St Bede's Grammar School

Bradford, West Yorkshire, England

Cars belonging to

Upper 6th Form

1962-63

St Bede's Grammar School

Bradford, West Yorkshire, England

Sixth Form Car Park

Travel to School

Most pupils travelled to school by bus from Bradford and surrounding towns, Keighley, Huddersfield, Halifax, Batley, etc.

Some cycled to school, and from around 1963, a few from the 6th form occasionally drove to school.

Car on the Left

Here are three of their cars and a couple of scooters, parked beside the school in 1963.

-  I cannot recall the name of the person who owned the old car on the left, but I remember it well.  During the wintery weather of 1962/63, when I was 17/18-year-old, I was the 'qualified driver' who frequently accompanied him on the journey from his home in Eccleshill to school at Heaton and back.

The whole route was hilly, and the car did not have enough power to drive the both the engine and the windscreen wipers at the same time, when it was travelling up hill.  So one of the skills of driving it was to know how long to lift your foot off the accelerator, going up a hill, in order to let the wipers clear the windscreen, without the car stalling.

-  Occasionally, when I was not accompanying the driver of the car on the left, I was allowed to use my Dad's car, a 1947 Humber Hawk to drive to school.

-   I believe that the car on the right is a Sunbeam, though I don't remember who owned it, or who owned the two scooters on the edges of this photo.

Reply

1.

John O'Donnell

Paris, France

Thank you to John O'Donnell who wrote:

Car on the Right

"I think the Sunbeam which I think was driven by Michael Ellison who went on to rule Halifax"

John O'Donnell, Paris, France:  November 14, 2008

But see 'Reply 2 below

Reply

2.

Kevin Canning

Thank you to Kevin Canning for replying to the message above that  John O'Donnell wrote about 8 years ago.

Kevin wrote

Car on the Right

"Car with reg no. 845 DLO was my first car, bought in Heckmondwike in 1963.  It was a Hillman Minx, not Sunbeam.

I left Bede's in 1955. Michael Ellison is an old friend but can't think he had connection with car."

Kevin Canning:  April 24, 2012

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