On safari with Sherwoods' Vivas

Unfortunately, there was no sign of the bodies of the five men who had been in the car when it had crashed into the water. They were discovered some weeks later, washed down river.

Mr Sherwood’s depot was probably opposite the church in Hurworth. His sons, Harry and Alan, took over the business, moved into servicing and selling motor cars, and called themselves Sherwood Brothers – a concern which is still going strong in Chestnut Street, Darlington. In fact, Sherwoods is currently celebrating the refitting of its showroom by commemorating its past with a free exhibition of Vauxhalls through the ages.

Despite the company having a tin trunk of old documents, some of which are mentioned below, the beginnings of Sherwoods are a little sketchy.

In the mid 1920s, the brothers expanded from Hurworth and took over Oates Brothers garage which had been established in Grange Road, Darlington, in 1922.

The Oates boys’ garage was alongside a Victorian mini-mansion that was called Park View because it overlooked South Park. In 1909, the mini-mansion had been the home of Ignatius Trebitsch-Lincoln, the fantastically scandalous Darlington MP who slunk out of town in disgrace in 1910 before becoming a treacherous double agent during the First World War and ending his life as Buddhist monk in China.

From the get-go, Oates brothers had connections with General Motors (GM) of America, and acted as agents for Buick, Chevrolet and Oldsmobile, which were part of GM, as well as for Surrey Light Car and the International Speed Truck.

A brilliant picture of Oates Bros garage which opened on Grange Road, where the petrol filling station is today, in 1922

Perhaps when the Sherwood brothers took over the Oates brothers’ garage, they acquired the connection with GM. In 1925, GM bought Vauxhall of Luton and in 1928, Sherwoods began selling Vauxhall cars.

Sherwoods in the 1920s: Trebitsch Lincoln's house, Park View, is on the left; Oates Brothers garage is on the right, with Sherwoods extension inbetween

The company gradually expanded, opening branches in Stockton, Middlesbrough and West Hartlepool, building a new showroom on the opposite side of Grange Road, and establishing a sister coachbuilding business, Sherwoods and Winn, in Street 17 on the Aycliffe Trading Estate.

In 1979, it consolidated its Darlington operations in Chesnut Street, where Minories had once been. This meant that the Hurworth premises were sold off – we think houses have been built on the site in the last couple of decades. The old Oates Brothers garage, including Trebitsch-Lincoln’s house, was demolished and has been replaced by the petrol filling station, and the Grange Road showroom, after plans to convert it into a pub failed, is now a Majestic wine warehouse.

Sherwoods still thrives in Chestnut Street, still selling Vauxhalls. The exhibition of cars features vehicles from Vauxhall’s own collection, and starts with a 1934 Light Six. It includes a 1959 Velox, a couple of Vivas from 1964 and 1979, and a 1990s Lotus Carlton which in its day cost more than £45,000. Everyone is welcome to visit the exhibition, which is open during office hours.

The company is keen to fill in the gaps in its history. Anyone with any information, or pictures of staff, should email enquiries@sherwoodsgroup.co.uk, or visit the Sherwoods Vauxhall & Chevrolet Facebook page. Sherwoods is also be keen to hear from owners of classic Vauxhalls.

THE SHERWOODS SCRAPBOOK

A LETTER in the Sherwoods tin trunk is from Vauxhall Motors in Luton. It is dated August 7, 1943, and thanks the garage for agreeing to supply Government Utility Producer Gas Equipment.

With petrol in short supply during the war, alternative fuels were sought and, following negotiations with the Ministry of War, Vauxhall was converting some of its Bedford lorries to run on gas. It would appear that this gas was created by heating wood in a trailer towed behind the lorry – Germany is said to have had half-a-million wood gas powered vehicles on its roads during the war.

According to the Vauxhall letter, Sherwoods was agreeing to convert Bedfords to run on gas. A gas producer trailer was to cost £118 10s and the necessary conversion parts a further £19 10s.

IN the 1950s, “cyclemotors” were all the rage. They were basically pushbikes with little petrol engines attached to the real wheel, so they could reach a top speed of 18mph.

Sherwoods became the distributors for the Triumph Cyclemaster, a 25cc cyclemotor. In the scrapbox, there are several Cyclemaster logbooks, starting in 1950, which suggest that the company used them as errand bikes, nipping through the streets of Darlington.

Triumph aimed the Cyclemaster at young people, and marketed it with trendy slogans that had innocent meanings back then. “Go gay with Triumph” was one. “The gay bike for Jeanagers” was another.

These slogans were very much of their day – as was the concept of the cyclemotor. It was replaced by scooters and mopeds as the 1960s neared.

THERE are lots of licences in the tin, indicating the red tape involved in running a business. From the 1950s are the annual £1 Petroleum Licence issued by Darlington’s Chief Fire Officer which allowed Sherwoods to store petrol for sale.

Perhaps the most interesting licence is from 1968, when Sherwoods paid 7s 6d to keep a dog at the Grange Road garage.

William Pitt introduced a dog tax in 1796 which was turned into a flat-rate dog licence in 1866 when rabies was sweeping the nation. At decimalisation in 1971, the 7s 6d was converted exactly into 37½p. This was reduced to 37p when the halfpenny was withdrawn in 1984, which was where the cost of a dog licence remained until it was abolished in 1987.

AN early 1970s family saloon car travels through an African landscape. Mr and Mrs Smith are inside with their two children, armed with butterfly nets. In the background, a family of elephants prances about, a herd of wildebeest sweeps majestically across the plain, a tower of giraffes cranes to reach the trees and a pride of lions hungrily eye up the occupants of the Vauxhall.

But the voiceover said: “The Viva’s all round safety and immensely strong body structure gave them a feeling of security as Mrs Smith shot her first lion.”

This was a scene from Viva Safari, a one-minute promotional film made in 1972 to be shown in Rank cinemas, including the Odeon in Northgate, Darlington.

The voiceover continued: “Keeping cool with the aid of the through-flow ventilation, Katie delivered a well-aimed shot and bagged a rogue elephant.”

It concluded: “Even the speed and pace of a cheetah were no match for the lively Viva and they were soon safely back at home.”

At the end of the film, there was an opportunity for the local Vauxhall dealer to place their name and address – at a cost. Sherwoods took the opportunity. According to a receipt in the tin from the Rank Organisation, they paid £26.80 for their message to be shown eight times a week at the Odeon, and they paid a further £13.45 for a “Special Sound Commentary” – presumably a husky-voiced actor to get you hurrying down to the Grange Road garage.