An Austin Anthology - Hardcover

Stringer, James

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1787111911 ISBN 13: 9781787111912

Publisher: Veloce Publishing Ltd, 2018

Synopsis

An Austin Anthology is an entertaining collection of true stories that feature just a few of the products manufactured by the Austin Motor Company from 1906 until the outbreak of the Second World War, including the people who helped to make them, those who drove them, and even those who flew them.
Although the history of the Austin Seven and Taxicabs have been covered before in much greater detail elsewhere, you will find within these pages the stories of many other Austin creations: the Austin 12/6 which could be won by smoking Kensitas cigarettes; the Austin 20 which competed in the 1914 Austrian Alpine Trial; the remarkable racing car named ‘Pobble’ which went on to serve as an ambulance during the First World War, and the Australian couple who, in 1926, decided to drive their Austin Twelve right around Australia. The Music Hall artist, George Clarke, who performed on stage with his Austin Seven, and the ‘Austin Unity Song,’ a recording of which was presented to guests at the company’s annual dinner, are just two more fascinating stories which go to make up this Austin Anthology.
 

About this title

About the Author:

James 'Jim' Stringer was born in Shepherd’s Bush in January 1943. After leaving school in 1958, he took up a Mechanical Engineering Apprenticeship with London Transport. Around this time he bought a vintage Austin car, and became a member of the Vintage Austin Register. He very soon became involved in the running of the Register, from initially helping with the first Newsletter, to becoming the Hon. Sec, and then Chairman. Although retiring from this role after 16 years, two years later he took on the job of producing the Register’s glossy quarterly magazine as its Editor. Jim also had a fascination with the steam locomotives of the London Underground system, so when they were being withdrawn for scrap, Jim managed to purchase one that had been built at Neasden in 1898. That locomotive, ‘Metropolitan No.1’ is now frequently seen operating on preserved lines throughout the UK, and also back on London Underground metals. Jim retired in 2008 after attaining the position of Safety, Quality and Environment Manager for the Central Line. Since then he has turned his attentions to compiling and writing the Austin Anthologies.

Review:

Lovers of motoring history, especially when imparted in such a charming manner, will adore this little hardback book. In a mere 112pp, it tells an Austin fan's most engaging shirt stories about products emerging from the lines at Longbridge, Birmingham, the sometime home to the British car brand once owned by Herbert Austin. In a timeline that covers the origins of the company in 1905, up to the end of the Greta War and a little bit beyond, the tales of local murder, the bi plane compact enough to park in a domestic garage, the Austin Twelve that lapped Australia in 1926 and just what did happen to pensioned off taxi cabs are covered in cheery details, complete with humorous recollections and intriguing conclusions. It exceptionally well written and accompanied by a wealth of monochrome plates and period illustrations. It is not intended to be a history book, although much of its content is historically relevant. There is as much local detail, as international intrigue and it is not a model by model encyclopaedia of Austin but it does provide a valuable insight to the British firm's enterprise at an early stage of its existence. It is one of those books that is as easy to put aside, as it is to pick up and read, but you will come back to it, because of its sheer readability. - Iain P W Robertson.

About this edition

• Publisher: Veloce Publishing Ltd
• Publication date: 2018
• ISBN 10: 1787111911
• ISBN 13: 9781787111912
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 112