Vintage British Photos

[cobber]

For those who are interested in the way it was done in England in days gone by have a look at

www.easthantscentre.org.uk/Pcitures/photographs/Old%20Caravans%20&%20Rallies/Introduction%20page.htm

Can now be seen here.
www.easthantscentre.org.uk/images/slides/Old%20Rallies%20slide%20show/index.html

Click on the “slide show”...... I love it !

Cobber.

[scootman]

Great slide show cobber. I only hope that when you fellas travel that you are atired suitably in vest blazer and tie.
Scoot

[tinnie]

Thanks for sharing.

Mark T, I think we need to lift our game and release "Vintagecaravans.com" tie and blazers. ;D ;D

Some big vans in that group too!

Cheers,
Gristy

[bigdidda]

After that i think one should just have a nice little sit down with a cup of tea and some cucumber sandwiches.
Without crusts of course.
What ho old bean.
don

[Don Ricardo]

Cobber,

Thanks for posting the link for the photos. What a great collection of pics...loved the rooflines...so different to ours (with the honourable exceptions of Ol' 36 and Earlee's van).

The RACV website indicates that the RACV Caravan Club was established in 1937. I guess motoring organisations in other states may have commenced caravan clubs around about the same time?? Has anyone checked whether the motoring organisations have photos of some of their early caravan club get togethers?

If not, I would be happy to ask them what they have, but I wouldn't want to follow a lead which has already been tried: "I say Percy, those V V fellas are becoming a jolly nuisance. Fifth phone call this week from one of them wanting to see our archives. Told him to push orf..."

Don Ricardo

[cobber]

Don,

Apologies for my slow response to this post of yours but I have been thinking

What you suggest has merit I think, although it may be a soul destroying exercise in some respects.
Not many of the present organizations have a long history themselves, consequently they can’t be expected to have had much involvement in the period we are interested in, Victoria may be an exception so I will leave them in your capable hands.

I will PM you with details of a couple of leads I have contacted so you don’t duplicate your efforts in their direction.

Cobber.

[Deleted]

Top Stuff

Some wanderful shots of vans set up in remote locations........ and not a generator in sight.

Would be interesting to have the "Deckchair Hurdles race" with Sutcacs, Humptys and Mauries mutts lined up!!!!

Sorta wandering if the pommy vans have that pitched roof design to help shed the snow off . The lantern roof was probably designed that way to let extra light in via small windows mounted vertically in the side of the raised section rather that roof mounted windows or hatches that would leak . Vents where there in the side of the lantern section obviously to let condensation out.

Great photos.

Reddo

[minicamper]

Hey Reddo,

I've got a dvd on VV from Britain, lots of features on very early vans from the 30's. One guy even had one of the original blackout cellulose covers for the windows you mention in case of air raid during the war. Amongst the vans featured is a beautiful French Escargo van. Very Art Deco'ish..

Cheers
Chris

[hknut]

Good slide show cobber, thankyou,

Enjoyed looking at the diversity of designs with the caravans and the tow cars and also quite a gathering. Some of the larger vans would certainly give the old cars a work out on those hilly english roads. The caravan parks were certainly austere in those days both in the facilities and tree department, the grounds look more like a turf farm than a caravan park. Wonder what it would be like to have a once a year rotating national gathering of the Vintvanners to all meet up a one location to catch up? Just a thought.

cheers
HKnut

[humpty2]

Isn't that what happens every second year...Morgan....Mount Gambier ?

[Deleted]

Mate
given the size of the UK and the distances we travel over here for "weekends away" You could have a national gathering anywhere over there and be no more than 2 hours away.
Last years Morgan ... east coast got out of it cheaply with an average of 1400 ks from central east coast NSW . ad another 600k for those from up around Brisbane. west coast took around 2400 ks on average to get there.

2008 wont be any shorter to Mt gambier.
There was much discussion before we decided on South Australia as a central point for the vint van nationalsand it wouldnt be fair to QLD or WA if we started having the nationals in a different state every 2 years.

Different story for those living in adelaide

Best to leave things the way they are i reckon

Roll on March 2007
Reddo

[hknut]

Didn't realise, sorry.

[ukbrian]

Reddo - too right mate
(do you like the Oz slang - must be catching )

The UK is only 900km from top to bottom and 400km from east to west so with a speed restriction on pulling a caravan of 80kph unless you are right in one corner of the country, a meet in the middle is only 2-3 hours away.

But there is another reason for our lantern roofs, all to do with aerodynamics. On most caravans you only need to stand vertically in the middle 2 feet and so it was deemed logical to reduce the frontal area by lowering the roof height along either side by 6 inches or so. The problem was that this meant four joins in the roof construction and caused damp to penetrate. This coupled with the availability of larger sheets of aluminium meant that during the 50's the more common two piece V-ridged roof became more popular.

My lantern roof Safari was designed in 1963 and continued largely unchanged until (whisper it on this forum) 1980.

A pic just to remind you:



The Safari brand was launched in 1948 with this 9 ft model that featured a lantern roof and most unusually twin doors over the tow hitch,





Could even be described as an upright tear drop?

During the 1950's their range had lantern roofs throughout the range of 12ft, 14ft and as pictured here a 16ft.



As can be seen in the slide show most manufacturers offered a lantern roof model, and the same applies to manufacturers on mainland Europe.

[Deleted]

Hi Brian
The lantern roof aerodynamics theory makes sense now.
also can see why they needed the extra headroom through the middle of the van.

Old double decker buses use to have recessed floors down the aisleways to get headroom.

The early safaris with the doors over the drawbar where certainly different in design. I would have filled in the triangle section of the drawbar with ply or similar if i owned one. You would have surely had a nasty fall if you missed your footing when stepping out or into the van on the drawbar irons.


Cheers
Reddo

[humpty2]

Reddo, thats basically your 'fugly ' turned around!