Some years ago, The Mercury very helpfully featured a car - a 1900 Daimler Type A Tonneau, registration number EX10 - of which I have been the custodian since 2007.
Your paper published two articles, in January 1990 and February 1990 which have helped greatly in uncovering some early history of the vehicle.
The car was supplied, in 1900-1901 by Frank Morriss of Kings Lynn, who, at the time, was the sole Daimler agent in Norfolk.
Daimler was the UK’s first manufacturer of motor cars for public sale. The first car was produced in January 1897 and, by 1900, cars were still few and far between.
It is thought Frank Morriss supplied the first Royal Daimler, also a Type A Tonneau, to the then Prince of Wales, (soon to be Edward VII), at Sandringham. This car still resides at Sandringham.
EX10 is one of the most original remaining British Victorian motor cars and was used for reference purposes when the Marquis of Beaulieu restored the Royal Daimler in 1977-1978 for The Queen as part of her Silver Jubilee celebrations.
The car is now subject to its own full and sympathetic restoration by specialist coach restorers, but we have come up against a surprising problem which we wondered whether readers might help resolve.
We had thought that EX10’s first owner was a Mr Briggs of Southtown, Yarmouth, and certainly he owned the car when, or shortly after, it was first registered, (along with all other road vehicles), in 1904. However, underneath the current paint, applied in the late 1940s, we have found the monogram of the original owner.
Sleuthing has shown these to be the initials “EE”. However, despite contacting many different libraries, museums, motor clubs and records offices we have been unable to confirm the identity of the original owner.
Also, we know that Mr Briggs and then his daughter owned the car from pre 1904 to 1945 and then Frank Bately of Bately’s garage, of Southtown Road, owned it from 1945 to 1959, following which the car moved to Somerset.
I can be contacted by email on John.worth21@hotmail.com or letters can be forwarded to me via the Mercury.
JOHN WORTH
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