Standard 10 - 1935 - GV 3348

[motyblod]

The V5C for this car gives the date of first registration as 2003, the date the previous owner bought it. The DVLA say this is the first record they have of the car being registered.
I have contacted, in consultation with the SMC Archives Officer, the records office for West Suffolk County Council where it was first registered, but the page for 1935 which could link the commission number with the registration number is missing!
So - a very long shot - does anyone have any early paperwork for this car - GV 3348?
Or any other suggestions?
Thanks - Tom.

[RhylBM2877]

I would suggest you talk to the Club's DVLA representative (contact details in the Club magazine) and see if he can help. Also does the Club Registrar have any details of any previous owners of the car? It might be listed with the Commission Number and engine number.

[magnet]

Hello Tom,
We take it DVLA agreed to retain GV 3348 ( on a non transferable basis I would guess?) against your car in 2003, but whoever submitted that application was unable to provide proof of dating.
Being allowed to retain that number under these circumstances is a real bonus, since they don’t currently appear to be as accommodating as they were. So, you are starting off from a ‘privileged’ position.
As I see it, since they have already agreed to retaining this registration against the car, then providing reasonable proof of dating, should allow them to amend the date of registration.
Being unlucky that W. Suffolk C.C don’t have your particular page, is in itself unlucky, but the broader picture is that comparatively few S.E. England records survive anyway.

If this were mine, I would be doing the following:-
Contact Kithead Trust at Droitwich to see if there is an off chance that they might have a change of ownership card or similar against this number. I would assume a 99% anticipation that they don’t, but always worth an ask.
Obtain an ‘Authenticated copy’ of Glass’s Index of Registration Numbers (1929 - 1965) which lists the issue dates for the GV sequence, and provides evidence that 1935 started in Jan. with 3047 and ended with 3950.
Having already agreed to retaining the number, then I think DVLA would be on unsteady ground in refusing to accept Glass’s evidence relating to the date it was issued.
As Len says, the club’s DVLA Listed Contact should be able to supply you with copy, but if not, then I could.
Kind regards,
Gareth.
p.s. I’ve checked Davy’s ‘The Standard Car’ published in 1967 which includes lists of owners against some registration numbers, but yours isn’t listed. However, the club may well have later evidence of ownership.

[standardthread]

Long shot Tom but have you tried the British Motor Museum archive;

[e-mail]

[motyblod]

Thank you all for the responses.
Standardthread - I'll follow this up.
Len - DG in the SMC did help me with my applications to the DVLA and W Suffolk CC.
Gareth - when the PO bought the car in 2003 he didn't get a V5C. He applied to the DVLA with the help of the SMC and was lucky to retain the original number as it hadn't been reallocated. So yes, it's non-transferable.
I'll try the Kithead Trust.
I have just bought A History of Motor Vehicle Registration in the UK (3rd ed) by LH Newall. It has the same info you quote from Glass' Guide about the reg numbers during 1935 ranging from 3047 to 3950. Logically, therefore my no of GV 3348 was issued approx April or May.
I do have the details of the previous owner but one who was in the Club from 1983 to 2003, the car then being sold by his widow. But this doesn't help with documentary evidence.
Playing devil's advocate from the DVLA's point of view, the fact that all logic points to the car having indeed been registered in 1935 is an assumption not supported by any proof.

Thanks again - Tom.

[Eternal Optimist]

Newall’s book is fascinating reading.

[magnet]

Hello Tom,
‘....retain the original number because it hadn’t been reallocated’. If only it were that simple - particularly now!
You are spot on with your last statement, and yes, you have to prove its identity/dating to DVLA. I believe an authenticated copy of Glass Guide should satisfy dating in your (in caps) case.
DVLA take a standard pedantic approach to authorising retention of registration numbers shown on ‘unregistered’ vehicles.
I use an example where you have of a number of ‘horses’ in a field - one of which has black and white stripes. All angles of logic, points to this one having to be a zebra. But as far as DVLA is concerned, you have to prove ( in caps) that it’s a zebra!
Good luck with getting the dating correct, but I would have confidence that a correctly presented case has a fair chance of success.
Kind regards,
Gareth.