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1926 Bentley 3 Litre    
Original 1926 Numbers
Chassis No. HP383
Engine No. HP381
Registration No. KU 7770

  This car - updated
Chassis No. HP383
Engine No. 308
Registration No. Registered in Nova Scotia, antique plate number 5675

(Updated with information from David Howe. - September 2016)
 
September 2016
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Chassis number HP383
Engine number 308
It is registered in Nova Scotia, antique plate number 5675.
I've attached a recent photo.

 
     
     
  Source: David Howe (Owner)
Posted: Sep 23, 2016
 
     
2010
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RROC 59th Annual Meet 2010 Ontario

HP 383 (1926 3-litre) Vanden Plas Coupe - Owner: D. Howe

 
     
     
  Source: The Flying Lady, 2010-6
Posted: Jun 24, 2013
 
     
2008
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"David Howe tests his backwards driving skills in his 3L (HP383) trying not to bump his fellow tourers that had gotten to the hotel before him."

 
     
     
  Source: The Flying Lady, September-October 2008
Posted: Jun 24, 2013
 
     
2006
In Switzerland in 2006 / Owned by a BDC member
In Canada in 2006 / Owned by an RROC member
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"Hello, My uncle, Edward Brian Mortimer-Rose, was a fighter pilot in WW2, sadly killed in 1942. I have a picture of him taken at RAF Warmwell in Dorset with his Bentley. I wonder if you could identify the model from the photograph? As far as I can see the letters in the registration are 36 or 38, possibly preceded by LR or LP, but I cannot be sure of that.

Some additional information about my uncle for your interest:
- Edward Brian Mortimer-Rose, usually known as Brian RAF Flight Lieutenant
- Distinguished Flying Cross & Bar
- From Littleport, Cambridgeshire
- Son of Edward & Eelinn Mortimer-Rose of Plantation House, Littleport
- Attended Haileybury School
- He joined the RAF in February 1939
- Granted a Short Service Commission on 2 May 1939
- Posted to 234 Squadron in November
- Flew with that unit during the Battle of Britain (Spitfires) & into 1941
- Posted to the Middle East in November 1941 then straight to Malta where he took command of 249 Squadron on 6 December 1941 (Hurricanes?)
- Shot down 26 December, he crash landed at Luqa. After recovering, he took command of 185 Sqn. in Feb. 1942
- He led 185 Squadron until May 1942, then took a rest from Ops. In January 1943 he was posted to the Algeria/Tunisia front
- He reverted from Acting Squadron Leader to Flight Lieutenant. And took command of a flight of 111 Squadron
- Just a few days later, on 28 January 1943, he was KiFA when his Spitfire collided with W/C George Gilroy's as they took off from Souk el Khemis. Gilroy survived.
- Brian was only 22 years old at the time of his death and he is buried at the Medjez-el-Bab War Cemetery (ref. 6C4) in Tunisia.
- His victories included 12 enemy aircraft destroyed and a further 5 probably destroyed.

I have asked my brother, also Brian, if he can locate any further old family photographs.

Many thanks for your interest and help!"

 
     
     
  Source: Jonathan Macfie - Jul 06, 2016  
     
     
 
 
     
 

David Green responds to reader Jonathan Macfie's enquiry, identifying Edward Brian Mortimer-Rose's 3 litre.

Dear Robert, You have an enquiry from Brian Mortimer-Rose's nephew about a Bentley his uncle once owned. It is obviously a 3-litre with a standard radiator and a modified body, complete with wartime alterations to the headlights. The only 3-litre coming remotely close to LR or LP and 36 or 38 is LPT 326, which makes it a standard model from February 1926. My copy of Hay indicates it started out as a coupe on a long chassis, a comparatively unusual use of the length. It was cut to short chassis length at some stage. Its original registration number was KU 7770, and its chassis number was HP383. My copy of Hay is the Second Edition, where the car is listed as still surviving, having been relengthened. It should have a VdP tourer body, and a registration number of SL 9980. I have checked this registration number against the DVLA database and it is recorded as requiring new taxation in 1987, and is a Bentley recorded as being made in 1924. This suggests the car may no longer be with us.

 
     
     
  Source: David Green - Sep 07, 2016  
     
     
 
 
     
 
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  "Hi Mona, I was intrigued to see the picture I sent you of my uncle’s Bentley in your latest newsletter and many thanks to your reader, David Green, for his input and a possible identification. On further inspection I do not believe the registration number is LR or LP, but rather CR or CP, followed by 33, 36 or 38, so I wonder if that may raise additional possibilities?

After further research we have found that my uncle left the Bentley to his girlfriend in his will. Her surname was Hawkins, first name unknown, and we believe she emigrated to Canada or the USA after the war. I have also attached another photograph we have found showing the rear of the car (registration number unfortunately still not visible), so any further help on this would be greatly appreciated!

Many thanks and regards"
 
     
     
  Source: Jonathan Macfie - Sep 20, 2016  
     
     
 
 
     
 

"Hello Mona. This is fascinating and thank you for getting in touch. It may very well be the car you're looking for. The chassis number is indeed HP383! The engine number is 308 and I gather it was not the original but transferred from another car made in 1924. I believe it originally had four seats but was shortened to two, presumably before Flight-Lieutenant Mortimer-Rose owned it, and later elongated back to four seats with a replica Vanden Plas body.

I bought it from two Swiss gentlemen who raced it in the Alps, who had bought it from Stanley Mann who had done work on it in 1989. One of those two moved to New Brunswick where I saw and bought the car. I had the engine overhauled a year ago by Pierce Reid in Stowe Vermont and it runs beautifully. It is registered in Nova Scotia, antique plate number 5675."

- David Howe

~~

"Hello Jonathan. I believe I may have the Bentley that was once owned by your uncle. The chassis number is the same, HP 383.

I live in Parrsboro, Nova Scotia and bought the car in about 2003 in New Brunswick from a gentleman who lived in Switzerland who had bought it from Stanley Mann, who I believe had done some work on it in 1989 and then raced it in the Alps. He had a partner, a retired jockey, Ernst Zwalen, who emigrated to Canada with the car and brought it to a show In Prince Edward Island where I saw it.

As I understand it, the car was originally a four seater with a Mulliner body but at some stage, presumably before your uncle owned it, it was cut down to two seats, I assume to make it go faster or perhaps to attract the ladies :), and then later restored to four seats with a replica Vanden Plas body. You can see the butt welds on the chassis. At some stage the engine
was replaced with one from a 1924 car, number 304. Other modifications before my time include complete rewiring with many more fuses, removal of the thermostat and installation of two electric fans behind the radiator. I've installed an overdrive and electric fuel pump and replaced one magneto with a coil, so it is far from original but much easier and enjoyable to drive. The engine was overhauled professionally a year ago.

I was very interested in your biography of your uncle. I would love to hear if you know any more of the history of this car."

- David Howe

 
     
  Source: David Howe (Owner) - Sep 23, 2016  
     
     
 
 
     
  "Dear David, Many thanks for taking the time to email me with the details of your beautiful Bentley, chassis number HP 383. If it is the car my uncle owned, then I am sure he would have been very appreciative of the care you have taken with it and what lovely condition it is in.

You may have picked up on the fact that the registration number is very unclear in the original photo I sent to the club, but looks something like LR, LP, CR or CP followed by 33, 36 or 38. This is why member David Green came up with LPT 326, the
original registration number of your car. I have also sent a 2nd picture to Mona (attached), but unfortunately the registration number is not visible in that either.

I am afraid I do not know much more about the history of my uncle’s car. He must have purchased it between 1938 and 1941, before he was posted to the Middle East. His squadron (243) was stationed at RAF Warmwell (where the photographs were taken) between February and November 1941. The only other bit of information I have is that my mother told me that Brian left the Bentley to his girlfriend in his will. He called her “Hawkins”, presumably her surname, and I believe she emigrated to either Canada or the US at the end of the war. Below is a picture of “Hawkins” and a picture showing my uncle’s service log books and medals, which I hope you will find interesting.

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My uncle died when the Spitfire he was flying collided with another as they were taking off from an airfield in Tunisia in January 1943.

I trust that you will have many more happy years with your fabulous Bentley.

Many thanks once again and kind regards"
 
     
     
  Source: Jonathan Macfie
Posted: Sep 23, 2016
 
     
EARLIEST RECORD OF HISTORICAL FACTS & INFORMATION
 
Chassis No. HP383
Engine No. HP381
Registration No. KU 7770
Date of Delivery: Feb 1926
Type of Body: Coupe
Coachbuilder: H J Mulliner
Type of Car: ST
   
First Owner: WOOD J C
 
     
  More Info: Michael Hay, in his book Bentley: The Vintage Years, 1997, states: "Cut to 9'9½", 2 seater reg LPT 326, engine BL 1616 ex ch. BL 1609. Now re-lengthened to 10'10", Vanden Plas 4 seater eng 308 ex ch. 310. reg SL 9980."  
     
     
  Posted: Mar 01, 2007  
     
 
 
 
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