Austin Loadstar.
Photos of several restored Austin Loadstars can be found across the site, but the first in-period scene to include a Loadstar in it, is this original black and white image. It's un-dated but presumably hails from the 1950s. No notes accompany it, so a certain amount of guesswork is required. There's no-one at the wheel of the Austin, so most likely the driver was responsible for taking the photo of his trusty machine, while it was parked at the side of a road. Signwriting on the van's side simply reads "Jolly - Appetite Creator", a trademarked slogan registered to L.E. Jolly Limited, and first filed back in 1925.
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The 2-, 3- and 5-ton "Series II" Loadstars were Austin's post-war lorry offerings, introduced in 1950, taking over the reins from the outgoing K-Series lorries which could trace their roots back to the 1930s. The militarised version of the Loadstar - and popular with the British Army in those days - was known as the K9, also powered by the company's 4-litre petrol engine.
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Return to Page 19 in the photographic archive, or visit the main index here.
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