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First person in Birmingham to own a Rolls Royce, or a Ferrari?

Jennyann,

The link you provided in post #15 looks as though it has been corrupted or superseded in the meantime. Any idea why it no longer seems to point in the right direction?

Chris
 
a school friend from Station road school by the name of John Avery i met him on the Witton island
outside the Midland Bank years ago and he got out of a blue Roller after we chatted he gave me a lift back to
my old van parked in Manor road he was a car dealer Say no more have never seen him since
robb128
 
I knew a fellow PO Engineer who ran an old Rolls Royce, fortunately he was single for all his spare cash went on maintaining it. It was his pride and joy, I believe he purchased it from an Undertaker, this would be early 1960's, cannot remember his name. Eric
 
According to an article in the Sunday Mercury from many years ago, the first person in Kingstanding to own a Rolls Royce was Augustus Wells (his full name was Augustine Lewis Wells).
According to the same article, he was also the first person in Kingstanding to have a telephone.
If there was only one telephone, I haven't a clue how he would have used it.
Augustine owned Warren Farm which was situated at the junction of what is now Charlton Road and Norbiton Road.
I have a photo of a vintage car outside Warren Farm, but whether this is Augustine's Rolls Royce, I have no idea.
Augustine was my Great Uncle.
 
According to the same article, he was also the first person in Kingstanding to have a telephone.
If there was only one telephone, I haven't a clue how he would have used it.

Hi All,

He probably rang someone in Erdington who had a phone.

Old Boy
 
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Do we know what dates, roughly, we are talking about here?

Any chance of posting the image you have, Ex Staff....?

Chris
 
Hello to all Just got up a bit earlier this morning and found I had mail from the Forum saying that a reply had been sent in from someone following the thread re the First Rolls Royce in Brum.
I had time so I went back to the start and read all of the posts since the thread started .
What memories . I was a member of the Mosely and District Motorcycle Club in the early 50s and 2 of the members used to roll up sorry Rolls Royce up to the club meeting in Rolls. I think that this was just a bit of a joke at the time as you could buy them dirt cheap/. In one of my earlier posts I told of the chance I had to buy a Singleton and Cloe van along with a Mark 5 Jaguar for 450.Pound I would think looking back that the Van was probably valued at 50 pounds.
It evokes the question in my mind as to what did happen to that deal.. The car dealers was on the Stratford rd on the right hand side heading toward the city somewhere between Warwick rd and Foremans rd Jucntions / It was a fairly nice dealers with a good showroom. So does anyone know anything about that car showroom and the Roller and the Jag/// At the time I said I nearly bought those 2 items I shall explain We had sold up our house and car eyc and were living with the wifes Mother. We were waiting to come to Australia but the Suez crisis put that on standby for a whilel After having had cars and motobikes et plus our own house with garage and all the hobbies and things to do all the time. It was a very boring and a bit depressing I suppoe to have just nothing to do . I had owned a Jag and looked loningly at the deal.
My wife talked me out of it as she said that if our Sailing tickets came thru we may have trouble selling the car again quickly with out losing money on it. She was right of course so I did not do the deal. I just kept walking past there on my foot rounds of Sparkhill till the tickets came thru Cheers from Aussie Old Brummy
 
Old Brummy

The only motor dealer I can recall in the area of Stratford Rd that you name are Sparkbrook Motors that were on the corner of Weatheroak Rd.

Phil
 
What a shame no image of the Singleton & Cole R-R vans has yet appeared. The Company must have been unique in having a fleet like that. From what I remember of Ferdinand Cole though, it should be no great surprise to me. He seemed to be one of life's real eccentrics.

Chris
 
Hi folks Phil I just have to go find my Birmingham Map book for 1954 and have a shufti where Weatheroak rd is ...The name rings a bell. Also see that Chris has spoken about photos of the old Singleton and Cole Rolls van . May have to send a message to the Bham Library to the Ask a Librarian spot to see if they can help. Keep up the good work there lads Old Brummy.. Found map now I see weatheroak just along from Warwick rd and Inglewood st . That could have been the one.. What is its history Give em a ring ?????? Cheers Old brummy
 
I've just found this thread while looking for something else, I worked for Watsons (Broad St) Ltd in their garage in Villa Street in the fifties/early sixties, the Rolls Royce van mentioned here was I believe the only one of its kind and Rolls tried for a very long time to get it taken off the road because it didn't fit their image, I saw it knocked over onto its side in an accident at the junction of Villa Street and George Road.
 
hi eric thanks for that bit of info on villa st..i lived there from 58 to 72..the only garage i remember was padmores garage on the right hand side coming up from nursery road although i believe there was another on on the other side of the road...should be some old pics of villa st on the villa st thread...just a little adjustment eric it is george st not road...

cheers

lyn
 
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