1902 De Dion Bouton

This is a photograph that I took on a very rainy day at the Lancashire Automobile Club's Manchester to Blackpool Veteran and Vintage Car Run in June 1980.

It's the 1902 De Dion Bouton of W.A. Pownall, and the programme of the event had this note about the car:

5           Mr W. A. Pownall, Wilmslow, Cheshire.

             1902 De Dion Bouton 8½ h.p. 1-cyl. Tonneau.

This car spent a good deal of its life in India, hence the Surrey Top. It then belonged to an Indian Prince.

1901 De Dion Bouton Tonneau

I took this photograph just after the car had left the start point of the Lancashire Automobile Club's Manchester to Blackpool Veteran and Vintage Car Run in June 1985.

I no longer have the programme of the event, but this car was a regular participant in the Run and the 1986 programme says this about it:

 1901 De Dion Bouton Tonneau
 Reg: D 235   1 cylinder   8 hp
 W.A. Pownall, Hazel Grove, Cheshire
The original "Surrey with the fringe on top" - this car has won the concours
in its class on the run ten times. It spent much of its early life in India where
it was owned by a prince. It was also once owned by Sir William Rootes.

Three Veteran Cars

These cars numbered 1 to 3 are lined up in the Exchange Station car park in Manchester waiting for the start of the Lancashire Automobile Club's Manchester to Blackpool Veteran and Vintage Car Run in June 1990.

The Veteran Car Club of Great Britain defines a Veteran car as one built before 1 January 1905, and these three cars fall into that category, being the three oldest cars in the 1990 run. This is what the notes in the programme of the event said about each of the cars:

1.     1898 Clement Voiturette

        Reg: DS 6713   1 cylinder   2.25 hp

        (Louise Williams, Hyde, Cheshire)

This charming little yellow veteran is believed to be one of the oldest

cars regularly run in the north west, but previous outings have not been

without mishap. It broke its crank on the 1987 Manchester to Blackpool 

run and repeated the trick on the following year's London to Brighton.

Last year, however, it completed both the Manchester and Brighton Runs

successfully. Louise was, by the way, the youngest driver to compete in

each Run.

2.     1901 De Dion Bouton Vis-a-Vis

         Reg: AD 229   1 cylinder   4.5 hp

         (John Hopwood, Stockport, Cheshire)

This De Dion spent much of its life in America. It now belongs to Major

Arnold Pownall, who is John Hopwood's father-in-law, and has entered

every Manchester to Blackpool since 1976. John has driven in and finished

the run for the last three years, and is a past winner of the Matthew Brown

Trophy.

3.     1901 De Dion Bouton Tonneau
         Reg: D 235   1 cylinder   8 hp
         (W.A. Pownall, Hazel Grove, Cheshire
The original "Surrey with the fringe on top" - this car has won the concours
in its class on the run ten times. It spent much of its early life in India where
it was owned by a prince. It was also once owned by Sir William Rootes.

MG VA

This is a photograph I took at the start of the Manchester to Blackpool Veteran and Vintage Car Run at The Village Hotel, Cheadle, Stockport in June 1993. This car had actually just left the start line at the front entrance of the hotel.

It's a 1939 MG VA and the only information in the programme of the event is that it was entered for the run by W.A. Pownall of Hazel Grove, Cheshire. The programme in previous years had included snippets of information about some of the cars, most of them in fact in the earliest years of the run, but by 1993 only these basic details were shown. The following year I was unable to even find a programme for sale at the event, and coupled with the fact that the start was at this rather out-of-the-way place I got the impression that the organisers weren't particularly interested in attracting spectators. I believe the run now starts from Worsley. This particular car was sold by the auctioneers H&H Classics in 2001.