A Bentley, a Rolls Royce, and Les Dawson

In the Exchange Station car park in Manchester in May 1987 before the start of the Manchester to Blackpool Veteran & Vintage Car Run and I was just about to take a photograph of a 4½ litre Bentley when a chap in a pink jerkin and white trousers wandered into the shot.

It was the late Les Dawson, who was taking part in the run in a Rolls Royce. The Programme of the event says this about the Bentley:

137      1928 Bentley 4.5 litre Tourer

            Reg: YV 9608 4 cylinder 45 hp

            (Thomas James Padden, Manchester)

A much travelled Bentley, this car has won

awards on rallies as far afield as Austria,

Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, Italy and Hungary.

There's a history of this car on this www.vintagebentleys.org website.

I saw Les Dawson and the Rolls Royce at several of these runs and he actually suffered his fatal heart attack in 1993 only four days after taking part in that year's run.

Here's Les Dawson being driven past the front of Manchester Cathedral just after the start point.

The Programme said this about the car:

150     1930 Rolls Royce Phantom II

           Reg USV 694 6 cylinder

           (Industrial Control Services, Malden, Essex)