Heritage Commercials Magazine - capturing the spirit of vintage days

Comment - June 2010

Over the years this event has been held at Donington Park racing circuit near Nottingham, but unfortunately due to the recent problems at the track another venue had to be found. And so on 27 March I found myself setting off at 4.30am, armed with my camera and a sausage sandwich, for the three-hour drive to the Three Counties Showground near Malvern. Despite the unnatural (for me!) hour at which I had to crawl out of bed it was all worth it. It really was a fantastic event, and organiser Tony Beadle and his team really do deserve a big thank you. If you missed the show, turn to page 50 for a glimpse of some of the superb wagons on display, thanks to Gyles Carpenter.

As usual there were loads of vehicles at the show that I’d really like to have taken home with me, but the three lightweights above really called to me! I’ll start nearest the camera with Peter Trow’s 1964 Triumph Courier van. I think it’s obvious why I liked this van, as it was really nice to be able to have a look round such a good example – a real change from my own rusty wreck!

Right, now to the cracking yellow machine in the middle – the 1965 Mercedes Benz Unimog 406 owned by Robert Willson. I love off-road driving and a few years ago I went up to North Yorkshire and spent a day driving a 1970s Unimog 424 in the Dalby Forest – what this lorry was capable of was unbelievable! I’ve never been so impressed with any vehicle in my life. They really are an amazing piece of kit.

Finally, the Land Rover. I’ve always loved these vehicles, and have owned my current Series lll for years. Just recently though I’ve been thinking about getting a Series l and there were a couple at the show that really made me want one even more! But do I want to restore one to as-new condition or have one that carries the marks of age like this one? It’s a shame I can’t afford two!

Finally, before I go I must just mention that Heritage Commercials now has a new website, which I think is far better than the old one. On it we’ll be able to put galleries, online polls, blogs etc, allowing everybody to become much more involved. We’ll also be posting regular news items to keep things up to date. The address is www.heritagecommercials.com

Stephen Pullen
Editor