Out and About 080

Out and About 080

Previous | Index | Next

Rescued from an elderly gentleman's garden, this adorable caravan has a very interesting history which is documented below.
To date we have learnt that after the war this caravan was discovered in a place called 'Holders Yard' in Petersfield, Hampshire. The gentleman who found it and used and kept it until now, contacted Thomson's and received a letter back from David Thomson himself stating that this particular 'camping trailer' was a prototype he was working on before WW2 and was sent along with the rest of his stock to help with the war effort.
This caravan found its way to Petersfield (a very long way from Falkirk) to be used as an A R Wardens field office in Holders Yard.
The gentleman is looking for the letter and a local historian who has written a book entitled 'Petersfield at War ' is talking to a fellow who was an A R Warden and is still living in Petersfield.
There is an identical caravan in the Falkirk Museum worksho p that was donated to the museum with a 'bill of sale' dated 1939 for £ 175-00.

Height - 76". Length - 132" including towing gear. Width - 62".
Al window frames are brass.
The underneath which is all very sound, the floor is ply and is also very sound.
The width of the door is 29" and the bed fully set up is 51 1/2" x 76".
There has obviously been some refurbishment to the interior which we believe happened in the 70's but the elderly gentleman who rescued her after the war has kept the items that were changed ie. gas light, we have a photo of the more modern one fitted in the van but there is a photo of original one on the bed in gallery.
Also the original lights for the exterior & hub caps are photographed in gallery.

Just a little bit of info about " Old Ted " who obviously was not always old !!!
The elderly gentleman who we mention is called Ted. He rescued the caravan after the war and after a couple of decades of using the caravan decided they needed a larger one, thankfully before he CUT THE TOP OFF to turn it into a trailer he decided to take some photos and write to Thomson's.
The letter he received back was from David Thomson himself describing how this little van was a prototype that he himself was working on in the mid thirties and was part of a consignment donated to help with the war effort. The final design was marketed BEFORE the war and there is an example of this in the workshop of the Falkirk Museum which has a 'Bill of Sale' dated 1939 for £ 175-00. David Thomson asked for the van back because they made so few but 'Old Ted' decided that he would keep her and just buy another. We cannot tell you how fastidious and sharp Ted is and how every part of the history we have uncovered confirms all that he has told us. Incidentally his 'new caravan' which he purchased in the early 80's was one of the last coach built caravans and is quite literally 'as new' it has been used 5 or 6 times, still has the plastic protecting the carpet, the cooker has never been used and he has everything it came with all present & correct, his wife just didn't want to caravan anymore and so it just sits there like the day it was built !!!

1934 THOMSON DART CAMPING TRAILER
Owned by Robert Long
Salisbury, Wiltshire, England

Previous | Index | Next

Disclaimer - The information provided on this Website site is offered with no warranty as to the authenticity, suitability or competence of the individual, company or service quoted here in. The Website shall not be liable for any damage or difficulty, direct or indirect, arising from utilization of the information contained within these pages. Thomson T-Line History & Information is not responsible for the content of external website's.