An Inverness businessman has returned one of the city’s oldest working vehicles back home.
Andrew Card, the owner of Loch Ness Honey Company, first spotted the Inverness registered Austin 10/4 delivery van on eBay three years ago.
The 1125 cc motor – registration number ST9438 – was sold for the first time by Macrae and Dick on December 6, 1937.
Mr Card said: “I’ve always liked pre-war classic vehicles, and when I saw this one had the ST Inverness registration plate on it, I thought ‘I’ll get that van one day’.”
Sadly, the businessman who is from Milton of Culloden missed out and the vehicle was sold.
But he was determined to track it down, spending an hour every Sunday for two years searching online for the van, which by then had travelled south to Doncaster and on to Cornwall, Middlesex, Sussex and Derbyshire.
Last August, Mr Card finally became the proud owner of the motor- which he believes could be the second oldest vehicle in the city – and proudly returned it to the Highland capital.
A piece of history back on the streets of Inverness
According to Mr Card, in 1937 the vehicle was sold by Macrae and Dick to a man named Andrew Douglas Munro of Innes Street.
In 1958 it was parked in a shed in Dalneigh, remaining there for several years.
However, in 1988 the van was saved by a local man as plans to demolish the sheds were unveiled.
From there, it went to Doncaster under the ownership of the gentleman’s cousin, who sadly died a short time later.
For decades, the van bounced around Somerset, Cornwall, Middlesex, Sussex and Derbyshire before returning home last August.
The vehicle is understood to be one of three remaining in the UK, but the only one of its kind on the road.
Mr Card added: “We think it is the second oldest Inverness registered vehicle still in Inverness.
“There is an Austin 10 from 1932 that is still in the area but as far as we can make out from the Highland Classic Motor Club, we think this is the second oldest one still in the area.
“It’s quite nice that it has been brought back.”
Inverness businessman trying to ‘fill in the gaps’
Mr Card is now working to “fill in the gaps” of the van’s history, in particular a 30 year period between 1958 and 1988.
He added: “I would like to find a relative of the guy that bought it to see if they can fill in that missing 30 years, from 1958 to 1988.
“Even if they could tell me what happened to the chap.
“I have a sneaky feeling he may have gone to war and never came back as it was a few years before the outbreak of war, so I wonder if he was enlisted and never returned.
“I want to fill in that gap. It’s the only bit that I can’t piece together. Even if someone has a photograph of it back in the day, that would be superb.”
Vintage van is spreading cheer
Mr Card uses the van to sell produce around the city as part of his business Loch Ness Honey Company.
Registered as a mobile shop, the van is often admired by onlookers.
Mr Card says his van brings “a bit of cheer” to the community, adding: “If I’m driving through Inverness, there is always somebody with a phone out taking a photograph of it.
“There was a market on at the Cathedral last weekend and I was selling honey there. I didn’t have a gazebo so I thought I’ll take the van and use that as a bit of a stage prop.
“It was very, very popular. I had loads of folk, including Americans, German tourists and Australians, who were all photographing it. I have got a wee history board with pictures of how it was back in the day.”
