A lovely, correct and original drophead, finished in a tasteful shade of soft, muted pale green with nicely contrasting red leather interior – a very attractive combination and all in excellent condition. In the early 1980s, a major restoration took place, mechanically, structurally and cosmetically, all documented, with invoices, correspondence, etc, and since then the car has been well attended to, with more work carried out, including a new cylinder head being fitted in 2009. There is a detailed log of maintenance and repairs carried out by the last owner over the last twenty years or so, and all-in-all, the history file contains a great deal of letters, invoices, MoT certificates, etc, as well as an old green logbook, which added together form a picture of a car that has been loved and cherished. All of this attention has resulted in the car you see today, which has stood the test of time extremely well. A delightful car, sensibly priced, offered serviced, with five new Waymaster tyres, which suit it particularly well, with new heavy duty inner tubes, and newly MoT tested.
Chassis No. B117AE Reg No. AXY 216
Snippets: A Pair of Military Crosses
Col. James Nockells Horlick (1886/1972) owned B117AE for just a year before he sold it to Richard Maurice of Little Grove Priory in Chesham. During WWI Col Horlick served with the Coldstream Guards and was awarded both the British & Greek Military Cross for his actions in Greece, he also received the Order of the White Eagle (4th Class) & the Chevalier Legion d’Honneur. In 1944 he purchased the estate of Achamore on the Isle of Gigha, Argyll where he restored the gardens to their former glory and include plants such as Southern Rātā (New Zealand), Puya Alpestris (Andes) and Wollemia Nobilis (Australia) plus many Rhododendrons which Col Horlick cultivated. When R. Maurice owned B117AE it appeared at the JCC Rally at Brooklands in March where the car was driven by a Mr. J. Martin who managed a respectable 3rd place overall in the over 16hp event. We think this person could be James Martin of Kirriemuir - a well known sportsman and participant of various Rallies, he also owned a SS100 & in 1939 was fined £4 for driving his car at excessive speeds in Dundee! After WWII Richard Pilkington a scion of the Pilkington Glass family registered B117AE at the family London home of 3 Palmer Street, Westminster. In 1930 he joined the Goldstream Guards and was stationed in Sudan and Egypt, in 1935 he resigned from the army to become MP for Widnes but with the outbreak of WWII he rejoined the Army. In 1940 he was awarded the Military Cross for his work during the Dunkirk evacuation.
