THE WAY WE WERE
1964 wasn’t just about mods and rockers brawling in Brighton and Beatles on the television. This busy view of a shop-filled thoroughfare reveals another sort of bygone age…
A day’s shopping is underway at The Broadway, and facing us in the middle of the shot is one visitor’s Wolseley 16/60. The mid-range version of the British Motor Corporation’s 1.6-litre ‘Farina’ line was cheaper than the MG Magnette and Riley 4/72 but more opulent than the Morris Oxford and Austin A60 Cambridge. An Austin Mini (note the radiator grille) is behind it, followed by a BMC ‘Half Ton’ Van based on the A50/A55 Cambridge MkI.
A Consul Corsair is visible to the rear of the Half Ton. The 1963 launch brochure claimed that it was ideal for the male driver: ‘James Bond with a touch of Peter O’Toole’. The reality was probably Tony Hancock with a touch of Terry Scott. The open offside rear passenger of the car behind the Ford belongs to a member of the then-ubiquitous Rootes Group ‘Audax’ family. Its Humber Sceptre stablemate passes a Beetle parked next to the shops, and a few inches from the Volkswagen is a Triumph Mayflower, Canley’s attempt at offering a compact saloon for the ‘retired Major’ market sector.
Ahead of the Mayflower is a second Audax in Hillman Minx guise, a Wolseley 4/44, a Triumph Herald, a second Mini and a rather dashing late-model Sunbeam Series II; the Series III replaced it in February 1963. Perhaps the owner had the irresistible urge to purchase some ‘Spar Cheese Portions’ at only 9d per packet.
Moving to Uxbridge Road, a Morris Oxford Series VI Traveller drives out of shot a few yards ahead of the 1954- 1956 Oxford Series II.
Progressing up the highway, a Bedford CA rests at the kerb, the grille and single-piece windscreen denoting that this is a second-generation version. Its driver could be making a delivery or possibly needed to investigate the jobs section of the Harrow Advertiser and Gazette, where he learned that the US Air Force base at South Ruislip required a mechanic at 6s 10d per hour.
Meanwhile, behind the horse box is a second Triumph Herald, a Thames 300E and a BMC LD. On the opposite side of the highway, we encounter a Morris Minor 1000 and a BMW Isetta. The previous year marked a change in the law so owners who held only a motorcycle licence would no longer have to blank off the reverse gear.
Further along, the timber-framed Mini seems to be an Austin-badged Countryman version – judging by the script on the offside rear door – while a Jaguar Mk2 is embodying the expense account highlife as it’s about to pass a Ford Popular 103E.
Yet another Mini and Herald head away from the lens. Coul
