A slightly odd ball request

[tonylorna]

Hi all.
Does any one know of a site where I can go to look up vehicle registrations? When my father passed away I took up where he left off tracing our family history.

I have inherited a ton of pics some of which seem to be ancient! One of them is sepia tone and has a name & address on the back for Kent (we have family history in Kent).

Here's the thing.... the picture is of a very grand looking lady sat in the back of a very old (pre WWII? Gaslamp headlights) car and a man in military uniform driving. There appears to be someone with a flat cap on his head sat in the seat next to him. The vehicle registration # is very clear. I'm hoping that the registration may help me with the names of the occupants!

I'm fairly certain the lady sat in the back is the lady whose name is written on the back but who are the other people!

Any hints or ideas to help with the research?

Lorna:confused:

[Sue Mackay]

I can only think that this information would be housed with the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority, popularly known as DVLA.
http://www.dvla.gov.uk/

[Jan1954]

Hi Lorna,

We love oddball requests here ;)

Now, which country are you talking about?

If Britain, you could drop a line to the DVLA, here: http://www.dvla.gov.uk/ They may be able to help, but it could take a long time and they may not have records going back as far as you need.

However, Mr P (ex pub and dental trade and now motoring guru :rolleyes:) says that, if you can identify the make of car, you could try contacting an associated club that has an interest in that particular make. He tells me that they quite often have researched previous models to identify their histories.

Hope this helps a bit...

Just had a thought...is there any way that you could post the picture either on the forum or via a service like photobucket so that we can help you to identify it?

[Alan Welsford]

Hi Lorna,

A site like this

http://www.fleetdata.co.uk/allocations.html

should be able to tell you both the kind of date range a plate was issued in
(e.g. ABC 123 came before 123 ABC), and also the area it was issued (e.g. plates ending "AR", "JH", "RO" etc were Hertfordshire - from memory).

If the link I've given doesn't answer your one exactly, try "Googling" for other similar sites.

Alan

[tonylorna]

Ok, so for a Brit my English is a little loose. I chat like I talk :) Can you hear the Oxfordshire laced with southern US yet? (Thingy was my dad's favourite word for everything so I use it in his memory|angel|)

Thank you so much guys, I've been doing research on both sides of my family for quite a while but get stuck ALOT so I appreciate your help. When my husband gives me five minutes to graduate from one finger typing on the laptop to cruising on the PC keyboard etc. I will scan the pic and try and post it. I have no clue about the make of car but the registration is FX3695.

Thanks for sharing your time!

Lorna

[Jan1954]

I have no clue about the make of car but the registration is FX3695.


Aha! So, based on the information in the site that Alan posted, it was registered in Dorset!

[Peter_uk_can]

Hi Tony. Would you care to post a photo of the car. There are a number of car clubs that I am in contact with via my work. They have been able to help me in the past.

[tonylorna]

That makes a lot of sense too the Everett side of my family is from Dorset!

[Alan Welsford]

Aha! So, based on the information in the site that Alan posted, it was registered in Dorset!

And before 1932, if I'm reading it correctly...

Alan

[tonylorna]

Actually I'm the female half of the evil duo... Lorna... and as soon as the other half gets off the other computer I will post it. Looks like it may be tomorrow though :(

[Alan Welsford]

If you want some real "anorak" stuff about Dorset registrations, and the origins of "FX" then try this


Under the Motor Car Act, 1903, the Local Government Board allocated BF to Dorsetshire. These letters did not find favour with some motorists and representations were made by the Dorset Automobile Association. The county council applied for a change, which was permitted, and by an LGB Order of 27 Dec. 1904 the mark FX was assigned. The order did not require existing marks to be changed but provided that the owner could have the mark FX substituted for BF on giving notice to the council. The last BF registration allotted was BF 162 on 20 Dec. 1904. 42 of the car owners and 41 motorcycle owners did not change their registration letters but any remaining on the roads on 1 Jan. 1921 were re-registered with FX numbers, since BF was not allocated under the Roads Act, 1920. (Information kindly supplied by the Dorset Record Office.)


I can't see why "BF" was so bad - I've certainly seen worse actually issued.

(I've never been convinced that the story that some Irish Police cars had to be re-registered because they were originally given "PIG" registrations is true though).

[Jan1954]

I can't see why "BF" was so bad - I've certainly seen worse actually issued.
So have I, Alan. However, it all goes with the language of the day.

I still find books where names are written thus: Mr Smith of T______ in Devonshire - and this is in fiction!

Methinks that prudery was rife in certain areas in the late 19th and early 20th century ;)

[tonylorna]

Alan,

Thank you for the information, it will definately be tomorrow before I can post the picture. I have just now managed to look at the site. I had to prepare dinner for my family while I was chatting, unfortunately hungry, whining children beat history everytime for peace of mind:(

Thanks for sharing your time and knowledge with me

Lorna

[tonylorna]

Alan,

I can't upload the pic, it won't accept my file size. Would you be willing to let me email it to you?

Lorna

[Alan Welsford]

Alan,

I can't upload the pic, it won't accept my file size. Would you be willing to let me email it to you?

Lorna
Hi Lorna,

I wasn't the one who thought they would be much use at identifying a car from a picture. In fact I think I'd be fairly useless at it. :o

I don't believe this site ever allows you to upload images directly.

You need to use one of the image hosting sites like PhotoBucket, ImageShack, SnapFish, etc, then post a link to your picture.

If you search I'm sure there are some "how to include an image" advice threads.

Alan

[Jan1954]

Have a look at post #22 in this thread http://www.british-genealogy.com/forums/showthread.php?t=4169&page=3 where Mary explains a step by step guide to photobucket.

[uksearch]

This posting has brought back a lot of very happy memories for me, something that I had almost forgotten about. Every year from about the age of we used to take our annual holiday in Cornwall, which in those was an awful long drive from Manchester. Due to the number of stops we had to take for drinks and calls of nature, it would take us about 12 hours. My dad owned what was then the people carrier of its day, a Bedford Dormobile. I was in the front with mum and dad, sat in the middle when there was only room for small legs, the middle three seats were packed with luggage and camping equipment and my two brothers and usually a couple of their mates in the back. When we stopped for the main break, out would come two Primus stoves, one for the kettle and one to cook the bacon and eggs. At the end of a long day we would arrive at our destination at the T junction of the Lizard road and the road down to Mullion. To pass the time on those long trips I used sit clutching The AA Members Manual and look at the registration numbers of the cars that came in the opposite direction. Then I would check the manual to see where they were registered, of course it never occurred to me that the driver might not actually live where the car was registered.

UK

[arthurk]

Because registering cars was originally the job of local authorities, I think I've heard of some of the early records ending up in county record offices, so that might be worth an enquiry.

Arthur

[Alan Welsford]

Because registering cars was originally the job of local authorities, I think I've heard of some of the early records ending up in county record offices, so that might be worth an enquiry.

Arthur
Well a site I took some of that information from reckons that any surviving record for "FX" registrations are at...

Dorchester County Record Office, County Hall, Dorchester DT1 1XJ

I'm sorry, I should have posted that information previously, but somehow failed to do so.

Alan

[arthurk]

Not to worry - between us all, we usually get there in the end. :) (And you did actually mention Dorset Record Office.)

Arthur

[tonylorna]

I've actually recently been in contact with that office for birth certificates.. should of killed two birds with one stone. Oh well. I think I may set my husband to trolling a few antique car sites and see if he can spot it (his eyesights better than mine:) )