vintage postbag, May 1962

VINTAGE POSTBAG

A.G. and Warrick Carriers

Sir,

Your reader, Mr. Collis, last month reminisced on A.C. and Warrick carriers. There has always been confusion with these two firms and I will give you the facts.

The A.C. was first sold in 1907 as a 3-wheeled delivery van. This was a great success. At the time most small parcel deliveries were made by tradesmen’s pedal tricycles, many of which were made by John Warrick of Reading. There are reasons to believe he was the inventor of the trade bike. John Warrick saw the threat of the motor and developed the idea in 1911. His version appeared identical but was an improved development. The A.C. was known as the Autocarrier, and the Warrick as the Warrick Motor Carrier.

Mr. Collis remembers Sainsbury using them. They had three before 1915. The first on October 12th, 1912, LF 5019, costing £ros ; delivered by rail for Lt.

The Warrick Edgware Road Depot still exists and I believe the Manager, Mr. Chuter, is still there.

The Autocarrier was discontinued during the First World War, but Warricks produced the tricar until about 1927.

A.C., after the success of the box-car, in 1907 turned to passenger models and produced a model with a single passenger seat in place of the box, later widened to seat two. At the end of 1909 they produced the Sociable, with one passenger by the side of the driver.

Warricks made only a few passenger tricars, of which I have one. The works still have a car which was used for cycle delivery and was in constant use from 1913 until 1952, and is still active.

Southend-on-Sea. LAURENCE MATHEWS.