My Dad Always Seemed to be Messing About with Cars.

My Dad's 1947 Austin 16

My Dad and I about 1962/1963

An old Austin 16 made 1947. The picture is taken in 1963 with my Dad and me. I can't help thinking what these old cars would be worth now. I would love to go back in time and get one of them and bring it back in such condition.

My Dad and me in the early 60s

Dad and Me

My Dad and I in the early sixties. I've been wading through photos and thought I might play safe and not lose them if I put them in a blog space. I was born in 1961, so I'm guessing this is about 1963. I'm obviously enjoying the day, but I don't know where it was taken. In the background, there are a lot of other people who seem to be enjoying a day out. It might be Theydon Boyes, Essex, England - we used to go there a lot.

My Dad's Wolseley 680 (1954 Model)

My Dad, my Sister and Me

When I was a kid I thought this car was very big. We lived near Limehouse but we would always go away to places in Kent. Not many of the other kid's parents had cars but my Dad always seemed to have one and he was always tinkering about with them. That's me on the right of the picture and my sister and Dad on the left. It was a Wolseley 680 and was built in 1954. The picture is about 1965. I wonder what a car like that would be worth now? It was probably an old banger by then, but now it would be a vintage classic car. I can remember them well when I was a kid, but they did seem to vanish from the roads very quickly. I can't recall seeing many by the 1970s. I really like the retro look of the old British Cars and back then, almost every car on the roads of Britain, where British made motors. I would love to see one that has been restored to its former 1950s glory - they looked great.

Dad on left, Bushie Cauldroy in middle and unknown friend on right

The year is about 1958 and the man with dark hair on the left is my father Alan Powell. The three squaddies are at a British Army Barracks in Germany (Herfad) and he is doing his national service. The man in the middle is called Bushy. I think it might be Bushy Couldroy or something like that. He remained friends with my Dad when they both left the army. I think he worked on fruit and veg running a stall or shop along Burdett Road near Mile End station in East London. I can vaguely remember him in the 1960s as a kid, but by about 1968 they had lost contact.

I don't know who the bloke on the right is, but he obviously does - he has written 'ME' on the photo with an arrow pointing to himself. All three were great Army buddies and spent their national service together. My Dad on the left is now 72 years of age and his hair is white, but still very thick with a Teddy boy bung hanging forward from the top - he has put on a little more weight, as can be expected, but he is still fit and up and about in Hornchurch, Essex.