Previous owner of ' Snowdrop ' Rover 10 1934

[chris dancey]

I was contacted through this Forum by Private Message by Graham who joined Tuesday 22 March 2011 @ 3.18pm in his search for the present owner of Rover 10 1934 reg no. RD 6160, commonly known as ' Snowdrop ' currently being restored by me and documanted in depth via ' Freewheel ' magazine.

Snowdrop was purchased new by his grandfather and was passed through the family ending up in Grahams ownership until the 1960s when it was sold. We were in contact through the Forum until 3 May 2011 when Grahm stopped replying. Is it possible to find out if Graham is well, he asked me for some items from Snowdrop as a keepsake which I will gladly send.

The problem is I have no contact details, only the original couple of PMs and the regional address from Graham.....Sherston, Malmesbury, Wilts where I sent some photocopies hopimg that the Post Office would be able to deliver them......Sherston is a small country village....I have heard nothing since.
Is it possible to contact Graham....I have tried through this Forum to no effect, I don't know how to attempt any further communication. Hopefully someone may be able to help.

I have repeated this in ' New Members ' section.

Chris Dancey

[chris dancey]

Graham has now vacated the Forum with no further communication.

I did at least get a little more history of RD 6160.

Thanks to everyone who tried to assist me to contact Graham.

Chris Dancey

[chris dancey]

Its been a year now since Graham vacated this Forum, I find it strange that a previous owner would not want to follow the on going life history of a family car, there has been no further communication. Some folks are strange ? Chris

[lakesrally]

I don't think everyone shares our passion for history Chris. I have traced the grand-daughter of a previous owner of my 16/50 who remembers playing in/on my car car when it was stored in Devon just after the last war. She thought she had some photographs somewhere and said she would send me some but nothing ever turned up. There was another 16/50 in Hastings some years ago and I have traced someone who was a freind of the owner and had even driven the car, he also said he would look out a photo or two but I never heard back from him. As he must be in his 80s and can only contact him through a third party it is difficult to keep chasing. I don't want to keep pestering him but it is something I really would like to find out more about so it is another thread left hanging.

[chris dancey]

Thanks Stewart, Its such a shame when this happens. I write in depth diaries, with photographs of each of my classics which will go with the car eventually when they go to a new home. Its strange that I have diaries of Snowdrops day to day life in the 1950s, written by Grahams father yet he still decided to leave the forum.

Chris

[chris dancey]

Great News is that Graham has been in touch by email. We are looking forward to meeting up in the summer when he can view ' Snowdrop ' again. Graham's grandfather Ernest Mullens purchased ' Snowdrop ' in 1934, then passed to Graham's Aunt Beryl, then his father and he finally owned her in the 1960s. He sold the car and has always regretted it. I have accumulated some memorabilia for Graham as a keepsake from ' Snowdrops' intensive restoration and will be passing on in the summer.

Thankyou to everyone who helped me to resume our connection which includes this forum and ' Freewheel '

Chris

[chris dancey]

Graham Hayman and I met at the Rover National this year. Great to finally get to meet a previous owner of Snowdrop and grandson of the first purchaser.

[chris dancey]

To bring this up to date. I am now in touch also with Grahams sister Clare Joslin ( nee Hayman ) who lives not too far from me in Crowborough, East Sussex. I was given Clares details by Graham and we have since met up a couple of times.
I now have seen photographs of Snowdrops first purchaser Ernest Mullens ( I even have a copy of their family tree ) and his family, I now know about Snowdrops early life and been able to fill in so many gaps, I think that I will write a book as this is quite a story. I met up with Graham and his partner Gail at the Rover Diamond Jubilee 2014, they drove up specifically to see Snowdrop ...and to meet with me. The meeting was surreal. We had transported the chassis to Coughton Court, whilst speaking with visitors, I noticed a b&w photograph on the ground next to the chassis, on closer inspection it was Snowdrop with a lady sat on the bonnet. Immediately I realised that Graham was nearby. A very beaming Graham greeted me like a long lost friend ( in a way this is what we was ) and we chatted for about an hour on Snowdrops early life and his families connection.

Snowdrop is a little unusual being white. I have since discovered from Graham ( and Clare confirmed ) that Snowdrop was repainted white in 1936 ( I have the receipt ). At the outbreak of war, Ernest Mullens had a reserved occupation as a telecoms specialist and was given a petrol allowance, he saved some of this allowance so that he could use Snowdrop to visit his family in Nottingham ( he was living in Reading, Berks at the time ). Ernest repainted Snowdrop back to its original blue ( using Brushing Belco ) because he thought that a white car would be too much of a target for the Luftwaffe...and pretty obvious to the authorities. On the death of Ernest in 1949, Snowdrop was inherited by his daughter Beryl, she sold the car to Grahams father Stanley Richard Haymen.

Graham inherited Snowdrop from his father ( Clare learnt to drive in Snowdrop, but never actually owned her ) When Graham was a student, he could'nt afford to keep her going, so sold her to Norman ' Nobby ' Ward who restored her and repainted her again back to white ( from the evidence of the 1936 receipt ).
On my last meeting with Clare, she has given me a picnic blanket that she still had that Ernest Mullens bought soon after buying the car and kept for use with the car on their family picnics.
Graham has also given me one of Snowdrops original toolkit spanners, painted green by his father for identification which I will keep as given. ....without this forum, this would not have been possible ..need I say more !