HCVS – Golden Jubilee celebrations

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By Alan Barnes

This is Golden Jubilee year for the Historic Commercial Vehicle Society and plans are well under way for this important anniversary to be celebrated in style.

While the regular annual showcase road runs such as the London to Brighton, Tyne Tees and Trans Pennine will all take place as usual there will be an additional and rather special rally added to this year’s calendar. This will be held at Beaulieu over the weekend of 26-27 July with the kind permission of the National Motor Museum, which will host the event.

A 2004 entrant
was this beautiful
1948 Atkinson
six-wheel rigid resplendent in
its JG Riddell
& Sons of
Fife livery.
Alan Barnes

The significance of Beaulieu as a venue will not be lost on members of the HCVS for it was here in July 1957 that the fledgling society held its first rally.

The Society was born out of an idea suggested in a letter published in the Veteran and Vintage Magazine in November 1956. There was already a strong following for classic and vintage cars and the suggestion was made that an event be organised for owners of classic commercial vehicles.

The response was positive and, with the support of Lord Montagu of Beaulieu, a rally was organised for the following year, taking place in the grounds of Beaulieu Abbey. Thirty vehicles were present at this inaugural rally and these ranged from steam wagons through to buses and light commercials although the programme does detail entry Number One as ‘eeyland, Replica of an Early Steam Lawn Mower 1897’.

The event was appropriately named ‘The Old Commercial Vehicle Rally’ and the souvenir programme for the meeting included a foreword by Sir Henry Spurrier, the chairman of Leyland Motors. Sir Henry begins: “Those of us who have grown up with the Commercial Vehicle Industry have been exercised continually with development and improvement of the product. During the passage of the years we have thought little of the outmoded models and types, our hopes and aspirations being concentrated always on the new creation.”

Sir Henry concludes with the comment: “Consideration should then be given and a decision taken if possible as to the advisability of forming a Commercial Vehicle Veteran Club to function on lines similar to those of the Veteran Car Club.”

In a somewhat poignant advertisement on the back of the programme Leyland advertised itself. ‘From Small Beginnings – To A World Wide Organisation’. Today Leyland has long gone but also from small beginnings the HCVS has itself grown into a worldwide organisation.

Also commenting in the programme was Phillip Edwards the editor of ‘Motor Transport’ and ‘Bus and Coach’ who observed that: “It took a world war to establish the road transport industry. Long before 1914 some enthusiasts, businessmen and cranks knew that these mechanical contraptions, that were said to take the place of horses, had great possibilities but the war demonstrated to a wider public that they could do a job of work. In 1919 the de-mobilised ex-servicemen who had seen motor vehicles operate successfully on active service rushed to spend their gratuities on them, and the businesses they developed are the basis of the road transport industry today.”

After that first small rally, a meeting was held the following September, which loosely formulated the policy of the proposed new club, and a second meeting was held on 17 October when a chairman, vice-chairman, treasurer and secretary were elected. The new club held its first general meeting at Shell Mex House in London on 14 January 1958 when, with 42 members in attendance, the name Historic Commercial Vehicle Club was adopted.

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