1929 Singer Junior 4-seater saloon, reg. no. VX 1239. 848cc engine, 3-speed gearbox. The vendor's husband describes the car as follows:"An older restoration but drives perfectly on the road. Driven and seriously campaigned by the same owners for 57 years. Two gearboxes, a petrol tank and radiator to go with the car.The Singer was bought from a scrapyard in Stanway, Essex, by local resident and vintage motoring enthusiast, Harry Booth, sixty-four years ago. It was in reasonable working condition and Harry’s daughter, Merriel, aged sixteen, decided it would be an ideal car in which to learn to drive. The extensive yard in front of “The Old Cottage Paint Shop”, Harry’s business in London Road, Stanway at the time, proved ideal for Merriel to practice gear-changes and become familiar with the controls of an elderly car, its accelerator between the clutch and the brake. But on returning from work one afternoon, she discovered that her Dad had sold the Singer to a couple from Great Maplestead who had answered an advertisement for a 1930s Sunbeam which he had for sale in Exchange and Mart. David and Sylvia Rouse were keen vintagents but decided that the Sunbeam was not for them and asked Harry if he had anything else he might like to sell, whereupon he suggested the Singer. A deal was done, the princely sum of £5 changed hands and the car was driven back to Maplestead, but when David opened the door, a mouse jumped out. That was in the summer of 1962.Returning home from work that evening, Merriel was most disappointed to discover that the Singer had gone. Some thirty years later she came across the car at a rally and declared, “That’s my car!”, to a surprised David Rouse who initially doubted her story, but after being shown a photograph of Merriel sitting on the bonnet, doubted no longer.After driving it home and having renewed the magneto cap, David immediately began to use the Singer as everyday transport travelling to and from Marconi in Chelmsford, where he worked as Patents Officer, twenty miles each way for nine months after which he decided that a major overhaul of the car might be sensible. He and Sylvia subsequently used the car mainly for Vintage Sports Car Club events, covering more than 44,000 miles whilst competing in hill climbs, driving tests, navigational rallies and tours. They were adamant that the car should never be trailered and would drive frequently as far as Llandrindod Wells, for example, on a Friday afternoon averaging 30mph or so, in order to compete on the Saturday. David kept a detailed record of every journey, time taken, average speed, oil used, and petrol consumed; it makes fascinating reading. On one occasion, they had driven from Maplestead to Builth Wells when the magneto began to misfire and the decision was taken to, “return home whilst the engine was still running”, a distance of around 450 miles, almost non-stop.The Rouses owned a number of vintage and classic cars, competing seriously in all of them, but the Singer was one of their favourites which they kept for 57 years. When David died in 2017, Sylvia decided that the time had come to sell the collection, but two remained, a BSA that had been David’s first, and the Singer which, when Merriel asked whether or not it had been sold, Sylvia replied, “But it’s yours if you’d like it.”Merriel has been its custodian since 2019 but it is now time for a new owner and the Singer will be sold at auction, all proceeds going to St Helena Hospice, Colchester".It is supplied with a massive history file, including photographs, which is a joy to read. A truly loved old car. (Subject to 12% buyers' premium inclusive of VAT).
