Thanks Peter, and anyone else still following this rambling search.
I found an 1890s map of Middlesex and learned it was divided in to 7 districts. I decided to search the original owner C Simon Ltd in each district, and I may have found something in Ealing.
Camille Simon Ltd at Strand-on-the-Green in Chiswick. It was a laundry in Kelley’s Directory of 1890.
The house is on the Thames River west of London.
ChiswickW4.com has a historic listing on the Pier House.
“Camille Simon, a French chef in the centre of London, founded the Pier House Laundry on land adjoining his house in the 1860s. His son, Louis, took over the business in 1887 and was succeeded by his grandson, Leonard, who sold the business in 1973. The house was on the river, opposite the large laundry building; the family donated the site of the house and garden as public open space.”
I found it on Google maps and it is a pretty long building, maybe 200 feet.
Another source says it was the largest steam laundry in London in its day, employing 200. It may have had a contract with a hospital.
Not exactly a positive hit, but Leonard Simon could be a business owner with enough money to buy an SS Jaguar in 1938 and register it as belonging to the company.
This is fun.
“Dear Mr Reilly
31st January certainly cannot be KMG and HMG was issued during January to April 1938 so your theory seems very likely to be true.
I cannot add more because, as mentioned last time, there are no original documents for Middlesex issues except a few in the 1920s.
Regards
Peter Jaques”
It seems I’m at a dead end, but it was fun to look.
That is interesting. If you work out approximately when Leonard might have died then look for him in the Register of Deaths you might be able to locate his death certificate and that could have a living relative’s name and address as informant on it. That is the way that I traced a living relative of my first owner.
The Register of Deaths covers all England and gives name and location and a reference number to the actual Death Certificate.
These Registers are free to access on the web.
For example here is mine for J.F. Hardie, my car’s first owner.
Sorry for my english and my undertanding of this forum, but I started a discussion about SS I Airline and it seems that we are far from the original subject !
Why don’t you open a new post about car registration ?
Yes, partly my fault, though I suppose it reinforces the idea that old documents on these cars can be valuable to new owners.
We should like to see some photos of your Airline.
Alan Crouch’s book SSI & SSII, page 166-7 lists 1934MY conversions to 1935MY (and some later again to 1936MY) and 1935MY cars to 1936MY cars, but although many AIRLINES are mentioned, Chassis Number 248329 is not included (as any Body style).
On page 164 he advises 7 AIRLINES made from1934MY Chassis Number Series 247001 to 248250 plus 619 AIRLINES made from 1935 MY Chassis Number Series 248251 to 249500, with all 626 AIRLINES having Body Nos from 7500 to 8123 Series (with a note explaining not all Body Nos recorded ion records). Interestingly, at the time of writing this book, he notes only 30 AIRLINES are known to survive which is a pretty dismal 4.8% survival rate.
My father owned an SS1 Airline in the 1940’s and he lived in the borough of Hounslow in Middlesex. He described the car to me as being gunmetal grey. Unfortunately, I don’t know the registration number and it’s no longer possible to enquire. I would say it’s extremely likely that he would have bought a used car locally and would not have traveled any great distance to buy a car. I know he purchased the car after returning home after the second world war and told me a few interesting stories about how he was able to run it during fuel rationing. The car became available to him as the original officer owner died during the war. Maybe it’s a long shot as to whether the photo you shared of KMG 273 is the same car, but given the limited number produced etc, there seems to be at least a reasonable possibility. If you have any previous owner information it would be really interesting to know if a George Albert Fountain appears in your records?
Hi David.
KMG 273 is an SS Jaguar saloon, not an SS1 Airline, and the first owner seems to have lived or at least had his business in Chiswick Middlesex. I do not have complete ownership records of the late '40s, but your father G. A. Fountain does not appear in them. Nevertheless it is interesting to hear about him, and if you ever find a picture of the car, we would love to see it. A chassis number would also identify it.
Thanks for your reply Rob, yes I see the rear body shape is quite different now you mention it. Strangely Chiswick was very local to his Hounslow adress, but anyway hope you enjoy researching your car!
Sorry, I note your comment is two years old, but still of great interest to my ongoing research into all TOOL KITS, including SSI AIRLINE.
Does anyone know of any AIRLINE in the world, restored or unrestored, that still has its correct original, or accurate reproduction MOLDED RUBBER tool tray…???
Every one I have seen, and now quite a few, has had a reproduction Tool Tray made of timber much as per all later SS Jaguar and Mark IV/V Jaguar. Clearly the layout and the tools included varies considerable over the 1936MY to Mark V period, but regardless, the accuracy of the layout of these timber AIRLINE reproduction Tool Trays varies considerably, from ‘reasonable’ to what is just surely a ‘best guess’ in the absence of having an original to try and copy. The problem is compounded of course by the fact to date, I have not seen a reproduction AIRLINE Tool Tray that has a set of CORRECT tools, with more or less wrong tools included. And given profiled recesses for tools have been made to match the wrong tool, even if correct tool is found, it wont fit in the tool tray recess at all, or at best wont fit properly, as they all did in the original molded rubber tool trays…
I have good photos of a couple of original molded rubber tool trays, but out of the AIRLINE; but to date not a restored or unrestored AIRLINE with the molded rubber tool tray (original or reproduction) installed…, apart from poor quality period photos…
I know such things as an accurate Tool Tray/Tool Kit is not important nor a priority for many, just a shame given the time/effort and I dare say $s/Pounds/Euros being spent, this is an area not well done…
Roger. There is a restored SS Airline on PreWarCar.com in the Netherlands where the listing has a photo of what may be a rubber tool tray. It’s at a dealer named Bloemendaels. Dave
Many thanks Dave,
The listed AIRLINE is 248902, and indeed a very well known car that was fully restored in Tasmania, Australia and in Melbourne, Victoria before being sold to USA, then onto Netherlands…
But although a multi Concours winning car, this is exactly an example I was talking about…
The Tool Tray is made of timber (painted mat black), not molded rubber, and the layout of the tools (to few) to be included is one of the least accurate efforts I have seen, albeit not the worst, and most of the included Tools are WRONG, so all the carefully profiled recesses to suit the wrong tools, does not then allow replacement of correct tools… certainly the whole Tool Kit restoration, or realistically a total re-creation, is to a very high standard, so looks good to those, including Concours Judges, who don’t know better, but for my purposes/interest in ‘authentic/accurate’ tool kits this one is not a particularly good effort at all…, so clearly a best ‘guess’ by the restoration company in Tasmania
