The Maudslay Mustang lorry.
Maudslay is now one of the less-well-remembered of the classic British commercial vehicle manufacturers, with relatively few examples surviving in preservation. Happily a few do attend the local rallies, including this post-war flat-bed Maudslay lorry, and this coach, built on a Maudslay chassis. The old photo below shows a line-up of three lorries, the first and the third are Maudslays, whereas the vehicle in the centre, partly obscured by a driver, is from another maker - possibly Seddon?
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A handwritten note on the rear of the photo says: "This was taken at King's Lynn a few years ago - those were the days".
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The lorry to the right is registered URE 126, a Staffordshire registration series first used in 1950, which ties in nicely with the age of the vehicle. A close look reveals the name badge "Mustang" affixed to the radiator - the Maudslay Mustang was a twin-steer twin-axle lorry rated at 6 tons, introduced in 1946. All three are signwritten in the livery of G.H. Downing & Co. Ltd. of Chesterton in Staffordshire.
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The livery on the front of the lorries, and down the side of the rear bodies, advertises ACME Sandstorm Tiles, so presumably they'd just delivered a large consignment of these tiles to a customer. Downing's were a large tile firm operating in the Staffordshire area, the vehicles have fleet numbers of 13, 2, and 15 respectively, and all sport AA member's badges on their radiators. They even had their own football team. In all they had three depots, and were taken over in 1981, by which time I'm sure the Maudslays had long since been replaced.
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A larger scan of the righthand lorry can be seen by clicking here. Two photos of a Maudslay lorry that was involved in a road accident with an Austin K6, may be found on this page of the site.
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Return to Old Motoring Photos Page No. 9.
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