Sheffield car shows its mettle

A rare car is to be offered at H&H Classic Auctions’ September sale. It is a 1909 45hp two-speed Sheffield-Simplex, sold originally to Henry Dutton in Australia, after which it had at least four owners there, ending up in Sydney, possibly as a taxi, then as a lorry in Adelaide. By 1978, the car was owned by Wally Reeve, from whom Lord Riverdale bought it.

Its mileage was approximately 250,000, but the original pistons were in the six-cylinder engine which had been taken from the chassis to run a pump; the chassis had been converted into a trailer. His Lordship had it rebuilt with a replica 1909 body, naming it ‘Aunt Jo’ in tribute to the late Lady Josephine Fooks, his eldest sister. She left a legacy to his children, who now own the car.

The Sheffield-Simplex works were in Tinsley, Sheffield, site of Lord Fitzwilliam’s 365-room mansion.