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Cooperman
United Kingdom
790 Posts |
Posted - 30/11/2019 : 12:25:04
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Dave, according to the reference about the M.G. car club history that Kevin gives above, it says under that same picture "Roy Marsh with his TC in Johannesburg in 1963" and Kevin refers to it as being early sixties, so does it get cold in Jo'berg? He does have a jacket and woollen jumper on.
John Cooper M 628 |
Edited by - Cooperman on 30/11/2019 12:27:38 |
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Vitesse
United Kingdom
234 Posts |
Posted - 30/11/2019 : 17:48:16
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quote: Originally posted by Mike the M
F.C.N.Day does not feature in the results quoted in the June 1935 Motor Sport on page 354. However they only quote the Trophy winners and the First Class awards, and he may have received a Second or Third Class award. What were his Christian names, he should be fairly easy to find in Ancestry or one of the other websites. Being in the Navy, his war service may be interesting!
Mike Dalby
Well it took a bit of hunting, but I finally found him in the February 1939 Navy List, having retired on September 30th 1933. Full name was Frank Charles Nelson Day and on the 1901 census he's a 9-year-old schoolboy, boarding at Mount House Preparatory School in Plymouth.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_House_School,_Tavistock
I couldn't find a UK birth record for him - because the census tells us that he was actually born in Nelson, New Zealand. This was registered in the third quarter of 1891 (Ancestry only has the index, not individual records), but the UK National Archives tell us he was born on August 29th that year.
He wasn't perhaps all that academically inclined, as he was indentured as a Merchant Navy apprentice with George Milne & Co Ltd of Aberdeen in 1907. He gained his Second Mate's Certificate in 1911, First Mate's Certificate in 1914 and his Master's Ticket the following year. The National Archives has several records relating to both his Merchant Navy and Royal Navy service - however, they charge for them!
https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/D8002165
There are some 1920s travel records on Ancestry - at that time he was a Chief Officer (second in command) for the Royal Mail Steam Packet Company, serving on various of their ships - there are records of him on the Lochgoil, Loch Katrina, Nictheroy and Nariva.
Presumably after being reactivated (findable in Navy Lists, but with difficulty!), he died of a pulmonary embolism in a hospital in Alexandria on April 7th 1942, at which point he seems to have been on the staff of HMS Nile (actually a 'stone frigate' - it was the RN base at Ras el-Tin Point). He's buried at Hadra War Memorial Cemetery in Alexandria.
https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2110486/day,-frank-charles-nelson/ |
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KevinA
New Zealand
712 Posts |
Posted - 30/11/2019 : 20:10:55
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Frank's father was John Charles Nelson Day, and his mother Mary Pelham Day. They lived in the Annesbrook district of Stoke near Nelson town centre. John died in April 1893 so perhaps this instigated a family return to the UK. |
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Westbury
United Kingdom
2223 Posts |
Posted - 30/11/2019 : 20:40:17
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My sincere thanks to all who have researched and contributed to the history relating to AYT 197. Much appreciated !
These details will now be placed in the car’s files.
Chris
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Edited by - Westbury on 30/11/2019 20:42:10 |
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Vitesse
United Kingdom
234 Posts |
Posted - 01/12/2019 : 08:41:06
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quote: Originally posted by KevinA
Frank's father was John Charles Nelson Day, and his mother Mary Pelham Day. They lived in the Annesbrook district of Stoke near Nelson town centre. John died in April 1893 so perhaps this instigated a family return to the UK.
His mother remarried in 1894 and became Mary Pelham Cressey. Her new husband George Henry Cressey was a surgeon and although I can't find them arriving here they are both on the 1901 census at a house called Timaru in Vicarage Rd, Chelston, Torquay. I think it would today be just plain 10 Vicarage Rd - half of a typical large Victorian semi-detached house. By 1911 they'd moved to Tonbridge and by 1922 they were living in Gerrards Cross; she was widowed for a second time in 1922 and died in 1927.
Just a guess, but one of the travel records I found may relate to Frank having been in England to deal with his mother's estate - he seems to have mainly worked around the Pacific on cargo ships between the US and Canadian west coasts and - presumably - the Antipodes. |
Edited by - Vitesse on 01/12/2019 08:49:06 |
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Cooperman
United Kingdom
790 Posts |
Posted - 01/12/2019 : 14:03:51
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Seeing the name of the house in Torquay, Timaru, did they once live in Timaru, which is a port city in the southern Canterbury region of New Zealand, located 157 kilometres southwest of Christchurch and about 196 kilometres northeast of Dunedin on the eastern Pacific coast of the South Island?
John Cooper M 628 |
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Vitesse
United Kingdom
234 Posts |
Posted - 01/12/2019 : 20:50:06
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quote: Originally posted by Cooperman
Seeing the name of the house in Torquay, Timaru, did they once live in Timaru, which is a port city in the southern Canterbury region of New Zealand, located 157 kilometres southwest of Christchurch and about 196 kilometres northeast of Dunedin on the eastern Pacific coast of the South Island?
John Cooper M 628
I can't find a reference to them living in Timaru - Dr Cressey also lived in Nelson before marrying Mrs Day - but presumably it had some meaning for them. Maybe they honeymooned ot holidayed there? |
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KevinA
New Zealand
712 Posts |
Posted - 02/12/2019 : 01:01:21
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Dr & Mary Cressey left New Zealand in 1896 after resigning from the medical council, as a Church Warden and selling their furniture.
This advert is February 1896
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Edited by - KevinA on 02/12/2019 01:04:43 |
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Vitesse
United Kingdom
234 Posts |
Posted - 02/12/2019 : 20:06:29
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Papers Past would have been my next port of call ... |
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KJ1592
United Kingdom
456 Posts |
Posted - 20/12/2019 : 09:57:23
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Hi Chris,
I saw your post and thought it might be worth looking through my bound set of The Sports Car magazines. There is a full report on the 1935 Abingdon Trial in the June edition of that year and another image of your car competing. There is also a fairly comprehensive full page report on the event. See photos attached. Hope this is of some interest.
All the best, Ian




Edited by Nick to rotate last image 20DEC19 |
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Westbury
United Kingdom
2223 Posts |
Posted - 20/12/2019 : 13:34:39
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Hello, Ian.
Many thanks for your post with more details of my car’s history. I am particularly delighted with the picture of the car on Nailsworth as I haven’t seen it before. I will have to see if I can get a copy of that edition now !
Thanks again for an early Christmas Present !
Best wishes,
Chris
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KJ1592
United Kingdom
456 Posts |
Posted - 20/12/2019 : 16:37:55
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Chris,
A pleasure. I also have a couple of pre war MGCC Abingdon Trial trophies somewhere. I’ll dig them out and put some pictures up.
All the best, Ian |
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Westbury
United Kingdom
2223 Posts |
Posted - 20/12/2019 : 17:55:13
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Cheers, Ian.
Would be very welcomed.
Chris |
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Westbury
United Kingdom
2223 Posts |
Posted - 21/12/2019 : 00:51:06
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Has anyone any idea what the rectangular black box shape at the rear of AYT 197 is ? You can see it in the 1st picture of the car at the beginning of this post and also in the picture of the car on the hill at Nailsworth.
Thank you,
Chris
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F0355
South Africa
299 Posts |
Posted - 21/12/2019 : 07:31:48
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quote: Originally posted by Cooperman
"Roy Marsh with his TC in Johannesburg in 1963" and Kevin refers to it as being early sixties, so does it get cold in Jo'berg? He does have a jacket and woollen jumper on.
Johannesburg is situated at 1750m above sea level and our typical winter months are June, July & August where the highs are anywhere between 17°C to 20°C and the lows 3°C to 5°C but there are occasions where we see 0°C and on very rare occasions (once in a blue moon).....we have had snow! The last being June 2007 and prior to that, September 1981. The records show Johannesburg has only seen snow 22 times in 103 years. It snowed in Johannesburg on 3rd July 1963.... TJ was the license plate prefix for Johannesburg.
Peter Johannesburg, RSA
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Edited by - F0355 on 21/12/2019 07:41:54 |
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