4 minute read
Uppingham Classic Car Meet
Some superb vehicles were on display outside School House on the morning of Sunday 21st April, as OUs joined us for a Classic Car Meet, before heading off for a drive through the countryside and lunch stop at New Lodge Farm, near Bulwick. Uppingham was full of car enthusiasts participating in the ‘Stilton Cheese Run’, with a great atmosphere in the town. We are delighted to share background stories on two of the cars on display…
Robert Kemp’s (LH 56) vintage Austin, bought for a tenner!
In the early 1960s, whilst waiting for the morning bus to get to work in Leicester, Robert frequently spotted the 1930 Austin ‘Heavy 12/4 Burnham Saloon’, in a rather shabby state, carrying numerous carefree students (crammed inside and on the running boards) to and from the university. He was working for an estate agent at the time, managing rented properties for clients, collecting rents and dealing with repairs. Then, in 1965, a tenant of one of the properties managed by the firm, named Victor Newcome (who Robert had become rather friendly with and, by chance, was the owner of the Austin), appeared in his office to give notice of his intention to vacate the Old Rectory. Having completed his studies, he planned to return to his native Yorkshire. After enquiring as to whether the car would be relocated also, Victor explained the vehicle would be scrapped, as the engine had apparently blown up on the M1 whilst returning from a trip to Heathrow! However – perhaps jokingly –he offered Robert the car for just £10 to take it off his hands.
Robert has lovingly restored the Austin over many years, involving swapping the badly damaged engine and further extensive works required to pass increasingly stringent running requirements and testing regulations. He enjoys participating in local rallies and classic car meetings, and commented: “The GK 8187 seems to attract as much attention now as when I fell in love with it myself, over 60 years ago.”
Nick Longford’s (LH 65) Alvis
Nick’s Housemaster at Uppingham was Ian Bridges, who he remembers being, in many respects, an astonishingly tolerant and permissive Housemaster and who allowed pupils to keep cars whilst at school, provided they found safe garages to keep them in. Nick’s father always drove Alvis’s and he generously offered for Nick to take his ‘old one’ to school for the last few weeks. Nick recalls other pupils doing the same and a number of interesting vehicles being driven around the town: Craig Paull (LH 66) had an old Morris Minor, Stuart Roy (LH 66) drove a Ford Popular 100E, Steve Kemp (LH 65) had the family’s old Citroen Traction Avant, Andrew Willis (LH 66) had a ‘very swanky’ brand new Ford Zodiac MK IV Executive, and the year before, Nigel Griffiths (LH 65) had his mother’s Mini.
As my father’s Alvis was the oldest, and considered very much on a par with Bentley and Lagonda, everyone wanted to go out in it and it was often seen around Uppingham, as well as on journeys to pubs well away from the School! I’m sure contemporaries will remember it well and, in Nick’s words: “Unlike its owner, the car hasn’t really changed at all and is astonishingly trouble-free and reliable!”
Our thanks to everyone who came along to the April meet. If you couldn’t make it but would be interested in attending such occasions in the future, please email the OU team on ou@uppingham.co.uk and we will keep you in the loop.
