BIRCH HILL STATION WWI MEMORIAL RIDE

The Colonel's Lady

THE COLONEL’S LADY

 

MARCH, 1962

 

Leith Newell

 

1911 Wolseley-Siddley! “But I thought Siddeley’s patents with the Wolseley Tool & Motor Car Co. ran out in 1910.” And so they did—October, 1910. However Car No. 13036 our 16/20 Type C.4 model, although specially ordered, and laid down in September 1910 prior to the patent running out, was not completed until February 2, 1911, and was delivered to the London agents,Tozer, Kemsley and Fisher on February 6, 1911.

 

As with most firms at that period, cars were often varied to customers’ orders, and we gather, from references to the Wolseley models of the period and the sometimes rather unreliable memories of contemporary owners—that 13036 departs from the normal in some aspects. The wheelbase, 9ft Sin, is the standard English length not the‘ Colonial 10ft 3in; bevel crownwheel and pinion final drive was used on 16/20 models for special orders only, before 1913; similarly the detachable Sankey wheels although fitted originally were not standard; the valances and carrier were extras but noted on the record sheet as fitted at the works, and apparently more nickel plating is used than on the standard models of that year.

 

The car was imported by the local Canterbury agents,  S. Hawkes Ltd., especially for Lt. Colonel E. B. Milton of Birch Hill, North Canterbury, and the original number plate was N.C. 22.

 

To quote from Acland’s “Early Canterbury Runs”: “The Colonel was a fine and methodical country gentleman and he ran Birch Hill on almost military lines. His men always saluted him, . . . on the other hand the station became known among shepherds as an old man’s home, for the Colonel always found work for an old down and out, and many such men were kept on the payroll when there was little work for them to do.”

 

He evidently treated the Wolseley-Siddeley just as kindly. For instance, returning from Ashley Gorge after a picnic, passengers always had to get out and walk up the steep rise from the Gorge bridge (not because the car couldn’t manage the load, but because in this way he thought he was making things easier for her). Similarly when the car was left at his local Rangiora garage (by coincidence just next door to our home) for the day, it always had to be covered.

 

According to local information one of the first trips the car made was to a large land sale on October 10, 1911, when the White- rock run, then owned by Greenwood of Teviotdale was split up into blocks. The only other car present was a 1909 Talbot of Brown’s, Mt. Thomas—most probably the first car in the district.

 

The Colonel did one or two longish trips during the first years he owned the car, but mainly just drove in to Rangiora, about 15 miles, or on to Christchurch, a further 20 miles.

 

One story told to us by his nephew who often used to drive the car, is of “Uncle Ted” returning home after watching a tennis demonstration in Christchurch (probably Wilding after Davis Cup play, we imagine), and a raging nor’—wester had turned southerly with rain. Near home the Garry was in flood and well up. The Colonel stalled the car in the middle and was just preparing to get into the swirling water when Mrs Milton said, “Try the button you fool, try the button!” It worked, for duel ignition has many advantages. Now, the uninitiated often remark about self-starters!

 

Between 1925 and 1929 a Standard was purchased by the Colonel and the Wolse1ey—Siddley was kept for hack work, but was hardly ever used after this. Once she was advertised, but as £4-0 was the only offer, there was no sale as the Colonel considered she was worth more than this. She was then kept in the garage and regularly checked, tyres pumped up, etc., by his nephews Reg and Ned Ford.

 

Colonel Milton died in 1942, and some time between 1942 and 1945, while Ned Ford was managing the estate for the “Sunlight League,” ‘the Wolseley-Siddley was sold to Jack O’Halloran of Glentui——a nearby estate—for five pounds, for a sawbench! What would the Colonel have thought! The body was left at the Glentui homestead where the manager planned to cut it in half to use as a horse jogger, and the motor and chassis were taken over the river to Mr O’Halloran’s own home. He disposed of four of the wheels and the fifth was used with belt drive to the sawbench. How much use the engine had in this state we have no idea. However, when the time came to do it up properly, the only major jobs required were new rings and valves, new gudgeon pins, one big end bearing was remetalled and a new timing gear cut and fitted.

 

In 1950 a group in Rangiora was looking for early cars to use for the Canterbury Centennial processions and this Wolseley was mentioned. After viewing the remains, it was decided to go ahead and gather up all the bits. Although in comparison with most “finds” today, it was very complete and in fairly good order, gathering all the pieces did involve quite a treasure hunt. You know, I’m beginning to discover that half the fun in vintage motoring is finding the bits! Eventually everything was located except a headlight and sidelight, and the back seat squab. The wheels and tyres, which were sold in the Rangiora “Paddy’s Market” during the war, were located at Woodend, four miles the other side of Rangiora, where they had been intended for use on a horse jogger, but fortunately had not been used. These were collected first anditaken over to where the motor and chassis as mentioned, were driving the sawbench. The body, luckily still in one piece, was in a shed used for coal storage, coal heaped against the back, and used by both dogs and hens as a resting place. Age and lack of attention had made the leather upholstery very dry and brittle. The loft at Birch Hill homestead produced one sidelight, one headlight, windscreen, front seat squab, hood cover, remains of the hood (the rest had been used to rehood an Austin seven), one side-curtain, hoodbows, speedo and horn. The tail light was brought in from a musterers’ hut in Lees Valley, some 35 miles by road—but part of Birch Hill Station. The other sidelight was thought to have gone to one of the bays on Banks Peninsula but could not be located. 

 

There were about ten associated in the initial assembly which involved roughly, a quick look at the motor which seemed in fairly good order, so was left as it was; a good dose of leather dressing for the upholstery; a hurried slap of paint made up of odds and ends—hence the peculiar pinky cream which adorned her for a number of years; a borrowed headlight of different make; and the tail light made do as a sidelight. Concours was definitely not in the vocabulary. Some of the original 880 x 120 tyres and tubes were used and others 815 x 105 were stretched on, to make her mobile. Doubtful beads added to the uncertainty of arrival. In this guise the “Old Girl” took part in about six processions culminating with the Christchurch one, which introduced Jack to the Vintage Car Club. At that stage the car was only borrowed from Mr O’Halloran, but rather than let it once more deteriorate into an inanimate heap, early in 1951 Jack and Maurie Wright decided to purchase the car —for the princely sum of £12.

 

A few Club rallies were attended about this time and after that a long retirement. Both owners at this stage were deeply involved in ski club activities, and felt that the Wolseley was not in suitable condition for Club events, and did not have time to start restoration. The annual rally in 1957 which was to Rangiora, brought her out of retirement and created sufficient enthusiasm to begin planning rejuvenation. The bulk of this was done between Christmas and Easter 1959 when the car was stripped and three and a half months of feverish activity and much burning of midnight oil took place. 

 

Strange how once a job is started it seems to involve twice as much work as originally planned! I quote from the log: ‘Jan. ’59. Entered Dunedin-Brighton; car not ready; March, West Coast Rally, car not ready; Good Friday, 1959—second Nat. Rally begins Timaru. Motor and chassis completed and running, body painted.” Tension mounted during the day, aggravated by one or two unexpected setbacks. However with the assistance of six local helpers, the body was fitted, floorboards and running boards cut and fiTed and so on. All that could be done was completed and the car loaded on the trailer 9 p.m. Friday, then home for tea.

 

We left for Timaru at 11 p.m., and I imagine the Colonel’s ghost looked down kindly on the very tired crew, on that wearisome journey through the night as “the Duchess” transformation partly completed, held up her head once more. Yes, we were ready to leave on the run at 8 a.m. next morning, but breakfasted on buns on the way to Geraldine. 

 

Since then most of the interior work and many fiddling details have been finished and the latest improvements were the hood, prior to Hastings last year, and replating the hubs for Brighton 1962. However there are still a multitude of minor details plus a couple of major jobs still to be completed.

 

Maurie Wright recently relinquished his share of the car which we have taken over.

 

Apart from the back seat squab the car is as it originally left the Wolseley works even to the colour scheme, deep cream and brown. To date 1,500 hours have been spent on the restoration. “What about that battered object you carry at the back?” Well, call it sentimental if you wish, but this particular tin trunk—our travelling holdall—was also unearthed at a later date from Birch Hill loft, and still has the name Milton painted on it!

 

Since 1959 we have motored over 3,600 miles—the longest trip 825 miles to attend an Invercargill-Riverton Rally. We cruise at 35 m.p.h., average just under 20 mpg. and are usually accompanied by an immaculate 1915 Model T Ford.

 

We like to think that Colonel Milton would have been pleased to see his “lady” once more not only gracing the roads in all her elegant glory, but also driven just as proudly as when he first took the wheel in 1911.