like to discover if his relative may have driven for a specific senior officer or whether it is more likey that he was in a "pool" of drivers. The vehicle bears the military fleet number of M (WD arrow) 70010. Does anyone know if there is a UK archive that would be able to provide further details from this number? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Runflat Posted April 26, 2011 Share Posted April 26, 2011 Yes, definately a 12/16 Sunbeam (or Rover-Sunbeam). We have discussed the WW1 numbering system here: http://hmvf.co.uk/forumvb/showthread.php?8436 There are lots of unanswered questions about it but relatively clear that M70010 was issued well into (one of) the series. As such I'm interested in the suggestion that the photo dates from 1915. Are you certain on the date? Incidently, I've also seen Sunbeams with numbers M70049 and M70054. Yours and these may all have been registered as part of the same batch. That said, and assuming the prefix/suffix is irrelevant to the number sequence, we have identified that 70051C (later registered CD4246 at Brighton on 1.1.18) was attributed to a Saurer. And the sequence now extends to nearly the 100000 point! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pullman99 Posted April 27, 2011 Author Share Posted April 27, 2011 (edited) Yes, definately a 12/16 Sunbeam (or Rover-Sunbeam). We have discussed the WW1 numbering system here: http://hmvf.co.uk/forumvb/showthread.php?8436 There are lots of unanswered questions about it but relatively clear that M70010 was issued well into (one of) the series. As such I'm interested in the suggestion that the photo dates from 1915. Are you certain on the date?! Not certain at all as it was given to me by my work colleague. I did suggest that, even if Mr Ellis joined up at around 18 years of age, the photograph may be later and even towards the end of the war. Many thanks for your kind response. Edited April 27, 2011 by Pullman99 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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