FEATURE
Outside Ratton Manor in Eastbourne in 1904 .
Sir George and his son Philip – a keen enthusiast in his own right – and the Panhard .
Sir George pictured on the 2019 Veteran Car Run .
became mandatory and it was registered AE 10 . ‘ That was the last time it was painted – 1904 ,’ smiles Sir George .
Stanley ’ s other improvements included a plate glass windscreen and a hood , and he commissioned an interchangeable lightweight racing body . Perhaps his most prescient decision was joining the Automobile Club in 1903 , for given his love of speed , this put him in touch with the club ’ s ‘ fiery lawyer ’ Staplee Firth — a specialist who represented motorists …
The Panhard was but the first of a series of cars owned by Sir Stanley White ( as he became following his father ’ s death in 1916 ), a founding director of the firm that later became the Bristol Aeroplane Company , he became managing director in 1911 — the start of a 50-year career running the company .
The car eventually semi-retired to Somerset at Sir Stanley ’ s holiday home near Chard , where it became transport for fishing trips to the River Yarty . Why ?
To house his fully assembled fishing rods ; Sir Stanley had a long mahogany box that handily bolted atop the Panhard ’ s offside wings .
It stayed there until just before World War Two , when it ’ s believed to have moved to Filton . It was certainly there in the 1950s , when it was discovered by Sir Alec Coryton , head of BAC ’ s Engine Division . Another car enthusiast , Sir Alec tried to persuade Sir Stanley to enter the Panhard into Veteran Car Club events . Alas , although unsuccessful , Sir Stanley allowed him to enter the car in events such as the Brighton Run ( accounting for nine of the Panhard ’ s tally of entries ) and the Weston-super-Mare Rally & Trial .
The Panhard remained with Sir Stanley until his death in 1964 , when it passed straight to his grandson . ‘ My father , as a small boy , asked Grandfather whether he could have a go driving it . Grandfather didn ’ t explain to him that it does have a habit — still has a habit — of dropping out of reverse … As a result
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