1950 Rolls-Royce Silver Wraith by James Young

For sale by auction on Saturday 30 November 2013 with Historics at Brooklands. Brooklands Motor Racing Circuit. Weybridge. Surrey. Call 01753 639170
The first Rolls-Royce model produced after World War II was the
Silver Wraith. The earliest chassis were produced in 1946 and by
the end of that year. the first two cars were produced. bodied by
Hooper. There were many Rolls-Royce approved coachbuilders and
amongst the finest was James Young. Originally established in
1863 in London Road. Bromley. building horse drawn carriages. they
made their first car body for the local Member of Parliament in
1908 and by 1925 had bodied Bentley and Rolls-Royce motor cars and
were large enough to occupy their own stand at the London Motor
Show - correspondence on file suggests that WHD 29 was. in fact. br/>the 1950 Show car at Olympia. In 1937. the business was acquired by
Rolls-Royce dealers. Jack Barclay Ltd and. after being diverted to
building aircraft components during the Second World War. they
resumed building cars in 1948 - showing their latest design number
WR18 on the stand at the 1948 Earls Court Show.

After nearly 40 years of ownership. the owner has decided that
perhaps it is time to retire his driving gloves and entrust the
stewardship of this lovely car to someone new. A hugely detailed
restoration with subsequent thorough maintenance should be enough
for a collector - but the knowledge that the first owner was one of
Britain's best loved entertainers in the twentieth century can only
add to its appeal. and its value.

Chassis number WHD 29 was delivered to the premises of
Rolls-Royce at Lillie Hall. Seagrave Road. Fulham on 28th February
1950. then on to the coachbuilder James Young in London Road. br/>Bromley where body number 1750. in design WR18. was fitted to the
chassis and on 23rd November 1950. the complete car was delivered. br/>under the registration number LXB 287. to its first owner. George
Formby O. B. E.

George had trained to be a jockey but. when his entertainer
father died in 1921. the 16 year old Formby took to the stage with
limited success. His fortunes took a turn for the better in 1923
with the advent of two major changes - into his act came a ukulele
to distract from his nerves and into his love life came the
redoubtable Beryl Ingram. When they married. she gave up her stage
career to manage his and his amazing success was counterbalanced by
the absolute control she had over his life. By the 1930's. he
had become Britain's biggest celebrity. Between 1933 and 1946. he
made no less than 20 films earning him £100. 00 a year - compared
to a family doctor averaging around £1. 00 a year - and this wealth
delivered all the material possessions - yachts. houses. racehorses
and of course. motor cars.

Beryl was always in the background. inspiring the name of all
the yachts - Lady Beryl. while the delivery note for this lovely
Silver Wraith shows the address in Fairhaven near Blackpool with
the house named 'Beryldene'. Over the years. George and Beryl owned
no less than 26 Rolls-Royce and Bentley motor cars. By comparison. br/>Edward. Prince of Wales. owned just 11 cars from these marques. In
1952. the car was sold to a Midlands confectioner. John Steventon;
there are wonderful contemporary photographs in the history file
that record Mr Steventon's stewardship of the car. The registration
changed to a personal number. JHS 1. and in fact Mr Steventon owned
JHS 2 and JHS 3 which variously adorned a Mk. X Jaguar. a pink
Pontiac and a Triumph Herald. all faithfully photographed. His
grandson is pictured in one of the photographs and there are
letters on file written by him to the current owner where he
recounts details such as the leopard skin seat covers that were in
the car together with the stuffed leopard that sat on the
partition. There are other colourful anecdotes about family
holidays in the West Country including one where. after a heart
attack in Torquay in the early sixties. the Silver Wraith acted as
an ambulance bringing Grandad home lying down on the back seat.

As well as these delightful anecdotes. the letters also reveal a
great deal of detail about the car. the door key number is
remembered as well as another trip to Newquay in 1955 when the
engine developed a crankshaft problem en route and the car was
taken to Rolls- Royce for repair. The car ran well for several
years but in the early 1960's. when the mileage was around 70. 00. br/>there was growing dissatisfaction with the smoothness of the engine
and it was sent again to Rolls-Royce to have a new engine fitted.
These are tales of a real family car remembered with much affection
and they also explain the difference between the current engine
number and the one shown on the delivery note. On Mr Steventon's
demise in 1970. the car was sold to a Mr Polochez. a Company
Director of Hall Green in Birmingham. with the registration numbers
taking the showbiz route to Mr J. H. Saltzmann. the mo.

Also published at eBay.co.uk

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