Rolls-Royce 20/25 (1934)

Starting life as a Hooper Sports Saloon, this car was bought about 40 years ago by the last owner as a running chassis, having had the coachwork transferred to another car. It was later re-bodied by Derek Leyshon-James as a handsome Sedanca Coupe, or, to be more correct, a Coupe de Ville, which is the body it still carries today. Features include a slim, attractive windscreen, stylish wings, reminiscent of a Gurney Nutting design, long trumpet horns, Lucas PLG40 centre lamp, rear-mounted spare wheel, etc. Very nice green leather interior Mechanically good, running nicely and driving well.

SALE AGREED

Chassis No. GAF7 Reg. No. BLP 248 Price £42,500.

Snippets: The Fleming Family
The chassis cards show that GAF7 was delivered to Michael Fleming (1913/40) c/o his brother-in-law The Hon. Algernon Borthwick of Cadogan Square in London – but it is not clear who actually owned GAF7. Michael Fleming was only 3 years old when his father Major Valentine Fleming was killed whilst serving with the Queen’s Own Oxfordshire Hussars on the Western Front during WWI. Michael’s 4 siblings include Peter (1907/1971), Ian (1908/64), Richard (1911/77) & half-sister Amaryllis. During the 1930s Peter Fleming became an explorer & author of his travels with “Brazilian Adventure” & “Travels in Tartary”, upon his return to England he married the actress Celia Johnson (Brief Encounter). Ian Fleming is of course best known for “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang” & the James Bond novels as well as being the inspiration behind the WWII Operation Mincemeat plot. The youngest of the 3 brothers was Richard who served alongside Peter in WWII and later entered the family bank of Robert Fleming & Co (est 1932) becoming chairman in the 1960s & 70s. Michael himself became a stockbroker just before the outbreak of WWII, he immediately signed up with the Ox & Bucks Light Infantry & was captured at Normandy in 1940 dying shortly after from his wounds, he also left behind a widow and 3 sons & 1 daughter (born the year that Michael died). The Fleming boys half-sister Amaryllis was the result of a liaison between their mother Eve (nee Rose) and the painter Augustus John – Amaryllis became a distinguished cellist. Later owners of GAF7 included the surgeon Emlyn Williams who after qualifying in 1933 worked at the Royal Surrey Hospital & during WWII was with Royal Navy as surgical specialist.

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