Shire Publications Books, DVDs and Workshop Manuals

The 1940s was the bleakest period in the brief history of the motorcar. It was a time of war, deprivation and austerity when, for almost a decade, car development stood still. Wartime motorists faced petrol and tyre rationing while the hazards of the blackout made driving in the dark a harrowing experience; a 20 mph speed limit could not stop the road death tally soaring. This new Shire book explores this intriguing subject about a crucial development in the history of motoring, including its recovery towards the end of the period as new models such as the iconic Morris Minor burst onto the scene. Ref:SPLAUSTERITY

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The ancestry of Humber goes back as far as any in the British motor industry, to 1868 when Thomas Humber began to make French-style forerunners to the bicycle, in Nottingham. The first Humber cars were also of French design, but Humber soon became a wholly British car made in two factories, cheaper models at Coventry and more expensive ones at Beeston. Humbers were among the most respected British cars of the 1920s, moving up-market in the 1930s. Humbers retained their reputation for quality up to the end of the line in 1976. Ref:SPLHUMBER

This title gives a fascinating survey of the different kinds of toy steam engines of the stationary type, and especially those produced during the heyday of steam toys between 1900 and 1930. Dealing mainly with the German manufacturers, the pioneers of the mass-produced steam toys, it explains how the engines work, gives advice about operating and maintaining them and contains useful information about identifying and dating vintage models. The manufacturers and retailers who played a leading part in the production and distribution of steam toys are described, and a brief reference is made to manufacturers who are still making toy steam engines. This will be an excellent reference book for steam enthusiasts of all ages. Ref:SPLSTEAM

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Geoffrey N. Wright, 32 pages. Turnpike trusts formed an important part of English life for over 150 years, from about 1690 to 1840, during which time they made a significant contribution to economic development before and during the industrial revolution. Locally and privately funded and usually operated on a relatively small scale, they represented an administrative innovation which recognised and tried to meet the need for an improved road transport infrastructure. For the first time road users paid for repairs and improvements to roads, and parishioners hitherto responsible were relieved of an often burdensome charge on local finances. Over 20,000 miles (32,000km) of roads were 'turnpiked', and most of these eighteenth- and nineteenth-century roads are still used today. Apart from the roads themselves, the most obvious survivals of turnpike trusts are the scores of neat little tollhouses and hundreds of roadside milestones. This book outlines the origins, development, success and decline of the turnpike trusts and some of the features associated with them. Ref:SPLTURNPIKE

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Jonathan Wood, 56 pages. This account examines the history of coachbuilding, beginning with the coachbuilders who for generations had built horse-drawn wooden carriages, and then explaining how they turned their craft to building the bodywork of the first motorised cars. Using photographs of the different stages of coachbuilding, the author describes the materials, equipment and key techniques involved. Today the profession of coachbuilding is almost a lost art, yet as the restoration of vintage cars seeks to keep the trade alive, this book reflects back on the heyday of the coachbuilt motor car and the skilled workers that made it their craft. Ref:SPLCOACH

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George Mowat-Brown, 32 pages. For over a century, no surviving marque so accurately charted the triumphs and tribulations of the British motor-manufacturing industry as Rover. This book traces the history of the company, starting with the cycle-making precursors of the Rover Company Limited. Covering the struggle through the Depression of the 1930s, and the expansions, mergers and contractions of the post-war period - the time of Rover's greatest success - the author then discusses Rover's placement within British Aerospace, the influence of the Japanese company Honda, and the ownership by BMW and the Phoenix Consortium. This book celebrates the history of Britain's last volume car producer, up to its sale to the Nanjing Corporation of China. Ref:SPLROVER

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Anthony Pritchard, 64 pages. With the end of the Second World War it was not long before increasing wealth, cheaper cars, and social pressures made a family car the aspiration of thousands. Ford, Hillman, Standard, Morris and Vauxhall became household names, and the streets of Britain's suburbs began to fill with modern-looking saloon cars, designed to transport mother, father and 2.4 children with ease, if not speed. This highly-illustrated book looks at the British cars that were available to the post-war family, and also some of the foreign makes that had an important place in the market, and which had a great influence on the British-made cars that followed. Ref:SPLFAMILY

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Nick Baldwin 32 pages, about 47 b/w illustrations. Four-wheel drive was first tried on steam-powered agricultural machinery; then it was adopted as a cure for sideslip in racing cars. Thousands of four-wheel drive vehicles were used in the Second World War and afterwards many found their way into agriculture, forestry and specialised transport. Ref:SPL4WHEEL

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Nick Baldwin 32 pp, 54 ills. Wolseley was one of Britain's leading car manufacturers in veteran and vintage days. Its two early managers, Austin and Siddeley, became famous for their own makes of car and Wolseley made a fascinating assortment of products from sledges for Scott of the Antarctic to Count Schilowsky's two-wheel Gyrocar. Austin and Morris fought American firms for its ownership in the 1920s, Morris winning eventually in 1927. The name was used for upmarket versions of first the Morris and then BMC models of the 1950s, when the cars were widely used by the police. The name Wolseley still stood for sumptuous interiors and illuminated radiator badges when it reached the end of the road in 1975. Ref:SPLWOLSELEY

Stuart Hands (In association with the Michael Sedgwick Trust) 32 pp, many ills. Road signs have never attracted the interest that railway signs have, perhaps because they are so commonplace. There have been direction signs ever since man began to travel, and boundary signs, too, have a long history. Warning signs, however, did not become necessary until cycling and motoring became established at the end of the nineteenth century. Since then the British government has sought to regulate all aspects of traffic signage, and signs are often altered to keep abreast of developments, but nevertheless signs from bygone days can still be observed along Britain’s highways today. Ref:SPLROADSIGNS

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Peter Hull 48 pp, 22 ills. It is largely a result of the career of motor manufacturerWilliam Richard Morris, Viscount Nuffield, that the university city of Oxford became one of Britain's foremost industrial cities. Leaving school at fourteen he was apprenticed to a bicycle repairer. Only nine months later he set up his own cycle business and from then on his rise to become one of Britain's leading industrialists was almost without setback. He was an astute businessman and an expert mechanic; he saw the need for a small economical car that was of high quality yet could be produced in large numbers. His special talent enabled him to obtain the right parts and to assemble them, and so the first Morris Oxford car appeared in 1913. Production boomed and Morris became a millionaire and was made a peer, but he was generous with his money and gave away over £30,000,000 in his lifetime, much of it to hospitals and other medical causes. He also financed the establishment of Nuffield College, Oxford, which bears his title. His name ceased to appear on motorcars after 1983 when Morris Motors was part of British Leyland, but the MG (Morris Garages) badge has survived under British Leyland's successor, Rover Cars. Ref:SPLLORDNUFFIELD

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Nick Georgano 32 pp, 50 ills. Londoners have a unique vehicle in their taxicab, for it is the only one in the world to be specifically designed for hire work in cities. Since the early years of the twentieth century London taxicabs have had to conform to very strict regulations of design laid down by the Public Carriage Office. One result of this is their much appreciated turning circle of only 25 fee. Before 1914 forty-five manufacturers submitted cabs to the Public Carriage Office, through the market soon became dominated by a few makes, Austin becoming the leading make in the 1930s. This Album chronicles the development of the taxi and the growth of the cab trade. Ref:SPLLONDON

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Lord Montagu of Beaulieu 32 pp, 52 ills. Every year on the first Sunday in November four hundred pre-1905 cars gather in Hyde Park, London for the annual Brighton Run. It is one of Britain's greatest annual motoring spectacles. Organised by the Royal Automobile Club with the co-operation of the Veteran Car Club, this event is reputedly watched by a million people over the 52-mile route from London to Brighton in Sussex. Ref:SPLBRIGHTON

Jonathan Wood 32 pages, about 43 b/w illustrations. The ubiquitous Morris Cowley and its more expensive Oxford stablemate were some of the most popular British cars of the 1920s. Illustrated with many rare contemporary photographs contributed by the Bullnose Morris Club, this Album explains how the Bullnose helped to make William Morris, the future Lord Nuffield, Britain’s most successful and richest motor manufacturer of the inter-war years. Ref:SPLBULLNOSE

Ian Dussek 32 pp, 50 ills. Since motoring began, enthusiastic amateur car builders have experimented with collecting and re-assembling components, notably chassis, engines and suspension units, to create highly personalised, sometimes, transient and frequently unique vehicles. This book tells the story of some of these hybrid machines, many of which achieved sporting success, and their constructors. Most are long forgotten but a few like Chapman's Lotus for example, have become household names. The cult of the 'special' flourished in Britain, when unitary construction deprived the impecunious builder of easily available chassis. Ref:SPLMOTORING

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Jonathan Wood 32 pages, 50 b/w illustrations. One of the most famous of British cars, the diminutive but robust 750 cc Austin Seven, introduced in 1922, changed the course of automobile design and proved the viability of the small-capacity four-cylinder car. The salvation of the Austin company, it was aimed at families who might otherwise have travelled by motorcycle and sidecar, and it remained in production until 1939. The Seven performed as well on the race track as it did on the road and inspired a team of magnificent twin overhead camshaft single-seaters. It survives in respectable numbers to provide new generations of enthusiasts with a practical, economical car to run, race and restore. Ref:SPLAUSTIN7

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By Andrew Whyte (updated by Jonathan Wood) - In 1935 William Lyons's company, SS Cars Ltd, launched a range of cars called the Jaguar. The name was later adopted by the company, which became known for luxury saloons and sports cars noted for their style, performance and good value. It describes and illustrates the history and development of the company, including its personalities and cars such as the famous XK120 and E-type, and the modern XJ6. This third edition, revised and updated by Jonathan Wood, takes the story on from the takeover by Ford up to the Jaguar XK, Car of the Year in 2006. The late Andrew Whyte was a member of the Guild of Motoring Writers and the Society of Automotive Historians. Before becoming a freelance writer in the late 1970s he had spent over twenty years with the Jaguar company in Coventry. Ref:SPLJAGUAR

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Jon Pressnell 32 pp, 55 ills. The best-loved of all British cars, the Mini was a revolution when it came out in 1959. This album looks at the background to the Mini, details its design and development, and chronicles the evolution of the car over the years. It also looks at attempts to design a replacement for the Mini, and - bringing the story fully up to date - examines the car's twilight years, through to the end of manufacture in 2000.
Jon Pressnell is a freelance journalist specialising in classic cars and is a Senior Contributor to Classic and Sports Car magazine. He has a particular interest in the British Motor Industry and has carried out pioneering research on various aspects of the work of the Mini's creator, Sir Alec Issigonis. Ref:SPLMINI

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The AA has been present on Britain's roads for nearly a century. This book charts its rise and reflects the interest in collecting its memorabilia in the form of badges, books, models and signs, giving detailed dating information on car badges for the first time in the public domain. Collectors will also appreciate sections on memorabilia hitherto unknown by the general public. The illustrations are all from the AA archive or have been specially commissioned.
Michael Passmore is the former Archivist of the AA. He joined the Association in 1968 in the Membership Department, transferring in 1990 to the archive section, where he spent 10 years. During this time he gave talks to outside organisations, conducted tours of the then AA museum to staff and visitors and added many items to the AA collection. Ref:SPLAA

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The history of ambulances and the various organisations and services that have been responsible for them has been sadly neglected. This book presents not only a fascinating history of the development of the ambulance from hand litters and bicycle ambulances to the advanced paramedic units of the 1990s, but also the continual changes in the responsibility for the ambulance service in Britain. The chassis manufacturers such as Ford, Daimler, morris, Austin and Bedford will be well-known to those interested in motoring history but the ambulance bodybuilders such as Pilcher Green, Herbert Lomas, Wadham Stringer, Barker and Hooper may be less familiar. The book includes details of ambulance livery and points out that not all ambulances have been white and that relatively few have carried the red cross.
Chris Batten's interest in ambulances arose from the time he spent in the St John Ambulance Brigade. He writes regular features on ambulances in the model press and is an active member of the British Ambulance Society. Ref:SPLAMBULANCES

Children's cars first appeared between 1901 and 1903; by 1910 they were being made commercially in largenumbers and by the 1920s the market justified mass production, bringing prices within the range of working class families. This book outlines the history of children's cars in Britain from the first custom-built models, through the period of greatest popularity, to the present revival of interest, particularly in miniature replicas of famous makes of motor car.
Paul Pennell's family collection of children's cars is one of the finest in Great Britain, many of the models having been painstakingly restored after acquisition in a neglected state. Through his business, Mr Pennell has been involved with vintage cars and the motor trade all his life, and he collects and writes about all forms of motoring art and automobilia, with particular emphasis on children's pedal cars. Ref:SPLCHILDREN

Armoured cars were the first armoured fighting vehicles. Automobiles were converted for military use soon after the beginning of the twentieth century and in 1912 armoured cars were used in action for the first time. This book traces their development from the first improvised designs to the turreted armoured cars in service during the First World War. The emphasis is mainly on British vehicles, but foreign armoured cars are also included. The book is illustrated with photographs from the archives of the Tank Museum at Bovington in Dorset.
E. Bartholomew was the Education Officer and Assistant Librarian at the Tank Museum. This book makes extensive use of material from the Museum's collections. Ref:SPLARMOURED

The electric road vehicle has been around for more than a hundred years. It is most familiar on the morning milk round; nevertheless, the simple, silent and easy to drive electric has a perennial attraction, particularly for town work. In this pollution-conscious age, the electric car has become prominent once more and in this book the author explains the basic workings of the battery and electric motor and considers a great variety of vehicles, from the first land speed record cars through heavy trucks and fashionable broughams, milk and bread delivery vans to today's electric cars and buses.
Nick Georgano is a full-time writer and editor. He is the author of The Complete Encyclopedia of Motorcars and has written more than twenty other books. Ref:SPLELECTRIC

Erected to inform travellers how far they have come and how far they still have to go, milestones are a relic of a time when life moved more slowly. This book tells the story of milestones and the technology they reflect, as well as road measurement. It uses the great variety of designs and styles to argue the historical importance of conservation and to illustrate the compelling fascination of the subject.
Mervyn Benford has worked in education all his professional life and has a consuming interest in history. Concerned at the rate at which evidence of the past disappears, often inadequately recorded, he believes that the understanding of history, the ability to understand cause and effect, to interpret evidence and to recognise what changes and what does not, are all central to an effective society. Ref:SPLMILESTONES

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With the exception of the Hillman Imp plant at Linwood private car production in Scotland effectively ceased with the closure of the Arrol-Johnston's factory in 1931. The story of the Scottish motor industry is the story of Argyll, Arrol-Johnston and Albion, but of these only Albion survived into modern times. At various times Scotland has supported well over fifty independent manufacturers of motor cars, motorcycles, trucks and buses and this book chronicles the rapid rise from 1897, and the slow decline of the Scottish industry which set in from 1914 onwards.
Michael Worthington-Williams is a member of the Society of Automotive Historians and the Guild of Motoring Writers, a Sotheby's consultant and a regular contributor on early vehicle subjects to many magazines. Ref:SPLSCOT

Interest in old buses has increased enormously in recent years, so that there are now -probably over two thousand of these vehicles restored and preserved for future -generations. Some were discovered up to fifty years after their withdrawal from -passenger carrying, serving as summer houses, tool sheds or for other purposes. Hundreds of hours of -loving care have been spent on them so that they can now be seen as they looked in their prime.
This completely revised edition traces the development of the omnibus through the horse-drawn era to that of mechanical propulsion, when, after experiments with steam and electric battery units, the petrol engine reigned supreme until just before the Second World War.
David Kaye has been writing books on buses and trolleybuses since 1960. He is also a regular contributor to Classic Bus magazine. Ref:SPLBUSES

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When launched in 1962, the Ford Cortina was an entirely new type of British car. Compared with its rivals - and with earlier Fords - it was light yet strong, inexpensive yet roomy, mechanically simple and cheap to maintain. It quickly established a totally new class of car, which even its rivals admitted should be called the 'Cortina class'. Not only did it sell well, but it was very profitable for Ford, which expanded considerably, and it became the most successful British car of the 1960s and 1970s.
Graham Robson has been a motoring writer for many years and has always been attracted to the study of motoring history. A Cortina owner from the early days, he also rallied the cars and later became immersed in their motorsport heritage. He has written more than a hundred books, including several definitive histories of Ford models and Ford in motorsport. Ref:SPLCORTINA

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In 1967 Beaulieu held the first autojumble in the United Kingdom and collectors of anything remotely connected with motoring found they had a huge market place. Early petrol pumps look very attractive, as do the globes that go on top. Enamel advertising signs are a popular collector's item and the petrol companies produced many of these. Petrol sold in two-gallon cans for many years; hundreds survive and, like stamps, are closely scrutinised by collectors for variation from standard. Now anything to do with petrol retailing is a collectable item and in this book Mike Berry outlines some of the thousands of pre-Second World War items which now come under the title of 'petroleum collectables' or 'petroliana'.
Mike Berry started collecting petrol cans in the early 1980s and now has Britain's largest collection. He then went on to collect oil cans, petrol pumps and enamel signs and now anything to do with petrol will find a place in his collection. Ref:SPLPETROLEUM

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By Ken Hill - When H. F. S. Morgan designed and built his first three-wheeled single-seater car in 1909, he could never have envisaged the enormous success that his cars were to enjoy. Several attempts have been made by major manufacturers over the years to take over the company but all have been resisted, making Morgan the oldest family motor manufacturer in the world. Such is the attraction of the Morgan that the company no longer has to advertise its cars and the waiting list for a new car is between six months and two years, depending on the model ordered. Ken Hill's interest in old cars began in 1956 and his association with the Morgan in 1967, when he was given his famous 4/4 Le Mans, which has competed successfully in many continental ­rallies, driving tests and concours events Ref:SPLMORGAN

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By Bill Boddy - This book tells of those fascinating makes and models that were manufactured between 1919 and 1930, from the crude and inexpensive cyclecars and popular light cars like the Austin Seven and Bullnose Morris Cowley to the Rolls-Royce and Daimler luxury limousines and the exciting sports cars such as the Frazer Nash, 12/50 Alvis and Bentley and 30/98 Vauxhall. It is intended for all those fascinated with the vintage era, whether they were motorists in those days of inexpensive petrol and uncongested roads or younger enthusiasts who have become aware of the joys of driving these cars in more recent years. Bill Boddy attended his first vintage motor-race in 1927, at Brooklands, with his mother. He has been the editor of a motoring journal longer than anyone else in Britain, having run Motor Sport by remote control during the Second World War and becoming full-time editor in 1945 Ref:SPLVINTAGE

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The advent of the internal combustion engine brought many changes to society, the most neglected of which is arguably the garages built throughout Britain to serve motor vehicles, which revolutionised rural life. Yet, for all the fame attached to the now well-known heroes of early motoring, their exploits depended upon the energy and elbow grease of the early garage mechanic, and the petrol served on the forecourt by his wife from a hand-cranked pump. This book is a reminder of those days and of those men and women who held the keys to the motor industry's success. Ref:SPLGARAGE

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George and Robert Stephenson's Rocket is arguably the most enduring silhouette in railway history. But why was Rocket that special? And why does the surviving locomotive look so unlike the striking yellow image that we are familiar with from books, postage stamps and the five pound note? Rocket was built to take part in The Rainhill Trials, the competition to find a locomotive design to pull trains on the world's first passenger line, the Liverpool and Manchester. The trials caught the public's imagination and its victor, Rocket, became a sensation. It quickly became of symbol of technological progress. The Stephensons' engine set the pattern for future world steam locomotive development for the next 130 years. But would the steam locomotive have developed differently if Rocket had not won the trials? All these questions while exploring in words and pictures the machine that became the metaphor for what is seen as Britain's greatest gift to the industrial world: the steam locomotive. Ref:SPLSTEPHENSON

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