The AA: History, Badges and Memorabilia £4.50

Michael Passmore

978 0 7478 0552 6 (Album 414) 40 pp, 46 b/w ills.

The AA has been present on Britain’s roads for nearly a century. This book charts its rise and reflects the interest in collecting its memorabilia in the form of badges, books, models and signs, giving detailed dating information on car badges for the first time in the public domain. Collectors will also appreciate sections on memorabilia hitherto unknown by the general public. The illustrations are all from the AA archive or have been specially commissioned.

Michael Passmore is the former Archivist of the AA. He joined the Association in 1968 in the Membership Department, transferring in 1990 to the archive section, where he spent 10 years. During this time he gave talks to outside organisations, conducted tours of the then AA museum to staff and visitors and added many items to the AA collection.

Ambulances £3.50

Chris Batten

978 0 7478 0329 4 (Album 328) 32 pp, 47 ills. 

The history of ambulances and the various organisations and services that have been responsible for them has been sadly neglected. This book presents not only a fascinating history of the development of the ambulance from hand litters and bicycle ambulances to the advanced paramedic units of the 1990s, but also the continual changes in the responsibility for the ambulance service in Britain. The chassis manufacturers such as Ford, Daimler, morris, Austin and Bedford will be well-known to those interested in motoring history but the ambulance bodybuilders such as Pilcher Green, Herbert Lomas, Wadham Stringer, Barker and Hooper may be less familiar. The book includes details of ambulance livery and points out that not all ambulances have been white and that relatively few have carried the red cross.

Chris Batten's interest in ambulances arose from the time he spent in the St John Ambulance Brigade. He writes regular features on ambulances in the model press and is an active member of the British Ambulance Society.

The Bean £3.50

Jonathan Wood (In association with the Michael Sedgwick Trust)

978 0 7478 0482 6 (Album 354) 32 pages, 53 b/w illustrations

The 11.9 hp Bean represented John Harper Bean’s bid to manufacture Britain’s most popular car of the 1920s. This Album, illustrated with many rare contemporary photographs, will appeal to old car enthusiasts and all those who respond to Britain’s rich industrial past.

The first make of car that Jonathan Wood researched was the Bean from the Black Country in the English Midlands. As Historian of the Bean Car Club in the 1960s, he obtained a unique insight into the poignant story of the Bean marque when he interviewed many of the company’s former employees. Other titles for Shire by this author are:

The Brighton Run £3.50

Lord Montagu of Beaulieu

978 0 7478 0099 6 (Album 251) 32 pp, 52 ills. 

Every year on the first Sunday in November four hundred pre-1905 cars gather in Hyde Park, London for the annual Brighton Run. It is one of Britain's greatest annual motoring spectacles. Organised by the Royal Automobile Club with the co-operation of the Veteran Car Club, this event is reputedly watched by a million people over the 52-mile route from London to Brighton in Sussex.

Lord Montagu of Beaulieu went on his first Brighton Run in 1950, in the family's 1903 De Dion Bouton, and has driven most years since. He formed the Montagu Motor Museum and is now founder and the Chairman of the Trustees of the National Motor Museum, Beaulieu.

The Bullnose Morris £3.50

Jonathan Wood

978 0 7478 0491 8 (Album 359) 32 pages, about 43 b/w illustrations

The ubiquitous Morris Cowley and its more expensive Oxford stablemate were some of the most popular British cars of the 1920s. Illustrated with many rare contemporary photographs contributed by the Bullnose Morris Club, this Album explains how the Bullnose helped to make William Morris, the future Lord Nuffield, Britain’s most successful and richest motor manufacturer of the inter-war years.

The author of some thirty-five books on the motoring of yesteryear, Jonathan Wood has made a particular study of the histories of Britain’s multifarious car makers. Other titles for Shire by this author are:

Children’s Cars £3.50

Paul Pennell

978 0 85263 833 0 (Album 178) 32 pages, 43 b/w illustrations

Children’s cars first appeared between 1901 and 1903; by 1910 they were being made commercially in largenumbers and by the 1920s the market justified mass production, bringing prices within the range of working class families. This book outlines the history of children‘s cars in Britain from the first custom-built models, through the period of greatest popularity, to the present revival of interest, particularly in miniature replicas of famous makes of motor car.

Paul Pennell’s family collection of children’s cars is one of the finest in Great Britain, many of the models having been painstakingly restored after acquisition in a neglected state. Through his business, Mr Pennell has been involved with vintage cars and the motor trade all his life, and he collects and writes about all forms of motoring art and automobilia, with particular emphasis on children’s pedal cars.

The Citroën £3.50

Jonathan Wood

978 0 7478 0563 2 (Album 289) 32 pp, 48 ills.

Perhaps the most charismatic of French marques, Citroën was established in 1919 by the brilliant, mercurial André Citroën. In 1934 Citroën introduced the Traction Avant model, which became one of the most famous designs in automobile history. In 1948, on a similar theme, the idiosyncratic, two-cylinder 2CV appeared, a much-loved model with a distinctive roll-back roof; it was built until 1990. Then there were the elegant, futuristic DS, the luxurious Maserati-engined SM and the acclaimed XM. This edition brings the story up to date with the popular Xsara saloon, the Picasso compact multi-purpose vehicle and the commodious and comfortable C5.

Jonathan Wood is a founder member of the staff of Classic Cars, the magazine which gave its name to the movement. He has written some 35 books and has a particular interest in French cars. Other titles for Shire by this author are:

Peter Card

978 0 7478 0585 4 (Album 185) 48 pp, 46 colour and 23 b/w ills.

Electric Vehicles £3.50

Nick Georgano

978 0 7478 0316 4 (Album 325) 32 pp, 51 ills. 

The electric road vehicle has been around for more than a hundred years. It is most familiar on the morning milk round; nevertheless, the simple, silent and easy to drive electric has a perennial attraction, particularly for town work. In this pollution-conscious age, the electric car has become prominent once more and in this book the author explains the basic workings of the battery and electric motor and considers a great variety of vehicles, from the first land speed record cars through heavy trucks and fashionable broughams, milk and bread delivery vans to today's electric cars and buses.

Nick Georgano is a full-time writer and editor. He is the author of The Complete Encyclopedia of Motorcars and has written more than twenty other books. Other titles for Shire by this author are:

The 500cc Racing Car £3.50

Colin C. Rawlinson

978 0 7478 0555 7 (Album 417) 32 pp, 54 b/w ills.

After the Second World War, there were many motor-racing enthusiasts in Britain eager to try their hand at the sport, but it had always been prohibitively expensive. A group of enthusiasts came up with the original and ingenious idea of building racing cars of small engine capacity, thus reducing the financial outlay and bringing motor-racing within the reach of a greater number. The idea proved highly successful. In a few years the 500cc category was accorded international status and Formula Three racing was in business. This book outlines the development and important events in the history of 500cc motor racing, and it is hoped that it will stimulate or revive interest in an important era in motor-racing evolution.

Colin Rawlinson is a director and treasurer of the 500 Owners Association.

The Ford Cortina £3.50

Graham Robson

978 0 7478 0519 9 (Album 397) 32 pp, 54 ills.

Graham Robson has been a motoring writer for many years and has always been attracted to the study of motoring history. A Cortina owner from the early days, he also rallied the cars and later became immersed in their motorsport heritage. He has written more than a hundred books, including several definitive histories of Ford models and Ford in motorsport. Other titles for Shire by this author are:

Discovering Horse-drawn Vehicles £7.99

D.J Smith

978 0 7478 0208 2 (Db 284), 176pp, 201 ills

This book outlines the development of horse-drawn vehicles from their inception to the present day. Although mechanical transport has replaced stage-coach, hansom cab and family brougham, there has been a revival of interest in leisure and competitive driving, as a result of which older vehicles have been restored and new types introduced. This book will assist the identification of different vehicles and describes their purpose, history, working parts and materials used

The late D.J. Smith was born in Birmingham in 1927. Apart from drawing and sometimes driving many of the vehicles described, he was widely consulted by individuals, collectors, museums and other institutions. Other titles for Shire by this author are:

The Humber £3.50

Nick Georgano

978 0 7478 0057 6 (Album 244) 32 pp, 50 ills. 

The ancestry of Humber goes back as far as any in the British motor industry, to 1868 when Thomas Humber began to make French-style forerunners to the bicycle, in Nottingham. The first Humber cars were also of French design, but Humber soon became a wholly British car made in two factories, cheaper models at Coventry and more expensive ones at Beeston. Humbers were among the most respected British cars of the 1920s, moving up-market in the 1930s when they became part of the Rootes Group. Humbers retained their reputation for quality up to the end of the line in 1976.

Nick Georgano is a full-time writer and editor. He is the author of The Complete Encyclopedia of Motorcars and has written more than twenty other books. Other titles for Shire by this author are:

The Jaguar £3.99

Andrew Whyte

updated by Jonathan Wood

978 0 7478 0663 9 (Album 196) 32 pp 

In 1935 William Lyons’s company, SS Cars Ltd, launched a range of cars called the ­Jaguar. The name was later adopted by the company, which became known for luxury saloons and sports cars noted for their style, performance and good value. It describes and illustrates the history and development of the company, including its personalities and cars such as the famous XK120 and E-type, and the modern XJ6. This third edition, revised and updated by Jonathan Wood, takes the story on from the takeover by Ford up to the Jaguar XK, Car of the Year in 2006.

The late Andrew Whyte was a member of the Guild of Motoring Writers and the Society of Automotive Historians. Before becoming a freelance writer in the late 1970s he had spent over twenty years with the Jaguar company in Coventry.

The MG £3.50

F. Wilson McComb

978 0 7478 0564 9 (Album 152) 32 pp, 51 ills.

MG is Britain’s best-loved sports car. It was created in 1922 by Cecil Kimber, manager of The Morris Garages (hence MG), who began to modify versions of the corporate Bullnose Morris. These led to the stylish T-Series open two-seaters that attained a world-wide reputation. They were succeeded by the popular MGA and the seemingly evergreen MGB, of which over half a million were built between 1962 and 1980. There was no successor, the MG badge being applied solely to corporate saloons, but sports cars returned in 1995 with the launch of the acclaimed MGF. The marque was reborn in 2000 when Rover, its corporate owner and hitherto the property of BMW, returned to British ownership. This edition has been brought up to date by Jonathan Wood.

The late F. Wilson McComb was a professional motoring writer. After a period as assistant editor of Autosport and editor of Autocourse, he joined the MG Car Company at Abingdon in 1959 as founding editor of Safety Fast. In 1969 he returned to freelance work and wrote a dozen motoring books, of which the best-known is MG by McComb, the definitive history of the marque.

The Mini £3.50

Jon Pressnell

978 0 7478 0235 8 (Album 152) 32 pp, 55 ills. 

The best-loved of all British cars, the Mini was a revolution when it came out in 1959. This album looks at the background to the Mini, details its design and development, and chronicles the evolution of the car over the years. It also looks at attempts to design a replacement for the Mini, and - bringing the story fully up to date - examines the car’s twilight years, through to the end of manufacture in 2000.

Jon Pressnell is a freelance journalist specialising in classic cars and is a Senior Contributor to Classic and Sports Car magazine. He has a particular interest in the British Motor Industry and has carried out pioneering research on various aspects of the work of the Mini’s creator, Sir Alec Issigonis.

The Morgan £3.99

Ken Hill

978 0 7478 0328 7 (Album 327) 32pp

When H. F. S. Morgan designed and built his first three-wheeled single-seater car in 1909, he could never have envisaged the enormous success that his cars were to enjoy. Several attempts have been made by major manufacturers over the years to take over the company but all have been resisted, making Morgan the oldest family motor manufacturer in the world. Such is the attraction of the Morgan that the company no longer has to advertise its cars and the waiting list for a new car is between six months and two years, depending on the model ordered.
Ken Hill’s interest in old cars began in 1956 and his association with the Morgan in 1967, when he was given his famous 4/4 Le Mans, which has competed successfully in many continental ­rallies, driving tests and concours events.

The Morris Minor £3.99

Ray Newell

978 0 7478 0149 8 (Album 277) 32 pp, b/w ills. 

Well over half a century after it first appeared in 1948, the Morris Minor has become a much loved classic car. It is as popular now as when in production. This book traces the evolution of the Minor through the different phases of its developemnt to its demise in the 1970s.

Motor Car Mascots and Badges £5.99

Peter W. Card

978 0 7478 0629 5 (Album 265) approx 48 pp, colour and b/w ills.

The use and display of ornamentation on motor vehicles have always been fashionable, dating from the dawn of motoring to the present day. The motorcar mascot served two main purposes: a decoration for the car it adorned, and a talisman for the owner/driver, who would often retain his mascot after his motorcar had been exchanged for another. The quality of artisanship applied to the numerous designs and models means that the older mascots and badges are eagerly sought by collectors and there appears to be no limit to availability. While some mascots and car badges are justifiably considered to qualify as ‘high art’, and are therefore often expensive, the overriding joy of collecting today is that the majority of examples are relatively inexpensive. Consequently, a worthwhile and colourful display can be economically accumulated.

This book surveys the wide variety of types available both in Europe and in America, introduces the designers, outlines the manufacturers, and discusses forgeries and reproductions, together with the problems of restoration.

Peter W. Card, BSc FIA, is a museum director and auctioneer and a member of the Advisory Council of the National Motor Museum. Other titles for Shire by this author:

Motor cars of the 1930s £3.50

Ian Dussek

978 0 85263 981 8 (Album 237) 32 pp, 44 ills.

The motor car came of age during the 1930s. It ceased to be a mechanised successor to the horse-drawn cart and no longer was it a rich man’s toy. This book charts the rapid development made in the decade immediately prior to the Second World War, during which time the means of construction, materials, engineering concepts and the companies themselves became established. Variety was the essence of the period and the motoring public could take its pick from hundreds of models. It is a story of engineering improvement, the rationalisation of sales and service in vehicles and components – electrics, tyres, fuels and lubricants – and of change even to the roads themselves.

Ian Dussek grew up with cars of the 1930s, in a family owning Lagondas and Bentleys. He learned to drive on an Austin 10 and graduated to HRGs. He has been associated with that marque for over forty years and has written its history. He is also the author of the Shire Albums Sports Cars and Motoring Specials.

Other titles for Shire by this author are:

Motor Scooters £3.99

Michael Webster

978 0 7478 0668 4 (Album 181) 40 pp, b/w ills. 

Motor Scooters are commonly associated with just two manufacturers: Innocenti, who made the Lambretta, and Piaggio, who produced the Vespa. This album, revised and enlarged to 40 pages, traces the ancestry of the moden scooter from the unsuccessful pioneering days, through its development as a light vehicle for troops during the Second World War, to its recent upsurge in popularity.

Motoring Specials £3.50

Ian Dussek

978 0 7478 0118 4 (Album 266) 32 pp, 50 ills. 

Since motoring began, enthusiastic amateur car builders have experimented with collecting and re-assembling components, notably chassis, engines and suspension units, to create highly personalised, sometimes, transient and frequently unique vehicles. This book tells the story of some of these hybrid machines, many of which achieved sporting success, and their constructors. Most are long forgotten but a few like Chapman's Lotus for example, have become household names. The cult of the 'special' flourished in Britain, when unitary construction deprived the impecunious builder of easily available chassis.

Ian Dussek has been associated with HRGs for many years and has written their definitive history.

Other titles for Shire by this author are:

Number Plates £3.50

Dave Moss (In association with the Michael Sedgwick Trust)

978 0 7478 0566 3 (Album 419) 32 pp, 53 ills. 

Registration marks are one of the very few unbroken links between the earliest days of the motor vehicle and the present day. The system introduced at the beginning of the twentieth century had a straightforward purpose in identifying the place of origin of motor vehicles, providing links to owners. As more and more vehicles came into use, the original system evolved through piecemeal development and sheer necessity to the point where adaptations changed it almost beyond recognition. This book looks back on the evolution of the British number plate, showing how the original, painstakingly developed system was gradually adjusted and modified in the light of escalating traffic growth, becoming riddled with ever more anomalies, until there was no alternative but to make a fresh start, with a brand-new system.

Dave Moss has always had strong connections with the world of motoring. He has been writing and broadcasting about cars and motoring matters since the 1970s.

Old Buses £5.99

David Kaye

978 0 7478 0650 9 (Album 94) 56 pp, 60 colour and 20 b/w ills. 

Interest in old buses has increased enormously in recent years, so that there are now -probably over two thousand of these vehicles restored and preserved for future -generations. Some were discovered up to fifty years after their withdrawal from -passenger carrying, serving as summer houses, tool sheds or for other purposes. Hundreds of hours of -loving care have been spent on them so that they can now be seen as they looked in their prime.

This completely revised edition traces the development of the omnibus through the horse-drawn era to that of mechanical propulsion, when, after experiments with steam and electric battery units, the petrol engine reigned supreme until just before the Second World War.

David Kaye has been writing books on buses and trolleybuses since 1960. He is also a regular contributor to Classic Bus magazine.

978 0 7478 0595 3 (Album 430) about 48 pp, colour ills.

Mike Berry started collecting petrol cans in the early 1980s and now has Britain’s largest collection. He then went on to collect oil cans, petrol pumps and enamel signs and now anything to do with petrol will find a place in his collection.

Proprietary Engines for Vehicles £3.50

Nick Baldwin (In association with the Michael Sedgwick Trust)

978 0 7478 0496 3 (Album 360) 32 pp, 50 b/w ills. 

Famous vehicle firms like Kenworth, Railton, Jensen, ERF, Morgan and Peterbilt have never made their own engines. Instead they have relied on outside specialists. Since the dawn of motoring firms like de Dion-Bouton and Aster have provided power for other manufacturers’ chassis. Until the numbers of car makers were decimated by takeovers and bankruptcies around 1930 up to half of all the hundreds of models available on both sides of the Atlantic had proprietary engines. However, they were seldom amongst the best sellers and afterwards it was diesels for commercial vehicles and niche market cars that kept the engine specialists going. From the 1950s on the new breed of limited production sports cars like TVR and Marcos used other makers’ engines, by then usually from mass-produced cars such as Ford. Thereafter, the few remaining proprietary engine makers tended to cater for the upsurge in diesel vehicles. The stories behind these continuous developments in the motor industry make fascinating reading, whilst the illustrations confirm Dorman’s famous slogan: ‘The heart of the car is its engine’.

Nick Baldwin has been writing about transport history for over thirty years and has long been intrigued by the largely unsung proprietary engine specialists. His A–Z of Cars of the 1920s for Bayview Books revealed hundreds of models powered by little-known engines. He has also owned several vehicles with proprietary engines including a Dorman-powered Caledon lorry, a Meadows-powered Garner bus and a Beardmore road tractor, and currently a Perkins diesel-powered Scammell Scarab brewery vehicle.

Other titles for Shire by this author are:

Road Signs £3.50

Stuart Hands (In association with the Michael Sedgwick Trust)

978 0 7478 0531 1 (Album 402) 32 pp, 95 ills. 

There have been direction signs ever since man began to travel, and boundary signs, too, have a long history. Warning signs, however, did not become necessary until cycling and motoring became established at the end of the nineteenth century. Since then the British government has sought to regulate all aspects of traffic signage and signs are often altered to keep abreast of developments, but nevertheless signs from bygone days can still be observed along Britain’s highways today.

In 1988 Stuart Hands joined the Devon Roads Museum Project Committee and was able to extend his knowledge of road signs. He collected traffic signs for eventual display, and these can now be seen at Dingles Steam Village at Lifton in Devon.

The Rolls Royce £3.50

Jonathan Wood

978 0 7478 0577 9 (Album 281) 32 pp, 43 ills. 

The Rolls-Royce name is synonymous with perfection and the pursuit of excellence, on account of the extraordinarily high engineering standards demanded by Henry Royce, the marque’s founder. His first car, built in 1904, attracted the attention of the aristocratic Charles Rolls, who was initially responsible for selling it. Soon afterwards came the legendary Silver Ghost and Royce’s place in motoring history was secure. All subsequent models have followed this perfectionist approach, maintained by BMW, which acquired the company in 1998.

Jonathan Wood is a founder member of the staff of Classic Cars magazine, he has twice won the Guild of Motoring Writers’ Montagu Trophy and is a two-times recipient of the Society of Automotive Historians’ Cugnot Award. Other titles for Shire by this author are:

Stage and Mail Coaches £3.50

David Mountfield

978 0 7478 0554 0 (Album 413) 32 pp, 48 ills.

It is often forgotten that in the early nineteenth century, before the arrival of the railways, Britain had the fastest and most efficient form of public overland transport the world had ever seen. By the 1820s, what had once been a hideous chore became a fashionable pastime and a boon to business. But this golden age of public long-distance coaching was short. Within twenty years, as the railways spread across Britain, it was in rapid decline, unable to compete with its faster, more comfortable and much cheaper rival.

David Mountfield has written a number of books on the history of travel and exploration, including The Coaching Age (1976). A full-time writer, he is also the author of several novels and over one hundred books for young people, mainly on historical subjects.

The Scottish Motor Industry £3.50

Michael Worthington-Williams

978 0 7478 0038 5 (Album 238) 32 pp, 47 ills. 

With the exception of the Hillman Imp plant at Linwood private car production in Scotland effectively ceased with the closure of the Arrol-Johnston's factory in 1931. The story of the Scottish motor industry is the story of Argyll, Arrol-Johnston and Albion, but of these only Albion survived into modern times. At various times Scotland has supported well over fifty independent manufacturers of motor cars, motorcycles, trucks and buses and this book chronicles the rapid rise from 1897, and the slow decline of the Scottish industry which set in from 1914 onwards.

Michael Worthington-Williams is a member of the Society of Automotive Historians and the Guild of Motoring Writers, a Sotheby's consultant and a regular contributor on early vehicle subjects to many magazines.

Sidecars £3.99

Jo Axon

978 0 7478 0344 7 (Album 332) 32 pp

In the early twentieth century sidecar design was developed to provide greater comfort than the pillion seat of a motorcycle. Sidecars were used for all sorts of purposes from taxis to carriers of farm animals and though their use has declined they have retained a following in sporting events.

Jo Axon is a member of the Federation of Sidecar Clubs, which involves touring to many events held all over the British Isles and on the continent.

Veteran Motor Cars £3.50

Michael E. Ware

978 0 85263 658 9 (Album 112) 32 pp, 38 ills. 

Veteran cars are those made not later than 1918 and were thus the earliest motor cars to appear on the roads of Britain. The first models basically comprised the frame and bodywork of a horse-drawn carriage fitted with a petrol engine, but during the period up to the First World War they became much more comfortable and efficient vehicles. This book describes how the motor car developed from its unpromising origins in the 1880s and 1890s, when motoring was mainly a hobby for wealthy eccentrics, until it came to be seen as a serious means of transport.
Michael Ware is the retired Director of the National Motor Museum at Beaulieu. In 1959 he formed his own photographic business specialising in motor-racing photography. The veteran and Edwardian periods of motoring are his favourites and he greatly enjoys driving cars of this era. Other titles for Shire by this author:

Vintage Motor Cars £3.99

Bill Boddy

978 0 85263 776 0 (Album 146) 32 pp 

This book tells of those fascinating makes and models that were manufactured between 1919 and 1930, from the crude and inexpensive cyclecars and popular light cars like the Austin Seven and Bullnose Morris Cowley to the Rolls-Royce and Daimler luxury limousines and the exciting sports cars such as the Frazer Nash, 12/50 Alvis and Bentley and 30/98 Vauxhall. It is intended for all those fascinated with the vintage era, whether they were motorists in those days of inexpensive petrol and uncongested roads or younger enthusiasts who have become aware of the joys of driving these cars in more recent years.
Bill Boddy attended his first vintage motor-race in 1927, at Brooklands, with his mother. He has been the editor of a motoring journal longer than anyone else in Britain, having run Motor Sport by ‘remote control’ during the Second World War and becoming full-time editor in 1945.

The Volkswagen Beetle £3.50

Jonathan Wood

978 0 7478 0565 6 (Album 226) 32 pp, 47 ills.

The Volkswagen Beetle is the most successful car in the history of the automobile and over twenty million examples have been built. Conceived by Adolf Hitler in the spirit of the Model T Ford and designed by Ferdinand Porsche in the 1930s, the Beetle did not enter series production until 1945, after the ending of the Second World War. Its familiar but unconventional lines have since become recognisable throughout the world and, incredibly, it is still being built at VW’s Mexican factory. This edition brings the story up to date and charts the arrival and evolution of the New Beetle, visually inspired by the original, which appeared in 1998.

Jonathan Wood is a founder member of the staff of Classic Cars, the magazine which gave its name to the movement. He is the author of some 35 books, which include an acclaimed history of the Volkswagen Beetle. Other titles for Shire by this author are:

The Wolseley £3.50

Nick Baldwin

978 0 7478 0297 6 (Album 322) 32 pp, 54 ills. 

Wolseley was one of Britain's leading car manufacturers in veteran and vintage days. Its two early managers, Austin and Siddeley, became famous for their own makes of car and Wolseley made a fascinating assortment of products from sledges for Scott of the Antarctic to Count Schilowsky's two-wheel Gyrocar. Austin and Morris fought American firms for its ownership in the 1920s, Morris winning eventually in 1927. The name was used for upmarket versions of first the Morris and then BMC models of the 1950s, when the cars were widely used by the police. The name Wolseley still stood for sumptuous interiors and illuminated radiator badges when it reached the end of the road in 1975.

Nick Baldwin is a motoring writer. He is Chairman of the National Motor Museum Advisory Council and is a regular contributor to The Automobile. He has written over twenty books. Other titles for Shire by this author are:

Lord Nuffield £3.50

Peter Hull

978 0 7478 0203 7 (Lifelines 39) 48 pp, 22 ills.

It is largely a result of the career of motor manufacturerWilliam Richard Morris, Viscount Nuffield, that the university city of Oxford became one of Britain's foremost industrial cities. Leaving school at fourteen he was apprenticed to a bicycle repairer. Only nine months later he set up his own cycle business and from then on his rise to become one of Britain's leading industrialists was almost without setback. He was an astute businessman and an expert mechanic; he saw the need for a small economical car that was of high quality yet could be produced in large numbers. His special talent enabled him to obtain the right parts and to assemble them, and so the first Morris Oxford car appeared in 1913. Production boomed and Morris became a millionaire and was made a peer, but he was generous with his money and gave away over £30,000,000 in his lifetime, much of it to hospitals and other medical causes. He also financed the establishment of Nuffield College, Oxford, which bears his title. His name ceased to appear on motorcars after 1983 when Morris Motors was part of British Leyland, but the MG (Morris Garages) badge has survived under British Leyland's successor, Rover Cars.

Peter Hull was on the staff of the Vintage Sports-Car Club and a member of the Advisory Council of the National Motor Museum at Beaulieu. Other titles for Shire by this author are: