Memory Lane

It’s 1968 and we’re on the Isle of Man, where onward travel awaits.

Douglas, Isle of Man August 23, 1968

We’re indebted to reader Nigel Hughes for passing on this image taken by his father, a superb ship photographer with a particular affection for the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company. This 1968 shot shows its modernist Sea Terminal in Douglas, three years after construction. But it looks like further work has been called for.

Waiting to greet ferry passengers is a fantastic array of Douglas Corporation AEC Regent double-decker and Reliance single-decker buses. Cars have been relegated to finding space amid all the motorbikes and building material. There is a Rover P4 on the left, followed by a 1955 Hillman Minx Mk8a in distinctive ‘Gay Look’ two-tone. A BMC 1100/1300 hugs the kerb, behind a Standard Vanguard Phase III and a Ford Corsair, after which there are two Fifties rivals, an Austin A30 (with that shiny rather than painted grille) and a Ford Prefect 100E.

Lasting well

We assume the two next vehicles, a Commer FC and Austin K4, belong to the builders. The pre-war machine, which looks very Thirties Austin Ten-ish, has done well to last to 1968 as an everyday vehicle, even given the Isle of Man’s compactness. Then there’s an Austin A35 van and, past the concrete mixers, an Austin A95 or A105, snuggled up to a generator trailer.

And while the substantial shape of the Humber Hawk MKIII-VIA or Super Snipe MKIV is unmistakable, we did struggle with the sports car next door, before deciding it’s probably a Triumph Spitfire with a hard-top. Today, the Sea Terminal looks the same; a Sixties survivor, even if none of the vehicles seen here are.