Top Ten Trivia

REGISTRATION NU MBERS

A slight departure from normal this time as we look at registration numbers.

We have got something a little different for you this issue with our Top Ten Trivia slot, because instead of looking at a particular classic model, we are focusing our attention on registration numbers. And yes, we realise that registration numbers might not sound the most exciting of subjects, but bear with us because it was inspired by a new book on the subject from John Harrison which we found surprisingly addictive.

As well as providing a comprehensive overview of how the UK system was introduced and developed through to the present day, John’s book also answers no end of questions that might puzzle the classic owner. Why, for example, did some classic cars receive A-plate numbers when they were re-registered but others get agerelated plates? How come so many MGs were given an appropriate MG number? And, of course, what is the rudest number that has been released onto our roads?

While the chapters on age-related reregistrations, registering imported cars and buying personal plates have the most direct relevance to classic owners, the book is also a fascinating history lesson and a useful reference for identifying and decoding numbers. There is information in there on trade and diplomatic plates too, as well as military numbers. It is highly recommended,

and the following trivia will hopefully help to show that even registration numbers can be interesting and entertaining too!

1

Under the provisions of the Motor Car Act 1903, any motor vehicle used on public roads after 1st January 1904 had to be registered. Britain was comparatively late in introducing vehicle registration because it was thought the requirement to display a registration infringed civil liberties and was opposed by the civil liberty lobby. Although Britain was late to the party, (Baden in Germany issued their first number in 1896 and the Netherlands introduced the first national system in 1899,) it now has the oldest national system in the world under which a number issued at the outset can still be legally used on the same vehicle.

2

It is often stated that the London number A 1 was the first British registration to be issued, but this is not the case. As far as we can tell from surviving records, it would seem that the first number issued was DY 1 on 23rd November 1903 by Hastings, whereas A 1 was not issued until 7th December 1903. Also, it is sometimes stated that Earl Russell who had A 1 queued all night to obtain the number, but there does not seem to be any contemporary record of this, so the story might well be an urban myth.

3

So why did Hastings issue DY and London get A? The Local Government Board who were responsible for bringing the registration legislation into effect allotted one- or twoletter codes to local authorities in England and Wales in 1903. They allocated the letters in alphabetical order by population size, with A going to London as the largest authority. When they got to Y for Somerset (Z was reserved for Ireland and codes with G, S and V in them were reserved for Scotland), they moved on to AA for Hampshire and ran through to FP which went to Rutland, the smallest authority by population size. Wales was not given any special recognition in this allocation. The separate Local Government Boards for Scotland and Ireland issued their codes using the authorities’ names in alphabetical order, not by population size.

4

When codes were originally allotted to local authorities, two objected to the letters they had been given – Dorset which had BF (which stood for ‘bloody fool’ at the time) and Northampton which had DF (which stood for ‘damned fool’). Their protests were accepted, and replacement codes FX and NH respectively were allotted instead. In 1924, when Gloucestershire needed a second code, it was given DF and did not object. BF was used again by Staffordshire in the 1960s (but only as part

of a three-letter combination), and more recently it has been used for pre-1930 age related re-registrations.

5

Although having a personal registration number was once the preserve of celebrities who had the money and the ego to indulge their fancies, nowadays it is not unusual for people to buy the right to display one that relates to them. Being easily recognised can have its drawbacks, however. The first celebrity to have a personal plate is thought to have been the famous music hall comedian Harry Tate, who had car number T 8. In 1935, Harry’s car was followed by two journalists who recognised the number plate. They realised he was driving erratically and signalled a police patrol car. Mr Tate was charged with drunk driving and dangerous driving. He was acquitted on the first charge, but fined £12 12s for driving dangerously.

6

DVLA does not only issue registrations with the current age identifier, because a lot of vehicles have to be given ‘new old’ numbers when, for example, personal plates are transferred off them or they are imported secondhand. As a result, there have to be previously unissued numbers available for vehicles of any age so, for example, if somebody imports a 1965 car it can receive a C-suffix mark. There is even a series reserved for veteran vehicles made up to 1904. This is BS 8001 to BS 8999 – an Orkney number, but Orkney only issued up to BS 7938. The remaining Orkney numbers (from BS 9001 to BS 9999) have been used for 1905-1930 vehicles.

7

The QQ 1000-9999 range is unusual in that numbers may have been issued more than once. That’s because, from 1921, the code QQ was allocated for temporary registrations of vehicles from countries that had not signed the 1909 International Convention on Motor Traffic, or whose number plates did not use Roman letters. They were only valid for a year, so there was no chance, for example, of QQ 2043 appearing on two vehicles simultaneously because it was first issued in the 1930s, then again in the 1960s.

8

Only one person is allowed not to have to have number plates on their car – the monarch. However, between them members of the royal family have had a number of distinctive registrations. AMP 1P was specially issued out of sequence for the marriage of Princess Anne and Captain Mark Phillips for example, while Princess Margaret used to have PM 6450, the number reputedly indicating the date when she met Group Captain Peter Townsend.

9

Certain letter combinations have been withheld to save the nation’s sensibilities. Ones considered potentially offensive have included APE, GOD, JEW, LAV and SOD, plus DUW (which is Welsh for God) and BAS (Gaelic for death). Great Yarmouth’s EX obviously has potential, and perhaps surprisingly SEX 1E has been sold by the DVLA at auction. The rudest currently in circulation are probably FU 2 and PEN 15.

10

Military vehicles did not initially have special registration numbers, but from 1921 Royal Air Force vehicles had RAF *** numbers and Royal Navy ones were given registrations in RN *** format, while Army vehicles had Middlesex civilian registrations. Between the wars, a range of the army’s allocated numbers were reserved for armoured vehicles, and unusually these were reissued for civilian vehicles after WW2. From 1949 a new style for all armed service vehicles was introduced that followed the format 12 AB 34. Under this system, the letters CV were used to indicate a captured vehicle – this was used on captured Argentinian vehicles after the Falklands War, and at least one Iraqi tank received a similar mark after the Gulf War. The Number Plate Book ByJohnHarrison Paperback ,151 pages ,170 mmx 243 mm. ISBN:978-0-904775-31-0 Published by New by Books Price:£7.95 John Harrison is the editor of a quarterly newsletter which covers all aspects of vehicle registrations, called 1903 and All That. Subscription details for the newsletter can be obtained by contacting John via email on john@theharrisonfamily.org.uk