Wigan Album
Leigh 1903 first car?
13 CommentsPhoto: Keith
Item #: 28794
Interesting photo. but nowt do wi Wiggin This is wiganworld
DW was the old car reg for Newport in Wales. Morgan, a Welsh surname so, some connection? Possibly mining?
Would that be a 'De Dion-Bouton' by any chance?
Here we go again.
Wiganer, Leigh is within Wigan Metropolitan Borough, like it or not. Atherton, Tyldesley and Lawton are all in Wigan since 1974 .
Also highly unlikely. Car registrations were only required from 1904 onwards, County Councils and Boroughs were allocated one or two letter registrations (Wigan's being EK then later JP), so three letters and a number are incorrect for such an early date. The DW code was issued to Newport Monmouth CBC.
William Morgan, auctioneer and estate agent, Gordon Villa, 3, Leigh Road, Leigh. Age 27 in 1903.
Well done Keith, that seems to fit the bill, perhaps the photo date is a little later than 1903.
Gordon Villa is still there:
http://tinyurl.com/js593ng
I wonder how much that car would be worth today if it still exists? probably more than the average house. It's strange that, even though cars were around back then (if only a tiny number), it wasn't until about 50 years later that most working class people could actually afford one. I wish we could go back that time, because there's just far too many on the roads now; selfish people parking half way on the curbs (in some cases right on the pavements) where you can't get past, then people who are too lazy to indicate when they should.
I made internet enquiries from knowledgeable veteran car enthusiasts regarding the number plate, here's what they came up with........
"The DW (Monmouthshire) registration series didn't first see use until after WW2, also being dark lettering on a light background suggests to me that it was a show plate of some kind or perhaps an early trade plate even, rather than a legit vehicle registration." ......and...... " the numberplate is a trade plate, although the car is a Darracq: It's a 1902, 9hp single cylinder Darracq - several example survive in the VCC's List of known veterans".....he continues......."the registration number is a 'trade plate' Issued to both manufacturers and dealers, the latter must apply here, and investigation in newspapers of the day might reveal which firm, as the letters often related to the firm's name. The 'W' suggests 'Wigan'."
A 1902 9hp single cylinder Darracq recently sold at Bonhams for £91,700
Just to complete the circle, further info' reveals......by another interested party....
"I did a booklet on Warrington registrations in 2003 (to mark the centenary of registrations in Britain).
The registration is a General Identification Mark (GIM), the pre-1921 form of trade plates. Each authority had its own format of GIMs, but they had to commence with the local authority's code letters followed by a mixture of letters and numbers and be in different colours from ordinary plates. In case you haven't worked this out already, this is a Warrington GIM. Their format was ED, Warrington's code, followed by a letter "W" obviously standing for Warrington and a serial number. An article in the "Warrington Examiner" of 27 July 1929, primarily reporting the presentation of the number plate of the first car to bear ED 1 to Warrington Museum mentions that "E.D.W.1" was a "trade registration". The car is driven by William Morgan who subsequently became mayor of Leigh in 1936."