NEWS
Vauxhall D Type Army Staff Car, Star of Academy Award and BAFTA Nominated Blockbuster Film, 'War Horse', to attend ‘A Vintage Day Out’
Wednesday 16 April 2014
We are delighted to announce that the Army Staff Car featured in the film ‘War Horse’ will be one of the leading attractions at ‘A Vintage Day Out’, being held at the East of England Showground, Peterborough, on Saturday 9 August 2014 courtesy of Vauxhall Heritage.
‘A Vintage Day Out’ is the only public event of the VSCC 80th Anniversary Celebrations, and will feature hundreds of Vintage and Historic Cars, an extensive Trade Village, Children’s Entertainment and a dedicated area commemorating the Great War.
The Vauxhall D Type Army Staff Car was developed from the C type ‘Prince Henry’ Vauxhall model of 1911. Nearly 2,000 were built for the War Office. The rugged, dependable qualities of the model displayed throughout the First World War proved popular in colonial markets and the vehicle remained in production for civilian use with a later overhead valve version of the 4 litre, 23hp engine until 1922.
Vauxhall Staff Cars saw war-time service in many countries, including France, Belgium, Egypt and Salonika. A D-type Staff Car carried General Allenby on his victorious entry into Jerusalem; the Vauxhall also carried King George V on his inspections in the Somme and another was the first car to cross the Rhine into Germany after the 1918 armistice.
The design was continually developed during the War. Matthew Park, a Vauxhall racing driver and mechanic was commissioned in the Royal Engineers and commanded a maintenance depot for staff cars in France, where much of the development work was carried out alongside day to day servicing. After the war, the Morning Post newspaper stated ‘The four cylinder Vauxhall cars have proved to be the most generally satisfactory of any British make for Staff service’.
This particular car has been part of the Vauxhall Motors Heritage collection for over 60 years. It was discovered in a Brentford scrapyard in a very poor condition after being used as a garage tow truck. The restorers at Luton’s Heritage Centre completed a full rebuild on the car and returned the appearance to full WW1 military livery.
This Vauxhall D Type will feature alongside many other Veteran, Edwardian and Vintage Cars of significance as part of ‘A Vintage Day Out’, which offers free of charge entry to VSCC Members and any person displaying a car at the event as part of an official display.
Full details of the 80th Anniversary Events, Accommodation Options, Trade Village and Marshalling Opportunities can be seen here
The Vauxhall D Type Army Staff Car was developed from the C type ‘Prince Henry’ Vauxhall model of 1911. Nearly 2,000 were built for the War Office. The rugged, dependable qualities of the model displayed throughout the First World War proved popular in colonial markets and the vehicle remained in production for civilian use with a later overhead valve version of the 4 litre, 23hp engine until 1922.
Vauxhall Staff Cars saw war-time service in many countries, including France, Belgium, Egypt and Salonika. A D-type Staff Car carried General Allenby on his victorious entry into Jerusalem; the Vauxhall also carried King George V on his inspections in the Somme and another was the first car to cross the Rhine into Germany after the 1918 armistice.
The design was continually developed during the War. Matthew Park, a Vauxhall racing driver and mechanic was commissioned in the Royal Engineers and commanded a maintenance depot for staff cars in France, where much of the development work was carried out alongside day to day servicing. After the war, the Morning Post newspaper stated ‘The four cylinder Vauxhall cars have proved to be the most generally satisfactory of any British make for Staff service’.
This particular car has been part of the Vauxhall Motors Heritage collection for over 60 years. It was discovered in a Brentford scrapyard in a very poor condition after being used as a garage tow truck. The restorers at Luton’s Heritage Centre completed a full rebuild on the car and returned the appearance to full WW1 military livery.
This Vauxhall D Type will feature alongside many other Veteran, Edwardian and Vintage Cars of significance as part of ‘A Vintage Day Out’, which offers free of charge entry to VSCC Members and any person displaying a car at the event as part of an official display.
Full details of the 80th Anniversary Events, Accommodation Options, Trade Village and Marshalling Opportunities can be seen here
