Wartime evacuee reunited with beloved Sunbeam car

16 hours ago

Katy Prickettand

Debbie Tubby,at Castle Acre

Mike Thrift was just five when he was evacuated from London to a manor house near Nottingham

DJ McLaren/BBC A head and torso shot of Mike Thrift, sitting in a living room. He has white hair and is wearing a cream jacket over a light blue shirt and is smiling broadly. — Mike Thrift was just five when he was evacuated from London to a manor house near Nottingham

A wartime evacuee has spoken of his delight at being reunited with a car that captured his imagination more than 80 years ago.

Mike Thrift, 90, clearly remembers the day in 1941 when, as a five-year-old, he was driven in the 1928 Sunbeam from a school hall in Nottingham to his lodgings at a nearby manor house.

The reunion came about after Thrift shared his memories of the car and his time as an evacuee with his grandsons and daughter Mel, who live in Australia.

"I'm so thrilled to be here today – it's been a wonderful day," said Thrift, of Hemsby, Norfolk.

Thrift has happy memories of playing in the back of the 1928 Sunbeam car, now owned by Guy Lachlan (above)

DJ McLaren/BBC Guy Lachlan leaning on his black Sunbeam car, which is parked against a flint and brick wall. Guy has white hair and a cropped white beard. He is wearing dark glasses and a black gilet over a light purple shirt and blue trousers. — Thrift has happy memories of playing in the back of the 1928 Sunbeam car, now owned by Guy Lachlan (above)

Thrift had been billeted with the manor's owner Elizabeth Machin, alongside his sisters Pat, 10, and Anne, two.

"It was a different way of life, coming from a small two-up, two-down – the five of us living there in Hounslow, West London – and then being moved to the manor house on eight acres, you can imagine," he said.

Thrift was picked up that day by Machin's chauffeur William Herring, but wartime petrol rationing meant the Sunbeam remained in a garage for the duration of his stay at Edwalton Manor, which has since been demolished.

"I used to sneak into the back of the car and just dream of being anywhere in the world, really. It was just an adventure," said Thrift.

Petrol rationing meant Thrift was only driven in the car once during the war, from Nottingham to his billet

Robin Brown A black and white image of a 1928 Sunbeam car on a driveway with trees behind it. — Petrol rationing meant Thrift was only driven in the car once during the war, from Nottingham to his billet

After hearing her father talk about the car, Mel was put in touch with its current owner Guy Lachlan, 61, from Caxton, Cambridgeshire.

As he was still in contact with the car's second owner, Machin's great-nephew Robin Brown, 98, he arranged to take both for a spin in the Sunbeam.

"I love doing this with all my cars. I love getting the history because cars have such a special place in people's minds and people's memories," said Lachlan, who contacted the BBC about the reunion via Your Voice.

DJ McLaren/BBC Robin Brown sitting in a living room. He has white hair and is wearing a green gilet over a fine striped shirt. — Robin Brown was the car's second owner

Thrift said he had "beautiful memories" of the Sunbeam and was delighted to see it again.

"The car in my mind was a lot bigger; it seems so tiny now - but I was just five, coming up to six, at the time," he added.

Brown, of Castle Acre, Norfolk, said: "I'd forgotten how smooth it is. It's a lovely car and it bounds along, and of course the engine makes more noise now than a modern car would, but it's certainly lovely listening to it."